Ko Mak: camping on a jungle island with ten puppies

So the past week of our trip was spent on Ko Mak, a small island in the southeast near Cambodia. We spent our first day searching for Ann, a wwoofing host that we could not make contact with prior to our trip. We figured the island was small enough that we could just ask around town and someone could point us in the right direction and sure enough after a bit of hiking, searching, and broken thai with random hand motions - we found her! She had a big beautiful house, over 100 yrs. old, on the shore of the most beautiful, clear shore beach on the island. She needed help clearing a large plot of land that had been abandoned for several years - she described it as thick jungle, and that it was! So we spent the next five days on a deserted jungle beach clearing land in hope's of fulfilling Ann's vision. She wants to use the land for medicinal herbs, vegetables for her family since importing food to the island can be very expensive, and also to give her family a place to connect with the earth. Ann and her husband Sunny have three children- we met the two younger children, Earl and Nakita - very sweet, energetic, and smart kids. She was also very passionate about being able to provide eggs and grow vegetables for the few small resorts on the island so they can be more sustainable and not have to import so much food.

Our time on the island was spent chopping down noxious vines, clearing trash from the beach, organizing sprouting coconuts, building a fire pit, building a kitchen area equipped with a stove and kitchen shelf constructed from washed up drift wood, and yes - caring for 10 puppies! A couple of Ann's dogs from her house had puppies and together the count was 12, but the mothers were trying to ween them off milk and were starting to get a little aggressive - so in order to prevent any more casualties, we became puppy guardians on the opposite side of the island, where they would be safe from their frustrated mothers. They became our daily entertainment for the duration of the beach camping work week. By the end of the week we had named each one and claimed favorites (who usually got more left over rice and chicken bones than the others :).

Bathing in the sea, eating meals of rice, veggies, and egg washed down with some Ovaltine, and  falling asleep to the sounds of the roaring waves....and our last couple of nights we had to wake up and move our tents due to the roaring waves charging at us! It just so happens to be the perfect time of year and close enough to the full moon for the tide to come all the way to the shrub line on shore! So the last couple of nights we ended up packing up in the middle of the night and sleeping in the area we had cleared in the kitchen to avoid being washed away to sea. A little scary but a funny experience to look back on for sure.

I will miss Ann and her family and the puppies, they were a very generous family with open hearts and beautiful smiles. We may have to go back at the end of the trip and bring one home one of our favorite puppies - but only if we can get past Nakita, she wasn't to keen on the idea of losing one her puppies.

Tonight we leave Bangkok to go south to Surat Thani to work on a shrimp and oyster farm.

Until next time my friends and family!

It Begins in Bangkok!

Well we made it t our bed and breakfast last night by 1:30am after a couple flights and 5 rice meals :) Our flight from Chicago to Seoul was actually very entertaining and very pleasant despite the 12 hour duration. The flight attendants on Korean Air all have their hair in perfect buns with perfect bangs, not a hair out of place - I don't know how they do it. On that same flight Dylan and I inherited a Lao grandmother whom we have now named Nana. She was the third person (in the isle seat) in our row of three. Rather shy at first, with only small giggles coming from her direction, she turned out to be quite a character. Unsatisfied with any beverage or meal she chose from the flight attendants cart or tray, she would take it upon herself to sample Dylan's instead and every time she preferred his choice and therefor would claim it as her own - yet keep it on his tray table for safe keeping. In return she would clean our tray tables for us and diligently tap the butts of the flight attendants as they passed in order to get their attention to collect our used cups and napkins. She would also give us her unwanted juices, extra desserts, and peanut packets (you see, the peanuts were too hard for her to eat with her brittle teeth.) So all in all we made a pretty good team! I will miss Nana.

Front Gate at Be My Guest bed and breakfast

Second flight from Seoul to Bangkok was a drowsy blur but ended with a happy landing in Bangkok. After the mazes of immigration and baggage claim we took a taxi to our quaint, clean, and comfortable Bed and Breakfast. Its owned by this really cool man named Charn - really nice and very helpful! So anyway, woke up this morning to a great breakfast of papaya, toast, and cassava balls and now we're ready to meet up with Stef and Mason. Can't wait to explore the city!

Preparing for Departure

Hello friends and family! I've made this blog to keep you updated during my travels in Thailand. Dylan and I will be leaving this Saturday, January 8th. Stefanie and Mason arrived in Bangkok last week and are already having quite an adventure. I've made links to the other travelers' blogs on the right hand side of the page so take a peek for more stories and updates.

Team Thailand

Last minute plans are being made since the first farmer we were planning to work with changed his mind and wanted to charge us some unexpected fees. So, we have contacted another farmer and are making plans for our first couple of weeks in Thailand.

Almost done packing!