Being in complete culture shock after arriving in my small
village, I decided it would probably be best to take off for the weekend. I
called a couple of my friends from orientation and was actually able to arrange
with Jessica to meet and go to Koh Samed.
I left by Songthaew at 4 pm from Wangchan (where I live).
Songthaew is basically a converted pick up truck. You ride in the back with a other
people (sometimes packed like sardines); and go wherever you need to go. I felt
like I was in a movie, I couldn’t believe I was doing this, much less I couldn’t
believe I was doing this alone.
When I arrived at Rayong, about 45 minutes later, I called
Jessica. She was delayed and did not know when she would get there and there
was no way of asking as most people in Thailand cant speak English… So I went
to a nearby little restaurant got a beer and listened to my iPod and read my
book. It was wonderful.
She arrived about an hour later; we got another songthaew
this time to a port which was about 25 minutes away. We were super packed! She
stood the whole way and though I was sitting I was wishing I could be standing…
being squished between Thai people who cannot for the life of them communicate
with you can be an awkward experience to say the least.
We got to the port where we took a boat to Koh Samed Island…
The boat was full of people and food; it was dark but we were very excited to
go on this adventure. When we finally got to the island they made us climb
through another boat, and mounds of rice to get off the boat. Jessica and I
found this incredibly odd, we couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.
We walked the island until we reached a place called “Jep’s Bungalows”;
we got a room, got settled and decided to go out for a night of drinking and
dancing! It was awesome!!! We first went to eat and they had nachos on the
menu! I was soooo excited. They were the worst nachos I have ever had in my
life but I LOVED every single bite. We then decided to go dancing.
Koh Samed Island is awesome! It is very beautiful and full
of bars and restaurants. The beaches are white and the water is crystal blue.
The heat is not too bad as there is a constant breeze. Paradise to say the
least. There are motorcycles EVERYWHERE. You can rent one for about ten dollars
a day and ride around and explore; something I will definitely be doing on my
next trip to the island.
We stopped at the first loud fun bar we saw, we ordered a
bucket of mojitos and began our night. We were amazed at how many gay men there
were. We were very confused and thought that maybe the island was just a very
popular gay destination; we found out the next day that that was not the case.
We had stumbled into the gay bar in town and as naïve as we are thought it was
just pure coincidence. Oh to be a tourist! Hahaha!
We made a couple of friends who are stationed around
Thailand teaching English but at International Schools. We exchanged
information and hopefully get to see them in the future. We had this young good
looking guy approach us and start talking to us. He had a wedding ring on when
he first came to talk to us, and magically his ring switched hands… Oh
Thailand. He kept buying us drinks and trying soooo hard. It was so funny
because even though he was American you could tell that he thought we had no
idea what was going on, but we were on to him so quick and laughing about it
the whole night. He kept trying and trying but obviously did not get anywhere
with us… Instead we danced the night away with our new gay friends.
The next day we woke up early and booked an excursion of the
5 islands around Koh Samed. We got some breakfast and laid by the beach as we
waited to get picked up by our boat. In our boat was a group of new Thai graduates.
One of them was able to communicate with us and we became friends. They were so
interested in us and we were so interested in them. They all laughed as Jess
and I tried to speak Thai, it was so much fun. We had some lunch at the first
island and then went to stop number two.
Stop number two was hilarious. Jessica decided that we shouldn’t
snorkel by the boat but instead we should follow our new Thai friends. They
seemed to know where they were going and there was probably better snorkeling there.
So in our bikinis, our bare feet, and with our snorkeling gear on we followed
them as they went through a trail (they were all wearing similar attire).
Little did we know that this turned into a 45 minute hike through a random
trail, in a random island, in Thailand. It was hilarious. We were so lost but
kept going because we did not want to turn back. I have to say it was the best
hike I have ever been on (amazing views, hilarious people, no shoes, and
communicating by sign language and broken English).
After this we went and saw the remaining island. We ended
our trip by going to a “aquarium”. We got to look at sketchily look at fish and
sharks and a sea turtle.
We finished our excursion and went back to our hotel. We got
ready and went out for dinner. To my surprise I was so sick of the horrible
western food that I was craving some Thai food. I ordered some lab (one of the
only dishes I like), and a couple drinks. We ate and killed some time enjoying
the view. We then went to another local bar. It is the bar where they hold all
the Mai Tai fights. We sat at the bar and hung out with the bartenders for a
few hours. This bar provides you with black light paint to paint yourself and
all over the walls. We painted all over the place and shared stories with the
Thai bartenders. I think this was by far my favorite part of the trip.
We left a little after nine to go catch the fire show at
another local bar. It was incredibly. The agility and athleticism of these guys
is something I have never experienced before. We sat and enjoyed the show until
it was over and then exhausted after a long day of exploring and having fun
decided to go back to the hotel and go to sleep. What a wonderful first weekend
vacation.
Super fun!! Enjoy
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