Whither The Wind?
Where did I leave off?
Was I in Khao Sok Park trying, to no
avail, to reach the lake? Let's assume that was it.
I never did get to the lake. I went defeated to Khao Lak, a lovely resort town whose main claim to fame is diving excursions to the Similan Islands. Reputed to be about as good as diving can possibly get. I heard tales of 16 dive boats simultaneously on the same site on the Similans. I signed up for a dive trip to the Surins instead. I saw Burma. Mind you, it was from a boat, but I did see Burma. The Surins are the last Islands on the North part of Thailand's west coast before the Burma border. I hate to overuse the word, but diving here was brilliant. We dove on unimaginably rich coral reefs, great underwater boulder fields, sloping rock shelves, and always had the place to ourselves. I can't speak of hundreds of fish. I can only speak of hundreds of species of fish. The individuals must have numbered in the bazillions.
On an afternoon off from diving I
grabbed one of the onboard kayaks and paddled alone around to an isolated
Chaoy Ley village
.
Sea gypsies - ancient, traditional, isolated, primitive by
our standards, and spectacular of culture. From one angle it looks like
complete poverty. From another, the idyllic life in paradise. I suspect the
reality is more pragmatic than either of these. But I do know from reading
that these people are driven much more by the spirit world than the physical.
They have next to nothing, and fiercely confirm their lack of attachment to
the material world through rituals, politics and daily decisions.
After the Surins, we dove on Richileu
Rock. Now this one did have a few other dive boats on it. No wonder. It's in
the middle of nowhere - just a drying rock miles in every direction from other
land. But underwater it's this amazing structure of towers, overhangs,
canyons, and life like you wouldn't believe. I knew it was going to be a
good dive when we descended to thirty meters and immediately below me was a
grouper
of about a hundred pounds, looking at me suspiciously. And I at him.
You could dive that rock a hundred times without seeing it all or getting bored.
Before the dive trip I figured I would defeat the Khao Sok lake by signing up for a guided tour to it. I did, I paid my money, and I scheduled it for the day after my return from the dive boat. When I got back and checked in they said "Sorry. No tour. We give money back." I cannot for the life of me get to that lake.
I am now drifting south on the winds of visa expiration. I have to be out of Thailand by the 14th and am working my way through the southern towns destined for Malaysia. The Krabi area was spectacular, beautiful, peaceful and indulgent. But it is resort country. One can grow weary of the culture of brown people catering to white people. The Caucasians drink beer into the night. The locals stay up and do their laundry. It's ok, but I'm glad to be out where the towns are for the locals and us farangs (tourists) are the outsiders. I went Christmas shopping in Trang, have stopped for a day in Hat Yai, and make my way to Yala tomorrow morning. Near Trang there is a place called the Emerald Cave that I intended to visit. It is a cavern whose roof long ago collapsed. You swim into it through an 80 meter tunnel, some in total darkness, and find an open roof cavern whose walls are dripping with green vegetations. And - get this - there's a white sand beach inside. I didn't go. I had a tropical cold and ear infection after the diving trip and figured that ocean swimming would not be the best idea. By way of consolation, I did rent a motorbike and headed to the mountains east of Trang, scrambled over boulders across a crystal clear stream and headed up through the jungle to one of those spectacular waterfall pools where you can swim while being blasted by rainbow laden spray. Life does not suck.
I'm having a hard time making my next decision. I can either go to the north of Thailand (Chiang Mai) and rent a proper motorcycle on which to tour the spectacular and extensive northern bit of Thailand, or I can head over to Vietnam for a standard bus/train excursion throughout that country. Now my heart really says to take the big bike through the North. What could be better? But there are risks. 1. Insurance is meaningless. Insurance companies won't pay as they know I can't stick around to fight it. 2. All accidents, whether my fault or not, will be my fault, as I can pay and most locals can't. If someone darts in front of me I'll be immediately on the hook for thousands of dollars (or, optionally, could go straight to a lovely Thai jail). 3. There's a big racket here stealing big motorcycles. 4. I'll be in shorts and short sleeves - not great for pavement sliding. On the plus, there's nothing better than cruising past the rubber plantations, shrines, villages, etc. with the hot sun shining down. When you get to a town you can take time to check it all out on a bike before choosing a place to stay - hard on foot. And, what better in this world than to bike North Thailand? Arguing for Vietnam are the people who tell me that it is simply wonderful, and that now is the time to go before it gets touristed out like much of Thailand now.
I want to ask each recipient of this note to vote. Bike north Thailand or tour Vietnam? Yes, there are risks on choice number one, but all good things have risks and things will probably be ok. On the other hand, touring Vietnam is not such a shabby consolation prize. What do you think? (This is partly a shameless ploy to get email messages. I love finding messages in my inbox while wandering.)
And so to bed. Minibus to Yala after breakfast tomorrow. Vote soon. I have to decide before getting to Penang (for visa acquisition reasons). I'll let you know the outcome.
Cheers...
...B