We are a few days on from the last installation of the memoirs, the blind leading the blind around south East Asia. A significant amount of debauchery has occurred in that time. A few drinks, ending in quite a few drinks, a drunken game of pool with two French girls and German a guy. A not so lush beach with a few dead dogs washed up on the shore. (aptly now given the name dead dog island) and almost getting stranded with the closing tide, sadly losing Charlie's flip flop (sorry trace) on the way. However we felt native enough to be able to survive even the toughest of conditions. I mean we did manage to open a coconut, eating the fruits of our labour.
All this in a small town called Myeik, closed to foreigners not so long ago, Now very much accessible. The archipelago islands proved to be a little more changeling as permits issued by the government forbid travel there. Our efforts exhausted we headed back to Dawei to a beach 3 hours south that is pretty undiscovered and untouched.
1 ferry ride back to with our new Italian friend Alex, we set off the next morning on our adventure with our mopeds. (sorry mums)
With no map and solely relying on word of mouth we headed south. After a gruelling 5 hours, a few sore bums (from the gnarled roads which made the terrain almost impossible to ride) we eventually made it to the small fisherman village we had heard about. Our host Ko Aing Welcomed us with open arms into his family home. He guided us through the jungle and out into a clearing which brought us to the most beautiful beach any of us had ever seen. (Pictures of which do not do it justice) White sand, crystal clear water and not a sole in sight. After a ride on the beach with our mopeds, we took a well deserved dip into the tepid waters of the Andaman sea. Not even the tiny stings from the jellyfish could dampen our spirits.
As we sat and watched the sun go down Ko Aing invited us to stay in his family home that night. We of course could not miss an opportunity like this.
Back at the house, we were the talk of the town. As we sat down for a seafood feast of freshly caught crab and squid, the neighbouring children fascinated by our alien appearance watched us as we polished off enough food to feed an army.
We interacted with the whole family, Charlie teaching the kids a handshake and playing poi's me showing them a few Diablo tricks and watching the grandmother prepare the squid. And Alex playing guitar whilst Ko Aing serenaded us all as we went to sleep. The perfect end to a perfect day.
The next morning we rose early, the wooden floor wasn't the most comfortable of nights sleep. We grabbed breakfast from the local.....I suppose cafe, come convince store come coffee shop. A popular place for the locals to hang out it seemed.
A quick trip to a neighbouring fishing village and a snack of some fresh clams off the rocks, we headed back to nyum byin for a final feast before we set off back on our long journey to Dawei. Contact numbers and addresses exchanged, we said our goodbyes with a genuine gratitude to the family. A day I'm sure we will have in our memories for a very long time.