Thailand, part three

1/2/05
This was to be our last beach day of the trip; we`d planned to catch a boat back to the beautiful marine park where we`d gone scuba diving. We nearly overslept but made it to the pier on time. Once aboard the boat we commandeered some space for a nap in the warm, salty breeze. After a while, I distantly heard someone yelling in Thai, but I didn`t want to stir. The voice got louder and seemingly more urgent so I finally cracked my lids to see some boat men feverishly passing out life jackets. I realized the boat wasn`t moving and I started to look around for my companions. Upon surveying the surroundings, I see we are not at the marine park. I stood up to see people filing quickly into a small dingy that had been pulled up along side the boat. I`m thinking we are sinking! What am I going to do with my camera?! Then I spot Chad who had a very stern, un-Chad like look on his face. We were well into the journey before he began questioning where we were, as he didn`t recognize anything. The workers explained that the sea was too rough so they decided to divert to another beach. The water was so choppy the boats could not near the shore so we had to taxi in on a dingy. I was relieved we weren`t going under but upon landing we were all thoroughly disappointed. The sand was so narrow, there wasn`t enough space for us to lay out our towels between the trees, rocks and waterline. The view was modest compared to what we were anticipating at au thong. We swam a bit and made incessant jokes about the spot we had ended up in on our last day at the beach. Chad had negotiated an early return for us and, to his credit, eventually got all of our money returned because they hadn`t told us where they were taking us and because we couldn`t utilize the beach there. We had a vegetable curry lunch on the boat on the way back into port.

It was our last night on Koh Samui so we cleaned up and headed out early. We hit up a steak house in the restaurant district where I treated myself to filet mignon.

Next to an English pub and then off for some more dancing and all-around debauchery. In a bizarre twist, we ran into the Spanish guys we had been scuba diving and partying with a while back who had also headed to this island for New Year’s Eve. It was Beth, Yara and I who made the rounds and shook our butts off. I got into a couple decent dance-offs, which are always great for learning new moves and communing with new people. We caught a truck taxi, with a nutty driver who was all over the place, home.
1/3/05
Ate a great tofu scramble for breakfast at a bohemian artist’s café before catching a boat, then a bus en route to the jungle. Stopped at a bizarre rest stop/convenience store surrounded by food stalls and picnic tables and people squatting and hanging out all over the place. Passed on the frogs and opted for a few veggie dishes that rocked, cost 20 baht, about 50 cents.

It was interesting to watch the scenery transition through dirty, cracked windows on our rental bus. From sandy, beige soil and palm trees to dense forests of dark green. Passed rubber tree farms, ghetto neighborhoods, wild animals grazing. Finally arrived in the jungle at smiley’s bungalows.

It was on a road with some other groups of bungalows, a couple outdoor restaurants and some stores hawking necessities like bug spray, liquor and sunscreen, which dead-ended into khao sok national park. While settling in, we met an interesting Australian fellow named Tony. He’d been staying in the bungalows for a few weeks and had befriended the family who operated it. He’d done Christmas dinner with them at their friend’s restaurant on the west coast, which was subsequently obliterated by the tsunami. He was truly charmed by the owners and their hospitality and felt like he needed to spend some more time with them, especially in the wake of the disaster when many people had gone west to look for relatives or aid in the recovery mission so they were a few hands short. He’d moved out of the cabin and into a tent on the grounds where they were letting him squat for free in exchange for helping out around the place. He served food, played handy man, guided us around, taught us some Thai and was really good company. Later that night, we grabbed our trusty headlamps for a little exploring. Ended up musing over a beer at the jungle bar; they sure won’t be accused of false advertising as it was in the middle of no where and you had to cross a rickety bamboo bridge to get there. We just followed the sounds of Bob Marley. We had dinner on a patio attached to a few bungalows where they informed us there was no fresh fish, no foreign foods, or bread because they hadn’t been able to travel to the west coast for supplies since the tsunami. We turned in early for some much needed sleep.
1/4/05
Gorged myself on a delicious breakfast of granola, fresh pineapple, coconut, watermelon, bananas, nuts and yogurt. Good thing cause we needed our wheaties later. We boarded a bus bound for the heart of Khao Sok National Forest. En route we stopped at a road side market for a look around.


It was a sprawling complex with old tables and cooked food stalls lining the front.

A vegetable section bordered the butchers in the rear. What a sight. I used the Thai I had recently added to my vocab to ask if “I can take your picture? Thank you.” [tai woo dai mai? Khap khun ka] blood everywhere, flys buzzing, a constant din of commerce in indiscernible Thai.


We bought a snack of what turned out to be like crepes, silver dollar size, folded and stuffed with gooey sugar and fresh grated coconut. Oh my. When we arrived at the park it was still early.

We boarded a couple of boat taxis and spent some time cruising around a huge, majestic lake.


Eventually we headed to a floating, bamboo complex comprised of about 5 bungalows, a small kitchen and, of course, a tiny bar.


The Thais do love to drink. We spent an hour or so swimming. The fresh water was clear and deep; a refreshing change from the salty ocean. We ate a filling fried rice lunch with fresh fruit and sweet rice balls before boarding the boats again and heading into the jungle. The ride was straight out of Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”.

We navigated narrow channels overhung with dense foliage and vines, stopping intermittently as our Thai companions would point out an eagle here, a hornbill there, an Ibis in that tree. The true depth of their knowledge of the jungle would become more evident as our adventure progressed. We finally neared a bank where we all jumped overboard and scurried up a muddy hill. We hiked about an hour into the woods, closely following the Thai men as the path, if you can call it that, was not clearly marked.


We stopped along the way to climb vines, take pictures, examine bamboo, and look at spiders, trees, worms and other interesting things.
We finally entered a clearing that lead to the huge mouth of a cave.

We strapped on our headlamps, which proved invaluable once again, and entered. The first hollow was a large cavern, with hundreds of stalagtites and bats, chirping and diving over our heads. We traversed broad, slippery flat rocks surrounded by textured walls that looked and felt like loofah sponges. There were times when the cave narrowed and we had to squeeze through the corridors. There were places with calm ankle deep water and interesting outcroppings. If you’ve never been in a cave you don’t realize the extreme darkness that lurks there. It could easily induce claustrophobia and panic if you contemplate the vastness of what is beyond the beam of your flashlight. Our 3 guides scurried through the cave with the deftness of natives, always running ahead to cast light on treacherous parts of the terrain. One of them, nicknamed slow lek because of his easygoing personality, was barefoot and used his calloused, monkey like feet to grip the rocks and poise himself in precarious positions where he could help us through. I was transfixed watching him. About 30 minutes into the trek, the prepared us for a swim. We inched into water that was chest deep and surprisingly cold, using the walls to steady ourselves. Not too bad. Then another pool, with rapid running water. It had a rocky bottom that made it tough to walk on; crawl like a crab to keep your head above water would be a better description. The next was the deepest, a slim valley carved out of rock, there was no touching the bottom, only dog-paddling carefully. About an hour later we emerged from this most amazing structure feeling triumphant, as if we’d been pioneers spelunking in uncharted territory.

This was probably my favorite outing of the trip.



On our way back to the floating village, they cut the boat’s engine and quietly urged us to look up in the trees where a few monkeys were playing. We saw another species of monkey too a little farther down the embankment.

After returning, we were taking a swim when crazy lek, another of the guides, asked if I enjoyed marijuana. [Again let me remind you all that this herb does not have the same stigmas and disdain attached to it in Thailand. It is revered and shared in a social way that bonds people. For real dude. Far out.] We walked along a wobbly floating path to one of the bungalows where Tony, the aforementioned Aussie, and about 5 Thai men were seated in a circle. They quickly scooted around making room for Lek and I as they talked in excited voices. Lek explained it was one man’s bungalow; I introduced myself by pointing at my face, saying my name and bowing, eventually extending my hand which he shook comfortably. I made my way around the circle bowing and shaking and smiling under the stares of really curious eyes. There was quite a bit of ceremony to the gathering; the owner of the bungalow retrieved a hand carved bamboo bong from the corner. It was expertly chiseled and the pieces fashioned together without any trace of adhesive. He presented it to Tony who put pot in it and handed it back, he then passed it to me. They all gawked as I began to smoke and then laughed, smiling incessantly. Lek, whose English is super [he was taught by his father and has subsequently taught many of his friends], explained they had never seen a woman smoke out of a bong before. I realized I was in the midst of a truly fraternal tradition. The Thai women only smoke joints apparently and they do not smoke with the men frequently. I listened as they chattered, Tony and Lek did their best to fill me in. They complimented Tony’s Thai and Lek explained they were all very impressed with me for some reason. I watched as they went through the motions of what is obviously a frequently occurring ritual. A few other men entered, startled by my presence but willing to shake and smile. I realized this is probably the closest interaction some of them had ever had with a non-Thai woman. It was a situation one might think unnerving or intimidating but there was nothing threatening about their demeanor. I gave everyone a deep bow and sincere thank you as we left; I felt truly lucky to have been able to join them.
Tony, the Aussie, and Crazy Lek

We made our way back to the bungalows…


sunset caught in sachi's glasses

Cleaned up [cold showers] and went to the main patio for a buffet dinner. They were grilling sticks of meat on a grill fashioned from what looked like half a barrel. The food was plentiful and tasty. There were a few other Thais hanging out eating and drinking. We circled up listening to a few fellas play the guitar, drinking beers and chatting well into the night.

Met a man named Bo, who had learned English from Lek. He had gone to the city and studied business in college but missed the jungle so much he had returned and now works as a freelance jungle tour guide. He was as curious about America and Japan and languages as I was about the Thai way of life. He was super interesting.


1/5/05
The next day Bo and I were hanging out at my bungalow when he quieted me.

“There’s a snake eating a frog” he said as I jumped on the bed looking around the room. He whispered “Grab your camera” as he took my arm and led me out of the bungalow. We tip-toed down the stairs, he stopped to listen, doubled-back under the room and over to the far side of the clearing where, unbelievably, there was a snake with a half of a frog hanging out of its mouth.

We circled it as he narrated…’it can’t talk much longer’ shortly before the frog went silent, ‘watch the snake’s stomach’ as it turned a brilliant color of red, ‘he can’t run from us after he swallows’ as the snake settled and we approached, watching it slowly move the lump of frog down the length of its body. On the way back we talked about plants, flowers and knelt to examine an ant hill. Bo informed me one the ants was sick; he could tell because of his swollen body. All these men are remarkably intelligent in ways that we are truly deficient. Their smarts are relative to their situation, just as ours are. It is humbling to consider their knowledge, their language ability which allows them to convey it and their eagerness to help others understand the world around them.
Then we were off on our next jungle adventure. We piled into the back of a pick-up truck and headed to the elephant camp.

Upon arriving I realized Bo had ditched work to accompany us, although he wasn’t interested in riding an elephant. Liz, Nok [another tour guide that Liz had the hots for] and I climbed onto a platform and mounted Jo Jo, a 20 year old gentle giant.

We couldn’t stop laughing as the creature began to plod along, not so gracefully, but with slow steps that drastically shifted his weight, and us, back and forth. We fell into line behind the elephants carrying our friends.

2 of our hilarious friends, Michelle and Jamie. They live about 45 minutes from us.

We wound down a path, over streams, up embankments until we reached a large pool of water created by a waterfall upstream.

We left our elephant to rest and climbed rocks and a few shaky, broken bamboo ladders to reach the fall. It was relatively dry Nok said because it was the peak of the dry season.

We were playing on the rocks and vines when someone said you could cliff jump in this fall. No way. We descended a tier to see a couple of the guys with us cannonballing off the edge. I quickly stripped my clothes and climbed to the edge.

There was a 15 to 20 foot drop down a rather narrow shaft into a pool that was only about 6 feet across. The water was about 30 feet deep. I took aim and plummeted, arms flailing and splashed into the cool water. What a rush!

Liz's action shot

The pool was bordered by smooth, flat rocks that made a great place for resting as we watched a few of the others take the plunge.

I couldn’t resist going again. We got back on our elephants, but this time I was able to ride on his neck, feet hooked under his ears.

His head was covered with coarse bristles and the skin behind his ears was surprisingly soft and supple. Every time I would scratch behind his left ear, he would raise his trunk and bring it back to meet me. There were a few times when we descended or ascended that I really had to hold on. After returning to the camp we fed our trusty elephant loads of bananas.

I was amazed how strong his trunk was and with what accuracy he used it. The man in the picture is his trainer; they always work together and Jo Jo only responds to his voice. I asked, with Nok’s help, about how they train the animals. Turns out they have a special language they termed elephant talk, not Thai, that is used to give commands.


We returned to Smiley’s and packed while we chatted with Bo and Nok. As we boarded the bus we said our goodbyes to the people and place that had so enchanted us. Later, on the bus, Sean approached me and said ‘the guy in the striped shirt wanted me to give you this.’ It was a small conch shell, which was interesting because we were 40 km from the nearest beach. Sean said he was a bit nervous to say goodbye. Be still my heart. An interesting note: Thai people don’t peck kiss, instead they sniff. The first time a man took my hand and raised it to his face, as if to give it a gentlemanly kiss, but instead smelled it, I nearly freaked out. Subsequently it became more normal and even sensual in a way. I asked Bo why and he told me that smell is such an strong sense that if he saw me 10 years from now he could recall my specific scent, he wouldn’t however be able to discern the feel of his lips on different people’s skin. They sniff each other’s necks, faces, hands. Really interesting. Our bus dropped us in Phang Nga where we waited to board a train back to the capital. We wandered around a night market there for a bit and checked out all the oddities. Mostly food…

chicken heads anyone?



We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the insect buffet and couldn’t pass up the chance to try.

We bravely got a sampling of everything but the cockroaches. They were just too freakin’ big. The kiosk owner and her friends laughed at us as we psyched ourselves up. First the meal worms…

They were mushy and tasted dank and dirty.
The crickets were much better. Nothing but crunchy exo-skeleton and rather salty. I could see laying around, watching movies, popping those in your mouth.


she had a bit of everything...pig legs, duck, chicken, organs...

1/6/05
It was a long night on the train. Wocka-wocka-wocka… We arrived early in Bangkok and returned to the Wild Orchid, where we’d stayed before. We had some breakfast on the patio before changing to head to the Imperial Palace.



In all temples and government buildings you must have the proper attire…no sandals unless they are high heels, no showing your ankles or shoulders. They are really strict about this, which is not surprising considering the reverence they have for their religion and their king. Reminders of their Buddhist faith are everywhere [over 95% Buddhist] and pictures of their king, Phumiphon Adunyadet, adorn every business, home and street corner. After that, the shopping was on. We’d made reservations at the Bed Supperclub and needed some nice duds. We hopped in a tuk-tuk, which completely took advantage of us by telling us we were at the shopping center we’d requested. Jerk. We were able to catch a city bus to the real mall where we dashed around. We all had to buy shoes as you couldn’t wear flip-flops or tennis shoes, which was all that we had brought. We returned to the hotel with barely enough time to freshen up, ahem, and catch a taxi to the other side of town. From the outside, this place looked like a long white cylinder out of 2001: A Space Odyssey manned by bloated, pretentious bouncers. We expected swank and got it. We walked in, to the right was the bar, to the left was the dining area. In the restaurant part, the walls were lined with big beds covered with crisp white sheets. In the center, a big yellow bed with turntables on the rear where a dj was spinning down tempo jazzy electronica.

We proceeded upstairs to the balcony which had similar bedding. Ordered a martini, which was the best I’ve had on this side of the world.

They were circulating sheets of paper explaining the evening’s performance art. It said go to the woman in the kimono on the stage. Take the scissors and carefully cut a scrap of the fabric no bigger than your hand. Return to your table and discuss the meaning of this with your friends. We each climbed onto the stage and did as told. Eventually the kimono fell around her in a puddle. Interesting, considering our homes are in Japan, that they would be commenting, metaphorically, on the role we each play in stripping away tradition and revealing the true nature of people and society.

The food was incredible. First course: Pumpkin broth with smoked Chicken breast, yellow Lentils and white Truffle Butter. Followed by: Wok seared Tuna sashimi with creamy Garlic polenta and roast Bell Pepper sauce. For dessert: Melting dark Chocolate tart with Tamarind-Caramel ice cream and Sesame Macadamia nuts.

We later adjourned across the way for dancing. Two really talented dj’s were playing records, passing off to each other. They were super entertaining to watch.
Their website has some great shots...Click Here!
As they closed up at 1, a bunch of the girls and a few guys we’d met headed to another seedy hostess bar where, once again, we irritated the working girls by dancing and having a good time. Nick, who resides in Thailand, is our friend’s younger brother’s childhood buddy. He and another friend Steve had joined us for the night. They suggested we check out a hotel down the way. When we arrived, they explained that it wasn’t really a bar, but had a great view. What they meant was there was an observation deck in this hotel that was closed because it was 3 am but maybe we could sneak in. We ascended in the elevator in 2 groups, stealthily changing lifts on the 17th floor. When we arrived at the top, we ducked under some ropes and turned the corner into a completely dark floor with floor to ceiling windows that had a spectacular 360 degree view of Bangkok. It was breathtaking. We circled the space, checking out the lights and life in the city. It’s too bad we couldn’t take any good pictures from there. We had about 20 minutes to enjoy the view before we were escorted out of the hotel by security. It was worth the trouble.