We've been on the laid back island of Kho Lanta for a few days now. Everything is slow here, the people are friendly and the warm water is refreshing. Sunset is the best part of the day, we have a 180% view of the breathtaking golden colors in the sky and the peaceful coastline.
We've explored most of the island on motorbikes. It's a great way of discovering the places we visit. We only paid 250 Baht per day. Johnny ended up with a really old bike so it's been pretty hilarious trying to repair minor problems. Yesterday we ran out of gas 3 times. They only hold 2 liters at a time and there are very steep hills that eat it up quickly. Luckily almost every shop has a barrel of gas. Muslim women fill up our tank with a hand pumped barrel of gas. Somehow he also managed to loose the ignition key to Johnny's bike while driving! All of the sudden the engine puttered to a stop before he realized it. We were a good 10 miles outside of the village but luckily a local women saw us and came up the dirt road to help. Eventually we got it started. We never found the key so we had to rig the ignition switch.
We headed to the south east part of the island and had lunch at a very nice lookout point. We continued on until we found a sea gypsy fishing village at the end of the island where all of the houses are on stilts.
We rented the motorbikes on Long Beach and are now staying further down the island. We left our bags at the first place so we could look for another bungalow. We eventually found a quant guesthouse right on the beach but were then faced with getting our bags from our first place. Luckily the owner here had a Tuk Tuk that we could borrow. That was interesting!!! I was very happy to have my feet on the ground after that trip! They are very difficult to drive apparently but Johnny did a great job. The Tuk Tuk was also a manual which took some getting used to. We some curious glances from all of the locals as we sputtered by at 20 miles an hour, laughing so much that our checks hurt.
The next morning we woke up early and stopped in a coffee shop for "real coffee" and a homemade coconut pie. The owner's name was Ya. We asked him where some good places to go exploring were and he told us that we could take the small road behind his shop to a cave and mountain, and he offered to lead us up the winding path. We stopped at this home which happened to be on the way so we could see how he lived. An entire room was dedicated to his shrine. He explained his shrine and Buddhas that he prays to. It was very touching. Ya enlightened us on meditation and the importance of the body's balance with Earth and the gods. We were invited to pray. Ya told us of the proper way to sit while praying.. keep your head high to the gods, quiet your mind... Ya had a very meger home but it was filled high with love and apperciation of natural beauty. I remember the bright sunlight shinning through the big cracks in the wooden floor. He also taught us about his rubber trees. The trees have a bucket at the bottom and the rubber sap drips in. When it is full, he can take it market to see for a decent amount of money. He must tend to them every day. There was a creek that ran next to his home and he was widening it to change the flow of the water to it wouldn't flood.
After that, we followed the curve to the right on a small dirt road through a rubber tree plantation and stumbled upon Tiger Cave. We didn't see any tigers but there were elephants!!! The island is mostly jungle with steep mountains. After the cave we stopped at the corner shop for another liter of gas and drinking water. The kids had a pet monkey and we were able to touch his palm and feel his fur! Next we continued southeast and rode into the National Park. We saw monkeys in the wild here!! They we sitting right by the road and we were only about 5 feet away from them. The coast line was stunning and we swam in the warm water during sunset.
That night Alex and I rode into town and had a nice meal by ourselves. We spent Saturday and today relaxing on the beach reading books. Can't complain! In the evenings we play Yahtzee and Jenga under the stars.
I think we may travel to Tonsai tomorrow. Johnny says that he will join us for a few more days, but will be getting back to Bangkok soon. It'll be nice to have some one on one time with Alex although we have really enjoyed having Johnny around.
One evening we heard classic rock playing at a beach bar nearby. It was late and all of the restaurants were already closed. The waiter said that he could make us "something easy" for dinner. We still aren't sure what we were given, but we ate every bite. The bar tender caught our attention becuase he was stabbing the bar with a huge knife. Johnny volunteered to spread out his fingers on the bar. The bar tender stabbed the knife quickly around Johnny's fingers in a pattern. I thought that was enough, but just then he went to the back and brought out an axe and does the same thing! Just when were thought we had seen everything, the bar tender goes behind the bar again and pulls out a power drill!! We do have pictures to document Johnny's bravery. He was offered a shot of something in a clear bottle as a reward, which turned out to be Money Brains!! There was another bottle on the top shelf with monkey sperm and a thrid with cobra whiskey. Don't want to know what you have to do to get a swig of that! lol
