Truth is I feel like crap lately and am getting pretty pissed off at my body. I feel like February was a struggle and now March is almost complete, with little to show for my progress in life. In attempts to “mind over matter” my way back into the land of the living, I forced myself to go hiking Saturday.
My neighbor Nancy mentioned the Jessamine Creek Trail as one of her favorites. It’s near Lexington, Kentucky. Driving through Lexington is filled with an awestruck view of the rich and race-horse famous. Tons of unbelievable fenced in farms with mansions on the hills. Its such a beautiful city.
When I reached Wilmore (an appropriate name for my journey) the roads became a one car country lane with tight twists and turns. I was nearly out of gas and wasn’t sure if AAA was going to find me out here, should I get stranded.
I almost didn’t trust the google maps, you know how sometimes they mislead you. But sure enough, out of nowhere was a gravel parking lot and an entry to the trail.
Nobody was obeying the big red sign. I figured if I drove 2 hours to get here, I was going to hike near the waterfalls and creeks. I also saw someone with a dog.
Heading in, I was starting to question Nancy’s suggestion. It seems so ordinary and bland.
Passed a cute sign talking about the wildflowers that could be viewed in the spring and fall.
As I kept walking further, past a dead meadow and down some very muddy paths, I could hear something. I wasn’t sure if it was traffic or what, but was happy when I reached the bridge and saw the creek below. It was the sound of a rushing creek.
I walked along the trail by the creek and explored for quite a ways. Sitting occasionally to take in the sun and the sound.
The water was moving quite quickly.
Everything was plush and mossy green. Water was trickling down every avenue possible as if merging to reach the final destination.
As I kept walking, I kept finding more drop offs.
I sat under this ledge for a bit just soaking in the rays, wondering historically how many people camped under this covering for a night.
Fallen trees allowed walkways to the other side.
Such a beautiful view.
I loved this large rock with the water flowing like a fountain spraying from all angles.
Every turn had a new view and a different melody to take in.
I forgot how much Nancy loves the soft moss. And I was starting to admire it myself this trip.
Its just so cute, soft, made up of tiny little leaves spreading color over all surfaces.
I was happy to be here alone. Taking my time. Listening yet again to the lesson I learned in Phuket about waterfalls and life. How we all have our own path. How every obstacle has its purpose.
I don’t know why these plants fascinated me, popping out of the dried fall leaves. It was almost like witnessing two seasons at once.
Not too many people were on this trail.
Admiring the grey fan like fungus against the mossy covered tree.
This tree was screaming at me in pain somehow. As if he wanted all to know it was not easy going down.
A view of another giant fallen wonder.
The roots of this tree took over the concrete slab which looks unnaturally placed. Made me wonder how and why this composition came to be. But also what a survivor!
Always loving the natural archways. This one especially with the shadows playing along with the angles.
Selfie moment in the sun.
I started down this pathway and passed two young gals. They warned me that it was steep. I was wondering if they were concerned since I looked about the same age as their mothers.
They were on their way up. So I asked if the path just looped around, and they said “no”- it went down to a river. Well I am all for more water so I decided to finish the trail. But it was a reminder of what goes down, eventually has to come back up! I stopped several times to get my heart out of my throat on the climb back up!
The river was flowing rapidly and the first tree I spotted was this one with all its roots exposed.
I hung out by this tree for awhile alone, admiring the water. I miss the sea.
I truly love river rocks and how they add such dimension to the water flowing over them. I appreciate how the water and rocks work together, so absolutely different in every way yet need and use each other.
A better view of the rocks.
Yep I found my happy space.
See the blue dot? I guess I wandered a bit off the trail I thought I was on. 🙄
I spotted a few very small flowers daring to show up so soon in the season.
On my walk back I found a small trail leading down to the creek so I wandered towards the water again.
The simple things in life. It helped me appreciate my part again.
Natural dams are fascinating too. Symbolic of all the crap we collect.
The flat rocks made it easy to climb right out into it all.
Surrounded by typical Kentucky gorges. Rocks of wonder decorated by their own waterfalls of greenery.
On the way home I loved the visual of this tunnel. I was happy my phone was quick enough to allow me to capture it. For me it felt like I was entering a picture. Like going into the unknown.
After lunch I decided to head over to check out the Tonsai waterfall since it was close by. I haven’t been to this one before. It came up on my google search when I was looking for a new place to go hiking.
They charged 200 BHT to enter. I am pretty sure the locals get in free. But it’s a National Park, so I was happy to contribute to its upkeep.
Staircase that taunted me across the stream.
Ended up being a dead end to a road but cool vine along the way.
Trees here were some of the tallest I have seen in Phuket.
Bamboo always captures my attention.
The waterfall wasn’t that impressive. It hasn’t rained here in days so I really didn’t have great expectations. I decided to climb up and sit for a bit.
Love how these skeletal leaves meld with the rock.
A closer look. I sat with my feet in the water.
Roots fascinate me.
I sat here and listened to the waterfall for some time. Watched how the water goes down various channels only to end up in the same place. Made me think of all the paths and choices we have in life.
Selfie. I hiked in a skirt, just letting you know what a character I was representing the Yankees.
I watched a Thai man bathe in the waterfall. (get your mind out of the gutter, he kept his undies on) When I was hiking down from my perch, he offered me soap to shower. I was tempted. I really wanted to take a photo of these guys because their backs were completely covered in intricate tattoos. One guy’s arm was completely tatted solid black.
I saw an official sign which showed a nature walk, so I decided to check it out. It was not well maintained, but was a natural wonder. I Marco Polo-ed Debbie, because she always video chats with me on her walks, and I captured the most bizarre sound coming from God knows what in the jungle. It was a high pitched siren like scream that moved throughout. I was dying to see what it was. When I sent a video recording to Jason to ask what it was, he told me it was the god of the forest. 🙂
Bamboo beauty again.
I put my hands on this tree for a bit to see if I could steal some of its wisdom.
The base of this tree was huge. Just looking up at it tells such a story.
A sweaty mess at the end of my hike.
A large tree had fallen along the pathway, so disappointedly, I had to turn around and back track.
On our way to the port on Saturday we passed a sign that said Rabbit Hole”. You know me and my bunnies! I was intrigued and wanted to check it out. Sunday when we woke up at the resort it was another all day rainy forecast so we decided to end our adventure checking out this new place for lunch.
It was really cute on the drive in. There were many white rabbit cut outs letting you know you were on the right path.
This restaurant sat on a lot of acreage.
Menu and interior were kid/family friendly.
You could even paint your own bunny ceramic for a minimal cost.
This was the lounge area where the rabbits roamed about complete with kids chasing them under the furniture. I really wanted to hold one, but knew better than to try to pull one out from under.
Caught these two snuggling in the corner.
Really had a theme going.
It stopped raining so we took advantage and explored the outside a bit before taking off.
On a summer night this could be an excellent place to chill. Love the mist from the waterfalls.
Manmade but beautifully planned with plants and steps to wander throughout.
Hopping across and checking out the koi fish.
We are quite the gang.
Jason posing like a toad.
Obviously the owner appreciated the outdoors.
View once we got to the top of the waterfall.
I will definitely drive Mean Mia back this way to see what other views are up this road.
Selfie- capturing our covid moments and my crow’s feet 🙂
Can you hear it?
I really love travelling with these guys. They are so low maintenance! And always ready to explore.
Not sure what to make of this. Bananas anyone?
Noni at peace.
Nature renewed by the rains.
Tomorrow the beaches reopen, but I have a dentist appointment in the middle of the day, so I have to hold off until Wednesday to stick my body back in the water. Can’t wait!!
I started my day determined to go see a new waterfall. (I’ve been to two so far) I google mapped my way to Bang Wan but stopped at several amazing places along the way. I thought, what am I in a hurry for anyways? By slowing down today and letting my gutt guide the way, I discovered a beautiful new beach, watched a sunset, hiked a tough trail to see a waterfall and made it home alive and revived.
“Get lost in nature and you will find yourself”
View from the beginning of my hike looking down toward the village I drove through.
Started hitting the jungle trail with this rusty sign leading the way to a path barely visible.
I thought this was it until I climbed higher.
Yep this is my jungle trail. I was not quite equipped to climb it but took my time and used as many roots as I could for stability. My only hope was not to meet a snake along the way.
Trying to find the source of it all as I climbed. This was looking up. I was debating whether to jump out onto the rock and cross to take a look at how much further up I would need to go.
My trail was looking less and less travelled, so I decided this was as high as I would go.
The bamboo trees had a camouflage pattern to them.
It looks like they are building to try to make this more of a tourist spot. This structure looked brand new. All around this was mud and construction.
These last couple of days I spent with my new friends Barbara and Virlane. I couldn’t be happier to have both of them in my life, sharing their experiences and being more than open and real. There is no one up-ing here with stories of whose children are more successful or who has a better house or car. It’s all about helping each other be the best you. And encouraging each other to new thoughts, challenges and less self hate.
Yesterday Tia and I set out to find Barbara’s house, which is in a very local neighborhood over by the Heroine Monument roundabout. I got lost, of course but eventually found it. Even drove the wrong way on the highway. (people do that here when you need to get to a U turn that is closer. Virlane later told me they call those people “angels” because they are soon to die) Barbara’s place is an adorable little house that she pays little more than I do for.
She was giving away a bag of clothes to charity, so I took my pick from them and landed a new dress, Singa beer tank top and some cut off shorts. People that know me know I have NEVER owned a pair of shorts. Now I have two, only because they were free and fit.
We ate at a road side cafe for lunch where your choices of drinks are on display at your table. They bring you a glass of ice and you can just open what you want. Clever I thought. Silverware is in the pink box. I tried the national salad of Thailand – the green papaya salad (som tum). It’s tough to describe as far as flavors. Sour, yet spicy, textural yet not offensive. Interesting and glad she made me do it.
We wandered into familiar territory to grab some dessert. I decided afterwards to part ways and go further up the road back to the waterfall to hike a bit. When arriving I got to hear the gibbons howl and it was wild. Guess I have heard them before at the zoo, but it’s totally different when you are in their jungles/natural habitats and hearing them. I noticed some clever souls made these rock piles.
Bamboo continues to fascinate me. They way it breaks, bows and clusters.
I had to wander a bit down into the rocks to remove myself from the groups of people that were swimming. Found this spot which was cool and perfectly peaceful. Admired nature the way I do and watched how all had its place and played its part.
This morning (both Barbara and Virlane are morning people- their only downfalls) Virlane picked me up and took me to Laguna and Layan Beach areas. We talked previously about how I had never been to those two beaches and they were her favorites so we trekked over together. Laguna is a beautiful resort area with golf courses and amazing houses built around man made lakes. All near enough to the beach. My understanding is this beach is the northern part of Bang Tao beach.
It was high tide and barely any room to walk. Virlane said there is a full moon and an eclipse to be seen tonight only in South America which was effecting the tides. The clouds were rolling in and wind was picking up.
A lot of drift wood ashore. Virlane said it was not here yesterday as she walks this beach daily. The beach was littered with plastic bottles. Was quite disgusting and I wish I had packed a garbage bag. This beach is off of a river and a national forest in Phuket. Very local.
I was telling Denise Dewitt, who was just in India discussing the consumption/upcycling trend in India, that a lot of bottles that wash ashore have crustaceans on them. I took a photo of this log that obviously had been at sea for quite a bit. I’ve seen bottles with similar coverage.
Not sure if because this beach is near a forest if it has anything to do with all the branches laying about?
This Google Earth photo shows what the beach is like in low tide. We walked from about the blue/green dot to the tip where it sharply turns. But there was very little beach exposed. Virlane was telling me how you can walk to the island during low tides and that there was usually a lot of sand bars. This map captured that. We had planned to walk over to Layan Beach but the water was too high and it started to rain.
She asked if I liked Mexican food and I was like “hell ya”- but it sucks here. She had discovered this place and said it’s the best on the island. And it was!!! The chicken was not ready yet (it was noon) since they said yesterday was Taco Tuesday and one guy came and ate 20 tacos himself!
We vowed to come back on Tuesday nights! 50 BHT tacos- aka $1.50 each and excellent fresh ingredients. Virlane lives next door to the owner who is actually Swedish. She is so comfortable to hang with! My fellow midwestern friend from Illinois, who I learned today is a breast cancer survivor, wedding planner, English teacher, seminary class taker/now turned anti religious, mother of two, life coach, environmentalist, and biologist who researched woodpecker habitats to document for a fight against forestry. There’s nothing she can’t do or won’t try. Adorable!!
I opted to have a margarita since she was driving. Ended up crashed out in a nap for 3 hours after getting back home-555. In Thai you say the number 5 as “ha”. So 555- is like our LOL. Learn something new every day.
I’m back. Running on 4 hours sleep – sleep has been escaping me until about 5-6 am. It’s as if the darkness curses my brain and my head won’t stop thinking and spinning until the sun comes into the window. Tonight I may try sleeping with the lights on.
I feel this trip back to nature spoke to me. I needed it. Nature. I swear all the answers are found in nature and today I felt many of them. This particular waterfall is about 1/2 hour and three highways away. It’s part of the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park. I memorized my route there and recognized a lot of the landmarks from my recent trips to the airport. I stopped off at the Monkey coffee house on the way which I read about on trip advisor and this helped jump start me with strong coffee and the best scrambled eggs!
On the way to the waterfall, they house their Gibbon Sanctuary which was interesting for me to read about. On the Island of Phuket the Gibbon monkeys had been extinct due to the raiding of the baby monkeys for tourist attractions. They would kill the mom Gibbon and also all the other family members that came to defend her and then peeled the baby off the mom and took it into private living with people. These people did not know how to properly care for them and drugged them to stay awake at night when they usually would sleep so they could take them out to bars. It’s so disgusting to me how mankind fucks up everything with our greed and lack of respect for nature.
The gibbons are usually given to this sanctuary by the owners when they get older and the owners no longer want or can handle them. There were two gibbons here that were not native to the island and had been smuggled across the borders. Unfortunately they will never be released back into the wild.
They try to make their rehabilitation as natural as possible. When you walk back to see them, you are not allowed to talk or motion to them. There were stories of many that have been released and started families now, but struggled to understand how to survive off their natural habitats and were constantly invading campgrounds and people’s back packs for food.
Path to the waterfall.
I sat here for a half an hour in peace. Nobody around me. Just the sound of the falls. The mountain, to the right of the waterfall actually moved. I know logically it was part of an illusion from the mist and reflections, but even why I tried to refocus it kept moving. I will keep it as a voice to me which I needed. Voices not always in words.
Definitely more impressive than the Kathu Waterfall.
This tree I totally related to. Not sure why. But it was unlike the others and its bark looked damaged but the tree itself reach heights.
Just showing some of the forestry. It’s a amazing combination of trees, bamboo, ferns, palms, vines, etc.
The bamboo naturally fall over and create roofs for walkways.
On my way out, there was a sign pointing to a “less traveled road saying to Hidden Organic Restaurant. Although I was not hungry, I was curious, so I took the turn and boy what an unexpected adventure. Saw huge geckos (I don’t know their proper name) crossing the road. They were red like colored and about the size of two of my feet.
Then this beautiful viewpoint pops up which shows Kung Bay in the background. As I continued on the road, there were random cows in unfenced fields, great local housing- some huge, others shacks. I never did see the restaurant. But now I know a free back entrance into the waterfall park.
I always feel better when I get out and explore. Justin suggested I find some hiking trails for something different. I couldn’t imagine myself hiking through the jungles without a machete, but when I googled it there were a few options. Some I need to explore next month when I am relocated further North. From where I am now many would take me about an hour to get there.
Kathu Waterfall was one that was only a 35 minute drive, so I decided Tia and I were up for the challenge. I memorized the route and only took one wrong turn up a dirt path. I was thinking, weeelllll—-0oookay, this seems a tad rugged but …..then a guard stopped me and asked where I was headed. Guess I took my left a little too soon.
On my way there a huge storm was brewing and I knew to pull over. I drove into the Phuket Wake Park and got under some shelter for about 1/2 hour as it passed. You all may be familiar with parks like this, but I had never seen one. Was fun to watch. The rain didn’t stop these dudes for their mission.
Photo taken after the storm passed. The clouds in this shot are nothing’ compared to what I was seeing previously.
Was fun to watch. Some guys were doing flips and all. One wiped out. He ended up swimming in the right of this photo you can see him.
Just love the street art and always a scooter!
When I arrived at the dead end which I assumed was where the waterfall is, there were these stairs. Nobody else was around, so nobody for me to follow. I figured this must be it and started climbing to see where it would take me.
It was looking quite civilized. I was of course thankful for the storm which cooled things down a tad.
Then the trail turned a little rugged. I kept feeling bugs on my arms, only to look and find sweat literally just dripping down causing the sensation.
These cork screw trees were fascinating to me.
The dirt trail dead ended at this natural rock pile complete with cave. I didn’t much want to find out what lived there. I need to study up on what to do if I come across a snake of some kind. That was the thought that crossed my mind.
I had to marco polo Linda and Beth, my two nature loving friends, to share in some of this while I was walking. Reminded me so much of our trips together.
The size and beauty of this palm leaf caught my attention.
Just loving these twisty branches.
Selfie by the waterfall. I did chat with another fellow American single girl walking the trail. I do love how we are “out there” exploring.
I sat on a rock and just listened to this. Wasn’t that beautiful of a waterfall in itself, but the landscaping and sounds surrounding it were so peaceful. I am happy to be able to explore during low season when very little tourists are out and about.
Another awe-inspiring day based on the simple things.
One last snap shot. On my way out I heard kids so I followed another trail to find this swimming hole where a few families were enjoying their Sunday with a picnic.
Tonya Takes Thailand 