(Do you see why it is called Chicken Island?) Snorkling was fun and I got to see many different kinds of fish. There was some coral that I saw at the bottom, but most of it was dead. It turns out that so many long boats go there and throw out their anchors, they have destroyed it all. It was very sad to hear about. The police have been called about it, but nothing has been done.Afterwards, we went to Poda Island to walk around and swim. Here is where I met Det, a tour guide on the trip and my new friend. Det took me around to see the monkeys on the island. He would not get near because he said that these were "bad monkeys"- while tourists go swimming, the monkeys run to their abandoned bags and steal them and run up the trees with them! The tour guides watch out for this and throw things at the monkeys to get them to drop the bags. So the monkeys have learned that people with dark skin are mean and if Det went too close, the monkeys would run away.
Next, we went to Railey, famous for it's climbing. We had a wonderful lunch and then took long boats to explore a cave of the princess Pranang. It is said that her spirit resides there and local fisherman go to the cave to pray for good hauls. If it happens, they go back to the cave to give her presents for her charity. (They say she is lonely too. The presents help her with that...)
We then boarded the boat to go back to shore where I spent the time talking to an American/Asian couple from California. On returning, I took a much deserved shower and got ready to go out with Det, who showed me a much more authentic version of town than I could have seen on my own. He took me around on his motorbike- the most common form of transport in Thailand, but they all drive like crazy people with no helmets and no jackets! First we went out to dinner at a local place and I had an awesome chicken basil curry and seafood soup. (This a picture of Det with his motorbike.)After dinner, he took me to the New Years Market, which was still in full swing. There were lots of clothes on sale (think graphic tees for $1.50), food, games, and rides. It was insane! I saw fried insects and I couldn't resist. Below are pictures of them and me eating the one that's front and center. I wasn't able to get them all fried and flavored because they were putting ground peanuts in it. But the lady working there allowed me to try one plain fried. It really had almost no taste at all. Kind of like an extra crispy french fry...
After that, we went up Rang Hill again to see the city at night. It was better than before. Then, we headed back in town to one of Det's local haunts- a bar where live Thai music was being played. It was just awesome. We sat, drank, and enjoyed the music. Overall, it was a wonderful day. I think it will be my best one in Thailand.
