(Lisa's foray into the islands in southwest Thailand)
On the night ferry, I'm next to a seasick girl from New Orleans (which does not bode well for our journey- it's a rough night) and a young woman from Clonakilty, Ireland. We are both impressed by this, since "Clon" is the next town over from Timoleague where Chris' mom grew up and where many of his relatives still live. She says she's usually lucky to find people who've even heard of Cork County!
After tossing & turning on the waves for several hours, I decide I've had enough of my tiny floor mat and head to the back deck of the boat to enjoy the dawn views. We seem to be in a channel which has stilted houses dotted on both shores, ranging from simple shacks to extravagant mansions. The accompanying vehicles (boats, of course) match the style of house- rowboats or rafts vs. luxurious speedboats!
We arrive without further ado, and are partitioned into groups according to our final destination. I am alone in a minivan for a short while, then transferred to a bus for the journey from Surat Thani to Krabi. After a few hours (? I'm asleep!) we arrive at a "bus station" (a glorified term for a shack in the forest). I go to the ticket desk and exchange my travel voucher for a sticker (I will "collect them all" by the end of today - I think this is my 3rd!) and a new voucher for my onward travel. Those who are staying more locally but haven't arranged accommodation yet are pestered - with permission from the bus station, it seems - by a particular resort, who eventually wins them all over and herds them into some minivans for a transfer. Now I'm the only one there, and the staff take the opportunity to have some breakfast. I'm not feeling great after the choppy, sleepless boat trip so I breakfast on some crab & chili potato chips - the plainest flavour I can find!
Finally a vehicle shows up to take me into Krabi town proper. It's not a long journey which is great because I'm wishing I had a portable toilet. I am dropped at a tour office where I obtain yet another sticker for my journey to Ko Lanta on the car ferries (no pedestrian ferries at this time of year). The guy tells me that I won't be travelling for at least 90 minutes, so I head out in search of internet & a better breakfast...oh, and a bathroom of course!
Unfortunately it's still only about 8am and Krabi doesn't seem to be an early-morning sort of town, but eventually I find a small hotel with a cafe and free internet. The bathroom is a scary place, damp and with a huge resident cockroach, but at this point I can't be fussy - I'm starting to wonder if I've managed to catch Chris' bacterial baddie. Thai squat toilets are not my favourite sight today. I use my allotted 45 minutes of free internet time to update my Facebook page, check emails, and write a bit of blog; then force myself to eat some fruit & muesli in a bid to feel normal. By now, it's time to head back to the tour office, where I wait for another 45 minutes or so until they finally decide to wedge me into a minivan with some other stray travellers. I can't wait to get there, it feels like I've been travelling forever!
Two car ferries later, we are on the south island of Ko Lanta and the minivan driver starts dropping people at their various accommodations. Too bad he doesn't know where mine is (and neither do I!) so I'm the last one in the vehicle. He tries to take me to the animal shelter, but I know enough to realise that my cabin resort is not nearby, so we stop into the tour company office to get some directions to the resort. It's down a tiny access road to the beach, and the minivan promptly gets stuck in the mud (there was a huge storm on the island recently, so the ground is still boggy). The driver very sweetly carries my bag the rest of the way to the resort and ensures that I'm settled in, before returning to resolve the issue of his trapped vehicle!
I'm soooooo pleased to finally be at Time for Lime - by now, it's 3pm so I've been travelling for almost 19 hours and I'm still feeling lousy. I have a nap in my cute cabin (a twin, which I've offered to share with another volunteer if necessary, but for now I'm on my own) and then head up to the beachside restaurant in search of food. There's no way I'm up to eating spicy Thai tonight, so I have some plain rice and a Sprite while I chat to the British girl who took today's cooking class & a Swiss/Austrian couple sitting nearby. Everyone's food looks amazing and I can't wait to feel better so I can enjoy it (the Austrian fellow does donate some pumpkin to me, since his dinner is too big ;-) )! And the moon on the sea is gorgeous - I know I've made a great choice in coming here.
Mai, the resort & cooking school manager, tells me that Junie (the owner) has dropped in & is meeting with the other volunteers who are based at Time for Lime. It's about time I met everyone, so I bid goodbye to my dinner companions and head back up the path to the cabins. I find a small group sitting on one of the porches drinking beer - must be the other volunteers ;-) We have a quick chat about what needs to be done; my role is to be a "handyperson" along with Karl (from New Zealand), and Michelle (Shelley - from Tasmania) and Elo (from Brazil) will take care of our 9 dogs and 13 cats. The main shelter has a lot more animals, but for now there are enough volunteers there, so we're going to try to get a few odd jobs done while there's an opportunity - better in the "green" (quiet) season when there are no guests in the cabins. Instructions received, I head off to bed for an early night, hoping to feel more like myself when I wake up.
On the night ferry, I'm next to a seasick girl from New Orleans (which does not bode well for our journey- it's a rough night) and a young woman from Clonakilty, Ireland. We are both impressed by this, since "Clon" is the next town over from Timoleague where Chris' mom grew up and where many of his relatives still live. She says she's usually lucky to find people who've even heard of Cork County!
After tossing & turning on the waves for several hours, I decide I've had enough of my tiny floor mat and head to the back deck of the boat to enjoy the dawn views. We seem to be in a channel which has stilted houses dotted on both shores, ranging from simple shacks to extravagant mansions. The accompanying vehicles (boats, of course) match the style of house- rowboats or rafts vs. luxurious speedboats!
We arrive without further ado, and are partitioned into groups according to our final destination. I am alone in a minivan for a short while, then transferred to a bus for the journey from Surat Thani to Krabi. After a few hours (? I'm asleep!) we arrive at a "bus station" (a glorified term for a shack in the forest). I go to the ticket desk and exchange my travel voucher for a sticker (I will "collect them all" by the end of today - I think this is my 3rd!) and a new voucher for my onward travel. Those who are staying more locally but haven't arranged accommodation yet are pestered - with permission from the bus station, it seems - by a particular resort, who eventually wins them all over and herds them into some minivans for a transfer. Now I'm the only one there, and the staff take the opportunity to have some breakfast. I'm not feeling great after the choppy, sleepless boat trip so I breakfast on some crab & chili potato chips - the plainest flavour I can find!
Finally a vehicle shows up to take me into Krabi town proper. It's not a long journey which is great because I'm wishing I had a portable toilet. I am dropped at a tour office where I obtain yet another sticker for my journey to Ko Lanta on the car ferries (no pedestrian ferries at this time of year). The guy tells me that I won't be travelling for at least 90 minutes, so I head out in search of internet & a better breakfast...oh, and a bathroom of course!
Unfortunately it's still only about 8am and Krabi doesn't seem to be an early-morning sort of town, but eventually I find a small hotel with a cafe and free internet. The bathroom is a scary place, damp and with a huge resident cockroach, but at this point I can't be fussy - I'm starting to wonder if I've managed to catch Chris' bacterial baddie. Thai squat toilets are not my favourite sight today. I use my allotted 45 minutes of free internet time to update my Facebook page, check emails, and write a bit of blog; then force myself to eat some fruit & muesli in a bid to feel normal. By now, it's time to head back to the tour office, where I wait for another 45 minutes or so until they finally decide to wedge me into a minivan with some other stray travellers. I can't wait to get there, it feels like I've been travelling forever!
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| Time for Lime cabin - inside |
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| ..and outside |
I'm soooooo pleased to finally be at Time for Lime - by now, it's 3pm so I've been travelling for almost 19 hours and I'm still feeling lousy. I have a nap in my cute cabin (a twin, which I've offered to share with another volunteer if necessary, but for now I'm on my own) and then head up to the beachside restaurant in search of food. There's no way I'm up to eating spicy Thai tonight, so I have some plain rice and a Sprite while I chat to the British girl who took today's cooking class & a Swiss/Austrian couple sitting nearby. Everyone's food looks amazing and I can't wait to feel better so I can enjoy it (the Austrian fellow does donate some pumpkin to me, since his dinner is too big ;-) )! And the moon on the sea is gorgeous - I know I've made a great choice in coming here.
Mai, the resort & cooking school manager, tells me that Junie (the owner) has dropped in & is meeting with the other volunteers who are based at Time for Lime. It's about time I met everyone, so I bid goodbye to my dinner companions and head back up the path to the cabins. I find a small group sitting on one of the porches drinking beer - must be the other volunteers ;-) We have a quick chat about what needs to be done; my role is to be a "handyperson" along with Karl (from New Zealand), and Michelle (Shelley - from Tasmania) and Elo (from Brazil) will take care of our 9 dogs and 13 cats. The main shelter has a lot more animals, but for now there are enough volunteers there, so we're going to try to get a few odd jobs done while there's an opportunity - better in the "green" (quiet) season when there are no guests in the cabins. Instructions received, I head off to bed for an early night, hoping to feel more like myself when I wake up.
...welcoming committee...
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| Pixie |
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| I called her "Lady Marmalade" |
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| Ginger...who looks like Puss in Boots from Shrek! |
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