We love good connections and so far, this trip has been perfect! Even our taxi driver in Phuket,Thailand seemed to know about the dock for the boat to Coconut Island. I thought this would be a dock in town with lots of boats, but no... it's down a long road to a hidden village and the dock for the only boat to Coconut Island. (I had printed the directons in Thai, in case we needed to resort to that!)
We were charmed by the long-tail boat, quaint and rickety, waiting with its engine running. They loaded our luggage onto the bow and off we went.
Thunderstorms had been predicted and I thought we had avoided them as we approached by air. However, once on the open water we could see the storm coming our way. The throttle was full open and about 2 minutes before we reached a dock that was even more rickety than the boat, the storm reached us. We were drenched in seconds and water accumulated in the bottom of the boat at an alarming rate.
The crew guy made a jump for the dock and almost spilled into the waves. I tried to throw him a line but by that time the driver was headed back to landfall and we were getting pelted from all sides. We pulled the luggage under the canopy and hoped for the best. Eventually we approached another dock around the other side of the island.
Jim's eyes were popping. Yikes, he was scared or exhilirated. I fluctuated between the two myself. I knew I could actually swim to shore but the luggage would be lost (here on Gilligan's Isle!) They did land us this time -- not easily -- but we found ourselves under shelter on a sturdy pier where a Tuk Tuk came to get us.
The place is beautiful. The food is expensive but the deep-fried sea bass was almost worth sitting through 2 sets of an atrocious singer. Almost. Other meals may be taken at off hours to avoid the Thailand's Got Talent audition!
We were charmed by the long-tail boat, quaint and rickety, waiting with its engine running. They loaded our luggage onto the bow and off we went.
Thunderstorms had been predicted and I thought we had avoided them as we approached by air. However, once on the open water we could see the storm coming our way. The throttle was full open and about 2 minutes before we reached a dock that was even more rickety than the boat, the storm reached us. We were drenched in seconds and water accumulated in the bottom of the boat at an alarming rate.The crew guy made a jump for the dock and almost spilled into the waves. I tried to throw him a line but by that time the driver was headed back to landfall and we were getting pelted from all sides. We pulled the luggage under the canopy and hoped for the best. Eventually we approached another dock around the other side of the island.
Jim's eyes were popping. Yikes, he was scared or exhilirated. I fluctuated between the two myself. I knew I could actually swim to shore but the luggage would be lost (here on Gilligan's Isle!) They did land us this time -- not easily -- but we found ourselves under shelter on a sturdy pier where a Tuk Tuk came to get us.
The place is beautiful. The food is expensive but the deep-fried sea bass was almost worth sitting through 2 sets of an atrocious singer. Almost. Other meals may be taken at off hours to avoid the Thailand's Got Talent audition!
so you DID have your version of almost skidding of the snowy road into a ditch! i'm sorry to hear it!
ReplyDeleteBut not nearly as scary!
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