Yesterday I explored Mai Kaeo Cave with a Thai guide, Pok, who I promptly fell in love with. At first, I was kind of off-put by having to have a guide, as it seemed unnecessary. After half an hour of climbing ladders, navigating over slippery, moss-covered rocks, and walking in a stream, we got to the cave, and I was happy to have someone there who knew what they were doing. Plus, Pok is probably then nicest, most endearing person imaginable.
Once I put my sexy spelunking flashlight on my head, we descended into the cave. It was the most surreal experience. I felt like I was on a different planet at times. There were wierd stalagtites, stalagmites, waterfalls, pools of water, and the other stuff that I guess people familiar with caves would be more entitled to explain. We walked around for about an hour, and there was plenty of ladder climbing, bridge crossing, and even a small stint of army crawling to make the experience particularly memorable. I was inclined to go do the tour again today, but didn't get around to it, which is unfortunate for many reasons.
Instead of fanning the flames of my crush, today I headed to a waterfall. My map says that you can hike for two hours through grasslands and rainforest to a small waterfall. Or, you can ride on an elephant for 1.5 hours. I chose to walk, but after about half an hour, I realized that I'd rather read my new book and eat lunch at "Why not? Restaurant", so I bailed on the hike. I kept envisioning myself getting bitten by a snake or eaten by the one tiger that lives on this island. Couple that with the mosquitoes and heat, and I was outta there. The truly adventuresome part of the experience was navigating my motorbike on the shoddy red dirt road.
I've really come to appreciate this island. There's not a whole lot going on here, especially since it's 'low season' for tourists. I think that I might come back here again towards the end of my trip, and stay at the same bungalows. The Muslim couple that owns them are sweet. The guy, whose name sounds like Hajee-bo, is the most animated and charismatic person I've met since Momma Honey. He's delightful, and brought me some fruit last night as a gift. It's Ramadan right now, so that means no eating, drinking, or smoking during the day for them. He calls me "Lola", and he has a tendency to shout my name when I'm walking around in the street. The only downside to the bungalows is that I do have a mouse guest sharing the space with me. Lizards? No problem. Mice...well, at least they're not rats.
I officially annihilated some taste buds today with my soup. There were 4 yellow chili peppers in it, and I carefully avoided them for the first half of the meal. Then, I decided that I needed to eat them, to clear my head, and build up my tolerance or something, and subsequently I spent some time lying on the ground with tears in my eyes, praying that the ice from my coconut shake would met quick enough to give me some relief from the burning sensation. I can't say that was the first time I've found myself in a teary, horizontal position while in Thailand. Far from it, in fact. But, these yellow chili tears were a new breed.
Tomorrow: Ko Phi Phi. I'm less than thrilled to be heading to this island. Why? It's busy, touristy, kinda expensive, and I haven't been able to connect with the people I'm hoping to volunteer with. So, it might be a brief visit. Having said that, I hope that I really enjoy it, and have to eat my words.
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