If you have been following the blog you may be wondering when the hell I am going to discuss farming. I wish I had an answer for you. We have gone to all of the places we intended to go, but without stopping at the farms. In the last two weeks we have spent some amazing days at Khao Sok National Park (a lush bamboo rain forest,) on Koh Lanta (another gorgeous island,) and in the town of Krabi. Yesterday, Lizzie and I spent the morning rock climbing up limestone cliffs (with harnesses and necessary climbing gear) with the Andaman Sea to our backs. We then spent the afternoon at the beach below and exploring Phra Nang Cave which is accessible only during the low tide. But what about farming!? The blog is called The Farming Binturong, not the Binturong Beach Bum!
I'll start with the Shrimp and Oyster Farm and the now infamous Ms. Alp. We imagine her as a gracefully aging Thai woman, her skin hanging into soft wrinkling folds, but with a heart as hard and cold as a Siberian tundra. She intermittently answers her phone when we call only to say she'll call us back. She never does. This phone tag has been going on for about two weeks, and during this time she has sent two emails welcoming us to come, but never containing her address or a way to find her. Then she friend requested Mason (the other guy on the trip) on facebook with a message attached: "Hi Mason," goading us. In truth, we don't know whether to laugh or be infuriated.
Detlef is the proprietor of the top spa on the island Koh Samui as well as the Rainbow Springs Organic Farm near Khao Sok National Park. He told us last minute that he could no longer take us at our intended date because he had to do some stuff at his spa. So we arranged to float at Koh Samui (which is when we camped at Angthong Marine National Park that I described in an earlier post) for a bit until he got back some three days later. He then told us he would stay at his spa longer So we again floated for a few more days. This time we decided to go to Khao Sok National Park since his farm was supposed to be nearby. Then he told us that the farm was really busy and needed a few days to make arrangements to take us. We told him our Ms. Alp story. He told us to wait a few days. We left Khao Sok and headed south for a few days. We went to the island of Koh Lanta and did an amazing snorkeling day trip. I can't even begin to describe the volume and colors of fish. There were the most vibrant blues and greens I have ever seen and fish with five distinct colors or more. Then Detlef told us the rains in Khao Sok were flooding his farm and he couldn't take us. We could no longer ignore his hints that he didn't want to take us in the first place.
These two farms were the two farms that we had accepting correspondence prior to leaving. They said yes to us a month ago, but now no such luck. We had also started conversations with two other southern Thailand farms. Both of them refused to take us as we tried to rekindle the relationship within the last week. So this morning Lizzie and I emailed six farms in the Chiang Mai region of northern Thailand to see if we can just go north earlier than planned instead of waiting longer on Ms. Alp to answer her phone that may not exist. Even though we are frustrated by the farms, we have found many beautiful, once in a lifetime, and expensive diversions. Lizzie and I battle with the fact that we did not come to Thailand for beaches, but for farms. How can I find the simple mindset/lifestyle I want to bring back to the States while surrounded by leather-skinned tourists who are all on the postcard beach for very different reasons? This contrast weighs heavy on my mind and I can't escape the thought while sitting at those beaches. I am a person of place. I need to move my place.
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