15/2/25
We actually woke up at 5am. No idea why. We made some coffee with the soy milk we’d bought and then headed to one of the viewpoints to try and catch the sunrise. We walked back down the road we’d come before taking a path into the jungle. It was all very well signposted. In no way are we breaking trail here.
It was all uphill. Occasionally concreted. The odd scooter was parked along the way. We soon reached the signs for the famous “viewpoint 2”. It’s an absurdly popular place for taking instagram shots of the island. As such they even charge an entrance fee of 50baht each. We sucked it up but the sunrise wasn’t that spectacular. There was also a group of young people flying a drone around. That buzzing noise really ruins the peace.
After a nice Russian lady took our photo we headed back to the path. There was a woman collecting pods. We used a translate app to communicate. They were tamarind. Delicious! We took the trail to ‘viewpoint 3’. There weren’t many people and we found a jackfruit tree. And monkeys. Could this be a bountiful resource? Jackfruits are huge tough, rough fruits. Once we looked it up we knew it wasn’t happening. For starters they ooze a sticky sap that is really hard to get off your skin. It wrecks knifes and you have to coat them in oil. Jonathan took to hurling it at a rock. Like a monkey surely would.
After it withstood a battering it wasn’t ripe anyway. Oh well. We found another nearby tree with some brown fruits on it. But that states to ooze sap too. Oh dear. On our way back down we came across a mango tree, but they weren’t ripe. Tropical fruit mission thwarted we ran back down the hill to the hotel.
Breakfast was as expected. A lot of egg and chicken for everyone else. Some toast, cereal, salad and fruit for us. We ate a good amount of pineapple and watermelon before we had to go and clear out our room. We were going back down to a beach hotel tonight. Before we left we went to the pool. That was actually still open. As were a couple of the ‘octopus tentacles’. We’re just big kids so we went flying down the flumes. There was only one other family there.
Sitting by the pool under the umbrellas we did some blogging. It actually takes a little bit of time to write it and then organise all the photos and videos. The Sun was becoming enveloped in the clouds. At about 12:30 we packed up and went to catch a ride to the beach. The bags and the bikes were staying up here. Deep breaths. They’ll be fine.
The guy driving the truck up and down was friendly. Not everyone will smile back at you. But we do know a smile goes a long way here. There’s a lot of grumpy guests. We went straight to check in at the third hotel in as many days. Our room was actually already available so we dumped all our stuff and headed to get some snorkelling equipment. This time we got flippers too.
We spent an hour exploring the same area as before. The flippers were hard to get used to but they seemed to make it easier to tread water. We also tried out the waterproof camera case. It was high tide and there were so many fish of different colours and shapes. We wanted to go out to shark point but it was a bit too far for us.
At about 5pm, after a rest in the room for a couple of hours, we headed back out to the water. The tide was far out now. There were a few people heading out to Shark point. It was apparent they could actually stand up. So we went for it. It was a long way, and you had to cross the busy boat channel first.
The current was far weaker now and it was fairly easy. The water was clear and there were a few more species for us to see. Frankie saw a shark about 5m away. But without contact lens it wasn’t the sought after viewing experience.
After a shower we headed to Ton Sai on the path again. When we first arrived we went to the food court and found a fruit seller. Wanting to try something new we went for longan. The flesh is just like lychee but they’re smaller brown shelled balls. A little less fragrant. But when we went to get the money out, it wasn’t there. We must have left it at home. Nightmare.
Jonathan opted to run back. It was unfortunately the hottest part of the day. There was a small chance we’d lost our purse but it was fairly unlikely. Dripping with sweat he found the purse on the chest in the room. Then ran back. It was exhausting. Perhaps helpful to acclimatise though. We had to find somewhere to stand in the wind so he could cool down and dry off a little bit.
We went straight back for the longan. The woman had witnessed us struggle to find the money and shovelled extra into the bag for us. We went to Dow again for our dinner. Frankie chose a red curry. Jonathan went for more pad thai. We didn’t get home till after 10pm. But we ate some fruit and snacks. Ever grateful for the air con. Eating makes you sweat.
Surly They Won't Make It 