Surly They Won't Make It

14/2/24

We woke up at 6am. Just before sunrise. We’d decided that we had to start getting a jump on the days here. It was much cooler and quieter early on. After a quick coffee we headed out. Our plan was to visit the well known Shark Point, when no one else was there, and go snorkelling. Friendly sharks mind you. 

We walked right down to the other end of the beach and found a bar that rented equipment. We’d already got snorkels from our hotel but had discovered from the internet that it was about 200m from the shore and flippers were advised due to the currents. They weren’t open and we figured we should come back at 8am. 

We thought we’d check out a little hidden beach instead. After we’d ascended a large staircase, and walked to the back of a resort. We found ourselves at a dead end. Not wanting to go all the way back down, we found a tall padlocked gate we could climb round the side of. We were free. No one else was up yet as we walked round the back of a hotel.

Here we found where all the staff slept, in tired old buildings. They had gardens and vegetable patches. The dichotomy was odd. Following a narrow dirt path we came to the little beach. It had compacted sand so we presume the tide came all the way in. As we walked down we could hear the scuttling of crabs all round us. It looked like the ground was moving. Down on the beach we enjoyed the orange sunshine rising, found even bigger crabs, and watched the occasional long tail boat pass by. 

At 7:30am we headed back up and then down to get some fins to go out to shark point. But another Thai guy told us the currents were vigorous at high tide. A Thai man who knew things told us that a Chinese man died the week before due to the currents. We could see the currents and also 4 people already out there. Probably not a good idea for our inexperienced selves to embark on this one. 

There was a sign selling tours that we thought might be a better idea for us another day. So instead we tried snorkelling in the swimming area. Just to practice with the equipment as we’d only been once before. We were pleasantly surprised. It was high tide and the water was teeming with fish. Every different colour and shape we could imagine. Spiky sea urchins and pieces of coral everywhere. It was a really beautiful experience. The only annoyance was Jonathan’s beard stopped the snorkel sealing properly so he had the pleasure of a good nasal saline cleansing.

Breakfast was included. We never have high hopes and we were right in some ways. All the hot food was egg based or full of meat. We did get to enjoy some cereal and a tonne of fruit. Afterwards we sat on some deckchairs on the beach. We had to check out at 11am. We loaded the bikes and left them at reception. 

We went in the sea. At high tide it was glorious. It felt like paradise here. It was hard not to wonder about the other side to it all. There had to be one. Everything looked unrealistically perfect. There were people constantly trimming hedges and sweeping. After an hour or so in the sea we sought out some shade. We really didn’t want to get burnt. 

We just sat on a restaurant chair for the next hour or so. It was soon half past 1 and as we could check in at Mountain Beach at 2pm we went to get the bikes. It was a bit of a slog to move the bikes along the beach. The sand was deep and the bikes sunk in. Luckily there were people around and they happily pitched in when they could see we were struggling to get over the long tail boat ropes that crossed the beach regularly. 

There was a tap next to the Mountain Beach check in desk. We washed the bikes down. The sand had got everywhere. This hotel was a kilometre up a 7% gradient. It also had the only road on the island. So of course they had a truck to ferry people up and down. They gladly put our bikes, and all our luggage, in the back.

It was super steep so we were glad of the boost. Two more people crammed in as we departed. As we got near the top we saw a huge reservoir, with barely any water in it. There were still a good couple of months of the dry season left. There used to be a water park here but it was abandoned. We guessed maybe because of a water shortage. The plan is to stash the bikes and luggage here until Tuesday. We are here, then down again, then here again for 2 more nights. We locked them up behind reception. Fingers crossed they’re alright.

Our room was an upgrade. A lovely ocean view. It looked very comfortable, but the TV didn’t work and the water in the shower spread right across the floor. It was still really nice. We headed into town after a bit. But via the beach shuttle so we could book a boat trip for Monday. We were going to follow an extremely well beaten path. After many deliberations, much to the women’s dissatisfaction, we paid 2000 baht for a 4 hour tour. That’s about £50. It’s nothing considering you get a boat, a driver, and snorkelling gear. 

We took the beach path into town again. On the way we saw a stall selling waterproof phone cases. It is junk, but as we planned to go snorkelling again we went in for a penny. The man told us 150 baht initially but then dropped to 100 when we showed even the slightest hesitation. He told us he manned two stalls for 600 baht a day. Thats less than £15.  

We were planning to eat out again, but once we visited a very well stocked supermarket we changed our minds. They had bags and bags of tofu. So we bought the bits for a makeshift padthai. It took us a while to find what we wanted and there were no prices on anything. It seemed reasonable though. It was full of Thai people. It seemed like it was a place for restaurants to stock up. It wasn’t reasonable if you were paid 600 baht a day.

There was shuttle leaving at 18:30 but despite running we didn’t make it. It was a hell of a trek up the mountain. It was a very steep road. And lots of mopeds with locals. It was the only road, and it led to the hotel. After passing some hostels there a lot of rubbish started appearing on the side of the road. Further up we were clearly passing through the main residences of the locals. There were other people walking down but you’d be daft to walk up. We were dripping with sweat.

We popped into a little supermarket for some drinks. Something to relieve the silly climb we’d done. A glowing green bottle of cantaloupe flavour something. It took a little while to prep dinner. We poured boiling water on broccoli and vermicelli noodles, sliced garlic, tomatoes and spring onion, made a sauce with lime and soy sauce and served it with cubed tofu. Afterwards we ate mango, fresh and dried, and some bean filled sweet pastries. 

We had our hearts set on another early walk in the morning, so we tried to get to bed early but failed. It was almost midnight when we finally went to sleep. Still relying on aircon but we were slowly increasing the temperature.