Mango Fever - Vacation in Khao Lak

" Taxi?! "

"You already asked me! Like 5 minutes ago."

Things were getting out of hand. An early-morning departure from Bangkok had us waiting for a late-morning pick-up in Phuket and I was slowly losing control.

" You want taxi?! "

Their name is taxi driver and their number is legion. Surrounded by a throng of smoking Thai taxi drivers and smoking European tourists, Kendra and I searched diligently for our pickup. Thai sunlight apparently missed the memo on having a 'hottest part of the day' and just goes for broke throughout daylight, so we looked out into the crowded parking lot from the shade of the Arrivals area. Tragically, Pastor Dton had been there for 40 minutes before we spotted him and gained salvation from what is now, along with Houston, TX, one of my least favorite places in the world.

Pastor Dton very kindly drove us back the 60miles to Khao Lak, whisking us away from the Bangkok portion of our trip and delivering us to tropical paradise. The familiar sights and smells of Khao Lak now had the added complement of Craig and Ranae, but we would wait to enjoy the combination until after resting at the center.

Wanting ice cream from a road-side vendor, Craig and Ranae stopped for a cone. Mistake #1 - never eat ice cream or any other frozen food from a vendor in any country that is not developed. Bad things happen. Dad's mint chocolate chip tasted like Vick's VapoRub and toothpaste and cough syrup. Not the right flavor of mint. Mistake #2 - if you pay for something, no matter how much it was, it is a sunk cost. You've already lost the money. If it sucks, it makes no difference if you finish it or not. Cut your losses and get away with your health. Mistake #3 - don't listen to your daughter (who has had her fair share of food-borne illness) and finish the cone anyway. Who cares that you can hardly stomach the flavor? You paid almost $2 for it. Even animals know that if something tastes bad, it's probably poisonous.

Now, Craig has been all over the world and should not have made even one of the above mistakes, but he made all three, and in the middle of the night, groaning and shaking, we rushed him to the hospital, which was a sickening 20 minutes from our house. My mom was unaffected, thank God, but my dad had to stay overnight for IV fluids (he also wasn't drinking enough, and he knew it) and food poisoning. Now, he ate all the same things we did, except that disgusting cone, so you do the math. Fortunately, the unbearable pain subsided after an hour or two and his hospital stay was rather pleasant, and certainly inexpensive. He was back to his old self the next day, when we took them to see the preschool where we work after flying around looking for an ATM that worked to pay for his treatment.

Now in Khao Lak we have certainly been living the life of a missionary. Pulling the skin off of the chicken within our 90cent rice bowl was par for the course around 6pm before Craig and Ranae came. But, with their arrival, we were now able to enjoy a more indulgent side of Khao Lak.

This began at Chong Fah, a boutique mini-resort right on the beach. 2-for-1 cocktails at sunset were the occasion, and Craig was certainly up to the task of capturing the moment on digital film. For more photos, you can of course check out our photo site at kendraderek.shutterfly.com .

Our awesome vacation companions

Don't let the fact that I look like I'm 12 fool you- I'm actually much older

Fortunately, without haze on the horizon, the sun would make it all the way to the water

One of many very cool artistic shots by Craig

Several of the very friendly staff at the beautiful Chong Fah resort have learned English at Step Ahead. Kim first turned us on to the place and we couldn't recommend it more highly. The owner is also quite nice and has done a wonderful job rebuilding after the tsunami.

The next morning, Kendra would take Craig and Ranae on a short scooter trip to the nearby market. Lots of meat and produce are on offer, with exotic fruits and pig faces making for some interesting memories.

For the rest of the day, we would retire to Bangsak beach (which we've posted pictures of before) to take in the sun and powder-soft sand. Relaxing on the beach was just what the doctor ordered for us, and during lunch we were blessed with the company of two puppies.

Testing the waters

Atlas of Anatomy on the tropical beach? Hello 'Perfection,' my name's Derek Weyhrauch

One of the rare moments during the trip when Craig actually rested

One of our pensive lunch-time puppy companions

Dinner would find us at the nearby national park, where a short hike would show Craig and Ranae the towering trees, curious plants, and small lizards of the jungle (giant spiders were absent, but the threat of their attack was imminent). We then had dinner in the jungle restaurant while the sun went for a swim on the horizon. 

The remainder of our time in Khao Lak would quite wonderfully prove to be much the same. Dinner on the beach (pineapple fried rice served in the hollowed-out pineapple is so choice), a seashell scavenger hunt at a northern section of Bangsak beach, and another round of cocktails at Chong Fah (Ranae's mango daquiri owned my standard daiquiri, but mine was delicious nonetheless). Khao Lak's finest fresh mangoes proved to be a huge hit, and quite a few would be sacrificed. The same look of pure bliss that I saw on Jordan's face years before as he ate a gourmet cheeseburger at a restaurant in Lahaina, Maui was evident on Craig's with each bite into a mango roti. 

Finally, I remember joking during the trip that, given the frequency with which Craig snapped photos, we'd end of with a flip book of the trip. Well that's almost literally the case, so I'd again invite you to check out shutterfly. I will, however, leave you with one of the best shots of the trip- Craig's tequila sunrise at Chong Fah. I believe it's been appropriately re-named, "Tequila Sunset."