I then flew from Chiang Mai directly to Koh Samui, an island in the bay. Took a ferry to Koh
Tao, a small island known for scuba diving and relaxing. I spent a couple days there at Spicy
Backpackers. Which was a cross between
Jewish summer camp and hippie commune =D.
Had fun with a variety of people and easily transitioned to the island
way of life. It is much harder to find
local Thai culture and cheap food here.
I mean, it is all still cheap.
Pad Thai in Chiang Mai was about 30-40 baht, and on the island it was
60-70. That is a difference of 1
USD. It truly is dirt cheap here. Little side note. I mean, I paid 200 baht for an air conditioned
hostel bed. That is like 7$. Private rooms are like 15-30$USD for very
nice guest houses. They have 100$ plus
rooms but they are spectacular! Koh Tao
was spent mostly relaxing at a beach club, fire shows at night and a snorkeling
island trip by a company called Oxygen.
I fell in love with a restaurant PUD.
I seriously could barely talk while eating. It is a single woman operation, so everything
takes forever. But you can watch her
make each dish expertly and cook right in front of you at her outdoor
kitchen. Green chicken curry, Pad Thai,
Shrimp tempura (just fried shrimp). I am
honestly salivating just thinking about the masterpieces she creates. Behind the beauty was a bit of tragedy. I met a Swedish beach bum girl who told me a
20 year old girl had died last night after what sounds like an asthma attack
combined with alcohol poisoning.. She
said it so casually I was a bit shocked.
She told me, “oh yeah, people die on the islands all the time.” Apparently another girl died after a rapid
ascent while scuba diving a couple days ago..
No one would know this information because there is not much in the way
of an active media presence. I also
decided to really stay clear of any motorbike taxi or personal usage. Practically everyone I have met has some bandage or dressing on their body to some
degree. It is actually pretty funny and
horrible. Mainly from motorbike accidents,
some diving/ocean related injuries. It
was like being on the set of a war film!
Or kind of the like movie the beach.
Luckily I have remained unscathed from my travels. Just a few bug bites here and there.
After Koh Tao I took the ferry to Koh Phangan. This island is known for its Full Moon
Parties. Well also half-moon and jungle
parties.. practically it is an island geared to partying all year long. Which is pretty amusing. That is primarily in Haad Rin, but the rest
of the island is quite and beautiful.
The full moon party also overlapped with Songkran, the national water
festival and Thai new year celebration that lasts from days to 8+ days
depending on the region. It is a massive
waterfight across the whole nation and total unbridled happiness and
insanity. So was a total blast! Literally, of water, and merriment. I spent a few hours in the port city thong
sala just throwing water at unsuspecting foreigners in open taxis. Haha, was a very mean but fun
experience. Especially with the ice
water, people don’t seem to appreciate that much =D. I stayed at the lazy house hostel and had a
great time with my new friends, Andy, Laura (English), Laura (Brazilian),
Crystal, and others. I actually booked
with a company called Thailand backpackers which is run by a man named Bambi
with a strong English accent. Turns out he is an ex-pat who lives on the
island, is a buff tattooed Harley motorcycle kind of guy, but a wonderful host
and very caring. He and his Thai wife
run a tour operation right in Haad rin.
He is also the diplomatic representative for the UK. So when anything happens to brits he gets
involved. Which means he knows all the
bad things that happen to a representative sample of one country… Let me just
say, it was very helpful to have him around.
He helped us navigate from the various schemes and risky venues including the alcohol bucket switch maneuver
(on the islands the primary drink of choice is a plastic bucket filled with
ice, some sort of hard alcohol and a mixer that has like 6+ straws to share
with others) – so they sell them as a combo but when the make then they switch
to crap liquor… very sneaky. Also at one
of the electronic DJ venues there was a rape recently. Luckily no issues occurred and it was all
good fun. Especially the nightly parade
down to the beach with people from all over the world hanging out, splashing in
the water, fire rope jumping and limbo (definitely NOT safe, I saw lots of
burns and hair burning…). One of my
favorite evenings was totally by accident.
A group of us from the hostel were hanging outside deciding on what to
do and this decrepit little pickup taxi sputtered its way in front of us
bearing a sign advertising “free pool party taxi.” Haha, we all look at each other and
collectively decide, why the heck not!
Haha. So we squeeze into this
taxi and after a short bumpy ride end up at this random pool party at the beach
with squirt guns and inflatable sharks ?!!
The actual night of full moon was filled with neon glow pain and
ravereque gear. All in all was a fun and
exciting experience, that was definitely not Thai at all =D.
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