Today my parents had the bright idea that we try to walk over an island with no reliable roads, trails or maps. I think we only managed to get down because we met a helpful Thai couple who spoke English and pointed us in the right direction.
In the middle of the hike, we managed to get completely stranded in the middle of somebody's back yard. This isn't a manicured green lawn, but a mass of boulders, blue irrigation tanks, jungle with no visible property definition. We walked up the main road from Tanote bay to the reservoir, then we took a road up to the top of the highest peak on this end of the island. From there, we started to go down, and the road turned into a lovely jungle path, which turned into a trail, which turned into an indistinct line through the vegetation. And then it ended. We bushwacked for a little bit, then went back to where it was still kind of a path. We started going through this little collection of huts hoping to find someone. At the beginning there was a puppy that looked exactly like our dive instructor's puppy Barker, probably from the same litter. The dog didn't seem to get the message that we didn't want it to bite our feet. Of course, there were no people.
Dad lead the way through these homes, and we came out near a few others. These homes were traditional bamboo huts, with no power or water to them. Mom was a little alarmed when she realized that the pigs were not all fenced in, but they only grunted at us. Then we found another collection of homes, and called out, in our best Thai, sa wa di kap, which, if you get the tones right, means Hello. (If you get the tones wrong, it probably means your mother is a beer keg or something like that.) Some one answered, and it turned out to be this very nice couple who spoke enough english to point us in the right direction. The woman actually walked us a ways into the jungle to help us find the path again.
It was still hard going to slide our way down the rocky path (how do the locals do this in their flip flops?), but we eventually got out. And immediately found water to drink and then got lunch.
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Mom here...what can I say, two different maps, plus two people told us that you could walk from Tanote Bay to Sairee beach over the top of the island, saving the 600 baht taxi fare and getting some spectacular views along the way. Obviously, none of these folks had actually made this trek, because the people who live on the top of the peak told us the road/trail no longer exists.
ReplyDeleteWe did have a great adventure, got some exercise, and justified our huge lunch when we got here. And we saw some gorgeous butterflies, wild banana trees, traditional housing (as opposed to the modern/touristy stuff) and mostly enjoyed ourselves.
Remember the story about papa bear taking the boyscouts on a hike? Hmmm. Congratulations on the dive certifications - what an achievment! Keep the pictures coming, too, terrific! D & D
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