~thailand/koh_pha_ngan/water_dribbles

well... where do i start?? I suppose i should start where i left off. But first an apology for my ruthless neglect of this blog. (not many internet cafes in the jungle!)

So Koh Pha Ngan is stunning. Recommend all to go there while it is relatively undeveloped and paradisical. You know all those postcards that show palm trees, deserted white sand beaches and sunsets to die for.... well that is exactly what this place is like. Although at times a picture just cannot do it justice. I would have happily stayed on Koh Pha Ngan for the rest of yholiday. Although, having said that, i could say the same about every place i have stayed. Just so much to see and do in South East Asia.

After Tory arrived, we spent a few days exploring the island by motorbike on the unbelievably bad roads (huge elephant sized holes everywhere). We checked out two waterfalls. The first looked rather unimpressive. It hadnt rained for 4 days, so it consisted of a trickle of water meandering its way down some big rocks. No better a flow, and slightly less awe inspiring, than if you had turned on the tap in the sink at home. In fact, there was a suspicious looking blue pipe, poorly hidden under the dirt, which ran from the bottom of the water fall to the top. Hmmmmm... call it women's intuition, but i sensed something was not right. There was no one there, and we were scared because upon arrival there looked like there could have been an entrance fee aswell. But luckily the only person around was a very old chap, reading a paper in the 38 degree heat, waiting for death.

The next water fall was equally spectacular, but did allow us to climb up it in bare feet. It was quite steep and probably more dangerous that we made it look, judging by the two-left-footed german couple who thought it was a good idea to follow us up, and instead slipped and fell constantly. Tory and i should possibly have helped, but instead we just laughed. Are we bad people? At the top of the fall, we bathed our feet in the remarkably cool and crystal clear water. We gazed out accross the palm tree lined hills, and into the ocean in the distance. Dreamy.

After meeting up with Aloy and Martine (many many times on the island by chance), and hearing of their tales of the jungle in Khao Sok, we decided we would leave Koh Pha Ngan (i had been there for 8 days already) and head for the park.

Interesting point about the Thai men on Koh Pha Ngan. I stayed in a lovely bungalow resort on the beach, ran by a group of young, friendly, good-looking Thai men. Great fun, but couldnt cook to save their lives, but could manage a banana shake when the need arised. In 4 days that i was there alone, they hardly said a word to me. I sat in the bamboo restaurant day after day reading and watching the sea etc etc, and i got no attention. The second Tory arrived, the very second!, they were all over us. Suddenly they wanted to talk to me... Again, women's intuition, but i suspect they were not talking to me for the interesting, riveting and sometimes comical conversation, they were more interested in Tory.