Today is the Queen’s birthday, a national holiday. Camp is closed. From what I can tell it is the only thing closed. Construction on everything in this country commenced as usual at 8am, including the buildings to the east (15m away), north (20m away), and west (10m away). There is no need for an alarm. After I got up I finally decided to break down and rent a motorbike for a week.
A revision to a previous statement is once again needed. Crossing the street is not the most dangerous thing you can here, driving a motorbike is. It is also incredibly fun. There are no traffic laws here. Red lights are optional, traffic circle yielding is an afterthought, and staying on your side of the road is a formality in a very informal country. There were times when I had to ask myself if I was still on the correct side of the road (the left here) as motorbikes often go both ways in the shoulder. Let me correct that, the shoulder is simply another lane. The great thing about the shoulder-lane is you can go either direction for it seems as far as you want. When the shoulder ends you just keep going staying as far over as you can. Passing another fun event on Thai roads.
Passing is encouraged in almost all places. Except the high mountain roads that seem to pull a little more respect than anywhere else. Gangs of motorbikes fly past you, they’re small its ok. Cars pass you; they’re fast its ok. Trucks pass each other in oncoming lanes; you shit yourself for a second before you realize that everything is going to be ok. Generally on the main roads there are two or three lanes depending on whether or not there is a shoulder. It’s the one-lane in either direction roads that become fun when trucks pass each other. There were several times when I thought I was going to have to swerve off the road to avoid becoming the largest bug on the Mac trucks windshield. All in all though if you take it slow driving isn’t that bad and I think it’s a blast.
Regardless of your feelings on driving, there infinite sights you can reach on the bike that just aren’t in walking range. Today, I went on a southern tour of the island. Saw several beaches and made a nice scenic hike. Going up a mountain pass there is a sign for Nui Beach. Off the road is small dirt path that resembles a mountain bike trail. The motorbike makes it pretty well up the trail for about a kilometer. Then I just don’t have the balls to keep going, so I pull over and continue on foot. Another kilometer or so and you enter a ghost resort. At first I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. Some of the buildings are up and standing looking ready to be used others have toppled over or had the roofs cave in. The water line is littered with trash, water bottles, Styrofoam, and disturbingly shoes. Flip-flops scattered everywhere. The buildings and walkways are in disrepair but seem to be in good shape. Another oddity was that everything seemed like it was still there. Beach chairs were stalked in huts around the beach. The main lodge still had a TV, stereo, and speakers, the bar had menu’s scattered about and blenders on the shelves. It was odd. But after all the work I put in to get there I was about to simply turn around and leave. So I grabbed a beach chair, pulled it into the shade, and read for a little while. I never really did feel comfortable though and keep looking up expecting something from a horror film to descend upon me. As Augi always said if the hair on the back of your neck stands up, trust your instincts. So after a brief exploration and a few pictures I headed out. The place seemed like it could be a perfect little resort. Nestled on its own private cove. Terraced into the hills above it were bungalows, bars, and a nice sized lodge. Other than the treacherous road in it would be perfect. Then again that might be why it went out of business? I hope that is what happened. There are tsunami-warning signs everywhere and it is possible that the resort was wiped out two years ago. But the condition of the buildings makes me think otherwise. I plan on asking around and maybe I will be able to pull some information from the locals.
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