Sooooo, I have had quite the adventure lately. After spending the last few days
relatively chill, doing yoga, practicing fire arts and socializing with an aray
of wonderfull world travelers. This sunday I decided to go camping by myself
way in the jungle to experience some of the raw nature that this amazing island
has to offer. I am used to camping with poisonous creatures coming from a
background in New Mexico and Sadona Arazona so was not overly concerned about
the critters, plus I had a tent. Just watch where you step, check shoes before
putting them on, you know the drill... Well I hiked way up a stream through
amazing jungle with vines beautiful butterfly's and awe inspiring rock
formations unlike any I have seen elsewhere. I found a good spot to camp so I
set my bag down grabbed my flashlite and a pocket knife and hiked up a steep
ridge that would take me to the top of the mountain where I could see the sun
set from the other side of the island than I had been staying. I should have
heeded the warning when I saw a highly agressive and venomous 15 inch red
centapede at the bass of the ridge that I was to hike up. Allas I can be a bit
bull head some times, I was too much looking foreward to seeing the exotic birds
come in to nest at sunset at the top. I hiked for around 2 hours without a
trail through jungle coming across massive boulders covered in vines and ferns,
so magical. The further up I went the more extraordinary things became until I
made it to the top of the hill where I was blessed with a symphony of jungle
music that took my breath away, I have never heard a jungle sound like this, it
was so full of diferent sounds that all pullsated hypnoticaly in rythm, I was
entranced. Beautifull birds that I have never seen before were flying above me
by the hundreds, coming to roost for the night, there songs mixed with the
intense harmonix of the insects luring me into entranced stupor, amazed by
nature. I found a huge mother tree and leaned against it, feeling its energy
currents pulling energy up into the sky. I heard a noise and looked nearby
where a mongoose like animal had appeared and was looking at me with the most
curious look, I could tell it had never seen or smelled a human before, this
place was so remote, I don't think more than six people have been in the last
200 years. I got my camera out to take a picture of the mongoose but I spooked
it when it saw the camera. I turned around and gave the mother tree a big hugg,
but decided to pull my arms back close to where I could see the bark on the
tree, you never know where a spider or scorpion might be... at this point I
felt the energy change around and I sensed danger, the mongoose made noise
behind me that reinforced my sense of danger. I turned around to see what was
going on, I did not see the mongoose but just to my left about 6 feet away i
sudenly became aware of something that I will never forget in vivid detail, a
huge King Cobra coiled into a tight energy ball ready to explode in my
direction. Its hood was closed for it only uses its hood when it is
threatened, it was in hunt mode and had noticed me and had crept up to where it
could strike me, I was either a threat being in its territory or its eyes were
bigger than its belly and thought me to be a big monkey. I still had the
camera in my hand and with a shaking hand slowly raised it up and took its
picture after which it realised that its cover was blown and that I was on to
it. As soon as it realised this it lunged toward me, extended out its full 12+
feet. I was sudenly staring into its mouth, dagger sized fangs full extended
aimed for my soft supple self. I was standing on a large log about four feet
from the ground, the cobra was at the same level as I. I leaped from the log
to another log nearby but over leaped and fell catching myself with my arms but
had avoided the inititial strike, the cobra was still going after me, and it was
fast, I pushed of the second log not having time to see where I was leaping,
slammed into a large rotten stump which I exploded through, I had dropped my
camera on my first leap and fortunately it had landed just next to me and I was
able to grab it as I scrambled out of harms way. The cobra was so well
camoflouged that I could not tell where it was and after a short discussion
with myself about going back to look for it and perhaps getting another
picture, I decided I better get the hell out of there, it was way too agressive
and fast for me to safely check it out. I was shaking all over and I realized
with dread that I was in trouble, the sun was just sinking behind the horizon
(feeding time fore allmost all poisonous creatures, I was deep in cobra country
in dense jungle with no trail and I had at least one and half hour hike to get
back to my camp site. If I got bitten, I would not survive, it takes only
about one hour for a cobra's venom to kill, it digests the insides of a person,
one of the most painful ways a person could die. I proceeded head back down the
hill the way I had come, just before I started to head down the route I froze,
right over the place where I was about to walk was a large green highly
venomous tree snake, lying in stealth waiting for me to pass beneath it where
it could easily strike me. I took several quick photos of it, worried the
whole time that the cobra was going to creep up behind me.
Hiking back down was one of the scariest things I have ever experienced, all
around me were vines and leaves, rocks all prime cobra turain. I found a stick
that I might be able to defend myself with and worked my way down, everything
looked like a snake, I was really spooked. I quickly found the turain to be as
dangerous as any of the snakes, with suden rock drop offs, thorny branches and
steep rock slide areas. It took all my Jedi skills to make back to my camp
site, exhuasted I quickly built a fire knowing that it would keep any snakes
away. On the way down I had notices that the veins on my left arm were burnign
like they had poison in them, I had not time to check my arm but now back at
camp I checked, finding nothing wrong, I realised that it was the same arm that
would have been bit by the cobra and some how I was feeling the phantom poison,
perhaps like how Muhamad Alli the boxer knocked out one of his apponents without
even striking him. I massaged thearm and it felt better. I took the aprotunity
to visualized that I had gotten bit and was preparing to die, it was hard and I
realize tha I still need more work on it but I was somewhat able to surrender
into death. This camping trip was intended to be a bit of a sollo vission
quest, I feel that I was sent some pretty strong medicine, I will be processing
this experience for some time. I have a much greater understanding of the
jungle and its creatures now. I was nieve to go into an area that I was not
familiar, with so much confidence. I have known what it feels like to be
hunted by an animal that had a big advantage over me. I feel that the energy
of the Island had lured me to that mountain top challenge and teach me. I was
glad that I had brought a tent and after doing some yoga and giving myself a
massage, I tried to sleep but had a difficult time, the image of the King Cobra
staring so intensly into me, with the sole intent to kill haunted me all night.
A big part of this trip has been about overcoming my fears and surrendering
myself into the natural rythm that spirit has layed out before. This was an
amazing challenge to my basic self, really teaching me so much about how I work
under life and death situations.
On a diferent note, the tsunami situation in Thailand is, things are fine hear,
other than tourism being a down, the country and moral is high. People are
allready going vacationing in the areas that were hit. When I first arrived in
Bankok, I ran into several travelers who had allmost died in the Tsunami, that had some pretty good stories, as you can imagine.
I love you all and am very glad to still be around on this physical realm.
Forest