Travel Thailand Update

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Hi Guys,
I'm new here and would like to update my Thailand trp. We are currently on Ko Samui, an island off of the east coast of Southern Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand.

We left Bankok on the last day that I wrote and headed for Hua Hin, a town off of the coast of Thailand in the Gulf. We stayed there only two nights and left in the middle of our third night there.

Hua Hin is a town of hookers and Germans, but still a relaxing vacation after our time in Bankok. Hua Hin is a developing coastal town that is frequented mostly
by Thais wanting a vacation from the city. While we were there, the common refrain was "Hello! Welcome!". This was the prostitute's call as you walked by a bar. This happened at almost every bar because (since it is the off season) most bars are saturated with them and little else (i.e. no customers).

Aside from this, Hua Hin is a nice town. The first full day we were there, we rode horses on the beach. Now, I have gone for rides before, but I had never gone for a ride like this. We spent about 45 - 50 minutes, walking, trotting, and galloping down the beach. At some points, I felt like I was holding on with no control over the horse (I couldn't seem to keep my feet in the stir ups while it was really
moving). The two nights that we spent in Hua Hin we went to the nigt market. A place where you could buy a lot of junk and great food.

The last day we were in there, we decided we were going to go to the Natioinal Park about 40 km away (this was the original reason we stopped here). We decided we would go by scooter. All the scooters here use clutchles shifting, so all you have to do is shift with your feet and accelerate and brake with your hands. I, having been appropriated the designated driver, having never driven a motor cycle in my life,
attempted a quick lesson from the bike dealer. Needless to say, it was sad experience which involved me driving on the wrong side of the road, stalling, and having the dealer run after me saying "You no can drive!", and taking it from me. After this, we decided to requistion a Tuk-Tuk to take us out there.

After bargaining with the driver, we agreed on a price and took off. Althoug this guy said he knew where we were going, he had no clue. We got into the beautiful country side, and repeatedly stopped to ask the locals which way to go. This usually preceeded a lot of discussion and pointing in multiple directions, but we finally made it to the park. There, we found that there were two entrance fees, one for Thais and one for foreigners. We determined that the fee was too much, and an hour and a half after we left Hua Hin, turned around at the gate and headed back. Before we made it back, we stopped at a Buhddist temple which had monkeys every where and a huge golden Budha overlooking the sea. It was pretty incredible. After that, we returned to Hua Hin and relaxed and ate before we left for Ko Samui on the overnight train.

I must note that along with other transportations riding the train is a truly Thai experience. It seems that everyone but you knows which stop to get off at. No stops are called, nobody lets you know which stop you are at. If you do not act quickly, you are going miss your stop. But, sleeper trains are the way to travel.

We have now been in Ko Samui for 4 nights (I think). We have spent most of the time relaxing on the beautiful beaches here. But, yesterday we decided to rent a car, and see some of the island. This is an interesting experience for an American. The driver is on the wrong side of the car (the stick is on the left hand side of you!)
driving on the wrong side of the road. After getting over the initial shock of driving in Thailand (drivers here are crazy), we saw a beautiful waterfall and some
rocks in the shape of male and female genitalia. The country side here is very beautiful.

Last night, we took a boat over to another island, Ko Pangan, for the Full Moon Festival and to hook up with some Brits and Ozzies we have met here. This was an
entertaining spectacle; it was like a giant rave on the beach. The boat ride there was exhilarating. The time traveled was about 30 minutes by motor boat (and this thing was moving). On the way there, the sea was very clam, but on the way back, there must have been 2-3 foot chop. This is big when you have a crazy Thai driver throttling the boat (don't worry, mom and dad, the life jackets were properly stowed out of reach in case anything happened). Needless to say, most people were screaming and the ride involved many elevator drops off the backs of swells.

It's 2 in the afternoon, we haven't been up long (got in at about 4:30 or 5). Tommorow, we are taking a boat to Ko Tao. We will be there for about 4 days. I will be diving everyday while Sasha is getting her SCUBA ceritfication (our anniversary present to each other; hopefully, I will have the opportunity to dive around her). After that, we are headed to Krabi to climb.

That's all for now.

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