A Surreal Phuket — TO FALL UP

Phuket Island, West Coast Thailand

Greatest Moment: This is a tie (isn’t every post one?). We spent one full day island hopping the Similian Islands. These are remote and untouched, primarily because no one is allowed to disrupt their turtle reserves. This inevitably leaves white stretches of beach and its turquoise waters undisturbed by waste and neglect. One Island we could stand on, and we had to pinch ourselves to remind us it was real. We walked through the jutting rocks that lined the shore and swam in the ravines that passed through them. Snorkeling filled the rest of the day, and we saw Nemo and the rest of the colorful cast! Under the sea, truly was teeming with fish we have never before seen and corals that looked like fissures in the brain. You hear of a world being under water, but do you really understand it? The world is so big, so full of life and beauty, that you can paddle in place, and if you don’t submerge yourself you will never know what surrounds you.

The next day was almost Similian Island’s equal. We took a boat through Phang Nga Bay, weaving through the giant limestone formations. The uneven edges of the many rock islands gave way to stalactites, while many ledges held skinny trees and skimpy bushes. The appearance of them demanded a sort of respect for their elegance and simplicity, and you passed them in silence and in disbelief. We visited the island where “The Man with the Golden Gun” was filmed, and afterwards canoed Hong Island and caves. This place was a fairytale in its emerald lagoon and rocky encasement. At Panak island we canoed through the dark cave filled with bats and stalagmites that looked like ice cream cones. By headlamp, we were the first to enter this cave, and the headlamp reflected off the rocks into the water making it seem as though we were floating. Monkeys were chasing us into the cave, jumping to get onto the boats. One landed on one as we exited the cave! If our day couldn’t get better, we had an extra 30 minutes before going back inland, so we got to jump off the boat and swim along the base if we wanted to. We floated and starred at the cliffs that were above us. It is a moment we will never forget.

Worst Moment: The transportation here is soooooo funny, and almost impossible to document (though we have tried to set up the video recorder). Eight hour travel days easily turn into twelve hour days. We are placed in a broken down bus that drops us off at the side of the road. We pay to use a squatter toilet without toilet paper. What happens next differs each time, but on our way to Phuket was the funniest. They put us in the back of a pickup truck, and we sat on our bags as the wind whipped passed us. The truck dropped us off at a small office by a small pond. There we sat for two hours until the minibus from Hell came to pick us up. Whether the minibus itself had no suspension system or the driver was literally a maniac, if you did not have a seatbelt on, your body left your seat several times. We have become used to the travel here not to marvel at it too much anymore!

Lesson Learned: What are we doing over here? To our faithful friends and family back home, what do you think we are doing here? When we are on beaches, we could answer that question “we are on vacation”. Because we have little to do but look out toward the horizon and enjoy its simple pleasures. But in all reality, this is not a vacation. We are living life just as the person who goes to work for eight hours or sits to devise their upcoming business plan. We work, we spend, we nurture ourselves equally. Our days are understanding the cultural language of new lands, the roads that wind us guide us to daily discoveries, and we buy our spices to nurture our body and experience. We are constantly planning, moving, and learning. While a world away, we are living life just as you did, not escaping any qualities of our daily obligations nor avoiding that which creates a future. We are pursuing a purpose and our dreams. When we return to working fixed hours and are no longer on foreign shores, our pursuits will not change.

Cultural Insight: On our way to Phang Nga Bay, we saw ginormous jelly fish. Jamie saw them first, and she pointed out the shallow swimming jellies that were a pale, translucent pink. They were huge, and their tentacles curled in a cluster ball beneath them. We have no idea what type or species these fish were, however the guide informed us that there are many types of jelly fish for many desired effects. Some are poisonous, some delicious, some great for medicinary purposes. He pointed to the long-tail boats where men were standing with nets. To our surprise, they were netting the jelly fish out of the water and plopping them into the boat. It was so sad to see honestly, but the guide told us that they are allowed only to fish for 1 month. Each jelly fish went for about 8 baht, and if they sold it to Malaysia they made very good money. Poor fishies.