There is something deeply wild about Ko Tarutao.
An island left almost wholly untouched with a scattering of bungalows dotted along two of its beaches, the rest of the island is a National Park of dense jungle with a few rough grade, very hilly, roads interconnecting the coasts. Wildlife is abundant. It forms the impression that the whole earth was this way before the “development” by humans and that this is what will return should we leave.
An island visited by those who want time close to nature, away from the crowds and tourism from the other islands in the archipelago. The only signs of the tourism going on close by is the trash that lines the back of the beaches – washed up on the stormy tides.
Staying in the bungalows is an immersion into nature. The air is alive with the sounds of the waves on the sand, the crickets, cicadas, geckos and the call of monkeys and bird song. A basic room complete with added neighbours of spiders, bugs, and a warning of inquisitive, no barriers hungry monkeys that will raid your room given any opportunity. A view of the sea and palm lined beach with cliff and jungle surrounds through large windows makes the outside as much of the inside as outside.
Days of exploration and nights of quiet dinners of freshly cooked local Thai food with visitors of bold wild boar, sneaky monkeys and birds on tables all scrounging for scraps.
My time on Ko Tarutao affected me a lot. It brought me more present and more connected, and its wildness brought alive in me something that is still singing in my soul today.
One days exploring involved a dirt road mountain bike through the jungle to a 3km long white sand beach 4 km from our bungalow.
Laying naked on the sand after well needed cooling sea swims a strong wind grew. A sand storm in waves blew the length of the beach. Laying in that sand storm, being lashed with blasts of sand, watching it rush towards, around and away from me in low lying shimmering waves along the beach, the wind, the sand, the calmness between the gusts and the sheer incredible beauty of the place captured me, and I wrote. It turned out to be a poem of sorts.
So I thought I would share it.
The Wilds of Ko Tarutao
Long sandy beaches and deep forest surrounds,
Strong gusts of wind bring forth shimmery clouds of fine sand.
Exhilarating to feel it hit hard on the skin,
As it swirls and travels gliding low to the beach.
The blasts come in waves with an increase in sound,
High trees and leaves rustling, wind blowing and sand.
A soft blast, a tickle, in eyes, nose and mouth,
The sand hits naked skin, awakening every cell with vigour.
The winds bring a passing, an indescribable travel, of energy, of life and of change.
Time becomes lost, the experience encompassing.
The sand passes, the trees rest and a peace beyond words fills the air,
A strong sense of presence, a calmness, a stillness.
Earths beating heart becomes loud as the waves hit the shore,
The breath of the sea as rhythmic as ours.
Cicadas sing loudly, first one then them all,
Spreading into a crescendo then gone as quick as it starts.
Then the calmness, the stillness, the silence returns.
The waves beat the shore.
The sun burns strong through hazy clouds,
Bringing warmth to the skin and a soft white light to the scene.
With a brightness and a beauty knowing no bounds,
A familiarity stirs deep in the soul,
And a wonderful sense of being alive and connected shines from within.
The rustling of leaves brings the attention back to an oncoming blast,
Swirls of fine sand stream across the beach from afar,
Promising a lashing and raising a long held memory.
An urge to protect upwells in my heart,
A protective hand cupped over faces and a shielding embrace of another,
Entwined naked skin as the blasts hit us hard.
A shared natural oneness, strong between us and Gaia,
A bubble of shelter, the eye of the storm,
Then calmness as it passes, and a slow awakening into the light,
A feeling of brightness, of aliveness, of heightened awareness.
A sea swim to wash away well ingrained sand,
Low lying sun dancing rays off the waves.
Expansive white beach stretches far out of sight,
A dense jungle backdrop, eagles circling above.
The strength of connection as strong as was then,
A soul’s remembering,
A wildness,
A completion,
A loss of self into oneness with all.
Ko Tarutao now travels with me,
Deep in my soul.
