Travels by Bus
See the world on bus, ON foot & on my own.
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BACK TO BASIC
In search of sunshine, deserted island, good food and friendly people
While I visit most countries only once, Thailand is a different story. I was first lured by the unspoilt beaches of Chaweng Beach in Ko Samui in 1992 when I was still a student. And after 20 years, it is a great feeling to find that there are still hidden treasure underneath all the mass tourism. BANGKOK - KO SAMUI - PATTAYA (no photos) - KO TAO - TREKKING CHIANG MAI/GOLDEN TRIANGLE - PAI - KANCHANABURI - KO CHANG - PHUKET - KO PHI PHI - PHRA NANG - KO SAMET - KO PU - KO LANTA
31/12/14 - 08/01/15
08
days
LAND Transport:
Private bus from Krabi Airport to
Krabi Town: 90 B one way
Song thaew from Krabi Town to
Ao Nang Beach: 60 B one way
FERRY:
Krabi - Ko Pu: 400 B one way
incl. pick up from guesthouse in
Krabi Town
Ko Pu - Ko Lanta: 400 B one way
(One way from Krabi - Ko Lanta: 400 B)
Ko Lanta - Krabi Airport by mini-van: 300 B one way, minimum 2 hours
Germans are world travellers and they like Thailand but somehow the thought never crossed my mind that I would be meeting any on this trip. I was one of the first in line for the ferry but the ferry man sent me to the back because passengers for Ko Pu get off first. And thanks to him, I got to know Witold, an ex-resident of Munich working in China and learning Chinese which is very commendable. They say common "ground" bring people together. It was nice to converse with someone in German, English and Chinese, and about home - Munich/Germany - which seems to be a distant away although at the back of my mind, I was more concerned about getting off the ferry in the middle of the sea. That was the "instructions" given for arrival to Ko Pu. I even "forgot" to take note of the safety aspect of the ferry which is clearly overbooked.
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After about an hour of open sea (which is a great time for me to get some tan), the ferry came to a stop in the middle of the sea. A horde of long tail boats came rushing to our side. It felt like we were besieged by some pirates, or as Witold said, he felt like a refugee. The transfer was fairly easy. No one fell overboard.
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Ko Pu
We have arrived on idyllic island, Ko Pu. There are about 5 or 6 bungalow establishment on this part of the island, from very basic to 5-star ones. There is nothing to do here except to chill which was exactly what I had in mind. And the beach is mostly ours to have!
We made friends with the German guests at the Peace Paradise: Axel & Judith (from Berlin), Sasha & Steffi (from Bayern!), Michael (from Heidelberg) and an Aussie couple, Kellie and Terry. Seafood was good but the most unforgetable was the battered fried bananas in coconut cream. I could have them again.
The Peace Paradise owners, Yai and Mat are both very friendly. In fact they and their staff are the most friendly hosts on Ko Pu. We ate at the Luboa Hut on our first night there which was the other nice place to be. Before dinner, we had a swim at sunset and Witold ended up playing beach volley with other guests and Luboa staff. I was happy chatting with a long-time guest who returns to Luboa year after year. She told me of the "in's" and "out's" of this island. Everyone I met was friendly and relaxed. This is something I will miss if we had been on a big tourist resort.
From afar, the beach looks nice but at low tide which starts at around sunset, you can see all the ugly rocks. On the first 2 days, the water was very warm, it was not very pleasant to swim in but I love these signs.
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What I will miss most are the evenings. The walk in the dark trying to avoid the tide and hanging out on the "patio" chatting about nothing and everything. It was full moon but no loud music and partying. Just sea breeze, peace and decent chat with each other or the other guests.
Since neither of us are able to ride a motorbike, we never got to the other part of the island. Taking Yai's advice, we went for a walk through the forest and rubber plantation to the Coconut Bay. While he slapped on sunscream on his white skin, I only sprayed myself with a lot mosquito repellent. I'll deal with Botox later.
The walk was amusing as we came across a turkey in the middle of a rubber plantation, and a herd of cows on the beach. We saw 3 fishermen and 2 tourists who came on shore with their canoes for a break. Other than that, the water and sand are better than the stretch in front of our huts and we had all these to ourselves. Witold need his e-book and the shade which is perfect as I had fun just drifting in the water and getting myself some colours. But because of jelly fish sightings by the other guests, I wasn't able to enjoy myself without some worry in my head. I wish I was 20 again, no worries but fully enjoy the moment as it comes.
We were blessed with many beautiful sunsets. While I wished that I had stayed longer on this island, it was also time to move.
KO LANTA
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KO LANTA
The minute I got to Ko Lanta, I wanted to get back on the ferry. I no longer have the patience I had for Thailand years ago. I hate to haggle for a tuk-tuk ride and made to feel ripped off. It was 80 B for about 20 minutes ride to Klong Khong where my resort New Ozone 2 is.
I had a sea front air-conditioned bungalow for 1,500 B per night (~40 EUR), free Wifi and satellite TV: like being upgraded from an economy to business class flight! The staff at this resort was not very friendly but was all smile when I tried my limited Thai with them and they were very helpful. These staff work very long hours. I was told that they earn 5,000 B a month. That is like 200 EUR which is meagre wage for a 12 hour shift everyday.
The bars here were competing with each other with loud music. It was nice to have a beach front bungalow but that meant the bar played music loudly until 2 a.m. every day. Despite that, it is mostly empty every night. I wish they'd realise that loud music does not attract patrons, it is the atmosphere and the treatment of their guests. I had a drink there one night and the staff were not friendly.
If someone had told me that in Ko Lanta, you can dance til the next morning, I wouldn't have gone there.
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Going to a bar as a single Asian woman who look like a Thai is rather intimidating but I gave it a try on my first night nonetheless. I decided on The Monkey Bar because I liked the music. I was immediately approached by a Swiss guy, a gardener from the French part. With blood shot eyes, he told me that he is single and asked why it is so difficult to find a wife. I moved on to a Swedish couple who spoke German, and a German pair from Hamburg who talked about the "old" Ko Lanta with few cars and few bars.
Here, the beach is very rocky. At low tide, it goes out for a mile and you can try and find some crabs but they are too small for chilli crab.
But beautiful sunset.
From here, you can see Ko PhiPhi and a few islands.
The best thing about southern Thailand has got to be the food. I had 2 of the best dishes you do not often find in Thai kitchen: the Cuchi Pla (fish) and the Kua Kling gai (chicken). Another interesting thing was meeting the Greek (greco) running a Greek restaurant on the beach. I was asking for direction and we ended up talking about the Greek economy in the EU. He moved to Thailand 5 years ago after selling all his possession in Greece because of the economy. It was nice to chat with a normal person.
Against the advice of Yai, I listened to the receptionist at New Ozone's and took the mini van to Krabi airport because I didn't want to get on the ferry again. Yai said that the locals like to go to the market in the morning so there will be traffic jam. I assumed that at mid-day, it is safe to take the mini-van but there was a horrendous queue at the car ferry crosing. Nevertheless we made it in time for my flight with time left to spare. I ended up in the front seat next to a Malaysian-Thai guy in his 20s. He is funny but he is also about the laziest person on earth! He is lucky that his father is able to support him financially.
BANGKOK 1992
For me, it is just a stopover to the islands in the south or the mountains in the north. I did not visit any of the temples and I do not see any reason to. My favourite place is Khao San Road which is a backpackers' haven and the other place I went to was Patpong "red light district" because my friends wanted to see what it's like there. We only had drinks and walked around, we didn't get into any shows because we have heard some stories about being trapped inside the sleaze. The verdict: Patpong was an interesting and vibrant.
When I first visited, Khao San Road was a one-stop place for backpackers. There were many travel agents to book your flights or tour within Thailand at backpackers' prices. There were long distance buses to everywhere in Thailand even to the islands. It was my first overnight bus trip to Ko SaMui for 200B (US$8), departing at 5pm & getting into Surat Thani (port) at 6am the next day. From Surat Thani, we changed to a ferry, arriving to Ko SaMui at noon. Cheap is one thing, making friends along the way made this option fun.
KO SAMUI 1992
Ko means island in Thai.
To the east of the southern Thai peninsula is Ko Samui. I was fortunate to know it before mass tourism came. At that time, there was only one big 4-star hotel on Chaweng Beach. The rest were budget guesthouses like our beach hut Charlie's Hut for 100B (US$4) a night right on the beach.
Every morning I just jumped into the waters to wake up. The waters was crystal clear, I could see the fishes swimming around my toes! The sand so fine and white. Frederic would practice his martial arts on the beach and we would end up making new friends that way, friends who invited us to go trekking or visit the waterfalls but for us, Frederic and I spent 2-3 whole weeks on Chaweng Beach and never felt bored.
The only thing I did was have my hair braided. I had mine done by a chatty young Thai girl. Her impression of Singapore was the image she saw on the Singapore Airlines TV Commercial! To her, I was a SQ girl and I was "worshipped" by her.
The restaurants along the beach offering CHEAP meals too. Our breakfast is usually a long and elaborate affair right on the beach. They were usually pancakes, fruits and shakes but there's always something different everyday. By lunch, we were no longer hungry. We'd skip lunch so when dinner came, we always walked to the roadside stall and be treated as "the King and the Queen" with BBQ chicken costing 10B & noodles 20B. We lived on very little money then but Frederic made sure I got the full French treatment and didn't have to lift my hands as he fed me.
KO TAO 1994
Although Ko Tao is next to Ko SaMui, I went there after a few years when I left to go travelling for a year. At that time there were just a few resorts, restaurants and only one dive shop at that time which was what most people came to do - diving. It was here that I was introduced to diving but I found that it wasn't for me. The weather took a turn when we went out to sea: choppy sea=zero visibility. The cute Dive Master cut his leg with a very rusty knife as he tried to fix a regulator on board our little boat which forced us all to turn back to shore. Nevertheless, we had fun chatting with a young British couple who were taking a 3-day diving course. The girl was a nurse in England, saved enough money and went to India to do charity for a year before Thailand. About a month later, when I bumped into them again and she told me her mask strap broke while she was at the bottom of the sea. It would definitely have freaked me out! She told me someone's regulator broke too. So, be careful if you want to do a diving course in Thailand. Check your equipment.
We stucked to snorkelling as there are corals not too far from shore. All we needed was a snorkel mask & swim 100m. The water is crystal clear and plenty of colourful fishes. What a perfect way to get a tan.
There's a little hill on the eastern part of the island where you can get a good view. Initially, we were staying on the eastern beach which was very quiet. One night I was shocked out of my sleep as I heard 3 loud knocks on the door. It turns out to be a gecko!
We moved to the southern beach and stayed at a nice and well-maintained chalet with landscaped garden by the beach the next day.
As I said, the weather wasn't very good. When we had to leave Ko Tao for the mainland, the ferry we were in was rocking from side to side. Many people threw up and I wish never to be in such a situation ever again.
CHIANGMAI TREKKING 1994
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From Ko Tao, I made my way up to Chiangmai. Many people go to Chiangmai to learn Thai massage. I went there only to join a 3-day trek through the hill tribes. We visited 2 - the Akha & Lahu. It's a fairly easy trek with a few elephant rides in between. These massive looking mammals could actually walk on paths so narrow that if I were to go on foot, I might fall off the cliffs but luckily, nothing happened.
The Akha village is very basic. There is no electricity and we ate by candle or moon light. There is also no running water so showers were done outdoors with water that flowed down the bamboo tubes. The toilet is, well, just 4 walls with no roof.
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The Lahus are a lot friendlier, always smiling and waving at us when they see us! They live in very basic bamboo huts with no toilets. You just have to find a spot anywhere, and shower from the river.
Our Thai guide spoke their dialects so he was our intermediary. He was rather well informed about the history/culture of the tribes & taught me a few Thai words while trekking!
The last day of our tour brought us to the Golden Triangle where the Mekong runs. There are boats going across to Laos & Cambodia but we just took the van & went up to the border between Thailand & Burma.
The trek was a nice respite from the heat & bustle of ChiangMai. I can't understand why anybody would stay in ChiangMai thus bright & early the next day, I took off to Pai.
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Pai
The bus ride from Chiangmai took 8 hours on the local bus. The journey was mainly on windy mountain roads and the scenery was amazing. Many times I felt like I was in a temperate country because of the nice autumn leave colours. It's on higher ground thus, the temperature hovers around 18C because it is winter months.
The rest stops were very basic that provided toilets & some food for the passengers. There were not many foreigners on the bus so the locals took notice. At one stop, a backpacker had to go to the toilet. When the bus driver was moving off, the Thais on board saw her head peering out of the toilet cubicle & alerted the driver. And I met an Australian girl on board. When we got to Pai, we went to look for accommodation together and we found a hut each in one of the guest houses facing the river. It was a very basic hut with just a thin mattress on the floor. It gets very cold at night - around 5C. The people at the guesthouse built a bonfire & played guitar round the fire. It was nice to chill out but once I got into to bed, of course there's no heating in the huts. With just a thin cover, I was literally shivering. The next day I have to move.
The next day, I went to look for a new place & was so glad to find Shan's Guesthouse.
The place has a nice landscape. A restaurant is in the middle of the pond where breakfast is served. And that's how I got to know the other guests especially Geoffrey who is 4. He spoke only German while his American mother spoke only English to him. It's amazing how the 2 of them communicated.
Geoffrey's adorable. He was very attached to me & called me his girlfriend, often asking me shyly what I would like for breakfast and sitting close to me.
The bungalows were a luxury. It has big mosquito nets and THICK covers. The shower/toilet is built outside the sleeping area so that the wet and dry ground are separate from each other.
It was here that I met Thomas. He asked if I wanted to travel with him, and a month later, he asked me to move to Germany.
Back to Pai, I like Pai. It's a very small place with some shops & accommodation along this 2 way lane. I wanted to spend some time chilling out here so Thomas rented a motorbike so that we can explore the region's caves, waterfalls & such. He knew I liked this chopper so he rented it for me. Isn't he sweet?!
After Pai, Thomas took me North to a little town called Nongkhai. I wasn't tolerant back then. I was travelling with a Caucasian man and people just assumed that I am Thai and spoke Thai & thrusted Thai menus in my face while Thomas got the English menu. When we were walking on the street, they would just grab Thomas in for a drink. Thomas thought it was nice and people were friendly but I didn't feel that way so we left for Kanchanaburi as quickly as we can. It was my only time on the Thai railway & I must say that it was very comfortable.
Kanchanaburi
I do not know why we decided to come to Kanchanaburi. The only thing I know about this place is a song about the bridge over River Kwai.
We found that Kanchanaburi is actually a nice place despite the historical significance of the "death rail" during WWII.
We just chilled out for a week doing nothing. We rented a motorbike to explore around but most days we just lazed in the garden of the nice guest house by the river. There's a little "pier" where we could take the little boat out or just take a dip into the river Kwai.
We had probably overstayed because the staff asked if we were leaving tomorrow. We were surprised but she told us people usually stay not more than a week there & we had been there a week. Time flew by and yes, after one week, we decided to go to Ko Chang where white sandy beaches are still unspoilt.
Ko Chang
Ko Chang in 1994 was basically a hidden treasure undiscovered by mass tourism. Chang meant Elephant in Thai.
To get there, we had to travel 8 hours by bus from Bangkok, in the direction of Pattaya, in the east. We decided to take the local long distance bus from the Eastern Bus station in Bangkok which will get us to NgiamLop at about 3am. The stop was in the middle of nowhere and it was pitched dark when we arrived. We managed to hire a song thaew ("bus") to get to the port & waited for the ferry which was more like a fishing boat, to get us to Ko Chang.
Before we boarded the boat, we asked the boat man if he was going to the part of KoChang that we wanted & he said yes. But when we got close to Ko Chang, he decided to call at the nearest port as he got lazy. We ended up having to take another song thaew from the port.
The "highway" was under construction so we travelled over red clay. You can imagine how we looked when we reached our destination: covered in red sand all over, and our bags too!
But if this photo can be representative enough, you'll see that Ko Chang is worth all that hassle. We stayed in Porn's Guesthouse for 40B (about US$3) between 2 of us right on the beach. It is a basic hut but it was enough for us as we only need it to sleep under. It was good until the generator broke down and we had no running water to shower. Good thing was, our guesthouse was next to the posh resort next door which catered to rich Japanese tourists. Since I can be mistaken as a Japanese, no one stopped me from going in there to shower :)
Being an Asian from Singapore had its "perk" too. I was very well received by Porn, the owner of the guesthouse & his staff. They treated me as a family member, taught me Thai and shared whatever (local) food they have with me. Being an Asian in Thailand is pretty interesting: the Thais expected me to respond when they speak Thai to me while the Westerners expect me to translate when Thais speak to us. LOL!
The restaurants along the beach make very good & cheap seafood. We found a nice bar at the other beach owned by Porn's brother. As usual, he found me "fascinating" because no Singaporean has ever travelled the way I did. Every night after dinner, Thomas & I end up having drinks at his place. Thomas also taught me chess yet he ended up having to outdo me. What a great master he is, isn't he?!
With hardly any tourists, we had the whole beach to ourselves. Paradise indeed! At low tide, you can walk to another island but make sure you are back by high tide or you have to swim back. Otherwise there are a few boat trips you can take to see the islands around Ko Chang. I spent a lot of time chasing fishes around the white sandy beach with crystal clear waters. The other "past time" was making friends with the other backpackers. The island, however, is prone to malaria. I remember the French couple next door to us. The guy had to rush back to mainland because he came down with malaria. Thomas and I were lucky, we didn't have any medication and we didn't get sick.
Phuket
On the other side of the southern Thai peninsula, Phuket is a popular destination with many Singaporeans since the flights are direct and affordable. When I got to Phuket the first time in 1996/7, the airport was still under construction then. There were no signs in English & the taxi touts looked unreliable; the only backpackers I met were Soto & Mike - a Canadian couple - whom I ended up sharing a cab to Karon Beach. It turned out that they are from the police force in Montreal so I was in safe hands.
When the taxi pulled into Karon, we wanted to turn away. What we saw were fat Caucasian men with slim, dark women sitting next to or on their laps, drinking beer throughout the day. They gave us unfriendly gawks as obviously we were out of place. We checked out the beach: The murky water & golden sand are not to our liking; there were also many beach umbrellas & beach chairs out for hire but no takers. Thus, we decided the best was to go straight to Ko PhiPhi - a couple of hours by ferry and get on to the real beach & waters!
The second time I went in 2002 with Corrie, Aamir and James, my co-workers from Pfizer. I almost didn't make it through the SARS precautionary check at the airport because I registered a high of 37.4 degree Celsius. Corrie and Aamir were going to ditch me at the airport. Only James stayed by my side. After fussing for about half an hour, they decided to let me through, saying that they will send a nurse to check on me at Club Andaman, Patong Beach where we were staying. That sure got the guys excited, even planning who should take the roll-away bed in their room!
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Under the recommendation of the hotel, we had dinner at the posh Baan Rim Pa Piano Bar & Restaurant. It was an open-air restaurant on the cliff. The food, ambience and music by the pianist were all up to the 11,000B (S$400) bill standard! It's no wonder we saw Mike Jagger here but he left very quickly because it had no air-condition!
After dinner, with Corrie as our leader, we hit the go-go bars on the beach. It was my first time at such places and I anticipated cold treatment because I'm female but everyone welcomed us and even pulled me in. I guess they think that if they get me to go in, the guys will also join in. They pulled out games like Jenga to play. I became James pretend girlfriend so that he doesn't have to go with the "chase". As we bar-hopped, I found the whole affair rather entertaining and enjoyed the evening chatting with these working girls. And the boys have something else to say about the experience afterall.
Ko PhiPhi
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This is what we saw from our boat: white sandy beach and clear waters that you can see right to the bottom of the sea. It made me want to jump overboard into paradise right away. The second time it had the same effect and very fascinated with the limestone structures.
The first time I went, I stayed at PhiPhi Paradise on Long Beach and got a hut on the beach front that has a verandah, a queen size bed, a ceiling fan & an attached toilet, all right on the beach.
At nightfalls, all I hear is waves lapping the shore & in the morning, I jumped right into the crystal clear waters. With an unobstructed view of PhiPhi Leh, and without any sea sports like jet skis & such, this would be paradise if only they would ban those taxi boats which run on diesel engine making a racket throughout the day.
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The resort is run by a middle-aged British who spoke fluent Thai. It makes a difference since it's so easy to ask for direction or travel tips in perfect English! The staff is friendly & once again, because I'm Asian, I think, they tried to teach me Thai.
The bungalow organises snorkelling trips. For 200B (approximately S$10) it includes lunch and took us first to PhiPhi Leh to see caves to see the swallow's nests and later, Maya Beach where they filmed the movie THE BEACH. The waters is so clear that most times, without having to snorkel, you could see the fishes from the boat. Unfortunately the photos were not taken properly.
I got to know Vibeke from Norway and Sarah from Adelaide on the one-day island-hopping/ snorkelling trip. And someone knew Sarah and Karen from UK; Karen knows Aussie Greg and Greg knows a Swedish couple & they know another couple. So from 2 people, the group grew to 10. It was great to have so many people when it came to meal time but everyday, the waiters had a problem tallying the bill because we joined the table at different time & left at different times!
There are no road around PhiPhi island at that time. There are only 2 ways to get into "town" where the bigger resorts, dive shops, restaurants & pubs are. One, is to walk through the jungle, the other is to take the taxi boat. I like the jungle walk but one day, it rained so heavily, we had to take shelter at a resort in the jungle. I was a little nervous because there were no women at this place, however, I befriended the backpackers there and was really surprised to bump into 2 of the guys in Singapore when Sarah came for a visit a month later. The world is small.
The second time round, I have been upgraded from a backpacker to a higher class tourist and stayed at PhiPhi Princess Coral, which is in town. The beach is nice at high tide but when it's low tide in the evening, you can see that it is a mangrove.
The first time I went to the viewpoint, I took a small road at the centre of town, through the shops, walk about 100 steps uphill and another 20 minutes climb to the summit. The view was breath-taking so I took James with me the second time round. We were told to go along the beach at PP Princess which was quite a tough climb at one section. The view was still good but when I decided we should go down via the "old" way, I thought we would get lost because so much have changed and there are so many shops now. This was still before the Tsunami in 2004 that hit Ko PhiPhi pretty hard. I'm not sure if all these are still there today.
And here are the marine life captured by James when he went on his diving trip.
Phra Nang, a rock climbing haven
PhraNang sits on a mangrove swamp and is well known for its limestone structures. It was here that I picked up rock climbing. These pictures are of Hat Raileh West. (Hat means beach while Ko means island)
And these are from Raileh East.
Raileh and Phra Nang are next to each other. Both can be reached from Ko PhiPhi on the ferry in a couple of hours, faster on the speed boat. We got dropped off on Raileh West. At low tide, it is a swamp, not a beach but if you walk through a path under the "cave", you get to Phra Nang beach - Hat Tham Phra Nang - at Raileh East which is a different world altogether.
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You can get to the viewpoint and see Raileh Beach Resort, the ones with green roof, where I stayed. There is no seaview for the cheaper huts but if you pay a premium, you'll get a beachfront hut with airconditioning. I befriended my neighbour Gustaf who is from the Swedish police force. So, at the beginning of my trip, I was accompanied by a Canadian police couple and at the end of my trip, I was accompanied by a Swedish police. Ha!
The last picture shows an overview of Raileh East (Left), Hat Tham Phra Nang (Top) & Raileh West (Right).
The limestone structure attracts rock climbers from all over. I never considered rock climbing before this trip but I was enticed by a sign that says to reach the viewpoint, I've to climb this rocky path. I did it & I enjoyed the view so the next day, I enrolled in a rock climbing course & got hooked to it. It's really fun & gives a sense of accomplishment!!
Of course if you don't like rock climbing, you can take boat trips out to other island like James Bond Island & snorkel or kayak through caves. For 200B (US$7), you can get to deserted islands & islands with strange names like Ko Gai (chicken head island).
Ko SaMet
Ko SaMet is about 5 hours' drive from Bangkok. This is the last of Thailand's island that I would like to visit and I came here when I was on my way home from Europe.
10 years later in 2002, Bangkok International Airport is much more organised now. There are air-cond buses that bring you to different parts of inner Bangkok. And of course one that brings you to the backpackers' capital - Khao San Road - for only 100B which is about S$4!
I was dead tired when I reached Khao San Road, having not slept the night before as the Italians on board kept pacing up and down the plane & chatting away. The air stewardess from Thai Airways was absolutely nice to me and kept offering me souvenirs and food!
I was silly to lug my luggages with me when I could have put them at the left luggage at the airport! After sorting out my next destination - Ko SaMet (since it's nearest to Bangkok and cost 400B return), I got myself a guestroom for 100B to take a nap before my next journey.
I didn't have any guidebook on Thailand with me so I borrowed it from Danny the Australian on the mini-bus to Ko SaMet. He's a doctor and has been travelling for about 3 months. I enjoyed the conversation we had but it drew an end when he revealed that he is of Jewish origin and I queried about Jews and their occupation of Israel.
It was nightfall when we arrived onto Ko Samet. I was smart to take the 1st one offered to me although the hut is right at the end of the steep hill! I met Danny the next day & he only managed to get a hut after tracking on further, and it cost more than my hut @250B per night. Although I didn't get any view from my hut (even though it was so high up!), it is clean & almost mosquito-less as it gets rather chilly at night. I was so tired that night that I woke up by my own snore a few times!!!
The next day, I had a Thai massage but not impressed by it. I also met Keng, the bartender whom I absolutely adore! He makes me laugh and that's what bartenders should be to keep clients coming back (?) He speaks with a very London/cockney English which impresses me, even the Brits a great deal!
And guess what? I met a bunch of guys & they became my best buddies and hangout! They are not Geordies but I was equally entertained by their "Liverpool" accents and banters!
Michael (of Seychelles' heritage) got the butt of most jokes from his friends Darren, Nick & Martin yet he never lose his temper. He is actually the most tolerant person I have ever met! And so very sweet; Nick & Martin look like brothers while Darren is always explaining things to me.
As days go by, we learnt about each other's secrets. The guys said that they would fart in bed with their girlfriends and then pull the covers over them. This way it shows their innermost affection for their partners! I disagree!
Nick couldn't eat in front of girls. He had to go without lunches at school!
Keith, the Canadian teaching English in Korea, is the "intellectual" one. I learnt quite a bit about Korean language, culture & relationship! He was also the smart one who pointed out my age just by looking at the innoculation marks on my arms. Nobody has done it before.
And Chris, the Australian, related to us about working in casinos. He looks rather "dangerous" with the rings on his face: eyebrow, tongue etc but he's really a nice chap. He told so many fabulous travel tales. I wish I have his talent for story telling!
Typically guys, they love playing football and drinking usually starting in the afternoon, playing cards so you can imagine what happens at the end of the night.
Once, Martin was so drunk that he didn't remember where we went the night before. He lost his flipflop & weeds; Petite Nick knocked down a table of about 6 people; and while Michael was chased by dogs, a dog loyally walked me home one night.
Thailand holds a lot of fond memories for me. Everyone I met holds a special place in my heart. For me, what makes a trip memorable is the company I had. My memory of a place I travelled is incomplete without the memories of the people and friends I made there.
I love Thailand. Because of all the tourism, it is not easy to find genuinely friendly people but when I do, I love to practice a few Thai with them and learn new ones. Hopefully there are still islands/beaches left unexplored. Until the next time, Sawasdee and chokdee.