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Is there such a thing as Paradise Lost?

Well my “Secret Beach” turned out to be not so “Secret” after all. I guess the truth is there really isn’t any touched paradise place in the world left to discover. 99% of the world has already been explored inside and out. We all dream of that deserted island where we can relax and forget about the world, but the truth is we all want the comforts from home to. So when you throw in a nice hotel, hot shower, TV, electricity and good food, you find yourself in a touristy place.

Years ago I produced a TV show for the Travel Channel called “World’s Best Beaches”. Over the last 4 years of traveling I have been to all those beaches and a quite a few more. This place is for sure on my Top 5 list of best beaches in the world. If Thailand had a secret beach this would be it. I’m not sure why… maybe cause of its location, but this place has been left off the well-worn tourist route of Thailand. The rest of Thailand’s beaches are filled with young drunk stupid ass 21 year old backpackers…. Screaming (((((Partyyyy Dude!!!))))

Years ago saying you were going to Thailand was a cool thing… now its about as cool as saying your going on a Disney cruise with your parents! So that said, it was nice to be able to count the foreigners on one hand. But this place was not short of people on vacation looking to have a good time. This island seems to be the Thai peoples vacation spot. I started talking with a 34 year old father from Bangkok, and he says this is where the Thai people like to vacation since the rest of the beaches in Thailand are taken over by foreigners. The island is also home to the nomadic tribe of the Challay People… (Better known as the Sea Gypsies) The sun here is down right dirty! I feel like I landed on the sun… you can get a sunburn in 5 minutes if your standing outside without sunblock. During the day it gets to almost 100F with 95% humidity and at night without the ocean breeze, its not much better. The only power on the island is from a generator, which only runs from 6pm to 6am… yes that’s right… at 6am your fan stops spinning and you start sweating. Even with a fan it’s still hard to sleep. After 2 nights of sweating from head to toe I knew I needed to do something. On my 3rd night I was lying on the beach having a few drinks while looking up and watching the most impressive lighting storm I have ever seen. It was one of Mother Nature’s true masterpieces. It was so mesmerizing just lying there with the cool fresh ocean breeze upon my face and the sounds of the waves crashing against the white sand beach. It didn’t take long for me to fall into a deep sleep, one that I haven’t had in a long time. I slept through night until about 5:30am when I was woken by the morning suns rays and the sounds of the fisherman getting their boats ready for the day. Now for some of you that don’t know what I long tail boat is… it’s basically a boat with an engine from either a bus or truck thrown on the back. These boats are loud as hell, loud enough to wake the dead. At this point I retreated back to my bungalow where I slept for a few more hours until it was time for breakfast… and so for the next 5 days I spelt on the beach under the stars.

But unfortunately everything comes to an end at some point. Before I knew it I was on a boat bound for the mainland. The 3-hour boat journey was a trip that could make the most sea hardy people think twice about setting sail. The boat was packed full of people sitting on top of each other. The sea was pretty rough and it didn’t take long for people to start puking all over the place. I was sitting next to a 10-year-old Thai girl… she was the cutest little thing I have ever seen until she puked on my foot (thank god I was wearing sandals. not!) I have always dreamed of sailing around the world, but I think I have changed my mind. Finally after a 3 hour boat ride from hell, 2 hour taxi speed race to the airport, 1 hour flight, and another 1 hour bus ride… I now can say I have found comfort in a shower to was off the days salt water, sweat, and puke. I have a few days left in Bangkok to take care of a few things and then its back on another flight bound for the good old US of A.

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Posted by Jimmy under Photos, Thailand, Thoughts, Travel Tips, Uncategorized, Updates |