Ko Chang

My bungalow is on the edge of the ocean. It couldn't be any closer to the water without falling in the sea. Mists flow through the walls of the cabin, my mosquito net and me. It sounds like the end of the world. More than once I've woken up in the middle of the night with the sense that the ocean was about to swallow me.

Our first night here I walked ankle-deep in rain down the rutted track that led to the ocean, stumbling in the dark as the palm trees thrashed in the wind. The rain and ocean remind me of Oregon, though its palms and strangler figs I see, not Sitka spruce.

There is a swing outside my window hanging from the branches of a sprawling tree. It rides just above the high tide. When the tide is out there are shells swept up on the beach. There are shells of fantastic shapes and colors, many which must have once been home for hermit crabs and other creatures. There are also pieces of coral that have washed ashore and are bleached white as bone.

There are other islands around Ko Chang, all of them lushly forested. These islands make up Ko Chang National Park, and its heartening to see that efforts are being made to protect the area even as it is developing all too quickly. All along the road there are muddy desolate lots waiting for more resorts and shopping centers. Meanwhile, we are at Lonely Beach, where the lodgings are still rustic, there isn't too much shopping, and the happy shakes are both tasty and quite potent.