Koh Samui
Trip Start
Jun 19, 2008
1
6
26
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Ko Samui,
Thailand
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The train ride was in some ways better than expected and in others worse. Our carriage had fans (no AC), but was actually not that hot with the fans and the breeze from the windows. We passed the time playing cards and reading. We were pleasantly surprised by a reasonable dinner and the seats were quite comfortable. After dinner, the seats were transformed into beds and I graciously agreed to take the top bunk. There was enough room up there, more than a bunk bed at camp, but the bright florescent light was hard to block out. I didn't get much of a breeze up there either. Neither of us slept, except for maybe a quick doze here and there. Since we were not in first class or even second class with AC, our carriage included a lot of locals and people would walk through at random times selling indistinguishable foods.
The most notable thing about the train journey was the bathroom. Dirty squat toilet which was basically just a hole in the floor that led straight onto the train tracks
On the train to Koh Samui
. Luckily I only had to go one time, and I can assure you it wasn't pleasant! At times like that I wish I was a man!Feeling horribly sticky and gross after the train ride combined with lack of sleep led to a really awesome bus ride from the Suratthani Train Station to the ferry to the islands. We were originally told the bus ride was about twenty minutes, but this was definitely not the case. Once we were finally on the ferry it took another hour and a half to get to Koh Samui. After a rather bumpy and crowded pick-up truck ride over to Chaweng beach, we finally picked out a nice place to stay, got showers, and took a two hour nap.
Given our long traveling ordeal, we thought we would have an early night, but ended up staying out till about 4:30 or 5 am. We met Dave and Edel from Tipperary, Ireland while enjoying our Thai whiskey bucket on the beach. These are sand castle building buckets filled with whiskey, coke, ice, and several straws. One bucket led to another and before you know it, we were all heading into the sea. Joe managed to lose his wedding ring in the water (the night before our anniversary I might add) but miraculously, Edel found it a few seconds after it went missing! They were great company for bucket drinking, around our age, and over in Thailand for a two week holiday. We finally crashed for a well-needed sleep and didn't wake up till late in the afternoon the next day.
We ate at a great place called Ninja Crepes, good food for cheap and I bought a sarong. We realized we are not very good at haggling prices and will try to work on this. It just seems weird to me and I am not used to doing that at all. It worked out well with our hotel because we were asking if we could stay for two nights, but I think the receptionist thought we were trying to get a better deal and immediately lowered the price. We thought, hey we'll take it! I loved spending our first anniversary (July 26th) on a beach in Thailand. Who would have guessed!
Chaweng is supposed to be the nicest beach resort area on Samui. It was pretty, but I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. It was very built up and there were lots of people. The night scene was cool with bars and restaurants lining the beach and fire throwers to entertain.
