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Published: February 9th 2009
Grandfather Rock
As you can see, it does resemble something doesn't it?My eagerness for this part of my journey has most definitely been strong. So here I am, finally, on the beaches of Southern Thailand. My first stop was Ko Samui and I arrived in the open aired Gilligan's Island designed airport. I knew I wouldn't be staying too long on here, as although what may seem cheap at 25$ CAN per night, my accommodations were a bit above my price range. My bungalow on Big Buddha Beach was called Shambala. It was nice and the place was very chilled out. They had a cool bohemian vibe and would play chillout music throughout the nicely manicured beach front grounds where little chillout areas were spotted all over the place. I didn't meet many people here as it was mostly older families, but it was still cool to hang out, have a few beverages, watch the sunset and relax. I was feeling a little bit down when I first arrived, partly because I was still suffering the after affects of a bad hamburger I had eaten in Chiang Mai, but my spirits quickly rose as I rented my first moped the second day I was there. I was nervous at first as the
Grandmother Rock
Very interesting, I must say... Thai's have an extremely different sense of road rules, but I figured that if I just keep to the left hand side (not right hand) and follow everyone else's direction, I'd be fine, which I was for the most part. I got to see almost all of the beaches on the island, and the cool sight of Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks. Legend has it that an elderly coupled died, were washed out to see, and their genitalia were washed back up on the shore. When I first saw the spectacle I really thought they were man made as they look incredibly life like for being made from rock. After cruising on my hog all day, I stopped back, used the internet and experienced my first street crime of the trip. Don't worry mom and dad, it wasn't bad. After coming out of an internet cafe to put my sandals back on, I noticed that they were missing and in their place were a ratty pair of same sized cheaper sandals. Luckily I had a spare set I had bought back in Bangkok, but I was pretty irritated. But it was okay, because I knew that I was going to Ko
Sunsets on Samui
This never really got old. Big buddha beach, Ko Samui. Tao to have my first experience with Scuba Diving..!
I arrived on Ko Tao and immediately started orientation to Scuba at Ban's Diving Resort. Learning the skills in the classroom was a bit boring, but I was eager to get into the pool and try them out. The first experience of breathing underwater was truly amazing. We were only in the pool for about an hour and I had seen nothing in the form of sea life and I was already stoked. Our English instructor, Guy, was a super pretty boy with long wavy hair, but did a great job teaching the skills. Our group of 9 was pretty cool too. It was mainly dominated by 5 Irish, but also consisted of 2 English girls, my Aussie underwater buddy and myself as the solo Canadian. I repped pretty hard and took to the skills quite well. When it was time to leap into the sea, I was a bit nervous, but our instructor taught us really well. Diving and feeling weightless in the water was probably one of the coolest feelings ever. The amount of sea life was spectacular as well. We saw spotted stingray, trigger fish, many different
Scuba Single
Sadly, this was the only photo of diving, but its okay because I got the DVD! angelfish, a yellow box fish, puffer fish, clown fish, a moray eel and many others. After my first day I was all ready to do it again. I can definitely say diving is something I'd like to do again some day and one of the greatest things I had the chance to do. After our dives we had a free afternoon where I was able to check out the rest of the island and see Ko Nang Yuan. It is the only 3 island peninsula connected by sand. I was able to hike up to a cool view point and see the whole thing and lounged in the sun. After passing our diving tests, it was time to celebrate. It began innocently enough having a few casual beers, however, things quickly changed into buckets of Sam Sung Thai Rum. For 200 baht (8 canadian) you get a mickey of rum, 2 red bulls, and a can of coke all mixed into one neon bucket. After one of them I was already feeling pretty intoxicated, which ended up leading me to me sleeping in for my 10am ferry to Ko Pha-Ngan... Oh well, there was another one at 3pm.
Ko
Sunsets on Ko Tao
Again, this never got old. Pha-Ngan is where the legendary full moon parties are held. However, rather than stay at the busy, loud Had Rin beach in the south where the parties are held, I decided to travel north to a much more hidden beach that you can only reach by boat (thanks Kevin for telling me about it). After a bumpy taxi and a quick longtail boat ride, I arrived to paradise. Bottle beach is amazing. It’s a small bay surrounded by lush green hills. The best part about it is the vibe. I have met loads of people that all have the same mindset, and that is to chill out and relax. Hammocks are everywhere in the beach front bungalows where I am staying and the busiest thing to do here is go for a 30 min hike to a viewpoint overlooking the entire beach. It is a great place and doesn't even have power throughout the day, or internet. I am actually writing this from a town which a fellow from Edmonton and I have hiked to (2hrs). My days have been filled with primarily lounging at the beach, listening to music, and having a few drinks at night with friends I
Ko Nangyuan
Three islands connected by sand. Very cool to see. have met from England, Denmark, Canada, Australia and a few others. Last night there was a beach BBQ party where there was fresh seafood, and a big bonfire with fire twirlers. It was a great experience to sit on the beach, share drinks, good food, and laughs with people from all over the world and even the super fun Thai staff.
Anyways, I think I'll stop there to avoid from making people too jealous, and so that I have money when I go back home because this internet is very expensive. I miss everyone very much, and it might sound strange, but home is something that I am kind of looking forward to. Thanks for everyone's comments, they are great and make me smile! Next stop is the Full Moon Party on the 10th and then off to Ko Phi Phi (I think, hehe).
-J
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FULL MOON PARTY!!!
It may be the extreme fever I'm battling right now, but I've been getting the chills as I read through your blog. Great photos and great experiences my friend! Scuba is sweet, let's go when you get back home?? Have a blast at the full moon party bro (don't drink more than 3 buckets, wild wild things will happen) watch out for low clearance fans they'll get'cha; the local surgeon is an alcoholic and you don't wanna test his skills. Also, consider venturing up to 'mountain bar' on the north end of Haad Rin, it's pretty crazy! Keep it real bro, please take a picture with a Chang for me!!!