A visit by a benign Spirit

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Around Kho Smaui,
03-02-2009.

The amount of farang people on Kho Samui with medical bandages wrapped around elbows and knee caps is staggering. Victims of traffic accidents on Kho Samui's curvy roads caused by a combination of factors...People going home on a rented scooter after a heavy drinking binge at one of the island's many bars, slippers on white feet that make it difficult to shift gears and , of course, the state of the roads. The Kho Samui Hospital must be in constant full-time overdrive.

Feeling in the mood for a sweaty day of cycling under a scorchingly hot Thai sun I decide to hire a bicycle longingly rememebering my last time on this island, my last stay in Hat Lamai when I had a local ladyfriend who rented out scooters and two Harley Davidsons. When the Harleys wheren't rented out by mid afternoon I could take one and go touring often with my lady on the back clasping her slender arms around me tightly while one of her friends would look after her little scooter business.
I seem to remember I felt quite the MAN then...hehehe.

I cycle up north in the direction of the airport planning to cycle all the way around the island following the coast which should take me the better part of the day. Cycling up low hills with white sand beaches full with bikini clad farangs, local boys trying to sell mangos, jet skis out at sea leaving a white trail of fibrating sea water behind them.

I stop frequently to drink ice-cold cans of coffee at 7/Eleven supermarkets sitting outside in the sun. If it wasn't for the heavy traffic, scooters, Song-Thaews, busses and trucks, this would be a paradise island and a perfectly beautiful day.

I stop at Na Thon to watch the fishermen repair their nets and dry their laundry in the sun, have a bowl of Johk with big chunks of Kai floating in it - thick rice soup with chicken chunks - for the necessary energy.

I stop at Hat Bo Phut to inquire about the old French speaking lady I met yesterday on the Song-Thaew showing people the photo I made of her sitting at the side of the road. Blank stares and total incomprehension meet my questions in halting Thai. Eventually a cop tells me in English "she good spirit, sir, but sometime she like have fun with Farang", his face deadly serious while his colleague nods his head agreeing totally...knowingly.

Sh*t, I really wanted to know more about that Karma she warned me about!!!

My last stop is at Wat Khunaram to see the famous Mummified Monk but after the little Benign-Female-Spirit story having a bit of fun on my behalf, the monk's mummified body wrapped in saffron robes and a pair of ridiculous sunglasses on his still grinninhg face, seems minor in comparison.

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Photos

Fish
caught at sea

Mummified monk
on Kho Samui

drying laundry
on Kho Samui

Fishing boat
on Kho Samui