On Island Time

---

Hello Loved Ones,

This morning I awoke to the sounds of cacophonous cicadas, tropical birds, gecko calls and the delicious crashing surf. Bliss. The perfect temperature allowed for no need of fan and therefore it was a night filled with comfortable slumber.
We've walked good amounts of the west coast of Koh Samet on white sandy beaches and rocky points, through banyan tree speckled forests and sandy trails. It is a beautiful and accessible island, which each 'Ao' or beach having it's own particular feel that draws different crowds of people. There are European families, Russian groups, Thais getting away from Bangkok for the weekend, gay and lesbian and hetero couples, and the ubiquitous older-awkward-Caucasian-male with young-attractive-fit-fashionable-Thai-girl couples. There is a lovely 'live and let live' vibe to Thailand and it is especially present on the islands and coasts. Thailand openly accepts transgender people and is the sex-change-surgery capital of the world, the people who choose to live as the opposite gender are welcomed as the 'third gender' here in Thailand, and are most often referred to affectionately as 'lady boys'.
It is an easy place to feel accepted and I appreciate this tolerance and lack of judgement wholeheartedly.
The local people are, for the most part, incredibly friendly and warm and there is very little harassment to bother with as a woman. Everything is 'mai pen rai', or 'no worries' here. I don't feel the pressures to be or look a certain way as I do in North America or many other places I've traveled, namely Europe. The dress is very casual and people's attitudes seem to lean towards the relaxed enjoyment of life rather than the obsession with rat-race mentality and physical youth and beauty that is so ever-present elsewhere. I've relished in these weeks of feeling comfortable in my rounder body, often wearing no makeup, letting my hair do what it wants and even wearing the same casual outfits 2 days in a row! What liberation!
We adore getting into the water and floating each other around while talking about life. We even made a fabulous drip-sand castle today, though we have no photos to prove it. Sometimes I think we were born to be in the water and we often stay in until our fingers are prune-like and toes are becoming a wee bit webbed. When I was in the water alone for a bit, as I went to get out, this little troupe of local kids came racing towards me in the water with their little arms outstretched and sing-song whines pleading me to play with them. I easily succumbed and we frolicked in the shallow water giggling and splashing as I lifted them high out of the water and swished them around in trails holding on for dear life to my fingers. They were adorable and filled my heart with rainbows.
Last night was Friday night and we decided to walk North along the coast, beach after beach filled with the wafting scents of cooking seafood, spicy curries, blending fruity shakes or sizzling sweet roti vendors. Cashew and Ovaltine? Nutella and Banana? Vanilla and marmalade? Take your pick. We've been enjoying gourmet meal after gourmet meal and our current priciest tab was up to $15 total I believe. Amazing.
So after walking up the beaches and watching people romp in the water (78F or so), play in the sand, walk hand in hand, we had a delightful candle-lit meal sitting in the traditional triangular-shaped padded seats at a low table on mats next to the lapping waves. He had a cashew-pineapple-chicken stir fry dish and I had a seafood curry served in a young coconut - such exotic flavors! Then we headed off to find some activity and found a restaurant-bar that seemed to be packed with only locals singing their favorite karaoke tunes in true Thai style - flat as ever! We moved on to a place called Ploy Pub right on the beach where a live band was singing to a more Western crowd and therefore had fun American hits like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Proud Mary". Following this there was an exceptional fire-spinning show with 12 fit young men did every possible fire trick in the book from fire-breathing to poi and staff spinning, to hula-hooping and hippie stick tossing. It was a fantastic show and we enjoyed it immensely.
Most of our time is spent by the water either imbibing delicious food, sipping tropical fruit drinks, hanging in hammocks while reading books, writing post cards, frolicking in the warm water, or taking long walks and discussing our future. We've been seeing this sweet time as our pre-vacation for the work we see ahead of ourselves. The commitment to settling into a new place with new jobs, being full-time students, living-expense-bills and all those staid-life requirements that don't always allow for such luxurious leisure as we are experiencing right now. We are soaking up and enjoying every minute of it, truly appreciating it for what it is. And we've only been in Asia for 3-ish weeks!
We head back to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon and start preparing ourselves for travel to India. It has been a wonderful boon to be able to leave our stuff at Riki and Yik's house and not have to lug everything around with us at all times, or pay for costly shipping back home. We are so grateful.
We miss a lot of you and talk about you all the time, wish we could share some of these experiences in person together, but alas, for now we'll just have to send our love through these travel blogs and from our hearts to yours!
Much love,

Heather

---

Photos

Fishing Boats
On our way to the island

Rest stop
Before venturing out to find a beach bungalow

Found one!
This is at Jep's Bungalows where we stayed the first 2 nights

Banyan Tree and Dave
Nice walk South along the coast

Pudsa Beach
One of the more secluded beaches

One of the many food vendors
They walk along the beach and serve fresh fruit, or grilled chicken, or green-papaya spicy salad

Tuna Salad!
When Dave needs a break from Spicy Thai food he finds a gentle meal like this

Our little dark bungalow at Jep's
On Ao Hin Khok beach

Dave and the Waves
Waiting for me to finish breakfast so we could move on to our next beach and bungalow

Dave video-skyping his brother
Technology is amazing!

Coconut Curry
Seafood curry served in a young coconut - so exotic and so tasty!