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On arrival to Koh Lanta it was hard to negotiate with the locals for a lift and I had no idea where I was heading. Hoping for a backpackers area like on Koh Chang, a driver massively over charged me but dropped me off at least at a cheap hotel where I quickly found an internet café to call father for his birthday. I overheard an Englishman booking a tour at the time and after a quick chat booked myself to join him. Later that evening I met a really lovely German couple who I joined for dinner and games before making it to bed early.
Our tour took us on a trek through the jungle, half on foot and half by elephant. It was a real pleasure to meet such gentle giants but I couldn't help but think about how they are treated and whether they are happy. We had no idea of their background as the locals could not speak English well enough but we enjoyed the day, and were lucky enough to be the only people on the tour to ride directly on top of the elephants neck/head. The weather hadn't been great and the afternoon and evening was spent together, trying to figure out where would be good to travel to next. After much deliberation, back and forth we decided to take a snorkeling tour and jump off at one of the islands along the route. This option, not mentioned in the brochures, was much cheaper and turned out to be a great choice.
The tour took us to a famous cave which you swim through in order to get into a secret bay/hole in the rocks. This bay has a beach and is the closet thing to the movie's beach I have found, it was just a shame it was full of tourists. They were mainly Asian/Japanese and its funny to see but you will notice the majority of Asian (I'm not sure exactly which country they come from) tourists cannot swim. I had this pointed out to me whilst scuba diving, but they have no fear as they jump in with a life jacket. Our route through was a bit scary as it is pitch black at some points, but I had confidence in my leader who was a ex German army expedition guide. After a wrong turn which lead us directly towards the end of the cave where the waves were crashing against, some of our group freaked out in the dark and swam out, only to come through later with a larger group who were lead by a local. We were only three at this point and it has been one of the most exhilarating things I have done in a long time. It is simply pitch black at some points and you are swimming through a narrow cave with the sound of large powerful waves crashing into the walls inside.
After our adventure we landed on the Koh Mook (Koh Muk) and trekked through the island in search of a lonely planet guide hostel that recommended its cheap accommodation. Upon arrival we met a rather eccentric but friendly Swedish guy who offered us coffee (on the house) whilst we waited for his wife to find us a room/tent. We were offered a tent, even though they were not open to the public yet and the price was right. We dumped our gear and went for lunch but became more and more disappointed as the island wasn't close to the paradise we had been told of and the loudmusic in the restaurant on the beach ruined the atmosphere. We were ready to leave within a couple of hours, however we popped into the hostel before making our way to the village where our Swedish host gave us a whole bunch of useful tips. We enjoyed walking around a real Thai village but were disgusted by the rubbish and standard of living. That evening we joined in a home cooked family meal with the owner and enjoyed good conversation and friendly people from all parts of the world.
The following morning we had agreed to leave at 6 am but after 10 minutes of being awake I soon realised I simply wanted to chill out before leaving Thailand and didn't want to spend the last two weeks chasing paradise around the south of Thailand. That would have been expensive and tiring, and after two months I am quickly becoming a weary traveler, in need of western comforts (a warm bath), and rest from the hustle and bustle that is traveling through a foreign country. As I had my first lye in, in a week of hardcore, action packed traveling I realised I could save myself a bit of money in order to save for another trip potentially, and offered to help Alex (the owner) paint and decorate the place in order to help him open the place in time for the high season. He appreciated my offer and we agreed two days work in return for bed and food. Three days later and I had painted the floor in the restaurant, and the toilet/shower block, but I was left feeling frustrated that I wasn't able to help more. He has a rather large project on his hands and with little experience in either running a place or rebuilding one I feel his challenge will be an up hill one. Funnily enough, he was also full every night and we continued to enjoy the family meals with all of the guests. Each night different people offered to cook different dishes from their home country and we all enjoyed the alternative approach to running a hostel…. it became known as "Mookies home stay" which "isn't open yet" but may never well be! I really enjoyed spending time with Alex, his eccentric approach to life had me in stitches and we enjoyed each others company, he even offered me a permanent job behind the bar which I kindly declined, the mess and disorganization around the place would drive me crazy!
I decided to leave after 5 days and four nights, which cost me 10 pounds in total, and make my way to Ton Sai which I had heard was great for Rock climbing. I also enjoyed playing football with the locals on the beach, however forgetting to stretch out was a big mistake. Thanks to Alex, I enjoyed my time helping him, and a little routine was nice. Waking up at 9am, work till 3pm, chill out on the beach till 7pm and then a family dinner from 8 till midnight.
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