Travel Blog Posts
July 9th 2006
The trip is quickly coming to an end. In my last couple of days in Bangkok I’m coasting to the finish. Wednesday, I took another ride on the Chao Pharya River down to the Central Pier. From there I rode the Sky Train (elevated train) to Soi Silom and took another walking tour. I guess this was another area rich in tourist because I had to fight off a couple of guys trying to sell me explicit goods. About halfway down Silom I came to this covered food area. It was just after lunch time and the place was clearing out and it was a mess. The food and drinks were not served in disposable plates and cups. They actually reuse things here. Silverware too, next to the silverware there was a crock-pot of hot water ... read more
July 3rd 2006
I left Koh Tao for the mainland. My flight out of Bangkok is Thursday night, the 6th, so I'm heading in that direction. My boat from Koh Tao took me to Chumphon. Chukmphon is a port town and is the gateway between the north and the south of Thailand. The place looks a bit dangerous. It reminds me of Detroit. There is a big difference between the islands and the mainland. Most of the people on the islands speak at least a little English, but on the mainland you encounter many more people who do not. Also a lot of things are chaeaper. I did not spend the night in Chumphon, I kept going north. My plan was to spend a week stopping in small towns and seeing some sights. My first stop was Prachuap Kiri ... read more
July 1st 2006
Hello again! I’ve been busy this week learning to SCUBA dive, and I was successful! I am now a PADI certified Open Water Diver. That means I can dive anywhere in the world without an instructor at a depth of up to 18 meters. But let’s go back. I left Koh Pha Ngan on a high speed boat and the ride took about an hour. Island hopping is great fun, though a bit tiring if you have to walk a lot with a backpack. I decided to go to Ban’s Diving Resort for my Open Water course. Koh Tao is all about diving and there are many, many dive schools. I got a room (with air-con), and enrolled in my class that started about an hour later. All we did was watch a couple of films. ... read more
June 23rd 2006
Hello again. Monday night was the Half Moon Party in the jungle. All the parties here seem to be based on the phase of the moon. The big one is the Full Moon Party that happens once a month and thousands of people come from everywhere to party on the beach. Since I am here in between full moons, I get to attend some of the smaller parties. The party site is a bit of a distance from where we are staying, so I was a bit concerned about how we were going to get there. My friend, Augustine said, “Let’s just ride our motorbikes!”, and I replied that it is pretty far and it will be late at night. “So what?” was his response. Well on the way there he took a turn too fast ... read more
June 19th 2006
Saturday afternoon I left Koh Samui. I got on a boat and went to Koh Pha Ngan. On the boat over I read my Lonely Planet and decided where I wanted to go. Since my time on Samui was spent on the busiest, most developed beach, I decided to go somewhere away from all the crowds. So I decided on Hat Chaophao. Since it is the slow season and nearing the rainy season it is nearly deserted here. I like it. Everything is cheaper here than on Samui. I’m staying at Jungle Huts. I got a nice bungalow with a hammock on the porch for 300 baht per night (about $8). There is no a/c so it gets warm during the day, but I decided to rough it a bit. The grounds are a well kept ... read more
Just gettin' a little buddah
Published: June 15th 2006Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Samui
June 15th 2006
Hey! I'm back and fourth, busy doing things and busy doing nothing at all. During the first couple of days I had moments of exhaustion where I just had to take a nap. So to get a bit more control over that, I had a Thai message right there on the beach. In Thai message they basically abuse your body and you feel better for it. I had a lady probably in her late 40's and she worked me over. She twisted me, bent me, hit me, walked on me, used her hands, feet, knees and an elbow to the groin never felt so good. I followed that up with a manicure and pedicure. I've been to the beach (Cheweng Beach). for a couple of hours each day. Plenty of hot European chicks on the beach ... read more
June 12th 2006
Hello everyone. Everything is going well so far. Today I got up early and caught a plane from Bangkok to Koh Samui. I didn’t have a place to stay so my cab driver took me to Your Place Bungalows. It is fairly inexpensive at 700 baht (1 USD = 38 baht), has a/c and is nice enough. My bungalow is a small hut with a bed and a bathroom. It takes about 2 minutes to walk from my room to the beach. When I got there this morning I was worried because the tide was out and it looked more like a swamp than a beach, but I just went to check it out again and it looks fine. Let’s go back. The flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo was long and rather boring, but not ... read more
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