July 8
We arrive in Bangkok n the afternoon. The contrast with India is immediately apparent. Even before we get away fro the airport, we can tell this will be a much different experience. The city is more like a western city than anything in India. The streets are clean, drivers follow traffic laws, and the woman are a bit less shy than those in India. We spent the remainder of the afternoon shopping, taking advantage of the cheap prices. I bought myself a pair of sandals to prepare for our trips shift into beach mode. That night we toured one of the main areas for night-life. It was actually quite difficult to a find a place that didn't involve essentially paying women to be with you (In one way or another). Every time we would try to ask someone, we found we were just lead to another place with women waiting at the entrance for our money. We eventually did find a little nightclub and enjoyed a late night. Perhaps the strangest experience of the night was getting a full chiropractic treatment while I was at the urinal. I received an upper back massage and a complete spinal realignment, all while midstream.
July 9
Everyone sleeps late today, most of us have slept very little since Shimla, so its a much needed break. We basically just go straight to the train station for our overnight trip down to Surat Thani. The train ride isn't particularly comfortable, but we all get through it ok.
July 10
We arrive in Surat Thani at about 5:00 am. We go to our hotel and are fortunate enough to be able to check into our rooms right away so we can get a couple hours of sleep before starting the day. Our hotel is a palace. The places we stay here in Thailand are so much nicer than anything in India. The power stays on, there is toilet paper, the sheets are clean, and the heat is far more tolerable. We begin the day by getting a bus to Khao Sok National Park. We don't arrive until close to noon. We probably could have made it there earlier if we didn't take a few hours to sleep, but we didn't sleep much on the train. We quickly realize that we don't have much time to see things. The last bus leaves around 5:30 pm, and we'd need to get back earlier than that, so it made doing any significant treks or tours near impossible with the time we had. We opted to just do a hike from the visitor center into the forest that supposedly takes us to some waterfalls. It starts raining almost immediately. Trekking in the rain forest in monsoon season makes for quite an interesting experience. The forest is alive with strange calls and buzzing noises. down-pours are intermittent, with spots of sunshine in between. We were warned about ground leeches, which we did not encounter until we got deeper into the forest, but when they appeared, they seemed to be everywhere. First hit was Scott, which I suppose anyone could have guessed. They sort of stand up from the ground like an inchworm, searching for something to grab onto, and somehow manage to get on your shoes as you walk buy, and then slowly inch their way up to your leg. You never feel them, either, you just periodically look down, and hopefully see them on your shoe or sock before they get to the skin, but everyone had to pull at least one or two suckers off their legs before we made it back. We never really found any particularly interesting waterfalls, but just the experience of hiking through a forest like that was enough. As we arrived back at the visitor center, we met a group of older women carrying all kinds of fruit. After meeting us and discovering that we had not yet had the privilege of tasting the many varieties of fruit here in Thailand, they started giving us pieces of their fruit. There were all kinds of interesting fruits, and they were all delicious, especially after leech filed hike. On the bus ride back to Surat Thani, we met some people from Spain that were also going around the world to similar places we were, except they were going fro 5 months, and going the other direction. It worked out nicely, I got to fill them in on what to expect from India, and they told me about Bali and Australia. We also met a Buddhist monk. His English wasn't so good, but he was very friendly and talked about everything. He was 47 and had been a monk for only three months. He told us he played folk music and would occasionally throw out a line like "rock and roll will never die." He then showed us a giant tattoo on his right arm of Jimmy Hendrix. Nothing goes together quite like Jimmy Hendrix tattoos and Buddhism.
July 11
We hop on a bus and ferry to Koh Samui, a large island in the gulf. It was nice just to be on the ocean again. We arrived on the island, had some lunch, and grabbed a tuk-tuk to Chaweng beach where our hotel is. On the way I notice a panicked look on Scott's face as he opens his day pack to find that he has left his camera on the ferry. At this point, the ferry is already gone and we'll have to wait till tomorrow to do anything about it. We arrive to find that our hotel booking didn't work and we have to find another, but I think the one we ended up in is better anyways. The Paradise Bungalows are right next to the beach, and its a little closer to the downtown area. We settle in and start off with a nice swim before heading into town for food. The water is clear and warm here. Not like the cold dark water of New England. After dinner, we found a small pub run by and Englishman. After a round of drinks, he begins to close down, but buys us a round and sits down with us to talk about various political and social issues, most of which we all agreed on, except for Rory, who seems to align a bit more with the Republican party and has a bit more of an optimistic take on the corruption in the government.
July 12
I head back to the ferry with Scott to search for the lost camera. The port is on the other side of the island, and the tuk-tuk ride takes a long time. By the time we return to our bungalows, its already afternoon, and we arrive to discover the other three guys still in bed. Jon was suffering a migrane and both Ryan and Rory seemed to be suffering from something, which they figured was from the sangria from the night before, since it was the only thing they both had that no one else did. Fortunately they were up and going before too long and even though most of the day was gone by this time, we were able to enjoy the town and get some dinner before we had to get ready to go to the Full-Moon Party on Koh Pha Ngan. The Full-Moon party happens every full moon, when thousands flock to Koh Pha Ngan just above Koh Samui for the night. We arrived around midnight, and walked through the streets to the beach. The whole town between the ferry port and the beach is alive. restaurants and shops are all open in the middle of the night and vendors sell buckets on the street full of whiskey and mixers. The beach itself is insane, with people dancing everywhere. I lost track of the guys almost immediately in the chaos, but there were plenty of other people to see. It was quite an experience.
July 13
I wake on some steps at about 11:30 am, realizing I didn't manage to stay awake to make it onto our return ferry at 6:00 am. I start walking towards the port, buy a ferry ticket and a pair of sunglasses. The next ferry isn't until 2:30 pm, but as I arrive at the port, I find a group of people that are looking for people to pitch in to go with them on a speedboat. I get a pretty good deal out of it and manage to get on the speed boat for about 200 baht (less than 5 bucks) after returning my 150 baht ferry ticket. The man I talked to from the group was originally from Canada, but had been living on Koh Samui for years. I also met another kid from Vancouver and a kid from New Zealand. The kid from New Zealand had nothing but his underwear. He said the last thing he remembers was walking along the beach last night and woke up this morning in a bungalow with nothing but his boxer shorts. I'm glad nobody managed to strip me clean before I woke up. I made it back to the bungalows to find all the guys there, but no one actually made the 6:00 am return ferry. Everyone seemed to have their own little story. We rested for a few hours and then Ryan and Rory came to the door with big grins. They had just rented mo-peds for about 200 baht. We went into town and I rented a third bike, and started cruising the island. We saw some interesting places, and toured until dinner. We went to bed early, everyone was exhausted.
July 14
Today we go to Phuket on the west coast. We have a long taxi/ferry/bus ride starting at noon, which is in two hours. I need to go get some breakfast and start packing and see if the guys are up. The tone of this trip has certainly changed since India. Its really quite amazing how different these places can be.
We arrive in Bangkok n the afternoon. The contrast with India is immediately apparent. Even before we get away fro the airport, we can tell this will be a much different experience. The city is more like a western city than anything in India. The streets are clean, drivers follow traffic laws, and the woman are a bit less shy than those in India. We spent the remainder of the afternoon shopping, taking advantage of the cheap prices. I bought myself a pair of sandals to prepare for our trips shift into beach mode. That night we toured one of the main areas for night-life. It was actually quite difficult to a find a place that didn't involve essentially paying women to be with you (In one way or another). Every time we would try to ask someone, we found we were just lead to another place with women waiting at the entrance for our money. We eventually did find a little nightclub and enjoyed a late night. Perhaps the strangest experience of the night was getting a full chiropractic treatment while I was at the urinal. I received an upper back massage and a complete spinal realignment, all while midstream.
July 9
Everyone sleeps late today, most of us have slept very little since Shimla, so its a much needed break. We basically just go straight to the train station for our overnight trip down to Surat Thani. The train ride isn't particularly comfortable, but we all get through it ok.
July 10
We arrive in Surat Thani at about 5:00 am. We go to our hotel and are fortunate enough to be able to check into our rooms right away so we can get a couple hours of sleep before starting the day. Our hotel is a palace. The places we stay here in Thailand are so much nicer than anything in India. The power stays on, there is toilet paper, the sheets are clean, and the heat is far more tolerable. We begin the day by getting a bus to Khao Sok National Park. We don't arrive until close to noon. We probably could have made it there earlier if we didn't take a few hours to sleep, but we didn't sleep much on the train. We quickly realize that we don't have much time to see things. The last bus leaves around 5:30 pm, and we'd need to get back earlier than that, so it made doing any significant treks or tours near impossible with the time we had. We opted to just do a hike from the visitor center into the forest that supposedly takes us to some waterfalls. It starts raining almost immediately. Trekking in the rain forest in monsoon season makes for quite an interesting experience. The forest is alive with strange calls and buzzing noises. down-pours are intermittent, with spots of sunshine in between. We were warned about ground leeches, which we did not encounter until we got deeper into the forest, but when they appeared, they seemed to be everywhere. First hit was Scott, which I suppose anyone could have guessed. They sort of stand up from the ground like an inchworm, searching for something to grab onto, and somehow manage to get on your shoes as you walk buy, and then slowly inch their way up to your leg. You never feel them, either, you just periodically look down, and hopefully see them on your shoe or sock before they get to the skin, but everyone had to pull at least one or two suckers off their legs before we made it back. We never really found any particularly interesting waterfalls, but just the experience of hiking through a forest like that was enough. As we arrived back at the visitor center, we met a group of older women carrying all kinds of fruit. After meeting us and discovering that we had not yet had the privilege of tasting the many varieties of fruit here in Thailand, they started giving us pieces of their fruit. There were all kinds of interesting fruits, and they were all delicious, especially after leech filed hike. On the bus ride back to Surat Thani, we met some people from Spain that were also going around the world to similar places we were, except they were going fro 5 months, and going the other direction. It worked out nicely, I got to fill them in on what to expect from India, and they told me about Bali and Australia. We also met a Buddhist monk. His English wasn't so good, but he was very friendly and talked about everything. He was 47 and had been a monk for only three months. He told us he played folk music and would occasionally throw out a line like "rock and roll will never die." He then showed us a giant tattoo on his right arm of Jimmy Hendrix. Nothing goes together quite like Jimmy Hendrix tattoos and Buddhism.
July 11
We hop on a bus and ferry to Koh Samui, a large island in the gulf. It was nice just to be on the ocean again. We arrived on the island, had some lunch, and grabbed a tuk-tuk to Chaweng beach where our hotel is. On the way I notice a panicked look on Scott's face as he opens his day pack to find that he has left his camera on the ferry. At this point, the ferry is already gone and we'll have to wait till tomorrow to do anything about it. We arrive to find that our hotel booking didn't work and we have to find another, but I think the one we ended up in is better anyways. The Paradise Bungalows are right next to the beach, and its a little closer to the downtown area. We settle in and start off with a nice swim before heading into town for food. The water is clear and warm here. Not like the cold dark water of New England. After dinner, we found a small pub run by and Englishman. After a round of drinks, he begins to close down, but buys us a round and sits down with us to talk about various political and social issues, most of which we all agreed on, except for Rory, who seems to align a bit more with the Republican party and has a bit more of an optimistic take on the corruption in the government.
July 12
I head back to the ferry with Scott to search for the lost camera. The port is on the other side of the island, and the tuk-tuk ride takes a long time. By the time we return to our bungalows, its already afternoon, and we arrive to discover the other three guys still in bed. Jon was suffering a migrane and both Ryan and Rory seemed to be suffering from something, which they figured was from the sangria from the night before, since it was the only thing they both had that no one else did. Fortunately they were up and going before too long and even though most of the day was gone by this time, we were able to enjoy the town and get some dinner before we had to get ready to go to the Full-Moon Party on Koh Pha Ngan. The Full-Moon party happens every full moon, when thousands flock to Koh Pha Ngan just above Koh Samui for the night. We arrived around midnight, and walked through the streets to the beach. The whole town between the ferry port and the beach is alive. restaurants and shops are all open in the middle of the night and vendors sell buckets on the street full of whiskey and mixers. The beach itself is insane, with people dancing everywhere. I lost track of the guys almost immediately in the chaos, but there were plenty of other people to see. It was quite an experience.
July 13
I wake on some steps at about 11:30 am, realizing I didn't manage to stay awake to make it onto our return ferry at 6:00 am. I start walking towards the port, buy a ferry ticket and a pair of sunglasses. The next ferry isn't until 2:30 pm, but as I arrive at the port, I find a group of people that are looking for people to pitch in to go with them on a speedboat. I get a pretty good deal out of it and manage to get on the speed boat for about 200 baht (less than 5 bucks) after returning my 150 baht ferry ticket. The man I talked to from the group was originally from Canada, but had been living on Koh Samui for years. I also met another kid from Vancouver and a kid from New Zealand. The kid from New Zealand had nothing but his underwear. He said the last thing he remembers was walking along the beach last night and woke up this morning in a bungalow with nothing but his boxer shorts. I'm glad nobody managed to strip me clean before I woke up. I made it back to the bungalows to find all the guys there, but no one actually made the 6:00 am return ferry. Everyone seemed to have their own little story. We rested for a few hours and then Ryan and Rory came to the door with big grins. They had just rented mo-peds for about 200 baht. We went into town and I rented a third bike, and started cruising the island. We saw some interesting places, and toured until dinner. We went to bed early, everyone was exhausted.
July 14
Today we go to Phuket on the west coast. We have a long taxi/ferry/bus ride starting at noon, which is in two hours. I need to go get some breakfast and start packing and see if the guys are up. The tone of this trip has certainly changed since India. Its really quite amazing how different these places can be.
posted by James Dixon at 9:13 PM
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