farewell koh chang

wednesday... or is it tuesday?? hmm anyway today is our last day on this tropical island.
today is a strange one - i have gotten into the slow calmness of this place. but i am ready to leave.
ready to leave this place where the dogs sit upright and motionless at the waters edge, quiet and staring out to sea. where the butterflies are as big as bats. where the pineapples are sweet. where old old ladies sit on the back of motorbikes, helmetless. where my skin is brown and healthy. where the geckos sing like birds. where there is a treehouse with hammocks and cushions and good food. where coconuts fall from their trees onto the beach. where there are deer that bark. where there are two little island girls who swim all the time and who are always angry with each other. where tourists run along the beach in lycra and joggers and bumbags. where riding around the island on the motorbike in bathers and thongs is the best thing. where fruit shakes are the best thing.where sleeping to the sound of the waves is the best thing.

but as i think about all the best things i cant help but be saddened because there are also many of the worst things here. this place, i think, is being destroyed by the tourist industry that keeps it alive.
we hired a kayak yesterday and paddled out to one of the nearby islands. from the beach it looked like paradise. as we paddled over we looked down and underneath us was a whole reef full of dead coral.completely dead and grey. then when we arrived to the island i wanted to cry. it was like a rubbish tip. everywhere was rubbish. you get used to it in bangkok but to see it on an uninhabited island was so disturbing. people here dont think twice before chucking there rubbish on the ground. i dont understand.

and now unfortunately the last few days have tarnished this tropical island.
we woke up yesterday to the sound of a girl crying. we went outside and got talking. this amazing girl had just ridden her bike, by herself for 7 months, through cambodia, laos, vietnam and thailand. she was stopping in koh chang for a holiday before heading home to norway. but her first night here was devestating. she had her drink spiked, lost her bag and ended up in hospital because someone found her passed out on the road. and then after a little while she broke down and told us she had been raped too. we looked after as much as we could but she wanted to leave the island.. she was so scared of being here.
it has made me see this place through different eyes. it has made me sick. it has made me sad. it has made me angry. i have enjoyed koh chang a lot but it is time to leave.
please be careful wherever you are. these things can happen to the best people. to the strongest. to the most travelled. and in the most beautiful places.

so, to bangkok we go.

koh chang

quick update..
this place is cool.
we are staying in a beach hut on stilts about 10 m away from the water. i have always dreamed of living somewhere with a bedroom like this. asaaahhhhh.
last night there was a huge storm so we sat on our balcony in the balmy air and watched the lightning over the horizon.
today we are going to hire a motorbike and go exploring. this place is a tropical island... jungle then beach. i think we might avoid the jungle though.. there are tigers in there. and elephants! and malaria.
and also today i am going to buy some thai pants.
we have 10 days here... lotys of lying around and swimming. the water is the same temperature as the air though.. hot.

next time i will tell you all about milano..
and the monkey school.