Ko Lanta

Ko Lanta

I left the city of Hat Yai and went straight to Ko Lanta.

This is an island on the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand.

I met my friend Phillip there. He?s a 25-year-old French man who was born in India to hippy parents and has lived in Thailand for most his life.

He speaks fluent English and Thai and most notably, no French. (Sorry Phil, I had to mention it).

We became tight friends while teaching English together in Hatyai in the south of Thailand.

We explored the interior of the island and found a beautiful waterfall.

We had some trouble finding it at first and got a little island boy to guide us there.

Along the way we saw a funny sign, "Cold died Coke."

No Name Cave

On the way back we discovered a cave that has no name.

We decided to come back the next day with a flashlight and rope to explore its deepest caverns.

We climbed inside No Name Cave.

It got a bit too technical for us inexperienced spelunkers.

From this angle Phillip is looking down at me.

I had climbed through a tunnel and down into a hole that opened up into a huge new cavern.

Phil was stuck and was not too happy with me leaving him behind with only a lighter for light.

Full Moon Bay 2

I stayed at a Full Moon Bay 2 Bungalows.

It is owned by the most hospitable and friendly Muslim family and I recommend this place to anyone looking for a cheep and beautiful place to stay. The family.

I spent a lot of time talking with the various family members from the littlest children to the Patriarch.

I couldn?t help but feel a little envious of their tight and large family running a successful business in paradise.

The reason I chose this place was pure synchronicity (I always follow the coincidences).

As I was waiting in the Cathay Tour office for my minivan to pick me up a frantic American man in his late 20?s came in to the office.

He was speaking too loud and was quite agitated.

I observed quietly as he was nearly yelling at my friend Mon who works there.

Somehow he was convinced that all of the tour offices in Thailand were working together to scam him.

I think his brain was pickled from too much Thai whiskey.

His dilemma boiled to this: He was trying to make a round trip to Malaysia from Ko Lanta in one day in order to extend his 30-day tourist visa.

He has made it to Hat Yai but didn?t bring enough money with him for the taxi to the border.

He was misinformed by whoever sold him the ticket and he was $5 and a few brain cells short of solving his problem.

It turns out I was going to the same place he was trying to get back to so I decided to loan him the money and follow him to the Full Moon Bay 2 where he said he was, "building and opening a bar."

In the van ride he told me all about himself.

His name is Snake Bite because he got bit by a cobra on Pipi Island while drunk.

His friends left him and he passed out under a tree and nearly died.

He said he was notorious in Pipi Island because of the Snake Bite Show, which I later convinced him to do for us.

This consists of him miming and dancing to Eminem while heavily intoxicated.

Quite impressive and outrageous.

So where?s the synchronicity?

Well, Snake Bite told many stories.

Some were true some were delusions.