NZ Things

We had a plan for the day to pack as much in as possible - but it needed to be followed strictly! We got up and had breakfast and headed down the beach and over hill to Lo Mo Dee. Charlotte was feeling homesick and picked holes in everything - mostly the rubbish left lying around. Her mood was not helped by blustery weather and a heaver rain shower which had us hiding in the locals’ shacks.

The beach however was beautiful and left Charlotte in the “cafe” which sold only canned drinks. Jeremy, Andy and I headed out for a last snorkel on the island. At the last minute Jeremy bailed so Andy and I waded out through the shallow sandy section. I looked back and saw Jeremy galloping down the beach, flippers and goggles going everywhere - he couldn’t resist despite his fears.

The snorkelling was fantastic - all the fish, coral, sea urchins and clams you could hope to see so close to a beach. It even had the long, thin, translucent fish nicknamed “scare-charlotte-fish” because she thought it was a snake. Andy’d accidentally left our bungalow key in his pocket and by chance we found it before we even knew it was missing. Luckily it had landed in a more shallow, sandy section and not amidst the spiky sea urchins.

We left the beach and trotted back to our bungalow for a last shower and to check out. Our side of the island was windy and the 2 pontoon jetties at either end of the beach had broken their moorings and the locals were fighting for control. We heard later that one of them broke in half - a big loss for the beach.

Our more personal problem was that we needed a boat to get to the Tonsai Pier where the boats were leaving for the mainland. The walk through the bush was do-able for us but neither child was in the mood. Instead we were able to get a local to help us carry our gear to the next beach and catch a longtail boat from there.

With some time to kill we at rotis (thai pancakes and the yummiest things in the world) and looked for tshirts that a) fit the kids; b) didn’t have elephants; and c) weren’t baby cutsie. We failed. Jeremy found one that he loved but it was only available in adult large.

We then cruised down to the pier and caught the Ao Nang Princess to Ao Nang. We’d heard from one guy that on the trip to the island that morning he’d been sick 4 times so we were under no illusions that this was going to be easy. Well, both kids were great. Both slept through the worst of it and while the waves didn’t look too big you could feel the engines die as the captain buttoned off - there were only a few instances where the boat pictched badly.

First stop was Rei Leh beach where passengers got into longtail boats to be ferried ashore. Jeremy “fed the fishes” but he’d done so well and lasted the rest of the way with no problems.

Ao Nang was a revelation! It had a huge long pier - but it was tidal! And when we got there, it was low tide… The ferry runs a set schedule so we had no choice but to take our chances - not that we’d been told that. So, along with everyone else we got into one of the long tails that had come out to get us. No problem though, we’ll be dropped at the pier. Aaargh! The boat headed for the rocks and scraped in the sand as the driver used the waves to push it forward. We had a few locals with us and they were travelling light so one piggybacked Jeremy in, another helped us with bags and Andy piggybacked Charlotte. In the end I was left on the boat with 2 heavy packs and one agitated driver worried he was going to be stranded. A local woman cam back and took one of the packs and together we waded through the thigh deep water towards the rocks which formed a kind of boat ramp. The sand sucked at our feet and we both had no shoes on. Suddenly I reached the rocks, but not nice chunks of gravel but something large and very sharp - which cut up my foot. Ouch. Seconds later some guys appeared and relieved us of the packs which was much appreciated. We made it up to the rest of the group and trudged up to the road and the waiting bus/truck thingy. Despite being scared both kids coped really well and rose to the occassion. The woman who’d helped me with the bags recommended a place to stay and before we knew it we were there and the bus wanted to get on with the rest of the drop offs. Our hearts sank, it was dark and raining lightly, and the lobby was so beautiful we never dreamt we’d be able to afford to stay - but dragging the kids away was unthinkable. Imagine our delight when we found that we’d been done the biggest favour. The cost of a beautiful room with a king sized bed and a king single (sleeps two “bebbies” easily) with breakfast was no more than we’d been paying for a fairly basic bungalow on Koh Phi Phi. The place is called Somkiet Buri Resort and is set in a beautiful overgrown jungle environment (all planted) with geckos, squirrels and very loud frogs. The room has TV & DVD and a fab bathroom. Unlike 12 years ago aircon and fridges are now standard features. Our room overlooks a wetland and towards the pool. We took the kids for a swim, and headed to the divine and very cheap restaurants. The kids had hamburgers (well deserved) and we had great thai food.

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