May 18 Going Commando (Day 234)
Another beautiful morning in ‘paradise’! The heat and humidity are so oppressive that we have “gone commando”, why peel off two layers when one is enough! One source I looked up said that the term of going without underwear originated during the Vietnam war among soldiers who ditched their ‘tighty whiteys’ to alleviate the fungal infections they were getting from the excessive humidity! I have a whole new respect for Vietnam war era soldiers!
We decided to take a longtail boat into Ao Nang to explore the urban scene.
There’s a great breeze as we zoomed along the cliffs!
We walked up the long main road, stopping at a pharmacy for some cold medicine. I woke up with a sore throat this morning and did a COVID test that was negative (yay!), so I just picked up a cold virus.
There must be a public bus system since there are several monkey themed bus stops!
We then meandered along the waterfront, stopped for pizza and beer then continued to the Monkey Trail, a short hike over a forested outcrop to another small beach.
Near the entrance to the trail is a shrine to the many-armed Goddess Durga. There are Hindu shrines everywhere, decorated with flowers and incense sticks burning.
The boardwalk and rickety stairs of the Monkey Trail were crowded, with people, no monkeys to be seen! There is a great view of Ao Nang beach from the trail. It’s hard to imagine all the crowds, resorts, restaurants and shops down there, the jungle hides it all well!
We caught another longtail boat back to the calm peaceful atmosphere at our resort and cooled off in the pool with some beach drinks!