Paradise Found (and Nemo too)

Christmas Day is just about over for me. It was strange enough being in a tropical country for the holiday (which I have grown up to associate with snow), but even stranger to be wishing my fellow travelers a Frohe Weihnachten (which is Merry Christmas in German). The majority of tourists here in Khao Lak are German and Swedish and as such, the rest of the passengers on the snorkeling trip to the Similan Islands spoke German. So much so, that our guide was fluent in German and my waiver was as well. It was a scramble but the staff found an English version for me.

So to everyone who questioned my motives for living in Germany for three weeks this summer to learn German, HA! I’m using it!

My day began at seven a.m. (long before most people I know back home had their Christmas Eve dinner) with the usual noise of the many birds of the jungle cheerfully chirping around me. The bus trip to the pier was only twenty minutes and following a quick cup of tea, we boarded the “Similan 9” for the one-hour trip to the Islands. Each time I do one of these oceanic day-trips, I swear it will be the last. I am not great with sea-movement (I am still dizzy and I have been back at the resort for over two hours) and I don’t like salt water. Still, if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t have done it.

The nine islands which make up the Mu Ko Similan National Park are mostly uninhabited, thus they comprise of primary (otherwise known as virgin) rainforest. The sand was the whitest and softest my feet have ever felt. It was like baby powder, only softer. I would have liked to have taken some sand with me to show everyone at home but one of the few rules of visiting the Park was that we “take only photographs and leave only footprints”. Sadly some of my trip-mates were not so considerate.

The biggest success of the snorkel trip was seeing a turtle for the very first time. I can happily say that I am done with snorkeling. It would be awesome to see a manta or one of several other non-fish sea creatures, but a turtle has been atop my underwater list for as long as I can remember, so it’s all good. As an added bonus, I saw many “Nemo” fish too.

Upon returning to the hotel, I was too tired to go out to eat. I gave myself a few options: shower then go to bed, go to the Italian restaurant to erase my guilt for the internet incident or go to my favorite hut on the beach for a cold beer and a sliced pineapple. I chose option three (hey, it’s the thought that counts), with what’s left of my John Grisham novel. By “what’s left”, I am referring to the fact that nearly half the book fell out. It seems that the glue keeping the pages intact melted in the intense heat of the sun. The good news is that the part that fell out was what I had already read; the bad news is that I can’t really pass this on to someone else to read like I have with the previous two JG novels. It’s kind of funny reading a 598 page novel which starts on page 243.

Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of the tsunami. There is a memorial event at 6:30 a.m. where 1,000 monks will gather to receive alms (in this case, dried food given to them by Thai Buddhists), while family members are encouraged to also bring photos of lost loved ones. I don’t mind the early start but I can’t decide whether or not to go. There is a large billboard nearby advertising the event so I think that tourists are welcome, but two people at reception advised against is as it is a Buddhist ceremony and I inferred that it would not be proper for me to attend. There is a second ceremony in the evening where 2552 floating lanterns will be set free. I was advised to attend that instead.

Have a great Christmas meal everyone. In addition to the pineapple, I just raided the hand-made Christmas stocking left on my pillow from the housekeeping staff. In it was a selection of baking including: an almond crescent, a chocolate cookie, two gingerbread men and some other cookie that was about 800% sugar with extra sugar on top. I’ll be bouncing off the walls in a few minutes. For the record, I didn’t eat the chocolate cookie…