Koh Samui, Island Pair-O-Dice

Trip Start Dec 05, 2005
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Trip End Mar 15, 2006


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Wednesday, December 21, 2005

The trip from Bangkok to the airport in Pattaya was longer than we expected, but the taxi driver Noah and I hired to get us the f* out of Seedsville Galore was skilled, and we beat the traffic and made the plane. The airport is actually an hour outside of Pattaya, and was originally built and occupied by the States as a military base to bomb the hell out of Vietnam. Really strange to see it, quite a trip, and guess what, no surprise I suppose, but we're still there. Never left. Getting into the airport was a trip- the Thai military let us in, the driver had to give them his license or something and they gave him a pass. Once in the airport, you can see Vietnam war era planes docked close to where the colorful Bangkok Air island puddle jumpers sit... Really a trip, just the saddest and weirdest thing to see those planes sitting there and thinking that we are at this place that facilitated so much horror. God. I suppose that's going to only get more intense in Cambodia and Vietnam later...

Well, the plane took off, and we headed directly to Koh Samui, where we landed in clouds and wind. Not exactly the island paradise weather I was ready for, but apparently KS had flooded just a few weeks prior to our arrival- major flooding- and the weather, while better, hadn't really officially decided to change it's mind just yet. It was warm though, which was good as the airport in KS is actually a series of little huts. Grabbed our bags and a taxi, and we were dropped at Noah's place. It was dark out, so I didn't get the full impact of where we were, but it was good to be out of the city and I was so happy to be hosted for a few days!

Noah and I went for a fabulous dinner... On the beach, waves pounding into the sand. Just gorgeous. Still a little windy, but by the time we got there, the clouds had cleared and it was a beautiful starry night. That was my favorite meal in all of KS. Absolutely wonderful to hear the water and be in some sand. After dinner, we went out and I met EVERYONE- I mean, Noah knows tons of people, and it was fun if not a little strange to get dropped into a scene so quickly! Went dancing, went here, there, everywhere, and ended up at a locals only place that actually opens for business at 3AM. It was at the top of a hill somewhere, and by the time the sun rose, I'd found the big wooden swings at one end and got to watch it from there. Stunning.

Anyway- fast forward- lots of craziness in KS. My favorite part of KS is the JUNGLE. I've never been in such a, well, JUNGLE before. Noah lives up with only three other houses in an area that is all palms, waving foliage everywhere... Snakes (saw a green one the exact color of the leaves it wound around and Jackie ran after a big one that we saw on a tree... Crazy girl...) And then there were monkeys twisting coconuts off their trees, barbeques, music, sunning, getting chewed up by waves that break right at the beach (due to the flooding, the beach was at quite an angle to the sea, and it created sort of a sand wall that the waves would hit- you hit them too if you chose to swim, which of course I did. Ouch, but at least the water's warm..) Jackie came and met us down there a few days later, and she got caught up in all the nuttiness down there too. It was really fun to meet some local Thai folks, especially some great women, and I got to learn a little (emphasis on little) bit of how the Thai language works- there are five ways you can pronounce a word and it can mean five different things entirely. I've learned a few things but my Thai is still very VERY limited! We also got to meet some expats that had taken up residence there (like Noah). Fun stuff. The week (?) flew by and then I was ready to roll... Time to meet up with my posse in Railay...
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