Staying at Jinga Bay

Found a real nice place to stay on the west side of the of the island on Haad Chao Phao beach called Jinda Resort. It is about a 10 min motorbike ride away from Agama Yoga where I am doing yoga retreat type training. Consists of twice per day yoga training with so far lots of lecture along with a evening lecture following the second class.



After spending the first night on the island in the southwest corner town Thongsala I took a pickup truck taxi up the coast 5 kilometers I believe to the Agama yoga center and was dropped off. From there I was able to rent a ragged and beat up mountain bike across the street from the center at a store. With this I could pedal the coast until I found a decent and respectable place to stay. After riding up the road for about 30 mins on an undersized bike with messed up gears and underinflated tires along with both my bags handing off my shoulders, I started checking out some places along the coast and found a great deal for a room at Jinda Bay. For 200 baht or $6 a night I got myself a room with a porch about 50 feet from the beach. It has a double sized uncomfortable bed and its own bathroom and shower with cold water instead of a community one. I could have splurged an extra $3 more and gotten a villa practically right on the beach. However I can see the ocean from my porch area and and can walk 20 seconds to the beach. I have gotten used to taking cold showers while in Bangkok so it's a small price to paying for living at such an exotic and beautiful location so close to the beach and warm ocean. There are coral reefs great for snorkeling and scuba diving a hundred yards or more into the ocean. The water is extremely warm and shallow for a distance until it starts declining and you get into the coral reefs.

So far I have gone snorkeling once and it was an amazing experience. As you swim further out into the extremely clear deeper waters you can see schools of smaller fish and other solitary larger fish and other interesting marine life. I saw a sea snake or eel back down into a hole and peak its head out a few inches. A friend of mine at the resort told me of seeing some porcupine fish and a whale shark. Unfortunately at the moment I got to be a bit careful in heading out into the waters as I have a bunch of cuts on my feet and legs from swimming and playing beach soccer the other day. I'm not sure if I cut if on coral or just rock and other sharp stuff but going into the shallow, warm water can inhibit the healing process. Apparently lots of bacteria thrive in these warm , shallow waters and can cause infection. I have been religiously putting on disinfectant and antiseptic cream throughout the day to heal up and prevent infection.



I also got a motorbike from a store next to where I am staying. Practically everyone on the island is riding around on some form of motorbike or moped. It only costs $5 a day and I was able to get a cheaper deal by paying upfront for several weeks. The motorbike gives me pretty good access to most of the roads on the island. So far I have explored the west, north, and south parts of the island but haven't really gotten into the interior and the east side of the island. The central part of the island is very mountainous and holds the largest mountain on the island. Will be a great hike one of these days when I'm free. The east side of the island is less developed with more isolated beaches and less roads. I'm not sure exactly what kind of shape they are in. It's possible I may need a dirt bike to access some of these lesser developed roads and areas. Some guys who were staying at my resort had rented out dirtbikes for a bit more money but were able to access some roads very rutted out and more rugged, roads not exactly accessible for my motorbike.