Ko Samui and the Monsoon

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Ko Samui and the Monsoon

We jumped on a flight to Bangkok stayed over night in a crummy hotel near the airport and then flew to Surat Thani from which we grabbed a bus to the pier and then boarded a ferry to Ko Samui.

We should have seen the signs when sitting on the bus, I closed my eyes for a couple of moments and when I next opened them I looked out the window to see rain. Vicky had to move because the window she was sitting next to had a leak and she was getting soaked.
The Ferry was not much better, as many English people as you could get squeezed onto a boat for an hour or so. None the less we made it to Ko Samui and I figured that if it rained on the days that we were travelling then that would not be a problem as long as it was sunny on the days that we were not!

We jumped in a taxi and asked to be taken to a hotel that we had found in Jane's lonely planet guide to Thailand. It looked lovely and was situated on the North side if the Island which was supposed to be lively but not as commercial as the East side. Our taxi driver asked us how much we wanted to pay per night for accomodation - not to worry we said we have something booked already and pointed at the address of our choosen hotel. "Oh" said the driver - that hotel is closed and is under construction. Nice try I thought. Everyone knows that the taxi drivers are commissioned by the hotels and use that line all the time in an attempt to steer you towards a hotel that their uncle owns or something to that effect. We were not falling for it and demanded to be taken to our choosen destination.
We drove through the pouring rain and were eventually taken up a side road to what could only be described as a demolition site.... Balls... He was telling the truth!!!

We were taken to "Harry's" which was just down the road and was only 8 quid a night so we figured that it ticked all the boxes. We settled in our little bungalow huts and mulled over what to do in the evening. First thing was first - washing. I had to wash literally EVERYTHING for fear that the bedbugs from the trek had found their way into everything that I owned and that I would be ridden with flees for the next three weeks.
Jane found a restaurant that was voted one of the top five restaurants on Ko Samui and so we decided to head down and treat ourselves. The restaurant was rather posh but that did not stop me from ordering a bottle of wine and a selection of cocktails. Kirsty was feeling quite tired and so we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel. En route me, Jane and Vix decided that we wanted to stay out a bit longer for a few drinks and so got dropped off at the Gecko bar. Our driver informed us that the bar of our choice was a "bar for men". I figured that sounded perfect! We were then told that the whole road leading up to our hotel was "for men". As it was raining and the bar was within walking distance to our hotel I figured I could cope with a few men being in the bar and got out and waltzed straight up to the bar.
The bar was empty. The girls ordered a couple of black russians and I chose a classy sex on the beach. The bar maid looked at us with a blank expression and then shook her head... mmmm we looked at the menu and picked out different cocktails... same response. It became clear that despite the vast cocktail menu the waitress had no idea how to mix a cocktail and invited us up behind the bar to mix our own. Bit of a mistake there!
The bar maid was lovely but it was painfully clear that we were the only people in the bar and that no one else would be coming. So much for being a bar for men I thought! We walked down the road to another bar and were once again surrounded by Thai Barmaids egar to pour us drinks and get us up dancing on the tables. I was having a great time but there was no sign of anyone else!
Then Vix and I noticed one man about 50 coming out of the back of the bar. He handed over some money shook hands with one of the bar maids and went on his way... Mmmmm. Soon after that a Thai girl came out of the back of the bar...
AHH!!!! Now I see. The bars were a disguise for the real services that the Thai Barmaids were providing. We then started talking to one of the Thai Ladies who told us about an Australian Solider that she had fallen in love with. He had called her a couple of times and sent her money but he had a family of his own in Australia. She was worried about him as she had not heard from him for months but said that she hoped he was happy and safe. The story unfolded and it became clear that she was a prostitute who had slept with this guy a couple of times and bought his story and taken his money but was unfortunately now in love or infacutated with him. My home made cocktails spoke to me and I decided to sit her down and tell her that she was better that that and that most men were idiots and she should find herself a nice man who doesn't have a family and loves her.
After a long rambled lecture we head back to our hotel and laughed at ourselves for being so confused as to where everyone was. he he he

The next day we woke up to rain - and a leak in our hotel room. My bed was soaked. 😞 Figuring that there was little to do in the rain we head off to the internet room and I decided to update my blog. After an hour and a half of typing the room went dark. A power cut... FFS!!!!!!

I was very angry and feeling a bit flat. When it is raining and you are plunged into darkness there is only one thing to do.... We picked up our stuff and wandered back down the road to the "male only" bars. There we sat for six hours playing cards by candle light and getting drunk. What else were we to do?
When the power came back on we gingerly wandered back to the hotel - scoffed down a Thai Green Curry - rearranged the room so the leak hit the floor and not my feet and went to bed.

The next day we rose, packed our bags and jumped in a tuk tuk to drive us to the Pier to get a ferry off the Island. The plan seemed simple enough and had it not been for the fact that both Kirsty and I had spent the whole night awake with stomach cramps it would have been simple. Oh and the fact that it was still pissing it down and the Tuk Tuk that took us to the wrong pier... With 20 minutes till the ferry left I threw a bit of a wobbly and got a proper taxi to take us to the pier where we found half of England crammed under umbrellas waiting to get on the boat.
I was NOT in the mood for this at all and drew upon all my Northern Line experience to elbow my way to the front and onto the Ferry. Two hours of choppy sea and typical English lads we ended the boat ride from Hell and docked in Koh Pagnan preying that this Island would bring us better fortune....

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