Koh Mak Island

We just returned from Koh Mak, a tiny Island filled with jungle and beautiful beaches!  One of our priorities was to find Ann, a local Thai whom just inherited some land and needed some wwoofers to get her farm started.  We ended up finding her and camping out on her beach located on the northern side of Koh Mak!  This was one of the most remote places any of us had ever been with few passerbyers.  The catch was that we'd have to clear our own space from the dense jungle that crowded the shoreline.  So we all grabbed some rakes and hoes and went to work!  Our schedule consisted of an early wakeup to hunt some coconuts down for breakfast.  We'd clear jungle and old coconuts for a couple hours and then siesta with rice and veggies followed by an afternoon swim!  Before long, we had a place to put our tent, a campfire, and even a kitchen with shelves made from wood we found in the jungle!  There was talk of hearing primates at night but none of us can really be sure what those night calls were.  Everyday Ann brought us water and some food that would last us a couple days.  A normal meal consisted of rice, stir fried veggies, and some milo.  We were also surprised with a litter of 10 puppies to care for on the island because their mothers were trying to ween them off at their home.  Our stay on Koh Mak ended abruptly by 3 AM wake up calls by the Ocean shoreline rising into our tents! As the full moon gets closer and closer, the ocean water level rises during the night.  We would pack up our stuff and move further and further away from the water to avoid being taken away at sea!  Hopefully we have put a good foot forward for Ann and her vision to create a sustainable agriculture farm for the Island which would provide foodstuffs and medicinal herbs.  Tonight we are taking a 10 hour ride to Surrathani to wwoof on a shrimp and oyster farm.  I hope all is well back home and the weather is not too cold.  I am thinking about you often!

Prawn juice

Boon Ma from the ruins of Ayutthaya

Sa wat dee be mai!! (Happy New Year) By a lucky guess, I was able to figure out where the button for "New Post" was on this Thai-written screen!  Most people speak some English, but our world surely encompasses foreign sounding conversations for which we find ourselves ending every sentence with a laugh or smile.  Last night, Mase and I sat in on a Thai "horror movie" (no subtitles) with Pong and Pom, two Thai brothers we are currently residing with in Nonthburi on the outskirts of Bangkok.  Through many explanations and inclinations about the religion, we were able to figure out what each of the ghost stories was trying to teach us.  Religion is active in every part of life here.  For New Years, we accompanied the entire Bangkok population to a handful of the hundreds of temples for a "good luck" visit.  Protocol for entering includes removing your shoes and leaving them with the numerous other pairs left behind from the people currently inside.  Strong smells of incense, lit candles, and birds being set free from cages can be found everywhere. 
Our Thai cooking skills now consist of making Green Curry Chicken, Vegetable Stir-fry, and Thai omelets with pork (compliments of Chef Pong).  On our first visit to Chatuchak Market (weekend market), we couldn't help but feel for the decorated baby squirrels tied to cages by the neck for sale.  This market was miles by miles long and had EVERYTHING including puppies, mice, jewelry, fruit baskets, baseball bats, and more modern Western-influenced clothes.  We will surely be back there soon when we can set aside an entire day to explore the golden gems of nugget here!  I am looking forward to the affordable boat taxi home tonight toward Rama 7 Bridge station because of the many temple views and numerous groups of people along the banks practicing their daily yoga and selling pig ears.  Kap kuhn ka (we use this phrase at least 20 times/hour--means thank you!)