Ko Lanta and the Andaman Sea

With our wedding behind us, we could finally enjoy the honeymoon! We would spend our next few days on Koh Samui mostly at our resort soaking up the good life. Our infinity pool was our ocean and our deck our beach, as we took full advantage of the cheapest room service ever. We slipped easily into the role of spoiled honeymooners, gazing lazily out to sea, enjoying the most comfortable bed we've had in Thailand, and exchanging loving glances and “I can't believe you're my spouse” smiles. Eventually, as much as we would have loved to spend forever at Sandalwood Villas, reality (budget) dictated we take the honeymoon on the road. However, we had no intention of giving up our ocean view and so we headed to the beach-bum paradise of Ko Lanta.

Laura enjoying the clear waters on Ko Lanta.

Raight on da beach.

On the west coast of Thailand, surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea, Ko Lanta is home to peach sandy beaches, rasta-style bamboo huts, and rugged limestone cliffs rising majestically out of the water. Definitely more our style than Koh Samui, we spent the next five days lounging in hammocks on the beach, snorkeling in the crystal clear water, playing cards over cold beverages, and scheming ways to extend this lifestyle indefinitely.

Honeymooners!

Low tide revealed coral and tide pools.

Since the Andaman Sea is one of the world's top diving and snorkeling destinations due to it's clear waters, multitudinous limestone islands, and a wealth of colorful coral and exotic marine life, we decided to take advantage of these natural opportunities with a day of island hopping, exploring, and snorkeling by booking a day trip through our hotel. Our trip began with a speedboat ride out to Ko Ngai, a tiny strip of jungle with a shallow reef, where we were treated to some fantastic snorkeling among a wide variety of coral and fish. Next we sped to Ko Muk, the site of the fantastic Emerald Cave. Though inaccessible at high tide, when the sea is lower the cave allows access to a hidden beach inside Ko Muk. This required an 80m swim in the dark, the only light our guide's as it bounced randomly off the cave walls, illuminating geologic formations and hibernating bats. As we neared the entrance, the water turned an emerald green, giving the cave it's name. Swimming onto the fine sandy beach, we were surrounded by limestone cliffs covered in an array of jungle trees and vines. Once a secret cove for pirates, we easily imagined ourselves stepping upon it's beach cut off from the known world. Needless to say, this was definitely one of the highlights of our excursion. After reluctantly swimming back to the boat, we headed to the island of Ko Kradan where we gorged ourselves on fried chicken, green curry, and pineapple while gazing out at the distant Trang islands. We had a couple of hours here to digest, sunbathe, and snorkel off Kradan's white sandy beaches. Laura lounged lazily on the beach while Oliver spent the majority of the time in the water, trying to make friends with a stingray, being accepted by a school of butterfly fish, and fleeing from a sudden giant pufferfish. Finally, after an unforgettable day in the sun and the sea, we headed home, weary but blissful.

Ko Muk.

Preparing to swim through the sea cave!

On the other side!

Laura traipsing like a young Eve through the jungle inside Ko Muk.

The beautiful beach of Ko Kradan.

Oliver approves snorkeling here.

While this trip was the most exciting day of our week on Ko Lanta, we nevertheless enjoyed all our time simply adjusting to a slower pace and more relaxed lifestyle. We knew it couldn't last forever but that didn't stop us from relishing every minute.

A Koh Samui Wedding

Our little traveling party was growing. Rolo had joined us in Bangkok and now his girlfriend, Elise, would make the long trip across the globe to complete our foursome on Ko Tao. They had journeyed long and far to be part of a very special event in our trip: our wedding day.
As most of our friends and family know by now, we are anything but traditional. Since that special day in Chipotle (yes, as in burritos) where we first met almost three years ago, we have joined hands and plunged fearlessly into one series of adventures after another, focusing on that which makes us happy and forging our own path through this world. Our lines of communication had always been wide open, breathing in each other wholly, sharing our dreams, our fears, and our expectations for life. It didn't take us long to be certain that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, sharing our escapades, supporting each other through hardship, and embarking upon the ultimate adventure: starting a family. The idea of marriage had been discussed often and flippantly, mostly ending in the thought "why don't we just elope?" Neither of us had any desire for the bloated, stressful affair which has come to be heralded on countless bridal television shows. However, we loved the idea of marriage.You could say that we were just two crazy romantics in love, determined to stand together against whatever the world threw at us. And then we decided to make a trip to Thailand.
Originally, our Thailand adventure was simply that: a month-long escape from the wintry cold, our work, and our comfortable life at home. We craved new experiences, fresh perspective, and yes, warm beaches and cool water. We also knew that we wanted to start a family, and soon. Aware that traveling with kids is much more difficult, it was imperative for us to get moving and see more of the world. So we started saving, planning, and getting excited. Then, as if some cosmic clock-hand hit twelve, we came down with baby fever. Neither of us had intense desires to be parents before we met. The idea had always appealed to us but as something abstract to be had later in life. When we fell in love, however, we knew that we wanted to create something tangible, a part of each of us to grow and share our love. We started looking at the timeline and realized that we wanted it sooner than our lives allowed and that something was consistently getting in the way: a wedding. Laura's family lives in Michigan, Oliver's in Arizona, and Oregon is a long way from both. The only part of a wedding that Laura had always dreamed about, or cared about, was the venue. She wanted to get married on a beach. We went to the Oregon coast and realized straightaway that it was way too cold for the beach wedding she had dreamed of. We looked at Hawaii, at California, Lake Michigan, and then realized that we were going to be on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world very soon, in Thailand. Now that joke of eloping seemed to have a little ring of truth in it. At first, our preconceived notions got in the way of us seriously considering it. And then, bit by bit, romanticism and pragmatism formed their own union and we realized that we had never let preconceptions hold us back before. We imagined an intimate ceremony where we exchanged vows and rings in a beautiful beach setting and so we set out to make that happen.
When we first told people our plans, we were met with every reaction possible: excitement, confusion, disappointment, you name it. "Yes, it's strange, no neither of us is Thai, yes it'll just be the two of us." The biggest hurdle we had to overcome was how to break it to our families. We both have very tight-knit families that mean the world to us and we knew they would be disappointed they would not be there to share in our joyous occasion. We had to convince ourselves, and them, to drop those annoying preconceptions and realize that there was nothing wrong with doing several small ceremonies/receptions and that everybody could share in our happiness. We could have it all, just not in the traditional way. We were determined not to let a wedding stand in the way of our marriage. In the end, our families and friends would accept our unique requests. All that was left was to pick a date: January 25th, the night before the full moon.
One of the advantages of picking the full moon for your wedding is that you get to track the time by watching it's changing phases. The small sliver of a smile over the bright lights of Bangkok grew into a toothy grin beaming down on the ruins of Sukhothai. We watched it emerge into a healthy half-circle while sitting around a campfire at the elephant camp. In Ko Tao, we broke the surface of the water on our last dive to be greeted by the sight of "our moon" looming ever larger. Our excitement was tied to the moon and it faithfully continued to mature.

Our moon!

As any readers of the blog know, we are backpackers. We need very little to be comfortable: running water, toilet paper, clean sheets are all we really ask for. But we were getting married and, dangit, we were going to splurge! So we scoured Thailand looking for that special place that was luxurious, but not too luxurious (we were still on a budget!), secluded and beautiful. We found everything, and more, at the Sandalwood Villas on the island of Koh Samui. The bigger, richer, fancier cousin of little Ko Tao, Samui is all about the resorts. Second only to Phuket in terms of swank, Koh Samui caters to the wealthy honeymooner. We figured we could play rich for a week for this once in a lifetime event. Our villa would come complete with an infinity pool right outside our room, private outdoor jacuzzi, and a million dollar view of the Gulf of Siam. Since we booked at least four nights, we were given the 'Romantic Honeymooner's Package' which included massages at the spa the day of our wedding, candlelit dinner on our balcony later that evening, and small touches like flowers and chocolate on the bridal bed. Needless to say the staff, and our villa, made us feel like royalty, if only for a few days.

Room with a view.

Laura posing on our outdoor jacuzzi with the bridal bed in the background.

We also decided that, since our families and friends would be absent from the beach ceremony, we would spare no expense in documenting the wedding. We found an amazing Thai photographer and Elise generously offered to act as our videographer. We wouldn't be getting married legally in Thailand, however, as the process is ridiculously complicated (we would save the legal ceremony in Portland to be witnessed by family and friends) and so we didn't need to have an official officiant. When we had first surfaced the idea of the wedding in Thailand, Oliver's best friend Rolo joked that he should come out and tie our knot. Well this turned out to be less of a joke in reality and we were delighted when he agreed to do the honors and officiate for us. And so, on January 25th, our tiny little party, one bride, one groom, one officiant/best man, one witness/videographer, and one photographer headed in search of a secluded beach to get married.

"Rehearsal" dinner.

We found a little strip of beach called Lipa Noi on the westside of Ko Samui to take advantage of the sunset. With the sound of lapping waves as our orchestra, flower petals strewn on the sand as our aisle, and the sun as our spotlight, we exchanged vows and rings and finalized a union that had begun in earnest almost three years ago. In our own way, we had pledged our lives to one another and declared our love. From here on out, it would forever be Laura and Oliver against the world. 

Newlyweds! (Taken by Elise Rombach)

First dance as a married couple!

Ko Tao

After historical ruins, northern Thai cuisine, and elephant experiences, we were ready for some much anticipated beach time. We boarded one of Thailand's cheap domestic flights back to Bangkok to meet up with Rolo, Oliver's best friend of 24 years. From there, the three of us hopped on a night train to the southern port of Chumphon. A great way to save time and money, and a unique experience in itself, our seats on the train turned into sleeping berths by some tricks of engineering and quick bed-making by the attendants. After being rocked to sleep by the train, sometimes quite roughly, we pulled into Chumphon before sunrise and made a beeline for the ferry to Ko Tao. Unfortunately we were not quick enough and found the first ferry sold out. Bummed but not to be deterred, we checked into a nearby hostel at the half-day rate and killed some time in Chumphon taking naps, checking out the town, and grabbing supplies, if you can call donuts and scotch supplies. We boarded the early afternoon ferry just as it started to rain. Rain was quickly followed by wind and then waves which meant rough seas. Even before we left the pier, our ferry began rocking violently. Sensing the growing sea-sickness, the sailors began handing out barf-bags and we knew this was going to be a rough 2 hour ride. Since our ferry was a large catamaran, it rode the high swells rather than cutting through them, which meant roller-coaster, stomach-turning ascents and descents. The staff began pumping AC on high throughout the cabin in an attempt to combat a puke-fest, a la Stand by Me. Luckily, a large scale vomiting was averted despite some of those barf bags coming in handy. After a very long 2 hours, we spotted the tiny island of Ko Tao and thankfully scrambled for solid ground. While not a great start to our experience in the gulf, we were happy nonetheless to have arrived and excited to take advantage of the clear turquoise water of  "Turtle Island."

Look who we found in Bangkok!

Settling in for our night journey on the train to Chumphon.

Rolo's bunk was the "red light district."

On the pier to board the catamaran as storm clouds start to loom in the distance.

After a rough ride, Laura looking very happy to be in Ko Tao.

 

 

 

World renowned for it's reefs and marine life, Ko Tao is a top destination for beginners to wet their fins and accomplish their PADI Open Water Certification, a four-day intensive course consisting of classroom work, confined water dives(a fancy term for sitting under water in a pool for hours on end), and open water dives (the real fun!). Since our course didn't officially start until the next day, we oriented ourselves on Ko Tao by snorkeling, sun-bathing, and seeking out yummy restaurants. The next day we met our company for the next four days (two Canadians and a German couple), our instructor Dirk (a silly overweight German who "loves diving because he is weightless under water") and his assistant instructor Caroline (another German who came to Ko Tao to do her Open Water cert, loved it, and then went on to become a Dive Master). The first day was in the classroom where we learned the basics, the dangers, and how to overcome those risks. Then came the pool dives, a rather boring affair of hours underwater learning to breathe through a tank and other skills such as clearing our mask of water, communication, and safety measures. While none of us enjoyed that day very much, in the end it gave us a good introduction to the SCUBA system and many skills that would be necessary when we actually hit the sea. On the third day, we boarded a boat with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. As soon as we submerged, however, we found ourselves surrounded by multicolored fish and unearthly coral and were too fascinated to be nervous. Since this was still a course, though, we reluctantly tore ourselves away from our new environment and engaged in more skills that we would need to know to be real certified divers. The next two dives would follow much in the same way except that we would go deeper and progressively have less skills to focus on. Finally, after our fourth dive, which was more fun and exploration than education, we could proudly declare ourselves Open Water certified. We put a lot of time and effort into attaining this status, and at times wondered if we were still on vacation, but in the end it was definitely worth it.

Happy divers!

Our new PADI friends.

Diving at Twin Peaks, a location filled with all sorts of marine life and colorful coral.

Our instructor Dirk being his usual silly self.

Bond girl.

The best way to get around Ko Tao.

Buddies posing on Ko Tao's mascot.

We found a tree-house bar to celebrate our new certification.

A beautiful island, Ko Tao was hard to leave.

Baan Chang Elephant Park

One of the quintessential experiences for those visiting Thailand is riding an elephant. Unfortunately, this demand for elephant exposure has led to the creation of many tours and camps which have little regard for the safety, health, and happiness of their elephants. Many camps boast that their elephants can paint pictures, a horrible practice which involves intense "training" for the elephants, often to their detriment. Others require the elephants to carry tourists on a chair on their back, often dropping off one pair of tourists only to pick up another two, many times a day. Too often, these elephants are underfed, under-sheltered, and over-worked, leading to the premature death of these incredible wild animals. While riding an elephant was at the top of our list of experiences in Thailand, we did not want to contribute to their maltreatment. Finally, after much research, we came across Baan Chang Elephant Park, a conservatory with a unique perspective and approach which emphasizes elephant happiness over people.
We signed up for a two day "Elephant Adventure Life Experience" and were picked up from our hotel and taken an hour north, away from the noise and pollution of Chiang Mai, into the highlands of northern Thailand. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of two dozen elephants milling around, trumpeting, and flapping their gigantic ears. We were obviously excited. Before we could jump on an elephant, however, we needed a crash course in the ways of a mahout. A mahout is, simply, one who rides an elephant. In fact, mahouts are often attached to elephants at a young age and become their human counterpart, training, caring for, and living with their elephant. At Baan Chang elephant park, they try to rotate their mahouts so the elephants do not get too attached to any one mahout, which can result in severe depression if a mahout should become sick, pass away, or resign. Throughout our stay we learned that this was one of many policies unique to the park which attempts to maximize the welfare and happiness of the elephants.
Instructed that part of being a mahout meant getting dirty, we were given uniforms to change into, followed by an outline of what Baan Chang hopes to accomplish. In short their mission is to give the elephants a better life by first focusing on what elephants need to be healthy and happy, and only then bringing in people to appreciate them. Almost all of the animals at the park have been rescued, as in bought, from their previous owners, many of whom cared little for the elephants' welfare and more for the profits they could bring them. Some were rescued from logging camps in which they were forced to drag massive trees through the jungle in abhorrent conditions. Others were used by unscrupulous Thais using the elephants to pull money from tourists on the street. Still others were bought from less ethical camps as mentioned above. Our guide, Nie explained that each elephant has had unique experiences, and thus unique personalities, and we should respect that these animals are neither tame nor domesticated. Nie also emphasized transparency, encouraging us to ask questions, such as why the mahouts carried the thotti, a wooden stick with a nasty looking metal hook on the end (to break up fights among the elephants). We were told of how the elephant population in Thailand had plummeted from 100,000 to less than 3,000 due to such factors as development, poaching, and the the growing view among Thai people that elephants are merely giant pests that destroy crops and trample fences. But mostly, Nie emphatically repeated that their goal was to give each elephant what they needed to be happy: lots, and lots of food (an elephant's stomach only digests 20-40% of the food they eat and so they must eat continually), exercise (in the form of one daily hike, carrying one or two people directly on it's back), and a place to bathe. As mahouts in training we would be responsible for providing our elephants with all three of these important necessities.
Our first duty was to familiarize ourselves with the elephants by feeding them bananas and sugar cane. In doing so, we had the chance to see first-hand the different personalities of the elephants: some preferred bananas, while others liked sugar cane; some would take food from your hands with their trunk, while others wanted you to put it right into their mouths; some liked to be touched, while others shied away.
After feeding, we needed to learn how to communicate with the elephants. We learned how to tell the elephant to bend down so we could mount and dismount (non long!); the command for forward (pai!); to turn (kuai! with a kick to the appropriate side); and, of course, stop (how!). Once we learned these basic commands came the fun part: riding the elephant! With the mahouts looking on we mounted and rode the elephants a short way through the camp. Feeling these powerful animals beneath us was both exhilarating and humbling and gave us a new respect for these amazing creatures. As soon as our group felt comfortable, we were ready for the real test: a journey through the jungle. We were paired off and given our elephant for the day. We would get Nomei, a 20 year old female who happened to be pregnant! She was a sweet creature who didn't let her pregnancy slow her down one bit. Nomei would take us up and down hills, sometimes stopping to grab a branch from a nearby tree, at which point we would have to yell pai! to keep her focused on the trail. For the most part, however, she knew the way better than we did and happily swung her massive trunk side to side, sometimes reaching up to give us an "elephant kiss". Our journey would end in one of the highlights of the whole adventure, a trip to the watering hole where we got the opportunity to bathe with Nomei. We could tell she loved the water for as soon as she drank her fill, she plopped down on her side and allowed us to go to work with our buckets and scrubs. Bath time soon turned into play time, however, as she let us climb all over her and would suck up water with her trunk to give us a shower of our own. We could of easily spent hours in the water with her. Eventually though, the mahouts decided we were all clean enough and we said our goodbyes for the day.
Because we signed up for a two-day adventure, we stayed overnight in the park, a privilege which would prove to be an experience in itself. After all the other tourists went home, we were alone in the park except for another couple, David and Lana, a charming Dutch/Russian pair, Nie, and the mahouts. They cooked us a delicious Thai meal and invited us to sit around the campfire, feeding us Thai moonshine and a delicious dessert of coconut milk and rice cooked in bamboo sticks. They serenaded us with Burmese songs (most of the mahouts are refugees from Burma) well into the night. Exhausted, but supremely happy, we finally retired to our rooms which were situated on a hill overlooking the beautiful countryside with the moon and stars beaming brightly above us.

In our stylish mahout uniforms.

Laura bravely putting the food right into a blind elephant's mouth.

This big boy was a bit intimidating but very friendly if you have sugar cane!

The baby elephant had a thing for Oliver.

But she gave Laura a little hickey too.

A natural.

A great moment, Laura's first time up on an elephant.

Learning how to dismount. Non long!

Nomei saying hello.

The expert way to ride.

Nomei taking us on a hike through the jungle.

Cooling down at the watering hole.

Washing off all the jungle dirt.

Right before Oliver gets hit with a blast of water.

Do we look happy or what?

The following morning we were awoken by the sound of elephant trumpets as they took their morning bath. Sipping tea and enjoying the view, we readied ourselves for the day's activities. While we wouldn't get as much elephant time, we still enjoyed watching them interact with each other and with the new group of mahout recruits who arrived that morning. Our day would focus more on taking in the gorgeous scenery of northern Thailand as we hiked through the jungle to a beautiful, but cold!, waterfall, a ride down the rapids of the Mae Klong river, and ending with a languid float on a raft of bamboo.
One of the best experiences of all our travels, we could not have been more delighted with Baan Chang Elephant Park and were overjoyed to support a park with such an altruistic pursuit: the happiness of Thailand's noble elephants.

View from our rooms overlooking the park.

Hiking through the jungle.

Oliver practicing his aim.

Love at the waterfall.