Return to the waterfall

We were set on getting to the top of the waterfall, so we struck out on our motorbikes once again. When we arrived at the waterfall's parking lot, there were only a few motorbikes. Without any screwing around, it took us about 2.5 hours to climb to the top. No one had come up here for sometime, as we were constantly walking through spiderwebs. We ran into a few crabs on the way, which were this remarkable blue/purple color. Along the way, I had two nice falls on the wet rocks - one on my left hip and another on my wrist.

Our friends had moved to another bungalow on the south coast of the island, to position themselves better for the upcoming half moon party. We stopped by their new place to say hello and eat. I narrowly avoided the 'happy shake', not knowing what it was. After learning the ingredients, the last thing that I needed was to be on a motorbike while tripping on shrooms. While we were eating lunch, the skies opened and the rain down poured for a couple of hours. This would be the only serious rain that I encountered during my entire holiday in Southeast Asia.

After a few more hours of riding around on the motorbikes & visiting temples, it was back to the Ko Ma restaurant for my final dinner on Koh Pha Ngan. Tomorrow we would be leaving for Vientiane, Laos.

Where did the day go?

As I was lounging on the ocean side restaurant deck, my stomach started to wrench. I walked briskly back to the bungalow & regurgitated breakfast. All I had was a banana shake & an egg - I'm not sure what caused the sickness. I laid around for a couple of hours in the hammock, willing my stomach to feel better. Around lunch, I willed myself to go eat a bit of food.


We ran into our Irish, UK, and Australian friends again at the restaurant. They had a late night - they returned to their rooms around 7am. We sat underneath palm trees on the beach for the remainder of the afternoon, talking about the US military - David was enthralled with James being a Marine. His only exposure having been through movies, David wanted to know if Hollywood's portrayal was correct. We moved about 20 meters to the restaurant for dinner, where we sat & drank for the remainder of the evening.


After dinner, a few beers, and a bottle of whiskey we turned in for the night. I would have normally been pissed at myself for wasting the day away, but I was enjoying not doing anything. I started to understand why all of my friends, colleagues, and family go to Mexico or the Caribbean for holidays. Being lazy feels great. Besides - when I would be trekking in the mountains for a week in Laos I could look back on Thailand with sweet memories of being slothful.

Sand, sun, and jellyfish

Today started with intentions - good intentions. Our plan was to rent motorbikes & continue cruising around the island. After breakfast, we decided that a day on the beach would be a better idea. The beach was deserted; we were on the northwest side of the island which hadn't been developed. The beach was about a mile in length, and I would estimate that there were 40 people on the beach all day. I laid on the beach for 45 minutes on each side, so was to avoid any serious sunburn. However, I escaped only partially unscathed - there was a decent sized area of my back that I missed with sunscreen. I would regret the hasty sun screening for the next few days...


After a long morning of sunbathing & swimming, we decided to eat lunch at a new place. While we were sitting down, one of the guys across the restaurant struck up a conversation. James & I joined their group, which consisted of 2 Irishmen, 1 Irish woman, 3 ladies from London, and a lad from Australia. As we were talking, I had a hell of a time understanding Paul - one of the guys from Ireland. His accent was like Brad Pitt's character from Snatch - fast, Irish, and mumbled. I came to learn that Pikies are real, and despised in Ireland. We talked to them for a couple of hours before working up the energy to go snorkeling.


James & I decided that we would swim across the bay to Ko Ma, which had much better coral than our beach. The distance to the other side was about 1/2 mile, but it seemed like a distant point on the horizon. We rented snorkels, fins, and masks. I hadn't swam with fins before, and I found that they made swimming remarkably easy. The fins added a bit of confidence as my brain grappled with the fear of swimming across the bay. Once we were about 50 meters from the shore, my snorkel kept filling with water. I would pick my head out of the water, clear the snorkel, and then try again. After several times of having to do this, I was starting to panic. I still had a long ways to swim & I was expending valuable energy clearing my snorkel. After messing with the snorkel for several minutes, I decided it was leaking and it would be best to swim with my head above water. As my heart was pounding, I wished I had an extra 20 pounds of fat to aid in floating. Ecstatic that James didn't have to pull my drowning body from the sea, I crawled onto Ko Ma's beach to catch my breath.


After my heart returned to a normal pace, I went back out in the water without the snorkel. James was also having problems with his snorkel, so we left them and decided to just dive into the water and come back up for air each time. I saw tiny black & white fish fluttering along the bottom, and a few pieces of coral. The bottom was a bit cloudy due to the tide going out to sea. James & I headed farther out, and as we got farther out the fish suddenly grew in size. The ocean floor dropped sharply off the southwest coast of Ko Ma, and the fish were suddenly as big as my head. After a few minutes of excitement, another wave of panic started as we realized that we were drifting farther away from land. We both decided to swim as fast as we could to the other side of a rock outcrop to avoid the ocean currents. The entire time we were snorkeling, I felt small stings all over my body. I ignored them until I got stung in the balls - the damn jellyfish somehow got in my shorts! As I crawled onto a large rock, I inspected my jellyfish stings. They were worse than I though - I was covered in tiny red dots. They didn't hurt afterwards, but they served as a remainder of our snorkeling adventure.


After snorkeling, we were challenged to a few games of volleyball by our new friends. James & I were on one team - David, Tristan, and Paul were on the other team. We had to listen to them talk shit the entire time, only to get beat in 2 of 3 games. After the sunset volleyball session, we went to dinner at the Ko Ma restaurant, got drunk, and drifted off to sleep.

Exploring Koh Pha Ngan by motorbike

After the lazy day yesterday, James & I were determined to make the most of today. We awoke up a reasonable hour, ate breakfast, and headed up the dirt lane to rent 125cc motorbikes. The cost of the rental was about $5US/day (150 baht). They didn't come with any petrol, so we cruised up the road until we found someone with a barrel of petrol outside their house. The cost was 40 baht/liter (about $1.30/liter). For those of you wondering how many liters are in a gallon: 3.785 liters/gallon. While we were riding around the island, I noticed an old temple without any signage - so we pulled in and had a look around. There was an older monk tending the grounds, but that was the only person that we saw. Maybe everyone else was taking a nap to studying somewhere... We snapped a few photos & then hopped back onto the motorbikes.

By this time, my stomach was starting to growl. We stopped at a roadside cafe, where I had fried rice & a beer for $3US. After gorging myself (which become customary at every meal), I waddled back onto my motorbike & we went in search of a waterfall.

The place was busy - there were about 20 motorbikes in the parking lot & several tuk tuks. Most of the people were near the bottom of the falls, just hanging out or swimming. We decided that since we had plenty of time, we would try to climb to the top. There were several nice pools along the way, and so we were moving a a leisurely pace. By 4:30, we turned around without seeing the top. The sun would set by 6pm, and we wanted to return to our bungalow before dark. I didn't take any photos, but there were large potholes on the paved roads, and washed out areas on the dirt roads. We wanted to avoid any nighttime collisions with the uneven road surface.

In the evening, we ventured across the sand bridge to Ko Ma. Each day during low tide, a small bridge would form as the water pulled backwards into the sea. We had seen people walking over the day before, and we decided to see what was over there. We found a killer restaurant - I don't remember the name and I don't know if it had a name. It was the only restaurant on the tiny island. The food was decent and the atmosphere was spectacular. The tables were low, so you sat on the floor on small pillows (it reminded me of home - with the exception of the warm breeze & the sound of the ocean waves). The entire restaurant was made from wood, and there were no windows or doors. Perhaps the best feature was music - they were playing chill lounge music, which added to the atmosphere of hammocks, eating on the floor, and Thai dudes with dreadlocks. I regret no taking any photos - I always went over to the restaurant without my camera or bag. We would return each evening for the next 4 nights...

South to Koh Pha Ngan

Today started early at 4:30am. Having only had a few hours of sleep, we stumbled downstairs & caught a cab to Suvanabumi airport. After we checked in, we found a sweet departure lounge for Bangkok Airways flights. It had snacks, a free Internet cafe, sofas, and (most importantly) Thai iced tea! I had about 3 cups of Thai iced tea in the 25 minutes that we waited for our boarding announcement. The flight to Koh Samui was one hour south, so by the time we ascended to cruising altitude we began to descend. Bangkok Airways also served breakfast on the flight, which was a welcome surprise. If I was traveling on a US airline, I might have received a small bag of pretzels and a cup of water during the flight.

When we arrived in Koh Samui, I knew that the airport receives a lot of visitors. We had to buy a ticket for the bus & ferry at the airport. Depending on where you were going, you received a sticker that went onto your shirt - I felt like a cow. We were be branded and ushered along to our next destination. One positive aspect was that the travel was smooth & carefree; I didn't have to worry about navigating our way to the dock & figure out the boat schedules.

We arrived to Koh Pha Ngan 1.5 hours later. We grabbed a tuk tuk to our hotel; the Royal Orchid Resort. It's located on the northwest side of the island; see the Travelfish map for our location. We were located in B2, on the mainland across from Ko Ma island. (http://www.travelfish.org/map_detail/thailand/southern_thailand/surat_thani/ko_pha_ngan/41)The name sounds much better than it actually was, but it was decent enough for $8/night. We were staying in a bungalow that had a porch, two plastic chairs and a hammock. The view of the ocean from our porch was incredible.

After we threw our bags in the room, we went out to the porch. I found myself lying in the hammock 4 hours later with my book on the handrail. After the all-afternoon nap, I had worked up an appetite so I went to go find some food. I don't remember doing anything else - the effects of the island had already began to affect my sense of time & place.

Wandering around Bangkok

Last ngiht was a late night, so I got a late start in the morning. With all of the traffic outside my room, it made it difficult for me to sleep. I probably got about 3 - 4 hours of sleep throughout the night, as I was determined to not rely on Ambien to sleep.

After lounging around for a bit, I set out to the city. i followed the same route as I did yesterday. I hopped off at Pier 6 instead, and decided to wander the streets. Within 10 minutes, I found myself strolling along a small lane that was bordered by wholesale food vendors. It was early in the afternoon, so there weren't too many patrons around. Everyone was selling vast quantities of food - limes, peppers, garlic, basil, etc. I continued to wander without a destination in mind. I somehow found my way back to Wat Pho. I took a breather here & watched people for a while. I wanted to find Chinatown, because where I found the Chinese, I would find a small contingent of Indians, and I was in the mood for curry. After 30 minutes, I was completely lost. I stood on a street corner scouring my map for any sign of the foreign street names that surrounded me. A guy walked up and asked if he could help. I explained to him that I wasn't looking for a particular place, but I had gotten myself lost in the process. He motioned me over to the curb & introduced himself. He explained that he was just getting off of work in the building adjacent to where I was standing & he saw me looking confused. He explained that because today was the King's birthday, all Thai tuk tuks cost 10 baht for wherever you wanted to go. He also mentioned a temple that hols a black Buddha, which is only open one time per year (and today was the day!). He also recommended a tailor if I felt like getting clothes made - the place does a lot of work with the embassies & the government. Armed with a ton of information, he flagged down a tuk tuk, told him where to take me, instructed him to only charge me 10 baht, and sent me off. I don't think that I could have had better luck...

When I arrived at the black Buddha temple, the driver & I sat outside for a bit while the monks were inside praying. Afterwards, he motioned for me to enter. Within 30 seconds, the temple groundskeepr came inside to chat with me. He mentioned that they were very busy earlier in the day, but I was the only person who was here in the late afternoon. He suggested that I go pray & take some photos, both of which I proceeded to do. He was then talking to me for 30 minutes. In the course of our conversation, he also had mentioned the same tailor that the guy on the street corner had mentioned.

After the temple, we stopped at the tailors. The guy that helped me was a true salesman. We sat down & chatted for a while about life in Bangkok & US politics. He served me tea while we were talking. After 40 minutes, we got down to business. I wanted shirts made, and Suresh was perisistanly trying to sell me a suit. After I convinced him that I wasn't going to purchase a suit, he was then pitching a camel hair winter jacket. Again, I argued polity that I didn't need a coat and that I wouldn't be buying one. I took some time choosing the fabric that would ultimately turn into a custom shirt. When my shopping splurge had concluded, I headed back to the Silom district to throw my bag in the room and find some dinner. I had a fruit salad & basil-chili stir-fry; both being deliciously spicy. After dinner, I went to the night market for a bit, and then went back to Take a Nap. I met this woman with a beautiful accent - Air. We were talking about a multitude of things while I waited for James.

Bangkok: Whores & Monks

I arrived in Bangkok around 9pm, which is quite lucky because I was supposed to arrive 3 hours later at midnight. While in Seoul, I checked the transfers counter to see about seat availability, and they were able to give me a seat on an earlier flight. I met a Brit on the flight who lives somewhere in south Thailand. He agreed to split a cab downtown, so we hung out while in customs and waited for our luggage. My bag was almost the last one off the phone; I was getting worried that my backpack was lost somewhere in Incheon airport. Since the Brit was on a work trip, he covered my half of the fare, which saved me about $13US.

My taxi driver found the hostel quite easily. I was worried because Take a Nap is quite new and isn't a really busy place where the cabbies would be familiar with it. I checked into a 6 bed dorm, which is one of the cleanest dorms that I've stayed in for $10US/night. I had some trouble sleeping though, as my bed was directly under the air con (which kept blowing on me) and there was a very think pane of glass between my head and the traffic chaos outside. At 3:30a I was getting upset because I couldn't sleep, so I dug into my bag to find some Ambien. Twenty minutes later, I was sleeping like a baby.

In the morning, I spent 30 minutes to the hotel owner about Bangkok & my life in the US. Afterwards, I took the skytrain to the river and hopped on a water taxi to the Grand Palace. I sat next to a woman on the boat and I ended up talking to her for a bit, as we had a long ride to the Grand Palace. She mentioned that she was getting off at Pier 13, so when she stepped off at Pier 9 with me I was a bit perplexed. When I asked about her rational, she said something about Pier 9 being OK. We proceeded to walk around the Grand Palace for sometime; I was taking some photos when Pen went to go pray. As we continued to wander around, our conversation turned to our jobs. When I asked her what she did, her reply was 'you don't want to know'. Alarms suddenly went off in my head. I was being so naive - I was hanging out with a prostitute!! I didn't reply, and as we continued to walk while I was thinking about how I managed to get myself into this situation. The next time I turned around, Pen had disappeared. One whore avoided.

After my run-in with the hooker, I wandered around the palace grounds for a few hours. Most of the buildings have been restored in a very aristocratic style. As I walked through the museum, I felt more of the history than I did out on the manicured grounds. I remember the palace being ornate, but I don't have any other distinguishing memories.

When I finished at the palace, I moved to the street adjacent to the river. There were hundreds of people selling their wares on blankets along the sidewalk. Food vendors were also in the mix, selling fruit, friend vegetables & meats, and other stir-fried bits. As I would walk by, my nose found the food prior to my eyes. The smells of chilies and oil wafted along the sidewalk. I managed to find Wat Pho, even though I hadn't intended on it. It's the home of the reclining Buddha, and the Buddha is enormous. I would guess that it was at least 30 meters in length & 7 meters high. Someone offered to take a photo of me, in exchange for me taking a photo of him & his wife. I traipsed through the remainder of the complex, finding several quite shaded areas where I could get out of the sun. I think that I liked this temple better than the Grand Palace - it felt more real & less glamorous. While I was relaxing in the shade, a monk sat next to me and struck up a conversation. His English was excellent and we chatted for a while. He was in Bangkok for 6 months studying, having traveled from Luang Prabang, Laos. I walked around with his fellow monks for awhile, gave him my email address, and went to find a bite to eat.

I returned to Take a Nap to drop off my bag & head to dinner. While I was there, I tried to book our upcoming flights to Laos, only to find that Capital One was blocking my transactions. 'Damn!' I thought - I forgot to call them to let them know that I'd be traveling. I immediately bought a phone card, and looked up their phone number online. When I tried to call them, each attempt was futile. There wasn't a phone near the hostel, so every time I needed to go back to the hostel to get another phone number from the Internet terminal. I was also asking the staff for advice, and they gave me a few items to try. None of them worked. As my frustration started to build, I decided to call home to ensure that I wasn't doing something wrong. My mom picked up the phone - I proved that I could dial something correctly. After a total of 6 attempts and several trips back & forth to the hostel, I had an unlocked credit card!

I met up with a couple from San Francisco in my dorm room - Brandon & Allison. We went out to dinner, where we discussed our travels. Tonight there was a festival happening - the Loi Krataung - in celebration of the King's birthday. We went to the park in Silom to see what was happening. People were buying floating floral pieces that had incense and candles. Couple and/or families would light the incense & candle, pray, and then float their flower into the lake. From what I gathered, the activity symbolized wishing for a good future.