Island Hopping on the Andaman Coast

After a tortuous bus ride from Siem Reap to the border we were back in the land of Pad Thai, 7-11's and tuk tuks. We flew from Bangkok to Phuket and were hit by some serious culture shock. After Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam it felt like another world. It was strange to walk into the fluorescent lights of Boots and have 10 different brands of sunscreen to choose from! We arrived right in the middle of high season and the crowds and prices that come with it.

My friend Lisa, from Four Seasons, and her husband Scott were vacationing at Patong Beach so we made our way over to see them. We were caught in a brief storm en route so we arrived looking like drowned rats. They kindly greeted us at their hotel with some much-appreciated dry towels and Bacardi Breezers, which I hadn't been able to get for months. Thank you Lisa! I can't explain how nice it was to see some friends from home. We had a such great night. We owe you two dinner when we get back!

Patong is basically like Cancun, only with Thai lady-boys. We made our way over to the slightly less crowded Kata beach for a few days while Tim got his Open Water Scuba certification. We stayed in a really cool guesthouse that reminded us of the Elgar's cottage on Bark Lake in Quebec. I joined Tim for the last day of his course and we did two dives near the site of the filming of "The Beach".

I also got to meet my newest baby cousin Elizabeth! My cousin Peter and his wife Kirstie have been living in Thailand for a few years and just had a baby. Despite their sleepless nights and a slew of visitors they welcomed us at their place. We caught up on a few years over dinner and it was great to be with family so far from home.

We headed over to another island, Ko Phi Phi, to experience the classic backpacker's haven. It has undergone some frantic reconstruction since the Tsunami and is just a maze of bungalows, guesthouses, restaurants and bars. We went for a little hike to a secluded beach and found ourselves in complete paradise. Apparently the monkeys also like it there; they appeared out of the jungle in a pack of about 20, looking for coconuts and swarming a fisherman who was trying to clean his nets.

Next we headed to Ton Sai on the mainland. It's a little pocket of jungle and beach surrounded by rock and can only be accessed by boat. It doesn't have electricity so everything runs on generators at night. We saw another huge pack of monkeys wreaking havoc near some locals houses. A lady came out waving a giant bamboo pole at them - this seems to be the usual response to monkeys over here, as the fisherman in Phi Phi had done the same thing - and the monkeys know it means business.

The whole purpose of our visit to Ton Sai was to do some rock climbing, and we had an amazing morning attempting to scale a rock face right beside the ocean. The indoor climbing gym in Toronto pales in comparison. We did pretty well considering it was our first attempt outdoors, but our muscles ached for days afterwards. We resolved to go more often once we get home.

We stayed in an awesome wooden bungalow which is pretty much the only option for accommodation around there. Strangely, despite many gaps in the walls and joints, it was relatively bug free. I figured this was because every single living mosquito in Thailand had already bitten me in the previous two days and they were full. Actually it was because the TARANTULA IN THE BATHROOM had been eating them! Yes, TARANTULA. Looked just like those things they mount in frames and sell as souvenirs here, only it WAS ALIVE AND MOVING. AHHHHHHHHH.

I should mention that I suffer from arachnophobia. I take issue with this term, however, since by definition it means "unreasonable" fear disproportionate to the threat. In my opinion it's not unreasonable to be terrified of such a hideous creature that may well kill you. I discovered it myself, and to my credit I remained fairly calm (I may well have been in a state of shock). While I was trying to figure out how I would get through the rest of the trip without using the bathroom, Tim was trying to figure out how to get a photo of it. We never did get a picture since it realized our intentions weren't friendly and it hid in a hole in the corner of the bathroom for the rest of our stay.

It was around this time that we decided against the volunteer opportunity which involved living with a tribe in the jungle in Borneo. (Instead we'll be working at a school for mentally disabled kids near Kuala Lumpur, but more on this later.)

Just writing this entry has brought back vivid memories of the tarantula. I must go now and practice some calming mental exercises.