Bangkok and Koh Samui

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The problem with blogging is that once you get a little behind, things become overwhelming and you think, "wow, if I sit down to blog about all the things I forgot to blog about before, I'll never be finished." Well, that was the case for me. A lot has happened since my last blog, but since this blog mainly focuses on travel I'll keep the background short.

I haven't blogged since February. That's pretty pathetic but I'll definitely try to keep up with it more now. The short version of what's been going on for the last 7 months is as follows: worked, weekend trips, Alex visits, work some more, go home to CA to visit for 7 weeks, return to Korea to new (and much better) job at a public school, settle in to new apartment and new job, visit Thailand, love life.

And now...on to Thailand. I had one week off in September for Chuseok, which is basically like Korean Thanksgiving, so 2 friends and I decided to go to Thailand. One of the friends is a master planner, so we basically left all the work to her, and she decided we would spend 1.5 days in Bangkok, 5 full days on Koh Samui, and then return to Bangkok for one more day before flying back to Seoul.

This was my first trip to Southeast Asia. I honestly had no idea what to expect. My life for 2 months prior to this trip was pretty hectic and hellish at times, so I knew that I needed this trip in order to restore sanity and balance into my life. And that's exactly what Thailand provided me with: sanity, balance, tranquility, peace, and clarity.

I arrived in Bangkok on a rainy, muggy, intensely hot Saturday evening. One friend had already arrived, so I met her at our hostel and checked in. The hostel was great, more than I could have ever expected from a hostel. It's located on Kohsan Road, which has been dubbed the "backpacker's paradise," and I definitely understand why. Hostels, bars, western-themed restaurants, street food, and shopping surrounded me! Our hostel was called NapPark. It was clean, hospitable, and quite comfortable, considering the fact that it was less than 10 US dollars per night. We reserved a 6-bed room, knowing that the first night we would know all the people in the room (a few people from Seoul met up with us in Bangkok for a day). So, nice hostel, highly recommended.

That evening we went on an adventure. None of us wanted to sleep much because we only had one day in Bangkok. So off we went, to eat pad thai, drink, and take in the sights. After dinner we decided that it would not be a trip to Bangkok without at least paying a visit to the famed ping pong show. For those of you who don’t know what that is, look it up. I’m not sure I can bring myself to repeat what a ping pong show entails. Anyhow, let me say this: it was more disheartening than entertaining. The women did not want to be part of it and it was just skuzzy. So we left. Quite quickly.
We stayed out a bit longer wandering the streets. I couldn’t help but notice the amazing shopping. I’m not a huge shopper but Bangkok was paradise! Sarongs, scarves, shirts, purses, dresses, anything you can imagine, and nothing over $5. I knew I would be in trouble.

The next day, 3 friends went on their way, and 3 of us decided to hire a tuk tuk for the day to take us around to the major sights of Bangkok. The catch with tuk tuks is they take you to several shops and you have to pretend to shop for at least 10 minutes in each. This gets them a gas coupon and perhaps some money. Anyhow, the tuk tuk cost us about 20 baht, and 30 baht is 1 US dollar. The driver was great. We visited the Marble Temple, which (duh) is a temple made entirely of marble. It is quite a sight. Inside are at least 50 different Buddha statues, intricate gold roofing, scents of incense, and tranquility. We also visited the Large Golden Buddha. Yes, it is quite colossal. The stormy sky provided a beautiful backdrop for this massive statue. We visited several other sites before being brought back to our hotel, hungrier than wild beasts.

We wandered, and found an adorable restaurant and commenced operation: Eat as Much Curry While in Thailand as Possible. It was delicious. Afterwards, we paid a visit to the huge night market in Bangkok. We then wandered, weaving in and out of stall after stall for about 3 hours. Lots of amazing shopping, but we decided to wait to see if there would be better (and cheaper) shopping on the island (there wasn’t).

The next day we caught an early flight to the island of Koh Samui, the largest of a group of 3 islands. Let me start by saying this: all those pictures you see of palm trees, blue skies, white sands, and crystal clear water don’t do justice to this island. When you look at a doctored photo and think, “no place actually looks like this,” just remember that some places actually do.

Anyhow, we check into a bungalow at Mandalay Resotel, a beach front resort and immediately decide to go for a swim. The beach outside of our hotel was beautiful, but had one major flaw. A rather long reef of some sort created a shallow, jagged-rocked beach not at all suitable for swimming. However, we relaxed in the sun and took dips in the water to cool off (although the water was far from refreshing given the fact that it was about 23 degrees Celsius).

That evening we went to Happy Hour at our hotel, the place where we would spend every evening from that point onward. The hotel sets up lounge chairs on the beach, turns on lights, and you lay there, sipping a delicious drink while watching the sun setting over the ocean. Once it’s dark, people buy and set off fireworks. It was truly paradise.

The next day we decided to purchase a half day excursion to take in the sights. It included riding an elephant, baby elephant show, monkey show, waterfall, and mummified monk visit. The company was called Funny Day Safari, and I would NOT recommend them. The driver was unhappy with something, drove like a maniac, and spoke maybe 2 words with us. A lot of the touristy things that everyone wants to do in Thailand are nice in theory, but once you’re there you realize it wasn’t at all what you thought it would be (remember the ping pong show?). Riding an elephant was an experience, one that I would never want to experience again. My elephant was clearly tired or sick, but the “driver” continuously whacked him on the head with a stick to make him move. It was painful to watch, not to mention I thought the elephant would tip over and throw us off out of sheer anger. The baby elephant show and monkey show felt slightly less depressing, but sad nonetheless. It just didn’t feel right and I left with a sick feeling in my heart.

Next was the waterfall, which was breathtakingly beautiful. We had an option to hike to the top or hang out in the waterfall. I chose to forego the hike and stay in the water. The next stop was probably my favorite of the entire day’s activities: Buddha’s Secret Garden. A fruit farmer on the island began building the garden in 1976 when he was 77 years old! This garden is located in the hills of Koh Samui and is overgrown with trees. Sunlight peers through them to make for an interesting experience. There are statues everywhere! Turtles, frogs, snakes, all overgrown with moss and grass. It was beautiful and serene.

Afterwards we went to the temple with the mummified monk. I’ve heard several stories about this monk. One, the whole thing is a hoax and it’s not really a mummy. The second, it’s a monk that chose to be mummified while still alive. Anyhow, I don’t claim to know the truth but it was an interesting site. The monk sits in a glass case in the foyer of the temple wearing sunglasses to cover the vacant holes where his eyes once were. The one thing that makes me believe it is a hoax is the fact that periodically, the case is opened so that the monk’s sunglasses could be changed. Now, if he was really mummified, it probably wouldn’t be OK to open the case, right?

The final stop was a traditional dinner at a restaurant, with which I was quite pleased. Delicious curries, I just couldn’t get enough. Afterwards, of course, we ended up back on our beach, sipping drinks and chatting with some new friends we met on the tour. Afterwards, we all went for a night swim in the ocean. What a beautiful end to a long, tiring, and eventful day.

The next day we decided to walk a bit further to a beach that did not have the reef. Great idea! We spent the day basking in the sun and swimming in the lukewarm ocean.
The following day we took another excursion, this time it was snorkeling and kayaking and a visit to the Green Lagoon. After a gorgeous 1.5 hour boat ride, we arrived at the first series of activities: hiking to the lagoon, followed by kayaking. I will say this: no words can describe the path we had to follow to arrive at the lagoon. It is no ordinary hike but rather climbing ladders and shallow staircases, up and down, left and right, all while stumbling over your own feet and other people. Finally, you arrive, worn out and sweating profusely. Suddenly you realize just how worth it the hike truly was. The lagoon is stunning! Emerald green water in the center, surrounded by green cliff sides made for a spectacular view. Unfortunately, you can’t swim the lagoon, which would have been a true reward after the hike. We then hiked back the same annoyingly difficult ladder/stairs and prepared for kayaking. We were a bit uncoordinated at first but eventually got the hang of it. We kayaked underneath some cliffs and through several caves. It was amazing. We had to paddle through a narrow cave while ducking to avoid hitting our heads—quite an experience! We built up quite an appetite and the lunch served onboard was delicious.
Then came snorkeling and swimming. I must say, you don’t even need a snorkel. The water is perfectly clear, and if you stand still long enough, swarms of beautiful fish surround you. But, we snorkeled and encountered what we thought were giant, gross sea snakes. We swam for our lives, only to find out later on that they were harmless (and edible) sea cucumbers. We then swam, relaxed, and boarded the boat for our long journey back to Koh Samui. That evening, yep you guessed it, drinks and dinner on the beach.

Next day we got massages. I had no idea what a Thai massage entailed but I loved every minute of it! I was twisted, pulled, snapped, and turned into every possible direction for an entire hour. When we left, we both felt so relaxed, almost zombie-like. We went back to the hotel and passed out for a bit. We then spent the day by the beach, had dinner and drinks in our regular spot, and decided to take in a LadyBoy show. Put simply, men in drag, transvestites, or transgendered individuals make up this show. We had an amazing time. The lip-synching was fantastic, the costumes were to die for, and the performers were so vivacious and energetic. It was definitely a great way to end our time on the island.

The next day we went back to Bangkok, with one mission: shop! And shop we did. I bought several dresses, scarves, purses, and other random things. The best purchases I made were definitely the art, which was made by deaf/mute people. I was told that Thailand trains people with various “handicaps” in different skills; in this case it was art. I bought prints in gold on black Thai silk and 3 drawings on rice paper. Beautiful.
So, that is the end. I will definitely make several more trips back to Thailand. I’d like to visit more islands, and take a trip to northern Thailand. Travel is an addiction, feed it well!
A few items of advice for Thailand.

1. Splurge! It still ends up cheap so enjoy yourself. Oh, and tip well, the people really appreciate it. On that note, get massages as much as possible, you'll feel so much better if you do.
2. Enjoy the people. Everyone was so nice to us, be nice to them too.
3. Venture out of your comfort zone a bit.
4. Eat fresh fish as much as possible, it’s delicious.
5. Eat curry and noodle dishes, I have never had Thai food better than I had in Thailand. That’s pretty clear I bet.
6. Shop! Even for a non-shopper like me, the deals were irresistible and I am so happy with my purchases. Oh and haggle! Start by asking the price, then offer half of that and work from there.

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Photos

Palace
this palace was designed by Italian architects