Eden, the earthly paradise, I know how you get there

It's Saturday night and time for a night out. Will I go to Eden? Of course I'm going to Eden, I'm going everywhere. I have heard many stories about Eden, it must be very special. A hip party in a beautiful place, good music, with very special people who like a special trip. Well, I also like an adventure, so I won't skip this trip!

It is on the other side of the island and you can only get there by boat or jeep, but that seems to be quite a terrible journey. Now I'm not a fan of a boat, but from my bungalow I can see that the sea is calm tonight. A boat trip by moonlight to Eden, I like to get on!

First we have to take the songtheaw (taxi) to Haad Rin, where we have to arrange a boat to take us to Haad Yuan, where the party is. The songtheaw takes us safely, winding and climbing and descending over the steep hills to Haad Rin. In Haad Rin we stop at the sea. Hey, the same sea as at home, only it doesn't look like it. Big waves, foam and a deep black sea… Oh dear.

There are a few longtail boats ready. Violently swaying on the high waves and they are still empty... because who wants to sail with this restless sea? So we…. Knee-deep in water and a pair of strong arms help me scramble into the boat. The skipper and his mate seem a bit tense, they tell us to listen carefully and tell us exactly where to sit. Then we leave full throttle with the longtail boat to the earthly paradise.

oh my gosh! What is this…? It looks like the great ocean, what waves! I didn't count on this. Only the moonlight is as I imagined it to be, but because half the time I'm with my eyes tightly closed, I don't get much of that.

We regularly hit the water hard with the wooden boat; the waves crash over the edge. The sea is so rough! We are shaken back and forth and my hands get cramps so I squeeze so hard not to be thrown out of the boat. Then after about ten minutes I realize that if something happens, we turn over for example, it will look very bad for all of us. Of course there is no life jacket to be seen. So I resolve to stay close to the boat in that case and just let everything else come over me, including the splashes from the sea.

After a full throttle landing that pushes us a bit onto the beach, we're there. But not far enough, the waves easily overtake us. We jump out of the boat into the waves, hoping for a blessing. Splash. Okay, my face was already splashed wet and now I'm also wet from the waves up to my knees. But Robin's condition is even worse, he jumps into a hole and is completely soaking wet. But we're here and we're alive, so now look for the party!

I knew that you don't just end up in paradise, but this is a very tough journey…. We climb higher and higher via steep rock walls and broken branches that form a bridge over a deep abyss. Then we hear the deephouse… we are there, in Eden. Chill music, a DJ, a dance floor, a bar, people are resting in a separate area, they must be tired after their trip. I see a girl dancing lying down, with her eyes closed, very special.

Then it's high time to dance barefoot, finally, because that's what I came for. Within 5 minutes a guy asks if I'm selling MDMA? No, I only do Singha and drink it myself. Good friends and just keep dancing. I'm having a great time, but I do wonder how on earth all those neatly dressed up young ladies in long dresses get here? They will live on the beach in one of the atmospheric accommodations, but they still had to brave that rickety bridge and the steep rock.
Then back home, tomorrow you just have to work again. I had hoped that the sea would be calmer at two o'clock in the morning, but that is not the case. We are looking for a skipper and while we wait for departure we see that the tension is running high among the Thai boatmen, they completely flip out when the question is asked whether the sea is safe? Okay, so some questions are better not to ask.

It's time to leave when there are enough passengers. First we all have to push the boat into the water. When they arrive, they give full throttle so that they land a good distance on the beach with the boat. We now have to get that big piece back into the water. In the end that works but just before I get back in the boat, a high wave comes and now I'm soaking wet up to my tits. Hey, hey, I just danced dry.

There we go on the wild waves, even worse than the way there, big waves toss the boat back and forth, almost everyone is quiet. Robin and I are in the front and soon we shout that this is actually very nice! We may be a bit overconfident, underestimate the power of the sea… but we are enjoying it more and more. What an adventure, how exciting!! Yoohoo, I'm alive!!!! I don't know if that will last long, but until then I'm enjoying this crazy trip.

The moon silvers the raging sea, shining waves that roar terribly. My hair is soaked, the salt water runs down my face and causes the last dry bits of clothing to disappear. I'm a little worried about a drunken young female tourist hanging around in the boat, but somehow she stays on board. Full throttle we land on the beach in Haad Rin, we all get soaking wet from the boat.

So that's it. Now take a taxi home. We'll find them quickly. We are not lucky, our driver turns out to be a crazy kamikaze pilot who overtakes in a bend on a steep mountain. We also survive this trip together with the two finished Thai cooks, who had already boarded in Haad Rin.

I am glad that I came home in one piece after my visit to the earthly paradise. Take a quick shower to wash away sand and sea and go to bed…

What a lucky chicken I am.