World by Noelle

Driving in the Rain

Posted on April 3rd, 2008 by tallgirl.
Categories: travel, Thailand.

Today I hired a motorbike, the automatic kind, for the day - it was lovely. I drove up to Saladan (the main village on the island) and then over the “pass” to the other side. The view was spectacular at the top. I saw the clouds come in, as they’ve done in the evening lately, a little earlier and then it started raining softly at first… and then harder - soon I was DRENCHED. I didn’t want to ride in the rain, as I’m a newbie on a scooter, so I asked this man if I could join him under his awning on the patio… I was wearing a tank top and a sarong, and realized that he was a muslim - it wasn’t good… I didn’t want to offend, so I took off as soon as I thought it was letting up… it started harder!! I’d seen a restaurant at the “pass” so I wanted to make it there. I was so wet that I could wring my sarong and my tank top out! It was good to have stopped…

I saw a sea gypsy village, the town of old lanta and the tidal flats of the East side of the island. It was great. World Vision rebuilt a lot of the houses in the sea gypsy village, as they were all new, and I assume they were wrecked when the tsunami hit. As I got further and further South, the people got darker and darker - and more Indian looking. I find that fascinating. It just goes to show how much the sea gypsys used to travel around. Then again, the people down here in the South look a LOT different than the ones in the far North.

I then came back to the West, and more beachy, side - with the goal of driving all the way to the tip… the road really peters out, but I thought I’d give it a good ol’ college try… um, yeah, didn’t make it, as the road got pretty bad. I didn’t have much gas left, so I didn’t really want to chance it… I got pretty good at the scooter though!!

I stopped for some yummy noodles on my way “home” and my favorite dessert of a banana and fresh coconut pancake. I love it. The coconut is so good!!

I got eaten a bit by skeeters… on my forehead no less! Apparently there was one IN my mosquito netting last night. I’ll be checking that as soon as I go in tonight. GRR, hate them. I had to bite the bullet and get some ICKY deet-laden repellent. That’s the only way apparently… I hate them things… Here’s to hoping that on the ocean starting tomorrow, there will be no skeeters… let’s take a poll… What do you think?

I’ll be incommunicado, starting around 4pm MY time on Friday, aka 2am your time, as I’ll be on a boat… diving as many times each day as I can. But, you can email or post me messages on the blog… (am I talking to myself, btw? I know of two Mrs’ that are reading…)

I have a billion pictures of the colors of the water from around here - it may make me pathetic, but only if you want to see them can you… I’ll post sometime when it’s a bit cheaper (and when I’m not down to the final 2 minutes of my “card”). I need to pack also… and find the skeeters in my mosquito netting… and probably do something very un-Buddhist of me - KILL THEM. But what else is a girl with sweet blood and bites everywhere to do??

**edit: I forgot to tell you about the monkey I saw on the road. It was toward the very end of the island, on the bad part of the road. I thought it was a dog, but it turned out to stand up… so not a dog. It was funny, though. I thought you might enjoy that little story.

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