wifi again

I'm camped out in a rather chic coffeehouse enjoying the wonders of electricity along with some tasty, overpriced concoction, and (gasp) a reliable wifi signal. Benefiting from all three of these, I'll start this post off with the pictures that should have graced my last...

Temples in the Grand Palace complex.

A closer look at some of the columns in the Grand Palace complex reveals their level of detail.

You couldn't get anywhere near enough to the Emerald Buddha to get this picture, even with some manner of triple-zoom, Katy Kobzeff, telescopic lens. Instead, this is a picture of one of the jade Buddhas from the Golden Mount, but it looks pretty much the same.

A small section of the massive mural, note the use of gold leaf.

The Grand Palace itself is a fascinating fusion of Eastern and Western architectural styles.

The seats on my bus, hillbillies everywhere are gawking.

Making my way to my peninsula.

The view from the beach at low tide.

This pass was only navigable at low tide, otherwise you'd have to take the jungle pass...

The trail through the jungle.

Tropical flowers.

15:55 6 October, Countryside Resort

Today was another rainy day here in Thailand. I woke up last night to the sound of a driving rain crashing on the roof of my bungalow, while a fierce wind found its way through the cracks in the walls. I had to literally batten down the hatches, and place wastepaper baskets underneath the more offensive leaks in the ceiling. Readying my essentials in case the storm escalated into something worse, I managed to fall back asleep while the tempest raged all around me. I slept through the gradual abatement of the storm, and by the time I woke it was little more than a gentle summer shower. Looking out from my balcony I could see signs of the fury of last night's winds in the small uprooted trees and scattered pieces of garbage that were now collecting rain water on the hillside beneath my bungalow.

Where limestone cliffs meet the sea, separated only by a sliver of white sand.

I passed the time reading and eating a light breakfast until a break in the rain, then headed down to the beach. Passing locals cleaning up from the storm, I found the beach nearly deserted. It was by no means a beach day, with rough surf pounding into the sand and no hint of sunshine. Still, I made the best of things by exploring along the coast, collecting shells and interesting bits of coral as I strolled along. I managed to get quite a long way around jagged rocks and mangrove roots until I finally came to a place where a sheer wall of limestone rose out of the choppy sea, impeding further progress. Turning around, I discovered a small coastal cave hidden from view by a wall of jungle growth on its beach-facing side. It was mysterious almost to the point of cliche, and if ever I was to find pirate treasure, this was likely to be the place. Instead I just found a neat little limestone cave, neither incredibly deep nor filled with pirate treasure, but it was still pretty cool.

I'll admit it, I got the hermit crab to pose for this picture.

It's no Skull Island, but it was a cool coastal cave.

Taking care not to slip on the jagged rocks as I made my way back toward the beach, my return journey was made easier by the receding sea, signaling the low tide. If you think New English tide pools are cool (and they are) then you should check out the ones that form in Thailand sometime. All kinds of exotic critters get trapped in the coastal pools at low tide, like sea cucumbers, lungfish, massive blue crabs, and a vibrant array of sea urchins. As rainy as it was, it was nevertheless a fun day down by the sea, and a good way to spend my last full day here on the penninsula. I havn't yet decided where I'll be going next, though I plan on making at least one more stop in the south before heading back up to Bangkok and further adventures to the north. For the time being I'm going to sit back on my patio and read through my Frodor's Thailand book for inspiration while the rain adds ambiance to the jungle around me.

15:23 7 October, Coffeehouse Klatsch

Last night, I returned to the point that had blocked my progression along the coast to find that the tide had receded far enough to make further travel possible. In the failing light, I carefully navigated the moonscape surface of the coral tide pools until I came to my goal: a totally deserted (by virtue of inaccessibility) beach. Claiming it for New Hampshire (we need all the seacoast we can get), I hurried back back in the twilight across the coral pools.

Twilight at low tide, nearing my secret beach.

This morning, I woke up early to a frustratingly beautiful day. I packed up my things, checked out of my bungalow, and headed down to the beach to catch a longtail boat back to civilization. It took a while for enough people to assemble for the ride (the longtail captains engage in this blatant collusion that forces their captive market to wait until there are at least eight people before they'll leave) but before too long I was skipping across the waves toward Ao Nang.

A longtail boat (so named for the V8 propeller sticking out the port side) the only means of transportation to and from the peninsula.

A beautiful day at the beach.

I'm only in Ao Nang long enough to take advantage of its restaurants and (obviously) coffeehouses. As soon as I wrap up this entry, I'll be heading to Krabi Town, where I'll hopefully be catching a bus back to Bangkok enruite to Kanchanaburi. "What's in Kanchanaburi?" you ask, well I suppose you'll just have to wait and see. For now, enjoy a couple of pictures of "L'art de la Mer" ("art of the sea", I put it in French so it sounds like it's something I didn't just make up... which it is) that I've assembled from my beach gathering...

A rainbow of color: shells, coral, and rock

Seaflower: coral and shells.