In the Lap

Ko Muk, Trang Province, Southern Thailand.

We had booked a long-tail boat to transport us from Khiangtung Bay on Ko Lanta to Koh Muk. We would be traveling on the Andaman Sea, leaving Krabi Province and moving south into Trang Province.

As we waited on the veranda for the boat, I propped my phone upright against the table in hopes of cadging a wifi signal, reminding myself not to leave it there. Which, when the boat arrived, I did. Being a geezer does have some drawbacks. We were well out on the water before I realized my silliness. Ah, and so it goes. Not the end of the world, and a new opportunity to test the travel experience.

Regardless of the possession or loss of objects, the day was perfect, the long-tails engine pounding across the sea amongst unbelievable karst upthrusts, towers of rock that jut from the sea like so many breaching whales or fanciful, crumbling castle keeps. On some of the karst towers there are small huts and networks of rickety ladders and poles. These are where the birds nest collectors ply their trade, scaling the cliffs and hollows in the rock to harvest the swift nests, which are used for bird's nest soup. This almost tasteless soup, which I have sampled in Bangkok, is said to be the most expensive food substance consumed by human beings.

Of the fifteen or so farang on the boat, only four of us had backpacks, which was a puzzlement. As the boat nosed up to one of the karst formations, obviously not an inhabited island, the mystery was solved. Not enough people were in transit. Only a full boat is a money making boat, so the transit boat was also a day trip for snorkeling.

Our boatman dropped the ladder as I peered into the crystalline water, which seethed with tropical fish lazing above coral reefs. As people starting donning masks, he looked at us and motioned towards the basket of masks and snorkels. Before you could say "French Angel Fish" I had my pockets emptied, and my belt stripped of camera. Being pigmentally challenged, I usually snorkel in light pants and a rash guard, so my travel clothes would work just fine.

Sublime. A National Geographic moment. Other-worldly. Use whatever adjective you would like, I was gliding above a miraculous aquatic paradise, in water just slightly cooler than blood. There were yellow and black angels, a plethora of parrot fish, surgeon fish, schools of porgy, wrasses, baby barracuda and more. I dove down to look at Black Sea urchins with spines eight inches long and adorned with a purple spot like an eye. I dove as deep as I could to find the wrasses grazing on brain coral, fan coral, staghorn coral and tube corals. It went on and on, each kick being rewarded with another marine marvel.

Reluctantly, we re-boarded the boat and motored on. We stopped again to disembark a family at Kho Ngai (also called Koh Hai), one of the poshest resort islands in the entire Trang chain. At Koh Ngai, the boatmen had to do some repairs to the drive shaft. The idea of being, literally, stranded on an island occurred to me. Since it was a grand resort, I asked the desk clerk to call back to our former resort to see if my phone had been found, but there was no luck on the connection. Island phones.

Repaired and sea-worthy again, we headed towards another karst tower, this one a vertical pillar that soared far above us, fantastical sheer cliffs, under cut at the base by the constant action of the sea. We snorleled again, this time in the shade of the massif above us. I drifted along the rock walls, gently washed in the swell of the waves. Wonder and delight, friends and neighbors, wonder and delight.

John and I marveled at our luck. How we had managed to combine a snorkeling excursion with the price of our transit boat, well, we simply did not know. Truly better to be lucky than good.

I talked to our boatmen, promising them a 500 baht reward if they could retrieve my phone and deliver it to me at Charlie beach. They make the trip daily, so they have promised to try and do just that. We shall see. The remainder of the people on the boat are returning to Khiangtung Bay on the same boat and have offered to do what they can to get the phone headed in this direction. Again, we shall see. If it does arrive it will be a story, If it does not, it will also be a story.

We waded ashore at Charlie Beach Resort. This place is amazing, and even though were are staying in the cheaper bungalows in the older section, this is the poshest place I have ever stayed in Thailand. The resort includes huge verandas, an infinity pool facing the bay, bars and beach chairs and all of the things one imagines when one dreams of an island getaway.

A place of isolation and solitude, like Tarutao, it is not. But a place of comfort and ease, set in a lush jungle on a perfect beach, with jutting rock cliffs at either end? Yes, it is that place.

The desk clerk here at Charlie Beach phoned back to Khiangkung Bay and spoke to someone there. They will try to track down my phone. It will be interesting to see whether or not it shows up, but it is just an object and completely replaceable. It is not even essential to travel. Losing my passport, now that would be an issue. Losing my phone without losing my sense of well-being, that is just a lesson in living.

Sent from the Lair of the Thievin' Monkeys