I have
simplified my ways. Now rendered down to
board shorts, sunglasses, 1000 baht, and a room key in my pocket, I am little
more that a walking purse. You see, I
have no need for sandals, those only get lost.
I have no need for a shirt, those will only get dirty. I have no need
for an ID, those can only get lost. I
have no need for a camera or a towel or anything else for that matter. I have my legs, money, and a bed to rest my
head on. The air is hot, the water warm,
and the fun bountiful.
Every night
is an epic party on a beach, dock, pool, or even in the ocean. I used to feel that a party is a party and
that there is no need to globe trot to sample each one, but the vibe is
different here. The happy go lucky Thai
people set the pace for their visitors.
The last two days in a row I have been Jet skiing in the main bay for a
half hour at $15. The guy who operates
the stand was walking by me at night at a pool party and he said “Alex!! See
you tomorrow!! We Jet Ski Again?”
I was only
passing by this guy and there were literally about 3,000 people at this
party. It’s that kind of personal
recognition that earns this place its legendary reputation.
A common
phrase in Mexican culture is “My Friend” and I used it on a few locals here in
Thailand and their eyes lit up. As if
they had finally met a foreigner who was as warm and helpful as they are. I haven’t ever seen so many flattened frogs
and lizards on the side of the road as I have here. Still, I chose to walk bare foot.
I am staying
in a bungalow that is a 25 minute walk from the center of the party. Our bungalow in particular is the very
furthest in the bunch. It is situated
atop a cliff and has many holes in the floor boards. I literally put a foot through one of them on
my deck and fell up to my kneecap one night.
I am sharing a twin bed with Ronnie to save money and it is definitely
testing my personal space requirements.
I just can’t bring myself to pay for an entire bungalow myself
though.
The food on
this island is more expensive and less flavorful than the stuff that you can
get off the streets in Bangkok. I am
beginning to think that Bangkok is the food capital of the world; quote me on
that.
Although I
bring 1000 baht with me every day, I usually only spend 500 per day ($15 USD). You do meet people here, but much less
abundantly than in New Zealand or even Australia due to the lack of hostels in
this country. Most of South East Asia is designed for a couple instead of a
single person traveling. The rooms often
start at sleeping two people and go up from there.
Interestingly
enough, this is a huge Israeli hot spot to vacation. So much so, that there is an Israeli food
section on all the menus and every sing in town is in both English and
Hebrew. If you wanted to get an idea of
how it feels here on the beach here in the day, just watch the first 10 minutes
of the movie “You don’t mess with the Zohan.”
They actually sound like that!!!
It is
amazing J