Mosquito Warfare II - Operation Koh Chang
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2005
1
4
21
Trip End
May 15, 2006
Koh Chang,
Thailand
Saturday, June 25, 2005
After a few days in Bangkok, my brother, his girlfriend and I took a five-hour drive in the early morning down to Koh Chang, an island near the southern part of Thailand. We stayed there for three days and two nights. Here is what happened:
Upon taking a ferry for nearly half an hour late that afternoon, I caught glimpse of a green sea serpent rising above the ocean's horizon. Slowly as we neared the foreground, it laid out its tongue of white sand welcoming us aboard as the native coconut trees leisurely swayed back and forth waving us a warm welcome to their island.
But this was no "Fantasy Island," as the "other" natives were restless and hungry, waiting to stick their pointy needles into my portly figure. It was a fight that any boxing fan would have heavily placed their bets on, with me going down in the third round. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Damn those mosquitoes beat the crap out of me!" Whether it was at the beach, restaurant, Internet café, or toilet seat, my body played host to a blood buffet for Mosquito Joe and his whole family, including the in-laws.
Despite the barrage of mosquito warfare that took place in Koh Chang, I spent most of my time lazily strumming my guitar on a sandy white beach. What can I say? It was quite relaxing. I do remember one particular moment when a stray dog came next to me and sat beside me as I played my guitar. It was like two strangers became old friends that day.
But the best part of my adventure in Koh Chang was when I rented a motor scooter and took a tour along the island. Here is what happened:
Sporting a bright red two-wheeled motor machine, I rolled my way down the west side along the back of a concrete snake that combed its way through the entire island like nobody's business. Ah yeah! No cobra, no boa, no anaconda had anything on this serpent that day. With its yellow dotted lines pacing along its spine and two continuous white stripes placed along each side, this friend of mine took me through the highs and lows of the island. From the west coast to the east coast I mashed out on my mean machine clocking speeds faster than any grandma has ever known. This was my Thai version of "Easy Rider."
Making my way along an easterly direction, the scene grew dim with a worry of rain clouds filling the sky, not to mention my head. My gas tank grew red, as I thought to myself, "Where the hell is everybody? How come there were no vehicles going my way? I really need to get some gas. And oh-oh it's getting dark." For nearly half an hour, nothing but stray dogs and a few wandering locals came across my path as the sun grew heavy and made its way back home. But suddenly, after a few prayers, I caught sight of a gas station. Making a well-needed pit stop and feeling quite relieved, I slowly got off my two-wheel cool as can be and made my way towards the attendant. I pulled out my tourist map and broke free from my manly inhibitions to ask the attendant where I was on the map and how to get back to my beachside bungalow on the west side. It finally had occurred to me that I was running into a dead end and that was why I had not seen anyone for miles and miles. Thus, I had not choice but to go back the way I had come from. And so I made my way on my red scooter along the back of my concrete friend.
