Our trip started on a Tuesday when we left Tucson headed for the Paria/Vermillion Cliff's Wilderness area.  After a long drive north to the southern edge of Utah we arrived at the White House trail head and campground around 10pm.  We dropped an impromptu camp in front of our cars and got to sleep.  Our original plan was to start hiking Wednesday at the Wire Pass trail head and make our way through Buckskin Gulch, the Paria river canyon and down to Lee's Ferry in 3-4 days.  Several days before we left Tucson we heard that there was a large blockage in Buckskin around 10 feet high and 25 feet long.  Rangers said there were several spots with waist deep water upstream of the blockage and that they had not heard of anybody being able to get through.  That information plus the threat of thunder storms Thursday night forced our hand and we decided to alter our plan.  We would day hike Wire Pass through Buckskin to the blockage and then back out on Wednesday.  Thursday we planned to start at the White House trail head and hike down to the confluence of Buckskin and the Paria River and make camp there.  From there we could either hike through to Lee's Ferry or day hike up and down stream to try to see the best parts of the slot canyons the area had to offer. 

Wednesday morning we checked in at the ranger station at White House.  They informed us that the threat of storms had risen considerably and they were expecting the area to get several inches of rain, not the best forecast for hikers in a tight canyon.  They were even expecting to see snow a little farther north as the front came through.  We decided that we should head to Wire Pass and get into Buckskin to see how much water was there ourselves and enjoy the canyon before we decided what would be best the rest of the week. 

Wednesday Morning

Hiking Wire Pass into Buckskin Gulch is a very well known hike.  Quick search online shows amazing pictures of sculpted walls, fantastic colors, and classic picturesque images of desert canyon landscapes.  Our day definitely met our expectations.  Wire Pass above Buckskin Gulch was great.  The trail drops into the wash immediately and stays there for the entire hike.  The canyon walls slowly get tighter easing you into Buckskin where things really narrow.  My pictures really don't do my memories justice.  The scale of the walls, sharp colors, and feeling of constriction were amazing.  We had around 5 spots where we waded through thigh deep muddy water.  We saw a few other groups in the canyon but I was amazed at how few people were there and how remote it really felt.  We decided to take our time and never made it down to the blockage.  Once we turned around, we saw two snakes in Buckskin, which was a treat.  We made our way back to our cars and drove back to the White House camp ground to decide what we should do the next few days. 

Wire Pass

Buckskin Gulch

We discussed our options, how we were feeling and what we thought the weather was going to do.  Being in a slot canyon with a real threat of rain turned out to be more than we wanted to tackle.  We decided to camp at White House again that night and head out the next morning.  The next morning we packed up and headed for Prescott via Sedona.  On our way to Sedona we stopped at Horse Shoe Bend, a beautiful overlook of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam.  The view was well worth the five minute hike.  I would recommend getting there early though, we arrived around 9 am and the parking lot was quickly filling up. 

Horse Shoe Bend

We drove to Sedona through a few small storms for another quick day hike and decided on Bell Rock.  There are quite a few options for great day hikes around Sedona but we chose Bell Rock because of the limited exposure if/when the weather arrived.  The trail was busy but not crowded and the view to the north was almost as good as that of Cathedral Rock but without most of the effort.  We made our way maybe half way up the rock while other “braver” hikers were pushing up much higher. 

Bell Rock

Back in the car we headed for Prescott.  We took Beaverhead Flat Rd to Cornville Rd making our way toward Cottonwood.  The road was amazing!  That route takes you away from most of the traffic heading into and out of the Sedona area.  Views are fantastic and the road seemed brand new.  We crossed the Verde Valley and went through Jerome, always fun.  On the other side of the pass we were treated to a large heard of Antelope that were running around and seemed to be enjoying cooler weather between the small storms in the area.  We found a hotel, took much needed showers and had dinner at the Prescott Brewing Co. which is always good.   That night several large angry thunder storms came through the area, making us feel pretty good about where we were. 

Friday morning we got up and headed to the Watson Lake area.  This is another great/short day hike.  There are several trails that lead in and over large granite boulders at the lake's edge.  The weather was pretty chilly and although we couldn't see any of the higher peaks in the area because of clouds, it didn't seem to be a stretch to imagine snow on the top of them.   We had considered finding a spot to camp that night but we decided to cut our losses and head back to Tucson.  

On our way back we had lunch in Phoenix at Bobby Q.  If you are a bar-b-que fan you really need to try this place.  Everything on the table was amazing.  We had brisket, ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken, corn bread and mac and cheese but the best part may have been the free homemade donuts at the end.  It will be hard for me to go to Phoenix and not have a meal there from now on. 

There were a few pieces of gear that I used on this trip that really stood out.  First, I was able to try out one of Therm-a-Rest's new sleeping bags coming out next year.  I used the Antares, a 20 degree 750 fill down bag.  What makes this bag special is how it attaches to a pad.  There are two wide and stretchy bands that keep the bag down on your pad.  It also doesn't have any fill on the bottom of the bag through most of the torso and leg area.  I'm a side sleeper and I toss and turn quite a bit.  I never found any issue rolling around in the bag; no cold spots, drafts, uncomfortable positions, nothing.  It was great!  The lowest temp I saw was around 32 and I never had the bag completely zipped.  I was sleeping on an Exped Synmat 7.   This bag is in a series that includes 2 down options, a 20 and a 0 degree, and two synthetic options of the same temperatures.  The Summit Hut will be carrying all 4 in the spring.

I also got a chance to spend more time playing with my Garmin fenix GPS/ABC watch.  I've been running with it a fair amount but this was the first time I used the "Ultratrac" GPS settings that extend the battery life significantly.  It performed exactly as expected but it is worth noting that the canyon walls in Buckskin Gulch were too narrow for most of our hike to be able to find a signal.  This is where the Suunto Ambit would really come in handy with its accelerometer filling in for the GPS. 

Although I never got a chance to do any miles with it, I brought a new pack from Exped, the Lightning 60.  This pack offers a great combination of simplicity and durable materials that give a great carrying, light weight option.  The bag is a single main pocket, roll top, and an effective set of compression straps.  It has a single stay and comfortable suspension that worked well with my load, around 50 lbs. 

We left Tucson around 3pm headed for Flagstaff.  We had two options for our hike.  We could either find a campsite, get a good night's sleep and start early in the morning OR we were considering having dinner, getting a few hours of sleep and starting around midnight, putting us at the summit around sunrise.  We had dinner at the Lumberyard Brewery in Flagstaff which was delicious.  After a beer we decided to head to the trail head and go for the midnight start. 

A note on camping at the trail head: According to a staff member at the Snow Bowl lodge, you are allowed to leave your vehicle in the parking lot overnight but you are not allowed to be there after dark.  He did say that we could camp or park on the road anywhere that was not marked as "No Parking".  We found a spot about a quarter mile away from the parking lot, laid out our sleeping bags and tried to get a couple of hours of rest before we started. 

The alarm went off at 11:45pm and we popped up and tried to eat a quick breakfast.  If you haven't tried it yet, PocketFuel makes a delicious and nutritious breakfast, especially on a banana or bagel.  It is a nut butter (usually almond) that has other flavors and crunchy bits.  We quickly packed up and were hiking by 12:11 AM.  We crossed the ski slope and entered the forest as the trail starts a series of long switchbacks that lead up the slope to the saddle.  We weren't hiking more than 20 minutes before we heard something crashing through the brush.  We stopped and listened and started to guess at what was making the noise.  After about 2 minutes the animal seemed to get spooked and started moving quickly making quite a racket breaking branches and dislodging large rocks.  You can't be sure without seeing it but we assumed it was a bear and starting moving slowly up the trail, tripping on rocks and roots as we scanned the forest for eyes instead of looking at where our feet were going.  A few minutes later as I came around a turn I illuminated a pair of eyes about 30 yards away and quickly came to a stop.  My friend caught up and as his headlamp hit the area, we could make out 3 separate pairs of eyes!  We both prepared for a bear encounter and started making noise and doing our best to be as big as possible.  We finally got enough light on the creatures to realize that they were deer.  After a few deep breaths we were off again up the trial.  We were moving slowly and reached the main saddle after about 3 hours of hiking.  There are several steep sections before you get there but the trail is pretty easy to follow, even at night. 

At the saddle the wind picked up considerably and we started adding layers to stay warm.  From the saddle the trail gets harder to follow at night but is marked by small cairns and large white branches.  There are several false summits along the way but we reached the final summit just before 5am.  My GPS watch didn't seem to be recording very well but it recorded 5.24 miles to the summit.  It was a tough hike after a week of work and a day of driving but for me, it was worth the reward of seeing the sunrise at the highest point in Arizona.  It felt like temps were in the high 30's, give or take 5 degrees.  The wind was already building for the day and our best guess was a sustained 25mph.  Both of us were feeling the day's elevation gain of around 10,000 feet (from Tucson) and were eager to get down as quickly as possible.  We found our way over to one of the higher ski slopes and worked our way down the mountain that way. 

This hike at night was a challenge but an achievable one.  It definitely makes me want to do more night hikes, especially if they have a fantastic view at the top. 

Here is a list of noteworthy gear I was using and would recommend:

Pack – Repack 15 from Boreas.  What a great pack! The volume was a little bigger than I needed for this trip but it easily compressed down.  Enough pockets to keep things organized but still simple in design. 

Trekking Poles – Ultra Distance Z from Black Diamond.  The carbon Z poles from BD are fantastic.  They are so light you forget they are there when they are on your pack but still give all the stability you need when you are using them. 

Footwear – NewBalance MT10.  These were the first minimal shoe I tried over a year ago and I keep going back to them.  They are light and give enough cushion for the very rocky sections if you slow down.  For me, the fit is fantastic and I love the heel cup. 

Jacket – TNF Verto Micro Hoodie.  This jacket combines down insulation with waterproof and breathable arms and hood.  It’s very light, compact and surprisingly warm.  Look for it on the rack in early spring 2013.

Note: This is Part Two – check out Part One to see how the story started!

March 31^st – The new day brought good news for those still stranded on Koh Pha Ngan. There was no Navy ship for us today, but the ferry companies were feeling brave and they were sending boats! We quickly bought tickets for the 11am ferry. I could almost feel my pack get lighter as I exchanged my money for a ticket and the stress started to fade away. I was even able to find a bakery where I enjoyed a fresh apple pastry and was able to send an email to let friends and family know I was on the verge of escape from my island paradise. The news kept getting better when the ferry company made an announcement that they were able to get a boat away earlier than expected and the ferry would arrive at 9:30am.

The ferry ride was very exciting. Something about the pitching deck and the karaoke TV station playing made for a unique 30 minutes. We docked and began the mad rush toward the airport. The day before we had heard that there were about 13000 people trying to leave Koh Samui with 2000 in the airport alone. Those numbers seemed about right when we arrived. There was one main airline that flies into that airport, Air Bangkok, which my new German friends were flying. The line to get on the standby list was about 500 people long. I was very lucky in that I flew Thai Air, and there were far fewer people trying to leave on that airline. My ticket was for April 4^th so I knew I was a pretty low priority on their list, but I went to the counter and asked to get on the standby list. They told me they were still trying to find seats for people whose tickets were for several days ago. They told me, though, to come back around 3:30 and they would put me on the waiting list for the last flight. One of the lessons I learned about Thailand is that if you really want something to happen, ask often and ask as many people as possible, SO I went back to the desk about an hour later. Unfortunately, they told me that there was no way I would leave that day and to find a comfortable spot to sleep the night. I went back and stood in line with my friends for around another hour. When I heard the next group of names called for the next Thai flight, I returned to the counter. They took my passport and a few minutes later, they had found me a seat! They said it would cost 1500 baht to change the ticket (about $50), which was well worth it so I quickly paid, and ran to say good bye to the Germans. They told me where they were staying in Bangkok in case I wanted companions to see the city.

When I boarded the plane, I was very pleasantly surprised when I realized that my seat was in First Class. I enjoyed a quick meal and a drink while we flew to Bangkok. Everybody cheered as the plane took off and we all knew that we were putting our ordeal behind us. When I got to Bangkok, I changed my ticket home to allow me to have about one and a half days there to sightsee. While I was waiting at the counter, a woman came up to the next desk and was telling the attendant of her ordeal. It turns out that she had been on the Thai Navy vessel that had taken the 150 people from our island and she was just arriving. It had been about 12 hours at sea, a delay once they had reached land, and another 3 or 4 hours by bus. I considered myself very lucky not to have been there with her and tried to help bridge her French to English with the attendant’s Thai to English. Shortly later, I found my way to the Grand Diamond Suites in downtown Bangkok and had another delicious Thai meal at the hotel.

April 1 - Bangkok lives up to its reputation in just about every way possible. It is a huge, sprawling city that offers something for just about any traveler who visits. It has fantastic shopping, historic temples and unbelievable food. We started the day at the Grand Palace, which served as the home of the royal family and much of the government for 150 years. Bangkok is also the location of Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The grounds are filled with incredible buildings that are lavishly decorated in gold and hand painted murals. Guardian demons guard many of the entrances and arches around the buildings. There are several small museums and countless photos waiting to be taken.

They also have a strict dress code there and offer to let you borrow garments to cover up. Since I was wearing shorts, I borrowed some traditional pants, which were quite comfortable in the warm sun. From there we went to Wat Pho, which houses the largest reclining Buddha, measuring over 140’ long. Then we took a short ride on the Chao Phraya river ferry south and found lunch along the street. After lunch, we wandered through the city toward our hotel and found Pratunam Market. This is a typical street market that winds its way around a few city blocks. You could find fine Thai silk, knock-off brand name goods, touristy souvenirs, tasty fresh food, and just about anything you can imagine in a market in downtown Bangkok.

We all headed back to our rooms for a much needed shower and nap before going back out to see a little of the Bangkok night life. We tried to go to Chinatown, but the Red Shirt protestors were there and the police had the entire area blocked off. We asked our Tuk-Tuk driver to take us to his favorite street food in the area instead (note: this is not a good idea usually because the drivers often take tourists to a place where they receive a commission). We ended up in a wonderful spot that had unbelievable stir-fry and other fresh Thai dishes. After a few helpings and a few beers, we walked across the street and indulged in 30 minutes of the best foot massage I’ve ever experienced. After a short ride, we headed back to our rooms and ended what felt like the first true day of vacation.

April 2 – Everybody had to head to the airport in the afternoon, so our plan was to spend the day in the Chatuchak weekend market. This market is perhaps the largest in the world and is only open on the weekends. In my opinion, it is a must see if your travel plans allow. The market spans around 35 acres and has around 5000 stalls of goods. The guide books say that the market gets over 200,000 visitors a day so plan to get there early, and I recommend taking the train and avoiding the street level traffic at all cost. The market is roughly broken up by the type of goods sold. If you are an animal lover, you may consider avoiding the pet area, which has all sorts of animals available for purchase including squirrels, hedgehogs, and exotic fish to name a few. You can also find a variety of bugs and other unusual treats prepared as snacks on the edges of the animal section. The clothing section is vast and has some treasures if you are looking for high quality, low priced local goods. The flower section boasts beautiful flowers in every color available. This is a nice area to wander through as a break from the more intense shopping found in the rest of the market.

The trip home was pleasantly uneventful and it was very nice to find the Tucson weather warm and dry. Although my trip ended up being far from what I had expected, I would recommend the destination to anybody considering it. It is a wonderful country, and most of the people there were very eager to help a stranded traveler. Thinking back now, I did some pretty great things: eating fresh seafood, Thai massage on the beach, great shopping in Bangkok, plus the experience and the new friends I have. If you keep your plans loose and your attitude flexible, you’re sure to have a great time.

Gear – The gear I had with me on this trip truly played a huge role in my comfort. Because the weather was so far from what I had planned for, I really had to push the things I brought with me. Everything I had with me exceeded my expectations, but I will go over the things I brought that were the shining stars for me.

Luggage/bags:

My main piece of luggage was the Osprey Porter 46. This convertible duffel is carry-on friendly and was just large enough. It was very comfortable to carry on the various taxis, ferries and air planes I was on. The big surprise here was how water resistant this bag is on its own. I did not have a rain cover, so the bag was always wet. At one point, it was partially submerged in the ocean for a moment on my back. It only let in a very small amount of water, not enough to get the things inside wet, and it always dried more quickly than I expected. This bag was invaluable to me and will be a good friend for many years to come.

My second bag that I carried was the Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Sling bag. This bag was my “under the seat” bag on the plane and my day bag in Bangkok. It is very light and remarkably water resistant. It holds just the right amount of stuff, and when you don’t need it, it stuffs down to almost nothing. Sea to Summit makes a few different bags in this line, and they are all fantastic, depending on what shape works best for you.

My backup bag was the Exped Cloudburst 25. I originally brought this backpack/dry bag to be my daypack for my hikes and kayak trips on the island. It turned into my emergency, no-matter-what dry bag. I stored clothes, camera, money, passport and anything that I really needed to keep dry. I also used it to line my Porter to add another layer of protection from the rain. It really provided peace of mind for the things I was not willing to risk getting wet.

Packing Systems

I used two products to keep my things organized in my bags: the Eagle Creek Half Cube and the Sea to Summit Packing Cell in medium. These were the right size and shape for me, but I would highly recommend any of the packing solutions from these companies. They are very useful to keep things organized and to truly make the most of the space you have. I doubt I would have been able to take such a small main bag without them. I also used the Sea to Summit Laundry bag to keep my dirty and wet stuff separate when I had to pack it away.

I also used the Eagle Creek Pack-it Sacs in the X-Small size as my wallet. This bag is large enough to hold money, passport, phone, and a few other small items. It is very water resistant and keeps things organized. It is also easy to find when it is in another bag, and it has a clip on the end to keep it attached to you when you are in close quarters with strangers.

Rain Wear

I had packed my Marmot Mica jacket as a sort of joke, but I am very glad it was with me. It is a very light and breathable jacket that works as well traveling as it does backpacking. I really can’t say enough about how well this jacket performed. It was wet for about 5 days straight and never leaked. The face fabric was completely soaked and it continued to breathe. I may have been the only person on Koh Pha Ngan with a jacket, and I received many covetous looks from those around me. This jacket outperformed many other more expensive jackets I have and truly impressed me in every way.

Other

If you haven’t tried a GoToob, you need to. These little tubes are perfect for travel liquids and gels. We have them in two sizes and a few colors to keep things easily recognized. They also are extremely leak resistant, more so than most other hard sided bottles.

I used the LowePro Toaploader Zoom 45AW as my camera bag, paired with the OpTech Utility Sling strap. This was a comfortable and secure system for the camera and lens I had. The bag has a rain cover, and the strap allows for very easy access to the camera.

Planning for my trip to Thailand began in November 2010. The vast options for quiet beaches on small islands seemed daunting, but after a few hours of research I had narrowed my choices down pretty easily. I settled on an island in the south called Koh Pha Ngan. It is just north of the larger island Koh Samui, which is a more popular and easily reached destination. Koh Pha Ngan is famous for its Full Moon Party that occurs every month on the full moon. It is a very large gathering of travelers from around the world who are looking for a crazy beach party. I was looking for something much quieter and more secluded, so I settled on a small beach on the northwest side of the island called Haad Salad. Boasting idyllic images of white sand beaches and turquoise water, it seemed perfect for a relaxing week of sun and adventure. I booked a week at Asia Bungalows, which are situated in the middle of the beach. They are a very clean and well-kept group of bungalows that I would recommend to anybody looking for a place to stay on this beach. They don’t offer all of the amenities that the other business do, but they are very well priced, and everything on the beach is within a three minutes’ walk from anything else. I’d like to spend some time talking about the gear I brought, but I’m going to leave that until the end.

I left on Friday and arrived in Bangkok on Sunday because of the time difference. From Bangkok, it’s a 45 minute flight to Koh Samui airport. From the airport, a short ride in a cab gets you to Big Buddha pier, where the ferry to Koh Pha Ngan is a 30 minute jaunt across the sea. When I arrived in Thongsala, the pier on Koh Pha Ngan, it was raining a little but the sun was trying to come out and I was optimistic about the weather for my time there. I took a taxi to my bungalow and set about unpacking and trying to unwind to enjoy the vacation. In the spirit of vacation, I quickly changed into my swimming attire and jumped in the ocean. After a quick rinse, I walked down the beach and found a restaurant that was grilling fresh seafood. A filling meal of grilled king prawn and Thai beer finished my evening and I headed back to the bungalow.

March 28^th - The next morning I awoke to heavy rain and wind, and a high tide that was breaking against the wall at the edge of our bungalow complex. I was surprised at the weather, but I managed to get dressed and head to one of the other restaurants that had breakfast and an internet connection, so I could eat and update my friends and family on my location. I tried to resist the urge to check the weather forecast but I quickly gave in to temptation, and after a little searching (reliable weather forecasts in Thailand are hard to find), I found a radar image that was quite alarming. A very large tropical depression had moved in over most of southern Thailand and was moving VERY slowly to the north. I grew up in North Carolina so I have been through my share of hurricanes and bad weather. Unfortunately, had not packed for bad weather and I started to get worried.

I headed quickly back to my bungalow, where I began packing and heading for the pier at Thongsala. I ran into the proprietor of the bungalows, who let me know that the sea was very rough and all of the ferries for that day had been canceled. This meant that I would be on our island for at least one more day but, taking a deep breath, I tried to take a positive attitude and realized that being stuck on an island in Thailand could be a pretty good place to get stuck. I set out to make the best of the day. I found a Thai Massage house set on the beach and had a fantastic one-hour massage. After lunch and a nap, I went back to try to send out another round of emails when the main power for the island went out. I decided to have an early dinner that night and headed to bed, hoping that the next day would be better.

March 29^th – I woke up around 2 AM to the sound of very heavy wind and rain. I ventured onto the porch of my bungalow and was immediately struck with the spray of a wave breaking over the wall on the beach. Bad timing had allowed the storm surge to arrive near high tide. The wall stood about 4.5’ tall over the sand and the bungalows are on stilts another 3’ over the ground. My bungalow was one unit and about 20’ back from the wall. Needless to say, this was a big wave. The bungalows in the front were only about 5’ back from the wall and were being hit directly by the waves. After retreating back inside, I could feel the bungalow shake as more waves found their way over the wall. I tried to get back to sleep but after a few hours I went outside for a look. I was able to snap a few pictures with my phone, but I was not brave enough to bring out the camera. These shots were captured as I ran to and from the edge of the wall between the larger waves.

I knew that a taxi was leaving at 10AM that day for the pier, and I desperately want to be in it. I decided to brave the beach and try to get to the meet-up point. Most of the businesses had a wall similar to the one at my bungalow. That meant that I would be trying to hold my own between the wall and the breaking waves. I packed my bags assuming I would get very wet and headed out. I very quickly knew that I had made a bad decision. I was being beaten against the wall in one second and violently being pulled out to sea in the next. After about 30’ of travel, I gave up and hopped back on the wall and made my way up to the bungalow there. Lucky for me, the woman who had given me the massage the previous day was there and she showed me how to get back to my bungalow via the confusing maze of roads behind the beach.

I reached the bungalow soaking wet and drained both physically and emotionally, knowing that there would be no escape that day. I did my best to start trying to dry off and clean up and I unpacked again to let my bags start to dry out. After a cold shower and a long nap, I went out and had a meal. Tonight’s meal was deep fried shrimp in a sweet/spicy Thai chili sauce. It was fantastic and very welcome after the day’s events. I retired early that night and hoped that the morning would bring better weather and luck.

March 30^th - I woke up and found that the sea, while very rough, was calmer than the day before. The wind had also changed direction, which told me that we were on the other side of the storm. I hung my hopes on these thoughts and went to the office area of the bungalows to see if they knew if there would be any boats that day. “No Boat” was about all of the English they knew to tell me about what was going on, but it was enough to get the message across: no rescue today. As I was heading back to my bungalow, I saw a few other people loading into a taxi and I walked over to see where they were heading to. They said they were going to the pier to try to find more information and possibly catch a boat later that day. I asked if I could ride with them and quickly ran back to get my stuff and hopped in. They were two couples from Germany, and we quickly bonded over our shared experience.

We got to the pier where the Thai officials were making lists of who was there and where we were trying to go. There were three options: Bangkok, Koh Samui, or an undetermined destination on the mainland to the east. We got on the Koh Samui list since that was where our flights were leaving from and found seats to wait. Shortly after we arrived, Neil from the British embassy, arrived and starting giving out more information. The news that day was that the Thai navy was in route and would be rescuing us! Not realizing that things were quite that bad, it was both good news and a little sobering that conditions were that bad. Neil told us that the island to the north, Koh Tao, was in much worse shape than we were, but the boat could not dock there so it was coming for us first. The boat had around 1000 seats and would be able to accommodate everybody who was presently at the pier. Once we boarded, however, we would not know where we were heading. The news was that conditions on Samui were worse: No power, no water, and the airport was closed. The tentative plan was to sail north to an area of the mainland that was in good enough condition to bus us the rest of the way to Bangkok. Evidently, conditions due west on the mainland were very bad. Most of the roads were washed out and even the train could not get through due to missing pieces of the rail line.

Several hours went by and Neil came to us with more information. The Navy vessel had continued on to Koh Tao and was shuttling people to the boat via smaller vessels. They would be returning past our island, but there were only 150 seats on the boat so we would not all be able to leave. Before the words were out of his mouth, several hundred people were pushing toward the chair Neil was on to get on the list, which meant we would not. In hindsight, it was very lucky that we did not get on that boat. We waited the rest of that day at the pier, hoping that the news would change again, but around 5 pm we gave up and went back to Asia Bungalows. We felt defeated for the day but we were hopeful that the next day would be better. We all had dinner together, another fabulous meal. I feasted on a whole Red Snapper that was deep fried and swimming in a chili sauce. The evening went well. After several beverages, I was even convinced by my new friends to eat the eye of the snapper. I’m not easily persuaded into trying strange things and, in retrospect, I’m not quite sure how that conversation went. But you only live once, and the eye was essentially tasteless. What was alarming was the crunch that I was not expecting. Who would have guessed that a fried fish eye would crunch? We decided to meet again early the next morning and to try to be at the pier before anybody else.

Look for Part 2 of Thailand: Escape from Paradise later this week to see how Richard got off the island and back to Summit Hut!