So the other day i decided to go motorbike around the island once more, covering the main coastal road i stopped in various places and got food, a drink, went into a zoo and even had my picture taken with a bengal tiger!!
all pretty standard touristy stuff, when i arrived in the port village of nathon i consulted my map and found there was a mountain road mapped diagonaly across the map to just about where my bungalow is situated.
so after driving up and down the road like an idiot for 5 minutes i found this tiny laneway paved in concrete that lead uphill.
"excellent" i thought, I've found it now and it'll just be a 10km trip over the mountain pass and i'll be back in time for dinner. So at 6pm i sped off up this little road and moved away from the crowds, so much in fact that not only the locals but even the wildlife seemed surprised to see a tourist up this way, undeterred i forged ahead through sharp corners and steep hills until the concrete turned from smooth to broken, then to just rocks, then just red clay and streams. it was around this point i became aware that i was pretty isolated, no houses, people or traffic.
looking at my compass and judging my position by the mountain peaks i drove on until i came upon 3 mahouts using a small fire and some bells to call in their elephants for the evening, talking to them was an older man in an old 4x4 jeep
View Behind me
In front of me
To my left
To my right
as i asked the mahouts if i was on the right track for the chawee beach the old man beckoned me and they told me i was to follow him, so off we headed into the jungle deep in the valley where the roads just gave up altogether and we were basically driving down streambeds and hills with deep channels zig zagging through the red clay.
It was around this point i became a bit wary.. this didnt look like civilisation... and the surface was getting worse and worse, uphill the bike fishtailed like crazy and down hill i had to keep accelerating gently to stop the piece of crap from stalling, causing my headlight to go out, as i thought about this i became aware how quickly it was getting dark, and we had a big ol mountain in front of us.
Cautious but still enjoying the adventure i drove on and as the bike kept stalling as i braked on 45degree downhill slopes and soon i was judging my descent by the brakelights of the jeep. At some points both brakes and my shoes jammed into the ground did nothing to stop me sliding downhill, crashing through streams at the bottom of hills or even twice having to stop as elephants strolled across our path. by the time we reached the severe downhill section it was pitch black and i was exhausted, finally careening down a hill we arrived... in the middle of nowhere. literally.
my "guide" got out of his jeep, gathered his belongings and strode into the darkness, where i could just barely make out a small bamboo house on stilt legs.
Time to begin freaking out a small bit, Tired and covered in mud i began asking him what was going on, and he told me... in thai. Crap. following him slowly we proceeded into the jungle and stopped at his house, shoes off and onto the flat timber floor in the front he lit a candle and sat down.
"ahm... yeah, so are we stopping here for long?"
"more thai - morning - more thai"
"Ah.. i see. uhm, oh..."
after some more sign language i discovered his name is mr Chia, basically pronounced like a cough.
he's 52 apparently and has lived here for 25 years, has a weak right arm and leg from a stroke but still soldiers on even showing his chest scar from having his heart surgery.
i started to relax as we talked and he even produced a wooden block and bamboo waterpipe which he just calls his thaistyle bong. apparently he had decided that instead of driving me to the main road we would go deeper into the forest so he could have a smoke and some coffee, doing my best i graciously accepted a cup of coffee and sat there trying to explain with my map how we were in the big green section with no roads and i wanted to get to the coast, he seemed to agree but ignored most of my requests until i realised he thought it was going to rain, making the road back impossible to use. Now i was worried i was to sleep the night on the wooden platform and in the morning get someone to come pick up me and the bike.
i knew had little to no chance of making it back up that hill on the bike, let alone know where to go in the pitch black dark. so i sat back, enjoyed the coffee and took in my surroundings, truly in the middle of nowhere with this chilled out old man who takes half an hour to do anything, in the valley beside the house huge crashes and breaking timber freaked me out until he explained it was elephants knocking palm trees, oh thats ok then
The man himself, very dark but there was only one candle
we sat here for over 2 hours
then up he stood and insisted on showing me his garden which is basically a steep hillside with steps cut into the mud by him and a few trees planted here and there. but it was beautiful considering the scienic surroundings and the small waterfall i could hear at the bottom of the hill,
From what i understood he had plans to make the waterfall into a tourist attraction like has been done with many others on the island, but i didnt want to deter him by pointing out how seriously difficult it was to get any vehicle this far into the jungle. i just smiled and nodded and took in the amazing surroundings.
When we returned to the hut i persisted about trying to make a start for the town, still he sat and smoked taking half an hour at least to prepare each smoke. then as we talked more in our basic broken sign language i showed him a picture of me and a bengal tiger. then he talked about dangerous animals... and people in the forest sometimes, and since he was frail and weakened from his surgery he had of course A MASSIVE GUN!! That scared the bejesus out of me as he lifted it and flicked open the chamber, emptying the bullets into his hand, then handing me the gun it turned out to be a 45magnum smith and wesson, chrome and black grip, Serious hardware!! GOOGLE
i nervously handed it back to him and sat there like a cat ready to jump as he loaded it and locked it back into its holster.
He put it away and proceeded to start smoking again, while i finished my coffee and ripped through 2 cigarettes, judging whether he had shown me the gun to scare me or to reassure me we we're safe in the jungle, looking back i think he was genuine.
time was passing us by and i knew i hadnt long left to chance getting out of the valley, so i asked once more, this time sincerely offering to pay for his trouble, so i put on my helmet pulled on my soaked shoes and waited as he gathered his things, (plus gun) and blew out the candle, in complete darkness i walked with him to the jeep and we attempted to put the bike into the back, but soon we realised it was too big and would need to be driven. he laughed at the idea but i told him i had to try, so thankfully he gave in and started up the jeep, motioning for me to lead for the first part i started up the hill, Slipping sliding falling over and losing grip i fought my way up the red mud and rocks until we reached a junction, If it continued like this i would never make it more than a few hundred metres. looking back all i could see was darkness and a layer of fog over the forest, even the moon was hidden tonight.
on we drove for an hour and through some of the worst tracks and trails i thought even an elephant would struggle here, Hell even his 4x4 was slipping now and then, as my bike fishtailed and skidded up and down through rivers and up rocky slopes, there were one or two times when i could see myself almost losing hope and then i just focused on it being a challenge harder and longer than any extreme trek or sport i had ever taken part in, it bloody was, im writing this from my hammock home and safe but i still dont know how i made it,
as the clock neared 9.30 we finally seemed to be getting to slightly better roads, still red dirt but with some flat patches and even some old tire tracks. suddenly CONCRETE!! i have never been so happy to see dull grey concrete!
it was still treacherous and broken up now and then by rivers but it was progressively getting better, when i eventually saw a faint yellow line of paint crossing the junction i started laughing out loud.
stopping at a lay by, still in complete darkness Mr Chia pulled over and i stopped at the window, offering him money he seemed indifferent and just asked me to take his phone number, i took it down, and with a handshake i was away, speeding down the smooth road with the fuel guage at empty i was laughing to myself i didnt know what to think about what had just happened. i reached a viewing point and could see lights in the bay far below me, and around 10pm i finally drove onto a main road and joined the traffic,
im still kind of in shock and had to spend 20 minutes washing the bike and then go for a shower myself, i have a few small cuts and bruises but otherwise i survived unscathed. i will never forget this evening and i couldnt have asked for a more incredible experience delving into the real life of a thai islander. i also realise how risky it was and there were one or two times when i thought i wouldnt be getting out of the jungle until morning. but i feel better for it and can truly say i had an incredible evening. and i am damn tired now
oh and to verify the ordeal i went through, heres the bike..
a honda click citybike. not made to go on anything more cross country than your front lawn.
I am now staying in a nice fresh air conditioned hostel by the port where i will get the ferry to the mainland tomorrow, and 2 days after the event i only have one small graze on my ankle and a memory i will never forget. from now on i'll be sticking to the tourist trail for the most part, at least until Australia!
Talk Cha
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