So, we pulled ourselves away from the utopia that is Koh Lanta. And, for what? OH YEAH. For these faces! (BEST REASON EVER)
Jim left Colorado for two years of Peace Corps volunteering in Uguanda. Then, he loved it so much that he stayed an extra year! Speaking of love, he met this sweet lady and they got engaged during that time. So happy to have met you, Julia! Looking forward to the wedding, friends.
Our boat came in on this simple little island, and we checked into our sweet little bungalow. Then, went to find our friends on the beach. Jim found us on the road mid-walk and picked us up on his motorbike. Its a weird feeling to not see anyone you know for months, then see a face you haven’t seen in YEARS on a dusty back road in Thailand. A most welcome feeling, that is.
You don’t have to look far for good food in Thailand. We found the regular, and some irregulars:
Jim’s friends from the Peace Corps, who now live in Chiang Mai, flew down to visit us for the weekend. Bethany and Russ were awesome and we’re looking forward to seeing them when we are there in March! We all took an island hopping tour, which by now we had learned is a guarranted good time. We boated, beered, and laughed. A LOT.
We called it a day, and came back to the island where we hung out at the boathouse with the shop owner, Bass, who became a good friend in the few days that we spent here. The time to take a shower creeped up on us, so we took the hint, then we shuffled off to the locals hangout for live music.
Some of the expats who live here are from Boulder (not that suprisingly.) A lot of the expats that live here are climbers. One was writing a climbing guidebook, and others were able to credit themselves to putting up some of the first bolted routes in nearby Tonsai beach. We were introduced to and got to know Perg, a Kiwi that provided never a dull moment. Julia and Perg are old friends from a climbing trip in China, and after just a few hours together we all felt like old friends.
Such great company is a stellar way to end an excellent day. We noted some classic routes from our new friends, and slipped them in our back pocket for when we go to Tonsai in the next few days.
We laughed the night away, and looked forward to our next island together.
Koh Yao Noi was such a different experience compared to other islands we visited in Thailand. It was relatively quiet and the people we met and hung out with were mostly locals and expats that call the island home. While we have felt like tourists everywhere we went, and rightfully so, here we were just visitors, but not outsiders. It was refreshing.
Follow us from Koh Yao Noi to Tonsai where we continued to have a killer time in Thailand.
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