06.18.08: In the morning, we packed up one bag, left the other two at Eden Bungalows and caught our ride to the ferry pier. There was a full moon that night, so the pier was filled with ravers going to Ko Phangan for the Full Moon party. We were looking forward to a quiet and peaceful island. The boat was not quite as slow as I expected. Instead, it was a high speed catamaran. It took about 2 ½ hours to get to Ko Tao. We got off the boat and got attacked by everyone there trying to sell you a taxi ride or scuba tour. But, we found our resort’s taxi waiting for us. A “taxi” there is a 4-wheel drive Toyota Hi Lux pick-up truck with two benches in the back. I thought the dive industry must be doing good because I saw some nice-looking trucks with burly wheels. But as the paved road turned into dirt, I realized you HAVE to have something like that. To get to our bungalows on the other side of the island, you have to go up the mountain in the middle, and then down the other side. The roads were extremely steep and deeply rutted. The truck slid a few times going downhill when the driver hit the brakes. He was a pretty good, cautious driver too. Luckily, it wasn’t raining. The landscape was absolutely amazing – lush, green tropical forest with HUGE boulders strewn throughout. It looked like something they try to create on a movie set, like Jurassic Park. We felt like we were on some type of Disneyland ride. And throughout all this excitement…our baby decides to take a nap!
We arrived at the Diamond Resort in Tanote Bay, put our stuff down and checked out the beach. After that, we were getting pretty hungry, as we skipped lunch while getting there. We sprayed down with mosquito stuff and sat down at the outdoor restaurant. The spray didn’t seem to be doing much. I sprayed down again, but it still didn’t seem to be doing much. So, we promptly ordered and went back to our bungalow to change into long sleeves and pants. I got back and our food was there. But STILL, those mosquitoes, way larger than I’ve seen so far, were biting me through my clothes, even when I was sitting over the mosquito coil that the staff had lit for us! By then, Sean was freaking out, and he usually doesn’t freak out that easily over something like that. He left me to go back to the bungalow to change too. I quickly tried to eat and ignore all the mosquitoes and their fly friends swarming around me and landing on our food, but seriously could not maintain composure. And by then, Kai was starting to cry. One of the gals there tried to offer me some spray, but I was already over trying that. Finally, she suggested that we eat in our bungalow. Apparently, there’s one hour of the day, late afternoon/early evening, when the mosquitoes come out, and it was that time. Luckily, eating in our bungalow kept us away from those pesky critters. There were still three flying in our bungalow as we ate, but that was nothing compared to the restaurant. Sean forced me to eat and ignore them. But after we were done and Sean left to return the empty plates, I gave them a good whack. One big fat one left a nice bloody mark on the wall. I couldn’t help but to leave that one hanging on the wall just like a hunting trophy head. (I usually miss, but was pretty determined!) Later that night, we ventured out to the beach again. By then, the mosquitoes were gone, the full moon was shining bright and the glistening water was absolutely calm. All the sudden, our trauma was erased. It was absolute peacefulness and we were on an island paradise!
The next day, we had nothing to do all day but frolic on the beach and play in the crystal clear and warm water to cool off when it got too hot on land. I tried to remember some yoga moves. Then, I gave an impromptu lesson to Kailani who was trying to copy me. Sean rented a snorkel and swam around checking out the underwater life. Supposedly a lot of the sea life and reef had died from the 1 to 2 degree water temperature change over the past few years. After exploration, it was nice to see that there was still a lot life down there even though you can see that some of the reef is dying. It was very fortunate to have seen what was there today because it just might not be there tomorrow. After lunch (with more swarms of flies, but we weren’t too bothered by them…they didn’t bite.), I got a 300 Baht (~$10 USD) Thai massage under a beachside hut with the sound of the gently lapping water in the background. Later in the afternoon, we hid in the bungalow during the “witching hour”. Then, we headed back to the beach for another moonlight session. This was a great session for us lying on the rock in front of the moon light gleaming on the water listening to Jack Johnson and realizing how far we have come on our journey. It’s hard to explain how peaceful and thankful we felt to have had this experience. We could have only wished that others could also experience this feeling.
The next morning, we did a bit more beach frolicking and then had to pack up and leave. I erred on the side of a short trip to this island because it was so remote. I didn’t want to take too much and didn’t know how we’d fare. But in the end, we were sad that our time there was so short. But, I think we ended our trip there just in time. Back at the ferry pier, after Sean picked up his new favorite fruit, mangosteen, we saw HUGE crowds coming off the ferries. I suspect, since the Full Moon Party was over, everyone was now coming here looking for some peace and quiet, even though they were all coming at the same time. As we were leaving, we were glad we had it to ourselves!
Thanks to Chris and Heather for recommending this place! :-)
We arrived at the Diamond Resort in Tanote Bay, put our stuff down and checked out the beach. After that, we were getting pretty hungry, as we skipped lunch while getting there. We sprayed down with mosquito stuff and sat down at the outdoor restaurant. The spray didn’t seem to be doing much. I sprayed down again, but it still didn’t seem to be doing much. So, we promptly ordered and went back to our bungalow to change into long sleeves and pants. I got back and our food was there. But STILL, those mosquitoes, way larger than I’ve seen so far, were biting me through my clothes, even when I was sitting over the mosquito coil that the staff had lit for us! By then, Sean was freaking out, and he usually doesn’t freak out that easily over something like that. He left me to go back to the bungalow to change too. I quickly tried to eat and ignore all the mosquitoes and their fly friends swarming around me and landing on our food, but seriously could not maintain composure. And by then, Kai was starting to cry. One of the gals there tried to offer me some spray, but I was already over trying that. Finally, she suggested that we eat in our bungalow. Apparently, there’s one hour of the day, late afternoon/early evening, when the mosquitoes come out, and it was that time. Luckily, eating in our bungalow kept us away from those pesky critters. There were still three flying in our bungalow as we ate, but that was nothing compared to the restaurant. Sean forced me to eat and ignore them. But after we were done and Sean left to return the empty plates, I gave them a good whack. One big fat one left a nice bloody mark on the wall. I couldn’t help but to leave that one hanging on the wall just like a hunting trophy head. (I usually miss, but was pretty determined!) Later that night, we ventured out to the beach again. By then, the mosquitoes were gone, the full moon was shining bright and the glistening water was absolutely calm. All the sudden, our trauma was erased. It was absolute peacefulness and we were on an island paradise!
The next day, we had nothing to do all day but frolic on the beach and play in the crystal clear and warm water to cool off when it got too hot on land. I tried to remember some yoga moves. Then, I gave an impromptu lesson to Kailani who was trying to copy me. Sean rented a snorkel and swam around checking out the underwater life. Supposedly a lot of the sea life and reef had died from the 1 to 2 degree water temperature change over the past few years. After exploration, it was nice to see that there was still a lot life down there even though you can see that some of the reef is dying. It was very fortunate to have seen what was there today because it just might not be there tomorrow. After lunch (with more swarms of flies, but we weren’t too bothered by them…they didn’t bite.), I got a 300 Baht (~$10 USD) Thai massage under a beachside hut with the sound of the gently lapping water in the background. Later in the afternoon, we hid in the bungalow during the “witching hour”. Then, we headed back to the beach for another moonlight session. This was a great session for us lying on the rock in front of the moon light gleaming on the water listening to Jack Johnson and realizing how far we have come on our journey. It’s hard to explain how peaceful and thankful we felt to have had this experience. We could have only wished that others could also experience this feeling.
The next morning, we did a bit more beach frolicking and then had to pack up and leave. I erred on the side of a short trip to this island because it was so remote. I didn’t want to take too much and didn’t know how we’d fare. But in the end, we were sad that our time there was so short. But, I think we ended our trip there just in time. Back at the ferry pier, after Sean picked up his new favorite fruit, mangosteen, we saw HUGE crowds coming off the ferries. I suspect, since the Full Moon Party was over, everyone was now coming here looking for some peace and quiet, even though they were all coming at the same time. As we were leaving, we were glad we had it to ourselves!
Thanks to Chris and Heather for recommending this place! :-)
2 comments:
Ahh, the witching hour. Yes, I would always hole up in the bungalow until it was passed. Just terrible...but never had a fly problem. I'm sure the rainy season is worse for both. Chris and I ended up spending about a week there. It just sucks you in. And while snorkeling we saw a fish at least as big as me..if not bigger and our neighbor saw reef sharks. I wanna go back!! All the island hopping sounds wonderful.
we hung our hammock from that tree on the left...in fact that very branch!! so crazy. i miss it. hope you're doing well in bali...i think that's where you are.
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