Clown fishies!

Holidays in the tropics seem like a glimmer of a dream. The only sign of Christmas is by the sparse, cheesy decorations adorning a few hotels and restaurants. Ben and I have returned from a journey into the deep south of Thailand. We spent about a week exploring the Ko Tarutao National Marine Park on the Western border of Malaysia. We spent the first two and a half days at the largest island of the archipelago. It felt like we were the only visitors to an abandoned park. There were thick white sand beaches spreading for miles, barren of people and littered with sand dollars and millions of crabs. The island supposedly had a curse on it, and I think the curse bit me, literally, when I recieved an innocent looking bite on my left cheek. It proved out to become a nasty and infected spider bite, which brought us to our current location, Krabi, in seek of good medical advice. And don't worry, because my cheek is making a grand recovery now. After those lazy days on Tarutao, we lifted anchor and headed to Ko Lipe and Ko Adang, even furter out in the ocean. Ko Lipe is a tiny, boomerang shaped island inhabited by a few thousand real sea gypsies with the settlements only connected my skinny white sand paths through the forest and grasses. They are a people that moved in from Indonesia and have no legal status in Thailand, but live a peaceful life from the sea and land. We spent a few days on the less populated island, Adang, hiking up cliffs and to isolated private beaches. Ben played in the waves like a dolphin while I worked on my tan. The coral was sparkling all over, full of stingrays, adorable clownfish, angel and banner fish, and so many more forms of life that seem alien to me. It was by far the most beautiful and remote place we've discovered, and it tore my heart apart to leave that gem behind. But the road is again unfolding towards another exciting adventure.