Lord of the Rings Meets the Andaman Coast

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I’m ridiculously proud of my three daughters for reading the whole of the Hobbit (all completed age 7) and all of the first Lord of the Rings novel.  Jemima finished at age 7, before we left for the trip, Scarlett finished in Nepal and Evie fairly recently in Thailand.  (Actually, I can’t help but mention that Jemima has also now finished the Two Towers, how good is that?).

The story has really captured their imaginations.  “Do Gandalf’s voice, Daddy,” and, “Be Galadriel, Mummy,” are daily requests.   The storylines dominate their play, with the sound of Orcs attacking or Legolas firing a bow and arrow being the general background noise.

But I think my favorite way their new geek-chicness has manifested itself is through the sand sculptures they went off to create, completely unaided, yesterday.

Ferg’s role playing friends, you would be so proud.

The Shire

The Shire

Welcome to Rivendell

Welcome to Rivendell

 

This is Rivendell 1, before the tide came in

This is Rivendell 1, before the tide came in

And this is Rivendell 2, after the tide came in

And this is Rivendell 2, after the tide came in

 

Complete with Elven archer defending Rivendell

Complete with Elven archer defending Rivendell

The Shell Sprouts Legs!

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Hermit Crabs at Had Farang, Koh Mook

By Scarlett

One night, here at Ko Mook, we found a mass of hermit crabs under the Thai massage hut.  They had all different shells which made them look pretty.  Coming back the next morning, we found they were all gone!  Had they all died?  But the next night, they had come back.  I picked up a supposedly unused shell which immediately sprouted unexpected legs!  I was terrified.  I dropped it.  Do you think you would have dropped it too?

Emerald Cave

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Swimming into Emerald Cave

By Evie

Today we went to Emerald Cave (in 4 steps):

Step 1

We walked about 3 metres to the boat, waded out to it and got on.  Our guide started the engine and we were off, zooming along, the engine roaring and popping behind us, as we made our way towards Emerald Cave.

Step 2

As we went I kept a sharp lookout for Emerald Cave.  Then I saw it.  At first I saw only boats, and then the cave.  Soon, I knew we would be in a long, dark tunnel, swimming with our guide.

“OK Evie, put this on,” Mummy said, jerking me out of my thoughts.  She was holding out a small life jacket for me.  I took it and put it on.  Next I asked Mummy if she was scared like me.  She said she wasn’t.  I gulped.  Then Mummy jumped off the boat.  Then I jumped off the boat.  Then Mima jumped off the boat.  Then Tettie jumped off the boat.  Then Daddy dived off the boat (without a life jacket).

Step 3

When finally we were all in the water, our guide led us over to a creepy, cavernous, cold cave in the side of the low-hanging cliff…

We swam in!

Inside the cave it was no better than it had looked, just a long tunnel leading off into the distance.  Then it began to grow dark.  I couldn’t see…until the guide switched on his torch.

Step 4

I could hear the waves crashing against the cliff walls with great thunderous BOOMS!  Only then I saw the light, we were approaching Emerald Cave.  I swam fast towards it until I reached the light, first.  But not by far, my sisters were catching up fast.  Soon we were all there.  It looked like a secret cove with a small beach and big cliffs surrounding it.  The only entrance or exit was the tiny dark cave.

Me and Daddy went and looked at some rocks that looked like dinosaurs and then I went in the sea and played silent gliders with my sisters, which is a game where we swim very quietly towards each other and attack (splashing each other).

[Evie and her sisters all wrote about our trip to Emerald Cave as part of homeschool. You can read the other accounts here and here.]

An Adventure in a Sea of Emerald Green

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Emerald Cave

By Scarlett

Today we went to Emerald Cave on a longtail boat.  The engine was loud but we put up with it.  When we got to Emerald Cave, there was a long tunnel we had to swim through.  So, leaving the boat and putting on life jackets that rubbed our arms off, we jumped into the water.  Mummy first, them Evie, then Mima, then Tettie, then Daddy.  We followed our guide into the tunnel.  The water washing on the tunnel wall made an echo like ghosts howling.  At the end of the tunnel there was a beach surrounded by cliffs.  The emerald green water lapped gently against the sand.  The only opening was the tunnel we’d come through.

We were silent gliders for a while, before going back on the same longtail boat.  Silent gliders is a game that we play when we are wearing life jackts.  We move really quietly towards each other…and attack! (Splash each other).  We enjoy it a lot.

[Scarlett and her sisters all wrote about our trip to Emerald Cave as part of homeschool. You can read the other accounts here and here.]

A Tunnel Full of Emerald

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Emerald Cave, Ko Muk (Image from Google as we didn't take a camera)

By Jemima

Today we did something totally amazing!  Well, it doesn’t start off sounding brilliant.  First we were woken up by mummy, and then we got dressed.  Then she realised she hadn’t suncreamed us – disaster!  We had to get undressed again – even more disaster!  It was kind of lucky though because I realised I had normal knickers on, instead of bikini bottoms.  We got dressed for the second time, and Daddy got back from his run.  Then me, Evie, Tettie and Mummy went to the café for breakfast.  We ordered muesli, fruit and yogurt.  We ordered Daddy fruit and yogurt.  In a couple of minuites, Daddy came and ate his up.  YUM! YUM! YUM!!!!

When we had finished we waked down the beach, then we waded out a little way to the boat where we climbed up the ladder; we were on the boat!  We sat on hard wooden benches for a while, talking.  Then the engine started up and the boat turned around.  Soon we found ourselves zooming through the sea, with a cliff on one side.  In a matter of minuites we came to a group of other longtail boats, where we stopped.  The man – our guide – put down the ladder again.  We put on our lifejackets – Daddy didn’t want one.

On the boat I had been scared that the rocks would fall on top of us.  But when we got into the tunnel it wasn’t that bad.  We swam along around dark corners we didn’t know were there.  Mummy nearly bumped her head.   It was pitch black, but our guide had a torch.  When we arrived at last, I saw Emerald Cave.  I was surprised.  I hadn’t expected it to be like this.

We were in a secret cave or beach.  There were cliffs on all sides.  On one side, there is sand – the beach.  If you stand on the beach and face the sea, you can see an enclosure of rock, except for the tunnel.  In front of you there is a sheer cliff face with the tunnel poking through, like a straw.  On the left, there is another sheer rock face but with no tunnel, and on the right there is another sheer cliff face with no tunnel.  The strange thing is that there were no crabs on the rocks, not one!

We played for a bit then began to swim back down the tunnel.  As we went along people kept making spooky ghost noises which helped a lot – not!

Soon we began to see light.  We swam along into glowing emerald water and got out in the open at last.  It was good to see light all around us – we could see!  There were fish all around us too.  We boarded the boat and the engine started up for the second time and we were off again.  Soon we were back on our beach.  We had a little swim, then we went back to the bungalow and Daddy had a little sleep while mummy read us Harry Potter.

When Daddy woke up, we went and had some Thai tea.  After that, we went to bed.

Thank goodness it’s the end of the day.  That was a very long blogpost – my arm is tired.  Phew!  Zzzzzzz rec.

[Jemima and her sisters all wrote about our trip to Emerald Cave as part of homeschool. You can read the other accounts here and here. The “rec” at the end is because we have been learning about recurring decimals in maths…]

A Night Time Encounter

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I still had my eyes half closed as I stumbled back to bed from night time toilet trip, torch in one hand. I’d reached the mosquito net and was about to start searching for the opening when a thought finally forced it’s way past the haze of sleepiness fogging my brain. Something had been moving in the bathroom as I’d turned and closed the door.

Moving? Nothing should be moving, should it?

I tried to dismiss it as a fragment of dream. It was pitch dark on the island now the day’s electricity was done. I was half asleep. It was probably some combination of flashing torchlight, blurry vision and squinting creating an optical illusion.

No. It was definitely a snake.

Snake! Instantly, I was awake. I turned back to the door and, re-opening it slowly, scanned the wall with my torch.

I froze.

Yup. There it was. A thin, green snake squeezing itself out from a gap at the edge of the tiles around the wash basin, tongue flicking the air. Its body curved out about 30cm from the wall, like it was being charmed horizontally. Like, I thought dimly, the toy snakes made of plastic links that writhe slowly when you hold them by the tail. Except I could see this snake’s muscles contort as it pushed more of its body into the room.

Then it saw me.

It froze.

We gazed at one another for a while, our noses a mere metre apart, unsure of how to address the sudden appearance of this stranger into our night time wanderings. I cocked my head to the side. So, too, did the snake.

I shrugged and stepped back. My thoughts had strayed momentarily to the two sleeping kids in the bed behind me but apart from initiating some kind of midnight snake fight, there didn’t seem much to be done. In the bathroom, the snake seemed to reach a similar conclusion. Reversing its contortions, it started shrinking back into the wall.

I closed the door, covered the gap underneath with a heavy bag, and, getting back into bed with a yawn, made sure the mosquito net was tucked in very, very tight.

Hot & Getting Hotter

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Our estate agent contacted us today.  There’s been some damage to the fence in the recent stormy weather in Leeds.  Apparently, the giant trampoline blew over in the violent wind and has knocked a panel out.

We’re not talking about a small 1-person trampoline.  We’re talking about a triplet-capacity monstrosity; I’m amazed that the wind could be strong enough to move it an inch.  Our tenants have taken the netting down which they think will stop it happening again.  I hope so, and I’m very glad no one was hurt.

It’s impossible to imagine English weather for us right now.  In stark contrast to our friends and family back home, each day that passes turns the temperature dial up a notch.  Not only are we approaching the hottest part of the year in SE Asia; every time we move we inch further and further towards the equator.

It’s entirely our own doing, we deliberately factored the ‘eternal summer’ into our itinerary, carefully planning how we could avoid much of the monsoon and move from country to country, making the best of the changing Summer seasons as we go.  If we’re lucky, we won’t drop much below 30 degrees most days now until we fly home next August.

The kids have adapted amazingly well to the climate.  They very rarely complain, probably because we’re staying close to the sea, so there is always a means of escape.  Although I must say, I’m sure I’ve had baths that have been colder than the sea here.

And I’m enjoying it a lot too.  I remember now how I loved it last time we went backpacking.  At first, the heat is oppressive, but once you get through that stage you just enjoy the warmth right through to your bones; and the ‘smell’ of the heat.  It’s an intensity that you just don’t get in Europe, an experience to be savored and appreciated.

But not if you go running any time after 8 in the morning.

Lazy Island Days

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Another week, another island. This week: Koh Jum, our third island since we started island hopping down the Andaman Coast.

Our first two were at the north end of the coast (Koh Chang and Koh Payam), then after a stop on the mainland so I could go diving*, we missed out quite a lot of the coast to get where we are now. We’ve been to Samui and Pattaya and know for sure that it’s not overdeveloped resorts like Phuket and Koh Phi Phi we’re after.

It’s very relaxed here. Most of the farangs are older than us, and the pace of life is possibly the slowest of anywhere we’ve yet visited. There’s nothing to do but swim, walk up the 2km beach and eat. But, just as we’re settling in here, enjoying the stunning sunsets, friendly bungalows, huge, empty beach and bathtub-warm sea water, tomorrow we’re off again!

Sixty days on our visas doesn’t go far when there’s so many islands to visit. So tomorrow we head south again, getting up early to catch a longtail to a ferry, then a ferry to the Krabi on the mainland, a taxi into Krabi town, then a bus to Trang 100km down the road. We’ll spend the night there, stocking up on essentials like peanut M&Ms and red wine, before taking minibuses, ferries and longtails out to Koh Mook, one of our favourite places from our backpacking trip 13 years ago where we will slow right down for another five days.

All very exciting. But right now, sitting in a beach hut watching my girls play on the sand as the sun dips slowly towards the crystal seas, it all seems rather daunting. Island life has slowed me down so much that just walking to the sea to cool off or to the restaurant for a fruit shake can take half the day for me to muster enough energy.

Still, frenetic bursts of travelilng interspersing the lazy weeks of beach bumming makes this part of our trip seem like a series of one week Summer holidays, a new one starting every time the last one ends. And how can that be a bad thing?

* That implies I went diving on land, I didn’t. I just left Janet and the girls there and headed of to the Similan Islands.