Thailand - Bangkok, Koh Samui

I wanted to fill you in on my latest travels. After a few months of
wasting away as a liftie/ski bum I was getting anxious to take another
trip. I found a good price on a ticket to Thailand from Cathay Pacific
so I jumped on it. I've been here since March 17th and I fly back on
the 14th of April. I was limited to 30 days travel because of the
ticket restrictions.

On arrival in Bangkok, I looked around and read through LP for a place
to stay for the night. The hard part is deciding... Bangkok has plenty
of accomodation whether you're a dirtbag traveler, business-type or
someone in between. The best bet is to try and find a district you want
to stay in, get a tuk-tuk or taxi to that area and start walking around.

I chose the Siam Square area -- central to most things in Bangkok. Not
bad, but congested and lots of noise/air pollution plus it's not very
easy to walk around, so you're forced to take a tuk-tuk. Plus it's the
shopping district of Bangkok. Not quite the cultural experience I was
hoping for. Personally I like being able to walk around on my own to
get a feel for the place first.

It took a few days to get adjusted and I decided to leave Bangkok to
head down to the islands for a few days. I'm not much of a
beach/water person, but it seemed like a nice idea.

One side note. Before leaving Bangkok, I ran into an older Thai fellow
in Chinatown. We started talking and he asked me if I wanted to see
old Bangkok. Since I had a few hours to kill before my bus leaves and I
had nothing to lose I promptly said "Yes." I later learned that he's
a History teacher for a school in Chiang Mai. We hired a long boat with
a large engine and cruised the canals of old Bangkok drinking Beer Chang
as he filled me in on the history. As we continued to talk he picked up
on my excitement and enthusiasm and invited me to stay with his family
in Chiang Mai for the Thai New Year festival. So, I have a tentative
arrangement to stay with his family for a little over two weeks,
learning Thai language, culture, cooking, etc. Should be fun.

After bidding farewell to Artit, I left Bangkok and arrived on the island
of Koh Samui. It's a well-travelled touristy kind of island, fortunately
I'm in a much quieter more secluded area in between Wecheng and Lamai.
I'm staying in a bungalow with the cove directly in front. From my door
I could throw a rock and hit water. Beautiful white sand beaches that
are shallow and run far out into the water with large boulders sticking
out of the water. Reminds me a bit of the Oregon Coast. The water is a
brilliant blue-green and crystal clear. I have all the Singha/Beer Chang
a person could possibly want by walking to the bar/restaurant next door.
Not a bad way to spend a week.

I've found the local wildlife to be -- uh -- intimidating. A few nights
ago I discovered a "friend" staying with me in the bathroom. A cockroach
the size of small aircraft carrier. He was about 4 or 5" long. Some of
you who have been to Asia before or spent any length of time in the
Southern U.S. might be saying, "Oh, that's just a baby." Well, if you're
referring to ME as the baby, you would be correct. I'll admit it.

Most people that know me know that I'm terrified of cockroachs.
Indiana Jones has his snakes, Farkas has his blood-sucking leeches and I
have my cockroachs. I really didn't know what to do. Fortunately the
next day the owners came in to change sheets and such and when I looked
for my buddy, he was gone. They either scared him away or scooped him up
and ate him... not sure which. I've also found a few cute lizards running
around my room and on the walls. They don't bother me at all I just don't
care for bugs.

I've been spending my time exploring the island, swimming, drinking beer,
bouldering, drinking beer, playing cricket with some Aussies and Irishmen
on the beach and drinking beer. Again, not a bad way to spend a week.

On Sunday I catch a bus back to Bangkok, where I'll catch another bus to
Chiang Mai to meet Artit and his family. I'm still not 100% convinced that
it will work out staying with his family, but I hope it does. It should
give me great insight into day-day life for Thai people and their culture.