Our arrival to the islands was fairly involved as we took a flight to Surat Thani first and had to bus and ferry to our first island, Koh Samui. As always it felt great to feel the humidity weigh down on me and to taste the salty air. I love being near the ocean!
Although we arrived in the evening we could tell that we were going to have a great time! We chose to stay on Lamai Beach to start since it is supposedly more laid back and less touristy. I was at first surprised to see establishments like McDonalds and Subway but was heartened by the little food mart where you can find the most amazing, authentic Thai food (and Indian) food at great prices. We have eaten there every night since.
The beach party scene was a little lame and we were disappointed that we couldn't find a place to go dancing (I think we will need to hit another beach for that). Instead there was a multitude of places full of the misfit sort of tourist male you see clamoring to come to Thailand and young Thai women shaking their butts everywhere. This epicenter of tourism is very bizarre to witness and with such a force at Lamai beach! Although it is easy to sit back in judgement, there are a lot of dynamics at play least of all being the lives these fat white men are running from. You almost see a hint of sadness in their eyes and it is striking how many are slobbering drunk by the end of the evening. Without condemning them, you have to wonder are they widowed? Alcoholic? Desperately insecure? I saw one man trying endlessly to make conversation with his twenty year old companion and failing at every attempt as she simply bubbled on and giggled at everything he said. He looked pitifully disappointed. Then you have some Thai women looking for an escape to the western world and this is even harder to contemplate. Even today as we sat on the beach a woman told us about her two daughters in their twenties and how Thai men are terrible, never supporting their families, and they need to find foreign men. Things are that blatant here.
The next day as feared the weather became our enemy as we sought a place for breakfast and we were completely drenched. At first we ran attempting to avoid a few drops but this strategy quickly became futile in the torrential downpour and we just slowly made our way in the rain. In fact seeking out the awnings was a bad idea because the run off coming down off the roof was what would really soak you! Then as we arrived dripping and shivering for breakfast the rain literally stopped a minute later. Typical!
Of course the day was still cloudy but we were able to walk on the beach which felt very freeing and climb on the large rocks and simply take in the sea. It was really a lovely afternoon of pure indulgence and doing nothing but what else are beaches for?
Coming back from our walk we ran into a woman who is staying at our hotel also (I swear we are the only guests there during this monsoon season!) and ever since we have enjoyed her company. We went out with Laura that evening for what we thought would be a drink and six unnoticed hours later we were all bamboozled that that many hours had gone by unnoticed and we hadn't moved! Our butts were practically imprinted into the chairs but that was how great the night was. Every once and awhile you meet someone that you feel like you have known for ages and it's the best feeling, especially when traveling! What's even better was that we had someone to bore with our endless tales of India since she is headed there in a few days.
Luckily today we woke up to sunshine! We were in such a panic since we had inadvertently slept in due to our previous conversation marathon that kept us up past 2 am and we rushed out the door feeling as though in any second the downpour would come. Again, luckily, the weather stayed sunny and we had the best beach day. The beaches are beautiful with golden sand and bright blue waters and the swimming was delightful. We were also able to start up a beach volleyball game and had a lot of fun making asses of ourselves as absolutely no one playing had any skill at all!
We had another great night out with Laura and are sad to see her leave tomorrow but we can't wait to hear how her India travels go. Tomorrow we will likely stay one more night but then we are thinking of trying a different beach on Koh Samui to try and leave the typical tourism that is so prevalent here behind. Let's hope for sun tomorrow!
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| Ferry from the mainland to Koh Samui |
The beach party scene was a little lame and we were disappointed that we couldn't find a place to go dancing (I think we will need to hit another beach for that). Instead there was a multitude of places full of the misfit sort of tourist male you see clamoring to come to Thailand and young Thai women shaking their butts everywhere. This epicenter of tourism is very bizarre to witness and with such a force at Lamai beach! Although it is easy to sit back in judgement, there are a lot of dynamics at play least of all being the lives these fat white men are running from. You almost see a hint of sadness in their eyes and it is striking how many are slobbering drunk by the end of the evening. Without condemning them, you have to wonder are they widowed? Alcoholic? Desperately insecure? I saw one man trying endlessly to make conversation with his twenty year old companion and failing at every attempt as she simply bubbled on and giggled at everything he said. He looked pitifully disappointed. Then you have some Thai women looking for an escape to the western world and this is even harder to contemplate. Even today as we sat on the beach a woman told us about her two daughters in their twenties and how Thai men are terrible, never supporting their families, and they need to find foreign men. Things are that blatant here.
The next day as feared the weather became our enemy as we sought a place for breakfast and we were completely drenched. At first we ran attempting to avoid a few drops but this strategy quickly became futile in the torrential downpour and we just slowly made our way in the rain. In fact seeking out the awnings was a bad idea because the run off coming down off the roof was what would really soak you! Then as we arrived dripping and shivering for breakfast the rain literally stopped a minute later. Typical!
Of course the day was still cloudy but we were able to walk on the beach which felt very freeing and climb on the large rocks and simply take in the sea. It was really a lovely afternoon of pure indulgence and doing nothing but what else are beaches for?
Coming back from our walk we ran into a woman who is staying at our hotel also (I swear we are the only guests there during this monsoon season!) and ever since we have enjoyed her company. We went out with Laura that evening for what we thought would be a drink and six unnoticed hours later we were all bamboozled that that many hours had gone by unnoticed and we hadn't moved! Our butts were practically imprinted into the chairs but that was how great the night was. Every once and awhile you meet someone that you feel like you have known for ages and it's the best feeling, especially when traveling! What's even better was that we had someone to bore with our endless tales of India since she is headed there in a few days.
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We had another great night out with Laura and are sad to see her leave tomorrow but we can't wait to hear how her India travels go. Tomorrow we will likely stay one more night but then we are thinking of trying a different beach on Koh Samui to try and leave the typical tourism that is so prevalent here behind. Let's hope for sun tomorrow!
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