Acclimatising - Pitching in and Settling Down

From one place to another.
From the present to the past.
Back to Koh Muk to continue at last.

Beauty of the Human Spirit

I believe I had left the journey around December 8th, upon reaching 'Emerald Creek' on the island of Koh Muk, off the coast of Trang, Southern Thailand. This is where we would spend four weeks, acclimatising to our new surroundings.

We had expected that Koh Muk was off the main traveller circuit as we had not previously heard of it, but later on in our travels a Scottish fella by the name of John would claim how surprised he was that we had managed to get their, as in traveller terms, it was very remote.

How true this was, I am unsure. I certainly know that it was not a haven for backpackers and this was perhaps the main reason we liked it so much. I do not want this to come across as an anti-backpacker, anti-traveller, anti-tourist post. In fact I have just deleted and re-written this a couple of times. I fall quite neatly into any of the above categories. I may as well have several labels hanging off me: Tourist, Traveller, Backpacker, Farang. Like anything though it is so easy to associate what you see with the worst case scenario. Us brits have made quite a name for ourselves across the globe with our heavy drinking - There's a label we carry.

I am very much of the mind set that generalisation is a bad thing and yet still an inevitability and so despite my best efforts, I find myself liking the idea that a place is free from your stereotypical backpackers, the majority of which are the nicest people you are ever likely to meet.

Right, I trust that those still reading are suitably baffled and confused by what most likely appeared as gibberish. We can now continue.

Koh Muk. A beautiful island off the coast of Trang, Southern Thailand. Book through a travel agent and you may find this lovely place and no doubt stay at either the somewhat high priced Siwali Resort, or the not so high priced Charlie Beach Resort. Stumble across it on your own, however, and discover something more beautiful then any resort can conjure. At least this is what happened for us.

Emerald Creek was fairly central to the island, at least to the developed part of the island. From what I could tell, most of the island is still undeveloped. The modest place consisted of three bungalows available to rent. There was also a shop and a kitchen area where you could order food, which could then be eaten under shelter but in open air across from the shop.

The bungalows are lovely, though this is dependent on peoples standards as we witnessed a couple decide not to stay. The reasons for which I will never be able to guess (perhaps it was the presence of tents in their front garden.) The bungalows were in a garden setting with various different fruit trees and plants.

Utit from what we could tell was the owner. We did not ask too many questions about the hierachy or how the place ran but it was certainly Utit who appeared to run the place. He, his wife and son, would stay in the small house attached to the shop. Mou was his wife and Nim was his son, whom I believe was reaching two years of age. There was also Jeaw, who would normally cook any meals that were ordered and Pong who stayed in a room attached to the dining shelter, seperate to the house. It was never fully established how Jeaw and Pong were related to the family but you could see that they were family, even if not directly.

The place itself was not what made our experience of Koh Muk so memorable. There are many beautiful islands. We in fact never went to see the main attraction of the island, 'Emerald Cave'. It was the above mentioned people who made the beginning four weeks of our journey so special. I in fact describe these times and experiences with reluctance as I don't want to diminish the generosity we received by turning it into an advertisement or open invitation.

I could only really describe it as being accepted into their lives for four weeks. We were not charged to pitch our tents, which was tremendous generosity itself, but once we had stayed a while, we were also invited to eat with the family rather than order our meals.

We would help where we could, though our work tidying the garden and helping to collect good soil for the plants was nothing in comparison to the kindness we received. We would of liked to of done more but it seemed Utit's nature was to give openly and not think one moment about receiving.

Utit would work long hours at Siwalli resort in order to support his family. He would also help run the shop with the rest of his family. His father, a good old age, would work extremely hard in the garden and around their land. Mou would manage the shop with Jeaw and also look after Nim. We were also fortunate enough to meet their daughter Yok and Mou's sister Pakpaw, with whom we stayed a day in Krabi.

Despite the necessity of everyday life : work, family, more work etc. To their eyes we did not carry the labels of Farang with money. They gave openly of themselves, their home and food. It is people like this who remind us that the world is beautiful in many ways and I will always be grateful for their kindness and acceptance.

Not only did we acclimatise to the heat and humidity, but the the kindness of Thai people. Land of smiles - Thailand truly is, though I always consider that an experience like this is never linked to just one place. The human spirit can be found the world over and it is rare that you even have to look. It can be stumbled across quite unknowingly.