Since we were kind of stuck on the island with no where to go and no way of getting there, Alison, Cat and I decided to go on the street, walk toward the nearest town and see if we could find a tuk tuk or someone who would be able to take us around the island cheap for the day.
Across the street, we saw a man in a skirt trying to hail a tuk tuk. The tuk tuk stopped and some words were exchanged. I don't know what they said, but the tuk tuk started going again and the man in the skirt started yelling and then looking franticly through the trash, picking out a large beer bottle and waving it at the tuk tuk driver. The tuk tuk driver had stopped by this point, and got out, starting to walk toward the man. Just as he did, the man in the skirt turned to us and threatened to chuck it at us with this creepy smirk on his face. We bolted, and the tuk tuk driver ran over to the guy and grabbed the bottle out of his hand and shoved him toward the house.
We were a bit skeptical to keep going after that, but we really wanted to make the most out of being sent to this island, so we did. Before long, a taxi truck drove up to us and asked if we needed a ride anywhere. The driver looked like he was about 16 years old. We told him our plan and were finally able to get him down to a reasonable price for him to take us to the best parts of the island for the entire day.
We heard that long beach was one of the best beaches on the island, so we headed there first, only to find an abandoned beach chuck full of trash and little crabs.
After that, we headed to the pier and main part of the town. It was a ghost tourist town. Since its apparently slow season, most of the tourist shops were closed down and being worked on. The majority of the people in the town were construction workers.
The next beach that we went to was not quite was trashy as long beach, but still pretty dirty and just as abandoned.
I found a coconut on the beach and tried to smash it open with a rock, but it didn't work. I really wanted to open it, so I brought it back to our driver to see if he had a machete or something to open it up with. He didn't, but he went into a little gas station across the street, and they gave one to him. He cracked it open for us, we drank the milk and then he cut some meat off for us. The rest, we wanted to save for later when we got back.
Our little driver was so cool. He brought us to some high points where we got a really good view and through little Thai villages.
I don't think there is a driving age here. At one point, there was a motorbike behind us with 4 little boys packed on. I don't think they could have been much older than 10. They were grinning at us and waving the whole time. I love it how happy everyone seems to be here.
Our last stop was at the national park. Once again, since its low season, it s practically deserted except for a few monkeys. There was one munching in something. I was watching it for a bit, and as I was leaving, my natural instinct was to wave at it. So I did. Bad idea. As soon as I did, the monkey let out a loud hiss, flashed his vicious teeth at me and started running toward me. I didn't wait long enough to see what he was gonna do. I was out of there. I don't think I like monkeys anymore. They're scary.
The best beach that we found on the island was in the national park, so we stopped for a quick swim. We were the only ones on the beach except for a Thai family having a little picnic, but we didn't trust the monkeys, so we had to take turns swimming.
At the end of the beach, we saw a light house with a view point, so we decided to go check it out. On our way up there, we passed a group of waving, teenage, Thai boys. We went up, took a few photos and went back down. A we were coming back down, the boys were going up.
They swarmed us with cameras, iPhones and blackberries, taking photos of and with us. They were literally lined up and taking turns being in photos with us. Our 5 minuets of fame.
After our little photo session, we went back to find our drive sleeping inn the back of the truck on a hammock and a monkey happily eating our cocoanut. The monkeys had also bitten a hole in my water, but didn't take it.
No comments:
Post a Comment