“Once
you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again
in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” (Pat Conroy)
Sunday morning I got up and ready and went to the airport.
My flight was delayed 45 minutes but we only got in a half an hour late to Koh
Samui. It was late afternoon and I would not be able to get a ferry to Koh Tao
until the next day. So I got a room near Buddha Pier (where the ferries leave)
and showered, had dinner, and slept in a very big and comfortable bed. The next
day I got on the ferry to Koh Tao at 1:30. We stopped at Koh Pangan first
(about 30 minutes away) and then from there Koh Tao is about an hour and a half
but I slept most of the way. It was pretty easy to find R and P, they were
staying at a place called Blue Wind on Sarie beach. I got a room situated and
then took a swim before dinner. We ate right on the beach and sat and watched
people put floating lanterns in the sky and guys dancing with fire. Sarie beach
has a lot going on but the Blue Wind shuts down early, which was great because
I was tired and would have some quiet.
On Monday P and I did some shopping I town and then R and I
spent way too long in the water…I was dehydrated and exhausted. I stayed in bed
with a lot of water and Gatorade for the rest of the afternoon and early
evening as a result. But I found out some great news, a girl who I knew in my
last year in college (an exchange student from France) is here in Koh Tao! We
made plans to see each other, which was very exciting! Tuesday was out last day
in Koh Tao and we spent it on a private beach. We took bikes to get there
(which was fun because R and P drive motor cross back in Switzerland) and the
ride was really beautiful (and a bit scary)! We spent the day there and it was
nice and quiet and had lots of beautiful fish to see! It was a really good way
to spend our last day and I really enjoyed myself! That night we met up with my
friend from school and one of her friends. They had done a semester in China
and were now traveling around Thailand for a bit before heading back to France.
It was really nice to see her and we spent the evening talking and just having
a good time.
We took the ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Pangan and arrived
around noon. We got rooms at the Great Bay Resort and then napped the whole
afternoon in preparation. That night we went to Haad Rin beach for the full
moon party! It was crazy fun! Hundreds of people on the beach drinking,
dancing, swimming, playing with fire, and all sorts of general fun and
nonsense! We stayed all night and arrived just in time to watch the sun rise on
the beach before completely passing out. The next day was pretty lazy as we
were all a bit sore and sleepy from the full moon party. We ate and read and
just chilled out until dinner. We went to the street market and got absolutely
delicious pad Thai! The moon was full and beautiful and R and I ended up on top
of a mountain looking at the crazy awesome view.
Saturday was really fun! We took a beautiful bike ride Haad
Salad Beach and spent the afternoon there. Then we got a snack at the food
market and had an earlier than usual dinner because we went to a Maui Thai
fight! It wasn’t very good (the pairings were completely unfair which did not
make for good fights) but it was still something I have never seen before and I
had fun. It was really interesting how spiritual a lot of the guys are and the
differences between Maui Thai and boxing. On Sunday we went to an amazing place
for brunch called Nira’s (I highly recommend it!) and then went to Haad Rin
beach again (where the full moon party was). It was a nice beach and the water
was nice and cool but it stung! It felt like tiny invisible jellyfish were
stinging me over and over again! We sat and relaxed on the beach for a while
but we didn’t stay as long as we would have because we didn’t feel like getting
back in the water. The rest of the day was good though, we got massages and
then got dinner and watched a movie (Despicable Me)!
Monday was our last day in Koh Pangan and we went to Nira’s
again for breakfast! Then we were riding around on the bike and came across a
Secret Beach (actual name) and decided to head there. It was nice and quiet
with a small restaurant with delicious fruit shakes! We spent the afternoon
there relaxing and enjoying the last day. When we came back to get showered we
found out that the owner of the hotel was having their 50th birthday
and there would be a big buffet. We stopped by but most of the food was already
gone and too much of it was meat (I’m a pescatarian) so we went for one more
round at the street market and got spring rolls and fruit shakes!
Tomorrow I go alone back to Bangkok and try to figure out my
plan. I will probably go to Laos and then hopefully meet some people who would
like to come with me to Cambodia and from there I will go back to Bangkok
because I leave from there to Bali on May 12th! I am really excited
but sad to say goodbye to R and P and a little nervous about being on my own
again. I know it will be ok but this is something I will never just not worry
about. As for now, I am really happy with the time I have spent in the Southern
islands and looking forward to what is to come!
Signed,
Forward March
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