Island Retreat!

This weekend, I found myself cursing my new camera for a few reasons. One: it wasn't waterproof (and still isn't). Two: it's just a camera, and can only capture a small amount of the beauty we experienced while on our retreat. I hope the pictures I did take are sufficient enough to make everyone in the states jealous.

Saturday morning I got up early to accompany Thamonwan (my homestay mom) to Had Samran school to gather supplies for Children's Day. This is a national holiday in Thailand, and the local high schools set up what I may as well call a carnival for the elementary students. There was food, games, dancing, even a few inflatable attractions (pictured). At this point, I almost wanted to stay and enjoy the festivities because camping isn't really my strongest ability, and I was a little nervous about our trip. (Plus we didn't have time for breakfast, and the food smelled really good.) Eventually, however, Tanawan (a good friend of Dr. Hal's and an all-around awesome lady) met up with us and we all loaded into a pair of pickup trucks and headed for the pier.

(Left: AJ and Ariel catching some sun at the bow. Right: The gang, from left to right - Dr. Hal, Professor Bock, Ariel, Sam, AJ, Beo, Tanawan.)

The pier was more or less a private dock behind someone's house. Our vehicle of choice was a longboat with a few benches and some shade, which was sufficient for our journey. We met our boating crew, who were happy to describe the surrounding islands to us and the typical fishing activities that take place in the area. We sped across the ocean for about an hour and a half until we arrived at Lao Liang Island. Our first view of the island was basically a huge, square rock covered in trees with a beach on one side. As we drew nearer, we could see signs of civilization.

(Picured: Sam and my tent. Very roomy and comfortable.)

"Camping" is really not an accurate descriptor of what we did this weekend. Lao Liang is a popular tourist getaway for island hoppers in Thailand. Yes, you sleep in tents; that is about as close to primitive as it gets. As soon as we got there we ate the lunch that Tanawan, Beo (SP?), and friends made for us, and then we ate lunch served by the island staff. About an hour later, the group went out for some snorkeling lessons (and a nap for Sam and I). After some lengthy exploration of the island's caves and rock formations, Beo and friends played fisherman and caught us some crab for dinner that night, about an hour afterward. I don't suppose anyone in Omaha has ever had seafood that fresh. :)

 (Left, top: fresh crab. Right: enjoying the appetizers. Left, bottom: left to right: me, Sam, Ariel.)

There were a few raised cabana-type things, and we all sat beneath a thatched roof and learned how to dismember a crab to get to the tastiest parts. I don't think I've ever even had crab legs before, so this was very new to me. Not long after, they produced a plate of steamed shrimp, also fresh from that afternoon. I believe it was Professor Bock who used the word "oxymoron" to describe these shrimp, as they were about as big as my hand - and very delicious. I double-dipped, as Ariel put it, a hunk of shrimp in an extremely spicy garnish that tasted great. Too bad it left me panting with a scalded tongue. After the appetizer, we had a buffet of standard Thai food and some great conversation time with both our Thai company and a few of the guests on the island. I think it was about 1:00AM by the time Ariel and I finally said "good-night" to all our new friends.

I woke up to the alarm I'd set for 5:40AM in order to see the sunrise from the beach. Since the beach faces the northeast side of the island, we didn't get to see the sun set, so I was determined to see it do something cool while I was there. Lo and behold, I saw the kind of thing I thought only existed on preset computer wallpaper images. It was a breathtaking start to the morning.

Of course I went back to bed when I'd had my fill of it. At about eight o'clock we all met for breakfast of Thai rice soup and tomato onion omelettes. A few of us even got to enjoy banana-filled pancakes and cereal. We had a little meeting to catch everyone up while we ate, and then we had a few minutes to pack our things to go island-hopping. A few sad farewells to our new friends, one last view of the island (Castaway style), and we were off.

We dropped anchor several meters away from the beach of a similar island to do some more snorkeling. After so many hours of it the previous day, however, we were eager to try something else, so off we went to another island. This next one was a very very fancy version of where we'd already been. They had a few restaurants, a mini-mart, a swimming pool, and small houses with air conditioning in place of tents. Someone remarked that it was no wonder how nice everything looked with all the yachts floating off-shore. We had a quick bathroom break, time for a picnic lunch of octopus stir-fry with pineapple and watermelon, and then we were off for Morakot, or Emerald Cave - sans Professor Bock, who took the opportunity to catch a nap.

The boat took us around to another side of the island, where a number of other vessels were parked. Dr. Hal commented that the last time he'd visited the place, there were hardly any visitors to the cave. So we didn't have the place to ourselves, but at least we weren't the only non-Thai people for miles. We all put on our life jackets and jumped into the water. Beo told us to grab onto a lifesaver and each other as he led us to the mouth of the cave, which rose to about six feet at its highest point above the water level at the opening. Inside, the water reflected on the ceiling of the cave, coloring it an emerald green. Tanawan and Beo instructed us to roll onto our backs to get the best view of the natural formations. Eventually, the light grew dim enough that we couldn't admire it anymore, and finally it was pitch black. As we turned a corner, we quite literally saw a light at the end of the tunnel (and I got a certain Rocky Horror song stuck in my head, which I sang to get an idea of how high the cave was). As Beo and the current pulled us along, our eyes were drawn upward. We stood in what looked like a long-expired volcano, now overgrown with vegetation. The rock extended so high that it was clear the only way into this place was the way we came - or by helicopter if you're feeling lucky. A small sign described the history of the place as an old smuggling hideout for pirates back in the day. Smart pirates! After quite a bit of open-mouthed staring, we headed back into the cave. My eagerness to move quickly is probably to blame for the wrong turn we took and the cut I got on my finger on our way back to the boat. Don't worry, though, everyone's OK.

(Left to right: Tanawan, Professor Bock, Ariel, Beo, Sam; sitting outside the museum/preservation center.)
We picked up Professor Bock, who had made a cozy little tent out of her umbrella and Ariel's floor mat, and were on our way back to the mainland. We stopped at a long island on the way to stretch our legs and check out what looked to be a tiny dugong museum. According to Tanawan, the dugong is like a mascot for Thailand. About forty minutes after we set sail again, we arrived at the pier, boarded a van, and were off to our respective dwellings. I took a lengthy shower and sat down for dinner, and here the day concludes for me.

We've all agreed that "what happens in Thailand stays in Thailand," so this is the abridged story of our weekend. You're welcome to make your own assumptions and press us for more details, but for the next couple of weeks you'll have to be content with my assurance that everything is going swimmingly, so to speak. Enjoy the photos, and I promise I will have some from Bangkok soon. Until then.