back in Ranong

I'm back in town, from the tropical island of Ko Phayam. I ran into the same minor problem as the last time, in which I couldn't take a boat directly from one island to the other, as I also wanted to visit the island of Ko Chang, right next door (which is a little coincidental since the other island I'd wanted to visit back in November, from Ko Kood, was also Ko Chang, but a different one). In both cases the cheapest option (other than getting a private boat) was to go back to town and then catch another direct boat out to the other island. I'd thought maybe I would do that this time, but I fly from Bangkok in only 6 days now and don't want to end up in a rush to get back there. So instead I think I'll hang out here in Ranong for an extra day, take care of assorted business, do some last minute shopping, and then start heading to Bangkok with a stop or two along the way, and probably try to get back there a couple of days early.

So, Ko Phayam was great. It's really something of an undiscovered gem in Thailand. So don't tell anybody. For one thing it was cheap. I was paying the same price for a roomy bamboo bungalow with a double bed and attached bathroom, right on the beach, as I was for my cheap room in Bangkok, which was basically a tiny storage closet with a single bed and a fan, and bathroom down the hall. But the island really had everything, beautiful beaches, good for swimming, really good snorkeling off one of them with colorful fish and coral reef, plus hiking trails to several secluded beaches. The beach that I was on was the biggest, and wasn't the most picturesque, but it had nice little waves that were great for body surfing, which I think is rare for Thailand as neither the Gulf of Thailand or the Andaman Sea make much in the way of waves. I actually saw someone surfing this morning, as I was leaving, as they were even a little bigger than usual. But I'm sure anyone from Hawaii wouldn't be too impressed.

Other than the beaches, it was a fun island for exploring in general. There are no cars on the island, only motorcycles, so all the roads look just like bike paths. I considered renting a motor scooter for the first time in a long while (I think the last time was actually in Greece, in 1990). But then the island is pretty small and I'm watching my dollars (or rather baht) so I went for the cheaper, trusty bicycle as usual, which worked fine. It only took about 45 minutes to cover the distance between the two farthest points of the island.

I ended up meeting a couple of people at one point, an American from New York City who had just turned 36 (I also turn 36 in a couple weeks), who was traveling with a Thai girl that he'd met online. I was swimming at this beach I'd just bicycled to, in front of a resort (for lack of a better term) when this guy came down from one of the huts and went into the water nearby. There was literally nobody else on the beach or in the water, although it was quite a long beach, in the middle of the afternoon. Partly that's because it's the beginning of the low season, but also that's just because this particular island isn't very well known.

So we ended up talking and then his Thai girlfriend came down to the beach with their snorkeling gear. I also had mine with me and they invited me to join them, as she had been there before and knew of some good snorkeling spots. We tried to check out the area she'd said was the best, but discovered the tide was up too high and you couldn't see down to the reef, as the water also wasn't very clear. So instead we checked out a rocky area near the shore, that wasn't bad. But then we arranged to meet up the next morning, in order to check out that other area when the water was lower. So I met them again the next day and it was great, lots of cool stuff to look at. Not quite as impressive as the best I'd seen on the Andaman Islands but close enough, much better than I'd expected, and it made it worth dragging around that snorkeling gear through India and Nepal for 3 1/2 months. Although, next time I think I'll just rent it, and have a lighter bag to carry the rest of the time.

So as mentioned above, I was interested in hopping from there over to the other island of Ko Chang, which was practically within spitting distance, and which you passed in the ferry on the way there and back. When I'd wanted to visit the other Ko Chang (near Cambodia) in the fall, the reason there wasn't a direct boat, was because the two islands were actually a good distance apart. This time, as I understand it the reason was because this Ko Chang is actually very undeveloped, so there just isn't all that much demand for people going there from neighboring islands. Apparently there is no electricity on the island, other than those few resorts that make their own electricity with generators. And not only are there no cars, there aren't even motorcycles or paved paths, just walking trails that cover the island. But from the ferry passing by it looked really beautiful, and I'd heard good things about it from some people on Ko Phayam that I talked to, so I'm definitely curious to check it out. But I guess it'll have to wait until next time. But it's good to know that there are still beautiful tropical islands in Thailand where you can hang out and relax, without a 20-story Hilton staring down at you, and where even the bamboo bungalows have just barely intruded.

I'm now back in the Asia Hotel here in Ranong, with a pretty nice room for a good price, and I admit it's nice to have enclosed walls (rather than just bamboo slats) and not be listening to the ocean all night, which kind of keeps you awake, and not be tracking sand all over the place. Tropical paradise does have its downsides, even if they're pretty minor. I'll most likely hang around here tomorrow, to catch up on computer stuff, do a little more shopping, and also just to not be in a rush in the morning to check out and catch a bus. For one thing, I haven't decided yet where I'm going from here. But there's a good chance I'll just head back to Hua Hin, stay there for a night or two and then go back to Bangkok. If I had just a few more days then I'd be tempted to go to Ko Tao, another island which I would take a ferry to from the town of Chumphon, which is on the way back. But then I'd want to stay there longer than just a day or two, so that also will have to wait until next time. Whatever happens, I'll probably be checking email again tomorrow and/or may post something else here, before I take off...