The Brash and the Beautiful
Trip Start
Mar 15, 2006
1
41
42
Trip End
May 30, 2007
Koh Phi Phi,
Thailand
Friday, May 25, 2007
Well I guess Paradise is relative. The pretty lights are wrapped around plastic trees, flashing like some garish Christmas decoration. The sweetness of the cocktail overpowers my taste with each sip, making me wonder if I shall be sleeping at all in the next few days. And the gentle music playing is actually 80's love songs, and it is blended with the various other such tracks floating out of the many restaurants lining the waterfront.
01 The scene of my introduction
It just depends how you view it I suppose. Moving the Costa del Sol to this tropical location just doesn't really do it for me! Welcome to Koh Samui.
As you can probably see, my first impression of the next island on my travels was not all that great. The beaches and the clear waters are beautiful, no doubt, but because of this the tourist industry has exploded, unabated. Plenty of activities present themselves if you are so inclined, but I was determined to find a little bit of real local life, and luckily enough I did.
I took a walk on one of my days, in the opposite direction to the tourist throngs, heading for a little Muslim town. As I walked along the beach I passed a group of locals, who were sitting under a canopy, taking their lunch break from building work. I nodded in their direction, as you do, at which point one of the guys beckoned me over with an eating action. I briefly tried to decide if he was serious and then headed their way, causing a fair bit of entertainment on their behalf. I think they expect the tourists to keep to themselves a bit, but that would be asking the wrong person here!
I joined their little circle, and was handed a bowl of rice, to which they had a few other dishes to add a little flavour
02 Now what is this doing here?
. Pretty spicy they were too. I would expect that, so I tried a little at a time, but joining in with them was a great experience, its what I came away in the first place for. And despite hardly any opposite language abilities; it doesn't matter, sign language can get you a long way.The next island I headed for meant a boat-bus-boat journey across to the other side of the country, and proved to be a welcome change. I'd be lying if I said I had lost the tourists, but somehow Koh Phi Phi seems to be able to pull it off with far more style. There is a really great vibe here, far more relaxed and in keeping.
Here, I was able to meet up again with Saskia, one of the girls I had met on Koh Phangan. On my second day we hired a longboat to take us out to Koh Phi Phi Leh, the smaller, uninhabited island of the two. Wo ho, this place really is stunning. It is where they filmed 'The Beach', and you can well see why. Though this is also the reason why huge numbers of foreign visitors suddenly descended on the place in big boats 10 minutes after we arrived. But we had beaten them and seen the place empty, so it didn't matter. We did some snorkeling in the crystal clear waters too, and though the variety of colours couldn't compete with what I was fortunate enough to see on the Whitsundays, it is always great to be immersed in natural beauty
03 Lamai Beach, Koh Samui
.One of the best things I have found about being in Thailand is the food. On any street corner you can find some of the best cuisine the country has to offer. And its so cheap! With this in mind, I decided I had to learn a little of their ways. So yesterday I took a cooking lesson for an hour and a half, and was introduced to many of the herbs used in the food, and 3 popular dishes. The test will come, to see whether I can replicate them when I'm back home. I hope so. Any volunteers for the experiment??
OK, so here we go. This is my last day on the island, and I awoke this morning at dawn to head out on the waters for another a spot of snorkeling. This time however I was hoping for the company of something I definitely hadn't come across before. Sharks!!
What amazing creatures these are. The species I saw and swam with are Black-tipped Reef Sharks. Luckily I knew I wasn't going to get attacked, since they feed on small fish. They ranged from about 1-1.5 metres in length, and although it ain't no Great White, they are an enticing enough spectacle nonetheless.
So now there is only 4 days of the trip left...but its turning into a pretty impressive end to an intriguing adventure...
P.S. Click on the photo's to look at them big, cos a lot have stories with them. Cheers.
