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| Koh Samui, Thailand |
Ah, Samui. Why didn't we just stay here for 5 months? Enough of these non-massage-centric countries.
I love Koh Samui. The downside to this largest island in the Gulf of Thailand is its relative development and crowds. Neither bothers me. What to Kelly was overcrowded was to me simply inhabited. The development enables what makes me love Samui, which is ubiquitous massage, internet, food, good coffee, and red bull (the Red Bull in Thailand is extremely potent, I think they add some bull horn to it). Samui, to me, has a fun, carefree atmosphere to it that fills me with good-natured energy. Kelly thought the vibe was too spring-breakish, but to me it seemed much more mellow and mature than that. The weather wasn't so great while we were there, which is typical for November. We got one nice sunny day, but the others were mostly overcast. Not an issue for me, though (you’ll see why next paragraph).
A typical day found us waking at around 10-11, and walking to Starbucks for a cappuccino and cinnamon roll. Anyone who scrunches his/her face at the thought of Starbucks coffee has not tasted non-branded Southeast Asian coffee. From there it’s either back to the resort to lounge beachside (to read or iPod), or off to the stores for a little clothes shopping (Kelly only). Lunch rolls around soon enough, so it’s a stumble to the resort restaurant for pad thai, green curry, or whatever suits the palette that day. Digestion takes place in the cool internet café, where emails can be checked, pictures can be posted, and online poker can be played. By this time a hopelessly small amount of tension has built up, so it’s off to knock that out with a two-hour massage. Then it’s back to the room for a little CNN update and a shower. Then off to a fresh fish dinner eaten at a restaurant relocated nightly onto the sand. From there, two options emerge. Either we hit the bars, sipping red bull and Thai whiskey until a huge grin spreads across our faces, or we stroll down the main drag of shops by night, stopping to purchase $2 latest release music CD’s and share a freshly opened coconut anointed with two straws.
There's massage, and then there's a two hour Thai massage for $10. I saw the same woman every day, who kneaded, stretched, and cracked me, herself pressing, leaning, and standing on me as necessary . I've decided Thai massage is probably the best of all the massage styles, both in terms of how good it feels and how much it relieves muscle tension and brings peace when it's complete.
During one seafood dinner on the beach, Kelly and I were approached by a 10 year old boy, shaved except for a crop of hair sticking up in the very front of his head (a style I've seen on other Thai kids). He slapped a Connect-4 rack on the table and challenged me to play him for 100 Baht ($2.50). Game on (I agreed). I took time to contemplate my every move, each of which was met by a split second decision on the part of Prodigy (the name I am giving him). He went first, and clearly had a pre-planned countermove for every of my possible moves. The most embarrassing part was that I didn't even see his Connect-4 coming before he sprung victory on me. Oh well, it's like a form of charity. I used a magic trick on him for double or nothing. When the rug got pulled out from under him, he was so afraid he had lost his 100 Baht, his face showed no amazement. Of course, I paid him anyway.
The embarrassment of my loss was nothing compared to that caused by my walk back to get 100 Baht for Prodigy. He and his flower-selling cohort came with me. On the way, I noticed tiny white crabs scuttling along the beach. There were dozens of them moving together, and they seemed to be moving much faster and more erratically than possible for crabs, which impressed me. At first, I thought they might not be alive, but sure enough, I put my foot down and they scampered right around it. The kids were laughing their asses off at my amazement. Prodigy picked one up and threw it at me, falling to the ground with laughter when I ducked for cover. Their laughter made a lot more sense ten minutes later, when I noticed a motionless crab by our dinner table. On further investigation, the crab (like the others) turned out to be a miniature ball of styrofoam. Did I mention it was real windy?
One afternoon we took a taxi to a local waterfall (intelligently named Waterfall 2). It was really majestic and foresty there. Toward what we thought was the top, a Thai self-appointed himself as our guide and helped us climb the ridiculously steep and treacherous journey to the actual top. At the summit was a tiny swimming hole where we (predictably) swam. During our hike we got some great photos, which say a lot more than I am writing here.
I was sad to leave Samui, but it was time to try out the remote beaches of the Andaman Sea.
