Nick meets Surat Thani

(Holly) I'm back. And this time, not alone. For many reasons this post may add extra intrigue as my fiancé and I account on our adventure beyond Phuket.

(Nick) Hi there. Interesting weather this blog is having. Reminds me of that rainy day in Phuket. Actually from what I saw every day is rainy in Phuket. Fair warning. We are trying to blog together with separate post for the places we went. Not many pictures from our time in Phuket. But we found each other!

Also learned that it is possible to survive a rainstorm on a rented motorscooter while driving on the funny side of the road. Also learned that if you are trying to explore a foreign city during that rainstorm it helps to have a map and be able to read the road signs… But we made it to the bus station.

(Holly) So it happened, Sunday evening we left a rainy Phuket for a quiet, yet normal Surat Thani. The city welcomed it's new visitor in the early evening.

(Nick) Ok. Holly may say Surat Thani was normal. But for me things were anything but normal. This was place felt different from everything I had known before. Holly had the lead and I was doing my best to keep up.

(Holly) Moments after our megabus ride, we jumped a tuk tuk and set off for Ban Sai Tong, my residential area. Upon arrival I gave him some time to drop his luggage, 1 giant suitcase (large enough to hold 30-40 large gouda wheels) and a small carry-on. At the time I was unaware of its contents.

I was about to give my motorbike a shot with my first handsome passenger. Success? I think yes. I even had a helmet for the chap. First stop, Sunday night floating market near the Tapee River.

"I want to try one of those." - Nick

(Nick) Yep There’s jello in that coffee. Squishy yet satisfying. It would have been tough to finish on the back of a motorbike so I made sure that we finished it before moving on.

(Holly) The black grass jelly drink buffet. Pictured above: raisins, lychee, coconut, dates, and black grass jellies. It's an iced sweetened coconut-based milk drink.

(Nick) Didn't really feel like jet lag had thrown my schedule off that much but flipping the schedule ahead twelve hours does kind of trick some of the senses. I was up plenty early Monday morning and ready to check out Joy School in person.

I did not however have any idea how to find my normal cup of coffee. Holly’s not much for the black drink and so we set off with yogurt and oatmeal alone. Luckily the non - Holly teachers at Joy School are less caffeine averse than my dear beloved and they were quick to make a run to the corner coffee shop to fuel the tank for a hot week ahead. Or at least until they could fire up the air conditioner at 10 o’clock.

After a quiet morning in the office and an hour of helping Holly inspire the next generation of little Thai’s to learn our native tongue Holly and I hopped back on the moped ((Holly says) “It’s not a moped)) for our second trip to the river area. On the menu were several Vietnamese dishes served at a pleasant little restaurant near the river. I won’t pretend that I have the skill of describing food the way Holly does but it was tasty. Some things were crunchy. Mostly vegetables. In comparison to the US where restaurants might place bread or chips and salsa on the table right after you sit down Thai’s place large plates of fresh vegetables. Fresh cut cucumbers along with leafy Thai greens seem to be the staples. After our fresh lunch with friendly company we headed back to Joy.

I can’t really say that I ever got used to riding on the back of Holly’s bike. The physics of it worked out but I just had a feeling that I was going to throw the poor girl off balance and into a mess of wild Surat traffic just by breathing wrong. Maybe it was her SoDakie background but she handled that bike like a pro. 

Video - Night Ride through Surat

I think I threw Holly off a bit not knowing any of the ins and outs of a day in Thailand. She did after all have to explain the ins and outs of using toilet paper to me… But deciding where to go for dinner was tough. Me having no idea what the options were. And Holly overloaded with places that she wanted to take me left us struggling for a few moments occasionally. But on Monday night she guided us to Begin Bar.

(Holly) Fried fish with green mango salad (the most amazing salad, my taste buds dance every time). The salad is much more than meets the eye. You are to pour it over the fish as you eat. It's tangy and spicy with tart mango, roasted peanuts, lime juice, shallots, chilies, and a pinch of sugar.

(Holly) Tom Ka Gai - A tangy, spicy, chicken coconut soup, yum (It too makes the buds dance).

(Nick) In the US I would compare it to a high end sports bar. The food was delicious. Holly knew what to order, though they had to find someone who spoke a bit of English to figure out what we were about.

Beer was served on ice and with it’s own ice bucket. (The ice is to put in your glass… Not to cool the bottle) Being a sports bar type of place and being that the main sport in the rest of the world is football a.k.a soccer. That’s what was on the TVs around the bar. Also our waitress was OUR waitress. She stood near our table and anything we needed she got. Mostly this meant refilling our/ my glass. And I don’t think she spoke any English. I think it was the most attentive service I have ever received at a restaurant and though it was a little uncomfortable at first, it was pleasant. It also had the effect of making it feel like a very expensive restaurant. Holly paid so I’m not sure how much it actually was but it’s amazing how far a dollar goes in Thailand.

In hindsight the rest of the week flew by. The markets are simply astounding. Food everywhere. In every color. In every stage of preparation. Live and dead. And just as we were about to head off from one destination to another.

"Hey Holly, come see this." Some beautiful color over a local market near my place.

(Nick) No rain. No warning. Just looked up and there is the biggest most beautiful rainbow hanging there waiting for us. It was a double rainbow actually. Must be something about the Thai air.

Not long after we even found a park. A whole island that is a park to be exact. Although to be honest there are very few parks in Surat Thani from what Holly tells me. Though from what I saw the jungle creeps back into unmaintained or undeveloped spaces quickly in those parts.

Exercise Island was incredibly impressive though. Lots of Thais were out jogging and playing all sorts of games. Also there was a rowing regatta going on right next to us in the river! It was a different side of Surat than I had gotten to see in the last few days. 

And then we saw takrow. Sepak takrow. It’s not a game that many may ever have the skill to play but to watch it in the park was pretty awesome. Spectators for the match included two tall white farang. Two kids chasing down stray balls. An old man. And a dog. But the action was intense. Why don’t you see for yourself...

Sepak Takrow at Koh Lampu - Exercise Island

The view from Koh Lampu (Exercise Island) Bridge over the Tapee River.

(Nick) Not only did we find exciting thai sports to watch but we also found….. dragons! Yep right in the middle of Surat Thani wandering around the streets to the beat of a large and mobile set of drums. I’m thinking that drum set wouldn’t have been out of place on King Kong island. The dragon was pretty tame though. It was actually being used to raise money for the Buddist temple. They had stuffed that particular dragon with about eight working pairs of legs though. And this philanthropic behemoth had no issue going right into peoples shoppes looking for donations. Pretty cool to see.

Tamed dragons in Thailand. I knew I was safe because it was all apart of the Vegetarian fest. Other weeks one should be more wary….


A variety of vegetarian dishes. There were several shops like this set up around the river and downtown area. It was hard to choose where to go. So we picked a few dished from a couple venders, inexpensive and fun.

(Holly) Our lunch. The Chinese Vegetarian Fest had so many of the most amazing looking vegetarian dishes I have ever seen. Delicious too. Picture above: pumpkin dish, mixed vegetable and legume in a pepper sauce, fresh spring rolls with a chili lime sauce, and banana parcels for dessert.


 

The plan for Wednesday evening was to meet two of Holly’s good friends Prom and Koi for dinner. It was an event I was really looking forward to having heard so much about them already. But that’s not all that was on the agenda for the evening.

After work Holly and I collected a few things from 7-11, dropped off our laundry at the roadside laundrymat then hopped back on the motorbike. At that point Holly took us right out of town and into the hills surrounding Surat. The ride took the short side of 15 minutes. The ride up the hill was quiet and jungle-like, with a couple stray dogs to mark the middle of the road for us. The top of the hill was deserted. We got off the bike and I realized why Holly had taken us here. The whole of Surat Thani was laid out in front of us from the islands on the horizon to the lights of the city and all surrounded by the dark green jungle. Can’t even say I saw it coming.

At the lookout point for the sunset, checking out Surat in a new light. And we had the whole view all to ourselves

I kissed a girl. And I liked it.

After coming back into the city from the lookout Holly and I grabbed our laundry… I mentioned it was curbside laundry, right?

And then we headed back to her place for our date with Prom and Koi.

(Holly) Prom, Koi, Nick and I having some food at Chill Out Bar. The food, amazing as usual. Finally, we all could all hang out and have some laughs. And, a little unplanned culture shock, Nick meeting Mr. Hong Thong.

(Nick) Four feet to our left was a long pool four feet wide and twenty feet long which had a small bridge that the waitstaff used. Really cool place. Koi brought a bottle of wine for her and Holly to share. Prom and I worked our way through that bottle of Hong Thong. No lasting damage and we all did manage to make it out of there without falling into that pool I mentioned.

The end of the week was approaching fast. Thursday and Friday even had some full blown sunshine and lot fewer raindrops. I think it’s important to acknowledge the 7-11’s that were apart of everyday in Thailand. It’s the go to place to get yogurt. Or water. Or matches. Or pretty much any other random thing you might need in a day.

Friday morning was all about the excitement of making it through the week in Surat Thani. I had brought Holly a few puzzles for her students in Thailand. One of them was a massive seven foot long puzzle of a construction yard. We brought it in and lit up the world of those kids. I’m pretty sure that at one point or another the entire class was trying to jam there piece into place but for three and four year olds the kids did a great job and eventually we got the whole thing together. The real trick was getting two or three of the little boys to stop standing on it.

Nick being constructive during camp week.

We broke out of there around noon. Holly was excited….

(Holly) The last day of office work, ready for some adventure with my fiancé.
(Nick) Peace. We’re out of here. Let’s go find a jungle to play in!

I'm back.

Hello, hello, sawadee ka!

I'm still here. I can honestly say I have not forgotten about my blog. The truth is, I feel like I am transitioning. As you have heard or perhaps read, I had a visitor last month. Yep, a handsome one at that. We have so much to share. It was great, so great. In fact I have been having trouble in deciding where to dig in. I had to call for reinforcement. Nick and I are working through iPod photos, iPhone photos, camera photos, video, and several technological issues. Aside from the material aspects, I have stated into my second semester at Joy School in addition to my graduate work. It has not been easy.

Nick being here with me opened up several new doors to my cross-cultural experience. I think I'm ready to open up my level of communication and socialness a bit more. Independence has been a strengthening part of my life, but now is the time to embrace the love I get from him and all of you each day. I am feeling rather grateful, blessed, and... overly excited to bring myself closer to you all.

Here's the plan. Nick and I are working on the posts together. Our first is on its way. Nick is going to work on the final touches today. Right Nick? Yes? We can do this.

Holly's "Dear Nick" thoughts go Social

Alright, can I just be over-the-top in this post? Let it out? Ok, here it is.

Nick, I'm missing you like crazy. I cannot believe how much more I love and appreciate you. I am having an amazing journey with you that I never want to end. And thank you for carrying my backpack in the 90 degree, full sun heat, when my shoulders where about to collapse. You knew I wouldn't ever ask for help, and told me that you were going to take my bag.

"Holly, give me your bag. See it's better this way, now I'm more balanced with the two bags (one on his back and one on his chest)." 

I think I owe you.

PS - I sure am wishing you were here with me right now. I went to the Sunday Floating Market tonight, as we did our first night here. I just wanted to buy some new foods with you, take you home on my bike, and then share it with you. I will never forget how much I appreciate eating with someone. Love you.

Love all of you. Thanks for your patience and tagging along with me on this adventure. See you all in April. Next post, Surat Thani, but this time I wont be alone.

thai'ming thunder

I am interrupting the chronological sequencing of my blog. This pains me a bit as I need to catch you up on my Nick happenings. Thanks to Nick I now have a better connection to my blog, hoping I can be more timely. But, I started this post and I just couldn't leave a drafted post. So here you have it. This was my weekend almost 2 weekends ago with a fellow teacher, Mari. I believe she is one of my first traveling partners in a long time.

Mari offered me chance to take a free ride to Krabi, after I had mentioned interest in heading west for the weekend. I jumped on that. I headed to the west coast, giving the Krabi another shot. By 6:10am I was on the road with Mari, and some of her Thai acquaintances. After a smooth ride in a minibus we arrived with in a couple hours in the Ao Nang beach area. I really had no plans for the day, Mari and I decided we'd take a boat to the Ao Railay area. While she had visited numerous times in prior weeks, it was my first time in that area. The bus driver was kind enough to drop us at the pier. We grabbed our bags and headed down a long docking area towards the shore. We didn't get far. As Thai hospitality and smiles would have it, we were quickly given a motorbike side-car ride down the end of the pier. It was all sort of cute. We boarded with two of the Thai women acquaintances, as they wanted to see to it that we made it to the end of the Pier with good direction.

Longtails

Departing a Krabi pier.

Without much wait, we each paid 60 baht for our longtail to the beach, the best way to get to this particular cove on Krabi mainland.  The ride was nice, the sky was cloudy with a bit of sun and the water was fair enough to not throw water at us as we struck each oncoming wave.  We hit the beach, East Ao Railay.

 East Railay Beach, low tide.

 If I was going to pick a forest for a fairy tale..

 I'd chose a forest of these tress.

 My first JD siting in Thailand.

 My second favorite barefoot moment in Thailand.

 Loving these trees.

Finding our way around the cave bends, uncertain of what we wanted to do. The weather was cloudy with spits of rain.
"Hmm, I wonder where that trail goes"
"I think it might be a lookout point."

The up hike.

My Twin would love this!

 Am I looking up or down?

We stopped for a word scramble and I may or may not have swapped the arrows out.

We didn't find the viewpoint so we stopped here to see where we were. It was alright.

Hmm, just some rock chunks, tress and water.

I can see a JD from here.

Can you see the hidden creature?
If not, maybe you can sense all the eyes on you.

Now that's a set of legs you don't see everyday.

Art?
Lets go with 4.5-5" in diameter for the arachnid, leg to leg.

Shrek could have made some serious cotton candy with this web. Officially the largest web I have ever seen. 

THUNDER)))) Looking down into the trail as I hear the rain hitting the canopy. 

One steep up and down climb. The pictures are difficult in defining the climb.

Something about this tree that I just love. The bark felt like stone. More rain and thunder.

Look at this rock!
Natural hand and foot grips, awesome.
 I swear it resembles amusement park design in Disney World.

This is a vine, how cool.  Made me want to Indiana Jones the jungle.

 Little guy almost made it across the leaf. All tuckered out. Motivation for anyone to continue a climbing hike.

 A bit slippery with the rain. Wet clay was no match for my shoes. Everything was slippery, slimy, and gooey. I dig the Earthy ropes. Went as far as I could with the rain, almost to the lagoon. I ended the at the bottom of the climbing trail feeling good but red clay all over my legs, shorts, hands, and backpack. Several Thai's were asking what I was did.

 Caves. The fabric represents the life in all of nature.

 Cave scape

Fertility cave

 Fertility cave. This isn't a joke. It's serious, many long for the gift of a child.

  The second cave on W Railay Beach

I ran into my land lady and her husband at the West Railay beach, of all places. We talked some. She told me that she had a home nearby and that she was enjoying the weekend there with her family. Her husband came by and offered us a bag of these chips. I am not sure what they are called but they had the texture of a cheeto with a mild salty, shrimp taste.

 Looking up.

 Two climbers. Both with their own challenges. I have to say they both made it look so easy. One of the best parts of watching them was the fact that it was rainy. Given the location we all kept dry.

 In the afternoon we set back for E Railay beach so we could find out way to Tong Sai beach.

 Along the way we met some friends, hanging out near a resort area.

 The tail end of our walk.

 Our return to East Railay.

Mari insisted that I try some Thai roti. She chose banana. I chose peanut butter. I combined the two, it was like a celebration of flavor in my mouth. Cost, 50 & 60 baht each.

Crossing the cave from East Railay to Tong Sai Beach. I was a milder hike with some climbing and creative maneuvering. I would say it took 12 minutes, beach to beach.

 

Our bungalow on the right, at Mambo Bungalows.  

Included: 2 beds with mosquito nets, toilet, sink, cold shower, electricity from 6pm-6am.

The neighboring shack, I found the tree growing out of the roof unique.

I'm hungry, time for some dinner.

 som tom - green papaya salad

Dinner entertainment, monkey shot. She has a slingshot in her hand, the band constructed from maybe100 rubber bands.

Sunset on Tong Sai Beach. I spent my evening tight roping in sprinkling rain, listening to music, chilling with Mari on a patio. In the later evening a little Thai boy and girl found us. They were so cute. I hung out with the little boy, he was pretty cute and liked tight roping. He was shy at first but then started talking to me about the squid boat he could see in the distance. He only spoke Thai so I was unable to understand what he was saying. I never did see his parents.

The Sunday morning beach view

Watching some Thai men unloading bamboo from the longtail.

The hike back to East Railay to catch a longtail to Ao Nang Beach.

East Ao Railay in the morning. 



We hopped on a longtail. Within 30 seconds of stepping out of the boat was my experience in crazy rain. Crazy rain. We ran quick to a small landing where some Thai longtail boat drivers where. The rain was so strong it was coming in the sides and the wind picked up. It was rather cold, but made for a good experience. The men knew some English so I we did some small talking.

I snuck out for a rain shot, when it slowed some.

The rain never stopped.

But hunger called, so we set out for some food. We went for some street Thai. I chose cashew chicken, 50 baht.

Mari chose green curry.

A good dish in some cool, wet weather. We ate our lunch amidst the rain and then did some window shopping in the Ao Nang area. It appeared the rain wasn't going anywhere so we decided we'd call it a weekend and make it back to Surat at a decent time.

This is the view on the songtow ride back from Ao Nang Beach. The air was cool, the fog was thick in the upper limits, and the trees were as green as they will ever be. Beautiful.

See ya soon, hopefully with some Nick happenings. This week I am not in school but I have office hours to fill before I start my two weeks of holiday. I am getting anxious for some adventure. But just to let you know, the posts may not be consistent as I don't think we will have consistent wifi.