Koh Mook(Muk)

So we leave Koh Lanta but rather than going straight to the island via speedboat this time we thought we would mix it up a bit and go on a four islands tour and get dropped off on our last stop which was Koh Muk (Mook). It can be spelt both ways so we have been told. So we shopped around and got a good quote from a company next to our bungalow which seemed on the surface as a blinding deal. The taxi picked us up from the bungalow on time with all our luggage (which seems to be growing and getting heavier) and we meandered around the island picking up all and sundry until you could not get any more bodies on the taxi, luggage strapped to the roof and limbs hanging out of every opening trying to stay cool. We eventually ended up on the other side of the island in the old town which was charming and dumped off by the pier to board the boat. This is when the fun and games started! We were weaned off from all the other tourists and an air of confusion reigned supreme as a rough looking gang of Thais beckoned us over and told us to carry our luggage to the boat. "What boat?" we enquired as we had no idea what was going on. Not understanding English we managed to hijack their supplies motorcycle and bung our luggage on it as there was no way we were lugging these monster rucksacks down this pier that was so long it just melted into the horizon. Kathy jumped on top clinging on like a little monkey with the astonished looks from the Thais and the bike wheelied off down the pier while Daz had to walk. At the pier end we saw a few boats loaded with loads of European tourists but we were told to get on this big boat with an exclusive Thai patronage who were swilling bottles of beer and smoking tabs like they had shares in the tobacco company. Apart from the fact it was 9am we had our reservations about this and decided we had been sold a goose by the agent but would roll with it as sometimes that's all you can do.

All aboard - you white folk sit at the back and keep quiet please..........

  The boat was slow, slow, slow, but relaxing as the crew seeing that we were not part of the Thai contingent which by the looks of things had paid to charter the boat for a day trip for their car club (as they all had the same t-shirts on) ushered us onto the rear bulkhead and carved out our own area where we could spread out and segregate our luggage from the party animals who were crushed in the over-loaded boat on deck. We laughed as we always seem to get in these situations where we end up with the locals on some mad journey in some foreign soil totally out of place. But we consoled ourselves with the notion that we came to see Thailand and experience the culture so no point being on a boat full of compatriots where we would just go through the motions of another orchestrated tour menu. There was only one person on the whole boat who could speak a smattering of English who we called Catweasel due to his sporadic facial hair arrangement. He was our go between. A couple of hours later we arrived at our first stop to snorkel off this uninhabited vast limestone karst which no-one told us what is was named so we donned our snorkel gear and just jumped in the crystal clear warm waters. There were some fish about but no coral to speak of and nothing special to mention. After half an hour we progressed onto another island which was stunning, The beach was like baby powder and the water the purest aqua marine. The boat butted up to the beach and we all disembarked to have lunch on the beach which was tasty. There we had a break and lounged about watching all the Thais interacting with each other on the beach and  decided at this point we were actually really enjoying this experience and preferred it to a pre-fabricated agenda tour with one of the other tour agencies. It felt totally authentic.

Bungalow Bill was fixing his kettle which had mysteriously broken.

  Back on the boat we next arrived at the emerald cave which is entered from the open sea, so you jump off the boat, swim to the cave entrance which is an amazing emerald colour and you swim into it about 80 metres. It is pitch black and you have to have a torch to find your way along the narrow channel, then you spot a chink of light, swim towards it and emerge into what I can only describe as the most incredible vista I have ever seen which totally gobsmacked me to find it at the end of this  tunnel. It was like a scene from King Kong or The Lost World where you just emerged into another world of the Jurassic era or similar. A lagoon of the purest blue surrounded by a beautiful shallow ringed sandy beach, a jungle backdrop totally surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs so no one from the outside world could ever know it was there unless you swam through this cave. I wish we could have captured some photos but as our camera was not waterproof we could not and I am not sure how we would have captured an image that would justify it anyway.
  After swimming back to the boat we were informed that we would be dropped off on the rear beach of this island as it was part of Koh Muk. Unfortunately the captain was not as keen to ditch the boat on the beach again and made us disembark rather ungraciously in water that was up to our chest to carry our monster rucksacks to the beach trying not to get them wet. After a couple of journeys to and fro through the waves the rucksacks were dispatched on the beach with the help of Catweasel who took pity on us as Kathy's head was barely above the water line so she could not possibly have carried a 20kg rucksack to shore without drowning.

Southend was having a nice spell of weather for a change.

 On Koh Muk there are no cars or vans/trucks so we enlisted the help of a bored looking motorcycle driver who are used as taxis as they have like a side car thingy attached, loaded up our gear and headed to our bungalow at the Phusambig resort. The resort was really pretty and our bungalow basic but had a fridge,kettle, big fan, veranda and ensuite bathroom so we were not going to rough it. We found an ace restaurant close by and there was a shop at the resort entrance that kept the fridge stocked up with cold Changs every day. That was basically it! We did nothing for 6 days. Apart from we blew the kettle up so swapped it with another bungalow when no one was in it (they left the door open)and broke the electrical socket so bodged it up so the next tenants can deal with its sudden demise. No point owning up and being charged for it.
 Koh mook was everything we had been searching for. Jungle interior, no cars, no large resorts, muddy roads leading down to immaculate beaches with the cleanest water and whitest sand and hardly a soul about. It was paradise incorporated. We hung the hammocks up on the beach and the days drifted by as we soaked it up.

The butterflies were upset at Kathy's rude pointing so bit her finger off.

 We did have a couple of little adventures though. One day we hired a couple of mountain bikes and cycled through the jungle on this rough old track that was quite challenging even for Daz who does this type of thing all the time back home. On the map it did not look that far, but in reality was steep, jagged, humid and plagued by merciless mosquitoes. Kathy struggled with it as her bike was just a fraction too big for her so she had trouble touching the floor so ended up eating dirt and tearing a strip off of Daz for persuading her to embark on such a stupid excursion at our ages. We eventually made it to our destination of a secluded beach Ao Dung which was deserted so a spot of skinny dipping ensued as a reward for all our hard work.The beach again was amazing with the jungle sprawling out over the white sand reaching into the sea in places and the water warm as your bath water and clear to boot. Paradise mark 2. The journey back to the bungalow was not so enjoyable as we both got totally munched by the mozzies. Kathy especially. They seem to have a perpetual fondness for her blood.

Robinson Crusoe was glad we popped around for afternoon tea.

 Next day Hammock swinging was on the cards for Kathy on the beach but Daz had to get another glimpse of that Emerald cave again so rented a sea kayak and paddled around to the north of the island to find the cave again but the tide was too high to get into it. To kill time I paddled down the coast to another secluded beach that could only be reached by boat called Sabai beach. I beached the kayak on the sand and explored only to find disappointment at the amount of debris washed up from high tides. There was at least a 1000 flip flops along with numerous plastic bottles, toothbrushes, dollys, lighters, in fact anything plastic that floated was present. I wish I had the camera but Kathy forbid me from taking it on board due to the high possibility I was going to capsize and it getting ruined by getting wet. It would have made a depressing photo of modern life ruining natural beauty.
I then ventured back to the cave to find the tide had lowered and was able to paddle into the cave but half way in it was so dark I could not see anything and was being tossed onto the jagged rocky surfaces of the cave by the waves so had to admit defeat without a torch. But luckily as I exited the cave I saw a two person canoe who both had the same idea and had a torch. So I tucked in behind them and we went for it. In places you had to lie down on the kayak as the ceiling was so low to avoid a head bashing or face scrapping. The boat in front of me started to freak out due to the claustrophobic conditions but I was determined we could do it so I refused to let them turn around and pushed their canoe forward from behind until the light at the end of the tunnel was visible and we emerged into the daylight totally relieved to not have become stuck.
  Again no camera so I just soaked up the view and later paddled out on my own to let the other canoe take their chances and back to the beach to return the kayak. Overall Koh Mook was our version of paradise that we were looking for so were satisfied that our quest was fulfilled. Now we move on to our next destination on the mainland as the island hopping is over to the town of Trang.