From Eva: Island Life

28.1. Wonderful, where we washed up again.... Ko Phayam. The reason we haven't blogged for a long time is that our laptop cable has had its own adventures in the past three weeks. We have learned, among other things, that courier services do not work the same way everywhere in the world...

Maybe it's a good thing that I couldn't write, otherwise I would probably have reported on my travel sickness, which has haunted me (and somehow the children) on the way here, on sunburn and on other things that we have almost forgotten in the meantime. In addition, we were able to fill the time wonderfully by being with the people in the resorts. Children to play with, adults to exchange ideas with, acquaintances from Ko Libong whom we were able to meet again... Making friends, eating (wonderfully) together (yes, my curry comes in all variations here!!!), swimming, surfing, joking, laughing, discussing, painting, crafting, building, being on the move - everyone where they feel comfortable. The atmosphere here on the beach and on the whole island is a delight for us! So many tourists so peacefully together. The downside of this open-hearted togetherness is that sometimes the goodbyes hurt a bit.

Fortunately, we decided to enjoy our time here instead of visiting more places in Thailand. This has brought a lot of peace and eventually also something like inspiration. Specifically, this means that we will be chugging along on the slow boat to Ranong the day after tomorrow and then taking the night bus to Bangkok from there. So we still have three days in Bangkok before we fly back home.

Last week we left the island for a day. Because our visa wouldn't have lasted the whole time, we left and re-entered Thailand through Myanmar. Thanks to various reports on the internet, we managed this wonderfully, although I was quite tense all day. In Ranong, we had to stamp out of Tahiland, take the longtail boat to Myanmar, pay for a one day stay with a brand new 10 dollar note (per person), return on the same boat, and have a new permit issued at the Thai border. So we can stay in the country for another 30 days - somehow also a tempting possibility...

Today Sebastian and I got a deeper insight into the island and especially into the cultivation and processing of cashew nuts. What we eat as a nut grows at the bottom of a fruit and is enclosed in a very hard shell. After separating it, the nuts are dried, then boiled, dried again, opened by hand, roasted, and then peeled from the last skin (also by hand). If you want to know more about it, now you know where to ask!