Ko Bulon

Greetings!
I have fallen behind and will now attempt to catch up some....

Leaving Surin I headed back to Kao Lak for a night in Pak Bara, and then in the morning headed off south to get to Ko Bulon, an island a German man had recommended.  This was to be my last venture in Thailand before taking off.  I spenf one night in Pak Bara, the port town and took the ferry the next morning.  3 tour operators wanted to sell me the boat ticket all at different prices and after buying the cheapest one I went to sleep.  In the morning I noticed there was also a ticket booth at the marina  selling the ticket for 50 baht cheaper...  Such is life!

Pak bara is a fishing town...

The speed boat headed to the island and met local boats to transfer us to shore.  You pay 50 Baht for this.  It must be a way to increase local profit.  I went to a place called Jungle hut which had a super friendly staff and said I could stay in a tent for 50 Baht a night.  They thought I wanted one of their tents and when they saw I had my own said I could stay for free!  Super kind people.  Of course for this reason I ate plenty at their restaurant so everyone won.
The island is divided in 2 parts with a giant hill in the middle and a 15 minute walk to the other side.  The other side is where the snorkeling was so it was good exercise.  Right at the top was a bar called the Bong hut or Bong bar and it had a couple Rasta Thais who were of course always smiling and happy to see you.  It made for a nice stop before going down the other side.  The place smelled like a concert and no one seemed to mind.

After 3 nights I moved my tent to the other side on the beach but had to walk 200 meters for a toilet.  It was well worth it to see the sun rise!













One f the coolest things about the island is the hornbills!  Giant birds with giant yellow horns!  I saw one in a tree and one on the ground that then took off.  I missed the exact moment of takeoff as something was scratching me inside my shirt which i shook out...then scratched my arm and pulled a very weird and scary looking caterpillar thing out of my sleeve.  By then the bird had just spread its wings and started up.  It was a great sight... It almost made me forget to shiver about the weird thing that was with me for who knows how long!
Some activities I engaged in at this island included lying in my hammock, sitting in my hammock, seeing if I can find knew ways to lie and sit in my hammock and sitting in my hammock while reading, listening to music, and finding knew ways to sit and read and listen to music in it.  After all this work and excitement I was lucky to have a hammock to relax in!  I also went swimming and snorkeling and walked up and down the ill a few times a day.  I also learned world history (audio books are great) and stood on my head.

The island is not to exciting to talk about but it is a great place for the above mentioned activities.  The reefs are not as beautifuil as the other places but it is much more quiet and relaxed.

On the last day I hopped the boat back to pak bara and then took a bus to Phuket, where IW as flying out of.

Phuket treated me well, but I did not have time to explore the beaches, I only saw the city proper.  It is now full of resorts and fance stuff, and I probably would not have gone to see it if I had the time.  I had one last foot massage and got on the airport shuttle.

The flight to Hong Kong had some beautiful clouds....