From my top windowless bunk I didn't see any of the passing landscape but at around 6am, with the arrival of orange juice and morning coffee, our beds were converted back to seats and we watched the muddy rivers flow beneath us and the passing Palm Oil plantations that have replaced a lot of the dense forest towards the end of our journey.
We arrived at Chaiya in Surat Thani only 25mins late at a little before 7am on Wednesday morning. The night train having proved restful for some and a thundering shuddering experience for others. Fortunately I was in the former group.
We were met by two ladies, Cat and Mouse, from the Thai government research project. They are working on a series of projects bridging the needs of the national park and the local community with the income provided by Tourism. Community Based Tourism is something we hear a lot on this tour, it's a founding principle of Nutty's Adventures and has got him recognised by the Thai Government to work collaboratively on the Thai Responsible Tourism Association project.
Our drivers took us to the market where a breakfast of doughnuts, salty rice porridge, and a selection of sticky sweet Coconut rice 'pastries' awaited us. We were watched by market vendors and street dogs alike.
After going to our resort to freshen up we went to a woodland temple, Wat Thung Chap Chang, reminiscent of a picturesque picnic spot. The rain had continued with its vertical down pours and thus we dashed to the shelter of an open sided shrine-cum-meeting place. Here we were greeted by the local Tourist Minister who gave us all a gift of a scarf. The village elder then told us about the history of the Temple and the local boxing technique, Muay Chaiya.
I should have taken notes as my memory here is a little sketchy. Over 100 years ago an unknown monk came to the village and founded this temple. Heree he taught the young men a distinct form of hand to hand combat / self-defence. The style was very controlled and became known as Muay Thai boxing.
We all returned to the accommodation, back to the roofed communal area over the sea for a demonstration of Muay Thai. Once the two young lads had stripped to shorts, padded and protected their delicate areas with scarfs, and bandaged their hands with tape and string, they began with a warm up dance. Not only does this ritual dance stretch out the muscles but as each master teaches his own unique warm up dance then any two fighters coming from the same master will recognise each other and not fight.
We were treated to a beautifully choreographed fight including jumps and lifts. Then it was time for two of our boys to be dressed for staged photographs.
The ladies of the village prepared lunch for us. Another meal of rice and chicken, with the much welcomed addition of watermelon slices for dessert.
Just as we were ready for a post-lunch power nap it was our turn to learn the art of Muay Thai. We stretched and then learnt the correct stance of an open pose with hands up and feet firmly planted at diagonal points. By the end of an incredibly energetic session we could all jab, punch, elbow left, right and behind, kick right, and knee with either leg. Useful tips when I am back in London trying to squeeze on to the tube.
A quick shower and we met again for a walking tour of the local village. One of the unique things about this village is that it is equally Muslim and Buddhist. Slipping behind the village shops we were taken to a small factory where the women were spinning and weaving Pumreang, Thailand's famous silk, in a manner that hasn't changed for generations. All the machines were wood and iron, and operated entire by hand. The spinning was mesmerising whilst the patterns created during weaving were controlled by incredibly skilled foot work using machines with different numbers pedals. Silk produced here sells for thousands of Baht due to the workmanship involved, but we were able to purchase some cheaper but equally beautiful pieces. I have a length of olive green silk decorated with peacocks that I hope to use in my new kitchen, once it is built.
We continued our walk around the village, seeing barbecued duck yolks which make a good snack for fishermen. A small hole is made in the top of each egg and enlarged by carefully pinching away snippets of shell until the yolk can be separated from the white. The process is repeated on a second duck egg. The shells are washed and then nail scissors employed to trim down and neaten up the opening, giving one a wider mouth than the other. The two yolks are then put in one shell, the other shell goes ontop forming a lid and the combined egg is then barbecued on hot coals. This will last for upto 3 days on the fishing boats.
Continuing our walk we saw a recent haul of crabs tied with twine ready for sale in tomorrow's market. And finally the fishing boats moored up on the river. We retraced our steps back to the village 7-eleven where we able to buy alcohol for the evening meal. Our guide bought us some sweet banana chapatti pancakes made with egg and rice flour - completely gluten and dairy free, delicious.
The ladies had prepared a meal of fish and crab for our supper. Of course with rice and more watermelon. The crab kept us quiet, until dipped in the hot seafood sauce, and the fish was toasted in a coating of garlic cubes. There was also boiled chicken, chicken and ginger (my favourite) and papaya soup. The evening passes drier and quieter, but more rain was promised overnight. The mass exodus to bed happened between showers at about 9pm, leaving Cat, Mouse, Nutty and I to be joined by our driver for a quiet beer whilst I was lulled to drowsiness listening to the musical Thai language.
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