A jungle trek to remember

I stumbled across Phi Phi Relax Beach Resort on the internet, with its own private beach located on the other side of Koh Phi Phi, away from the crowds and tourists, with our own private little bungalow overlooking the sparkling waters of the Andaman Sea

I knew my girlfriend would love it and being a hopeless romantic I instantly booked it. Only problem was we are both social and curious people and wanted to experience the main town of Tonsai as well. (If for nothing else but the fact that everything at the resort was twice the price of that in town) Luckily there was a mountain path through the rainforest which lead up to the look out and then down into Tonsai. Both of us being sporty people completed the steep climb in 45 minutes and before long we were strolling along the bustling streets, packed full of backpackers and scuba divers alike.

Deciding on a good restaurant for dinner we had no sooner sat down at a table than the heavens opened and it teemed. I’m not talking a little bit of rain, I’m talking water volumes equivalent to that of Niagara Falls. Figuring it would pass quickly we remained at the restaurant until it was nearly dark and when it failed to ease we decided we would just have to get wet.

The busy streets of Tonsai had become a fast flowing river due to poor drainage systems and soon we were walking ankle deep (and even knee deep in some places) down the main road. Stopping at a convenience store we picked up ponchos and umbrellas (for the electronics in the bag as we were already soaked), and began the hike back up to the view point. The stairs had literally become raging rapids but we just took our time holding the handrails for dear life and eventually we made it to the shop at the view point, we walked in to the applause from a dozen adventurers who were holed up on the floor playing cards waiting for the rain to ease.

Unfortunately for us this was merely the halfway point. Luckily I had taken the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” into consideration and packed torches. I pulled these out of my bag and found a walking stick and then we entered into the dark, gloomy jungle once more. The thick canopy stopped the majority of the rain and my main worry was slipping so we moved at a careful pace, avoiding slippery stones and patches of mud. I wasn’t all that worried until
“STOP” I commanded my girlfriend behind me, who froze mid step.
There in the middle of the path barely 10cm from where I had stepped lay a small black snake illuminated in my torchlight. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the Thai jungle nursing a snake wound, sopping wet in the middle of the night and hours from the nearest hospital. We waited patiently for the snake to slither from the path and only once it was well and truly in the bush did we continue on our way.
Our once brisk, careful pace had slowed down to a gruelling crawl as every stick was double checked for fangs and I fought every instinct to make my girlfriend lead the way. With my masculinity intact, we poked and prodded the rest of the way down the forest track and on more than one occasion we came across another scaly black serpent slithering on its yellow belly.

A 45 minute walk had turned into a one and a half hour mission by the time we eventually made it back to the resort where we made a bee line straight to the bar for a stiff drink to calm our nerves. We had gone out looking for an adventure and bitten off much more than we could chew. I think next time I will just stick to the hammock.

(Submitted to TNT magazine competition 11/1/11)