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In chronological order:

Bangkok 1  -  Pictures of Bangkok   

Ko Samui  -  Pictures of Ko Samui

Ang Thong Marine Park  -  Pictures of Ang Thong                 

Ko Taen 1  -  Pictures of Ko Taen   

Ko Taen 2                                   

Chiang Mai  -  Pictures of Chiang Mai

Loy Krathong  -  Pictures of Loy Krathong

Bangkok 2                                   

Saturday 27th October 2001

Robs - 

KO TAEN is a tiny island about 1 mile of Ko Samui. In true "The Beach" style we were given the address and location on a piece of paper as we were leaving Bangkok by two Aussie girls who took over one of our rooms. 

It is only mentioned in one tiny paragraph in one of our four guidebooks - no-one on Ko Samui knew much about it and it was never mentioned in the tourist agencies. It has no ferries, no electricity, no roads and no cars. There are only 18 bungalows on the whole island, which is about 3km by 1km. To get there we had get a taxi to a tiny fishing village and hire a long-tail boat across ( I got SOAKED). We stayed in Coral Beach Bungalows, right on the beach, and were the only tourists on the whole island. Myself, Cobbs and Pablo went on ahead a day before the others because they were diving off Ko Samui. 

Ko Taen is a natural paradise. The owners of the land are making a deliberate effort to keep out the clamouring hordes, protecting the wildlife. And what wildlife. The first thing we noticed as we drank our first beer was hundred of dark sand crabs edging out of the surf, eyes on stalks, huge white claws passing grains of sand to tiny mouths over and over again. They would fight for little holes in the sand, and when we walked onto the beach to get a closer look, all SHOT OFF into the sea to hide. 

At the same time, we were being watched from the next table by two cheeky MYNA birds, behaving like cheeky starlings but with blue bodies, white wings, yellow eye streaks and the most deep sweet chattering calls, all sorts of different sounds spilling out. 

Every night about 6pm, the skies fill with the strangest sight - fruit bats, heading from their daytime roosts to feed on the trees of Ko Samui. Bats like you never saw - not flittering around like our little things, but flying in a determined straight line, thousand upon thousand upon thousand, high up, with slow slow languorous wingbeats like giant Gothic vultures. You could see fat round bodies, and when they flew across the moon (!) you could see through their thin wings. It was totally compelling, and we stood staring at the sky until our necks were sore. They return in the morning to Ko Taen, and roost high up in the rain forest. More about that later. 

We swam in the warm bay, only 20 feet from our bungalow. Late that night we sat looking out over the water at the chaos of Ko Samui and couldn't believe we had found such a true island experience so close. There is only a solar generator which provides light for a few hours each evening - nothing else. Nothing to do, and all the time in the world to do it. And an amazing location to do it in. 

That evening, we heard a LOUD deep croaking, sounding like a HUGE bird call, but in fact it was a TOKAY lizard, considered very lucky by the Thais. The landlady of the bungalows (Marcel - they were a Swiss couple) showed us the lizard next morning, high up on the kitchen wall - it looks like a gecko, but dark green with a detailed pattern of spots all over his back. Shy, but not afraid of humans. 

That day we went for a walk along the shore to the tiny Thai village nearby, along a path lined with palms WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! Coconut alert! It's gonna hit SOMEONE - where's Pablooooooo! Being seriously brained by a coconut is one of the risks living here - and what a risk. They're HUGE, if one hit you it would be Goodnight Vienna. What's more, as we walked we saw a tiny wrinkled old man looking up, making strange calls and holding a piece of rope which stretched up into a palm from which coconuts were WHACKING down onto the beach every few seconds. What's he doing? The coconuts stopped falling and we looked up - to see a little MONKEY staring at us. He was trained to get the coconuts (monkey training schools are all over the place). And he stopped when he saw us, and stared at us until we walked away. I think he saw competition - do I really walk THAT funny? 

I'll write more tomorrow, about the rest of the group arriving and the next day's adventures on Ko Taen. Every day something amazing happens. Right now me, Cobbs and Pablo (advanced guard again) are at Bangkok airport waiting for a standby flight to Chiang Mai. We want to chill there for a few days before we go trekking; the others want to stay by the sea. It's also the best place to buy PRESSIES! 

Robs, please send these to my family too, I'm only sending them to you. Hope you had a good time on Friday, sounds like you did :) 'Spect your head is sore now, sorry I'm not there to get you crisps peanuts and ice-cream. Did you get to see Groove Armada? 

How is Pebble? Is he all OVER you like a rash? He was like that to me when you were away. 

We sent your love to everybody. Will write again hopefully tomorrow, lots more to tell. 

JP xx