Aw....the land of papaya and pineapple, and warmth, and hot
showers, and beaches, and thai food, and cheap souvenirs, and really
nice people, and happy hour specials, Thousands of 7-11's with big
gulps...and....ok, we like it...ALOT. In fact, we have decided to
stay for another six months......ok, maybe not, but we do like it alot.
We arrived in Bangkok on the 6th. We initially planned to remain
in Kathmandu until the 13th, but were feeling the need for a beach, and
happily Thai Airlines didn't charge us to change our ticket, so we left
a week early. (Granted we paid a lot for it begin with), but we
happily caught the plane and took full advantage of the free drinks on
board. We thought we could drink enough to make the flight a loss for
Thai, it didn't happen, but Andrew was happy to sample an after dinner
brandy, as well as two rum and cokes. Alex settled for Rum and Diet
Coke (the diet seemed like a better deal, because it costs more in the
store) and a Heinekin. It was a GREAT flight. We landed in Bangkok
around 6:00 pm and found our way to the backpacker district. Once
there Andrew left the bags with Alex and headed off to find a hotel.
We settled for a somewhat shifty hotel that was pretty cheap for the
first night, and then hit the town.
That night we didn't see a food vendor we didn't like. In the
interest of spreading our dollars far and wide, we had shish kebabs,
pad thai, pineapple, and....wait for it...Mc Donalds!!! Yes, the Thai
Baht menu is not as sweet as the Indian Rupee menu was, but the ice
cream was great. After feeling completely stuffed, we left the
McDonald's and ran into our Swedes. We are rather fond of these four
girls, and had planned on meeting up somehow, so it was a happy time.
We decided to go to a bar, where we shared 2.5 liters of Singha beer
with the Swedes and had two fruit shakes for ourselves. We ordered
watermelon and pineapple. Unfortunately they got our order wrong and
one came out as lemon. When we discovered the error, we asked the
waiter to change it. He took away the lemon shake, and brought the
watermelon shake and a bill for three shakes. It was only for 40 baht
more (30 baht = $1), but Andrew was adament that he was not going to
pay for the first drink. It is an oddity that we have noticed more than
once here, but if the waiter makes a mistake, they expect you to pay
anyway. We've heard tale of people getting the completely wrong dish
and being unable to send it back. Unfortunately, it took about thirty
minutes, and a stupid bouncer wearing a police shirt (and tried to
pretend he was a cop), but finally we got our forty baht back, and went
to the hotel. The next morning, we checked into the D&D Inn, which
is a great hotel, replete with TV, air conditioner, and free
breakfast. We stayed in a good bit watching their cable channels,
which...ran pirated movies. E.g. we watched the Bourne Ultimatum and
for much of it, there was a head in the picture from an audience
member. It's possible that Andrew was even more excited that it was
pirated than that it was in English. The next day we met up with the
Swedes before they left Bangkok. We ate lunch and shopped for most of
the day, and bought a total of 4 Big Gulps (with ice).
After three days in Bangkok, we took a local bus to the seaside
town of Cha Am. It was about 2 hours away from Bangkok, and we arrived
with enough time to find a nice hotel (again with tv & aircon) and
we spent most of the first day at the beach. Initially we were worried
that there might not be 7-11, however, after walking five blocks and
seeing the number of 7-11's, our fears were asuaged, and yes we did
sample all of them. We even made a point to get a hotel within a few
seconds walk of a 7-11, and when we went to the beach we were able to
find our way back to the hotel by counting them (the place we liked
best was 5 7-11's away). Since re-entering the land of cheap
convenience store food, Andrew has had many craving for hot dogs, and
our first night in Cha Am was no different. We made our ritual walk to
the 7-11, Andrew ordered up 2 hot dogs, and headed to the condiment
table to retrieve his mustard. Imagine his shock and horror when we
discovered there was no mustard. Moreover, when he tried to use the
opaque yellow mustard container, a blob of sweet chili sauce poured
out. Rather than being a defeatist he tried the next two 7-11's.
Finally, after all of them had said the mustard was finished, he came
back to the hotel and decided he would just eat the hot dogs without
the mustard. He seemed pretty happy nonetheless.
The next day in Cha Am, we spent at the beach. Unfortunately, we
weren't very good at applying sunblock, and ended the day with very
splotchy skin, and of course hot dogs. (This time with mustard as we
visited a fourth 7-11). Cha am was a very nice sea side town, but we
had diving to do, and islands to visit, so we caught a couple taxis to
the bus station (the taxis were mopeds) and caught a bus to Chumpon.
We arrived in Chumpon about four hours later, and only knew to get off
because Andrew asked the driver. Unfortunately, the bus left us in the
middle of nowhere with two Swiss guys. A local woman took pity on us
and led us to the correct side of the highway and called one of her
friends to take us to the pier in Chumpon (25 km away). Twenty minutes
later when the friend arrived we all piled into the car and then asked
for the price. 600 Baht! We explained that we would rather walk,
thank you very much. (We weren't sure of where the "taxi" was going to
take us anyway, since no one spoke English very well.) Anyway, after a
bit of negotiating, we were able to secure the ride for 350 Baht, even
though the Swiss were no help whatsoever. (Wat eez des? 400 baht eez
gut price no?)
The car took us to the pier where we would catch the ferry the next
morning, and we bought two tickets. The boat was for 7am, and we had to
be at the office at 6:20, so we decided to stay at the hotel just
behind the travel agency. Well, that and the fact that Andrew didn't
find anything else within a comfortable walking distance, and the rooms
were really nice. Air con and cable TV again, so we kicked back and
watched movies. We also had dinner on a dock surrounded by Christmas
lights, and it reminded us of a Dawson's Creek set.
The next morning we dragged ourselves to a truck that took us to
the pier. We boarded the ferry and after some waiting were out on the
open sea. The ferry was a little too
air conditioned, so we went up to the deck to warm up. We weren't the
first or only people with this idea, though, and the deck looked like a
war zone- people laying everywhere, some on top of others, or on top of
the pile of luggage. We squeezed into a small open space and enjoyed
the sun for the rest of the ride into the island of Koh Tao.
Koh Tao, which means Turtle Island, is the smallest of the
inhabited Samui Islands, and our scuba diving destination for Thailand.
While on the boat, several touts showed us their resort/scuba center
and we were able to get a feel on prices. We opted out of their
services though, as the touts usually have overpriced and/or
underserviced lodges. We talked to a travel agent in town and found a
scuba resort with great prices, and a free taxi, and climbed aboard.
The resort had very "basic" bungalows, the kind that make you feel like
your camping, but at 200 baht on nights we'd been scuba diving, they
suited our needs just fine. We even have a family of pet lizards that
help us out by eating the mosquitoes that make their way into the room
at night. Thanks, guys!
The next day we wandered the island a little, verifying a 7-11
within walking distance, and then went to the scuba shop and got fitted
for our gear. It'd been two years since we dove, so we signed up for a
package of four dives with a much needed refresher course. An example
of how long it had been: when we were getting fitted, we were asked to
try on some wet suits. After the instructor found fins for us to try
on, he turned around and said quietly, "uh, the zipper goes in the
back." We looked down and realized our suits were on backwards. Not
only that but Andrew managed to put his on inside out as well, and
still got it to zip up. After that, we were glad we had opted to take
the refresher course.
The course was quick and painless. We went over the most basic
skills that we were tested on in the certification course, and it
included a mini-quiz of sorts. Afterward, we swam from the beach we
were tested on to the first dive site, called the Japanese Gardens. It
was gorgeous, and although the fish are cool, the plant-life is just
other-wordly. There is one spiky black sea urchin that has a little
blue and orange eye in the center that glows and flickers. It's really
bizarre, and reminded us of the evil eyes we saw all around Turkey. But
to see plants like this, that seem to have brains and everything (and
some actually look like brains) is just mind-boggling. There are also
little worms that look like colorful urchins and live in the coral.
They provide quite a bit of amusement as when you brush your hand over
the water they dart into the coral so rapidly at times you know you saw
something move but couldn't tell what it was.
The next site we went to was called White Rock, and had a few more
exotic sea creatures, including a very agressive fish called the Titan
Triggerfish. It's a territorial guy, and has been known to take off
divers' fingers and ears. Andrew didn't know this before hand or he
would have renewed his warning to Alex about not losing digits. Best
of all, perhaps, Alex didn't get seasick as she had when we dove
before, and we felt great afterward.
A lot of the bar/restaurants on this island advertise a movie each
night, one that is no doubt pirated, that you can watch as you eat or
drink. A brilliant idea, so we decided to join in. We emailed the
Swedes, as they were planning on making it to Koh Tao that day, and
told them that if they wanted they could join us for dinner and a
movie. About twenty minutes in they arrived, and Alex joined them in a
quieter area. Andrew, already hooked to the film, opted to be
anti-social and keep watching. After the movie, Andrew joined the
conversation and we made plans for the next day. We had thought about
renting a 4-wheeler so we could explore the other, harder to reach
beaches, but the girls had rented mopeds and it turned out they were
significantly cheaper. So, after Andrew test-drove one of theirs, we
decided we could rent one and go out the next day in search of
uncrowded beaches on the other side of the jungle.
The next morning we woke up and rented a brand new,
shiny red scooter. Better judgement would have told us to find one with
more scratches, but as we weren't planning on scuffing it up, we didn't
think it would matter. The rental included a couple ping pong ball
helmets, Andrew's with a fancy visor and everything. We drove off,
wobbling back and forth. The girls are staying on the south beach and
we are on the west beach, so we had a good 10 kilometer drive to their
lodge to get used to the scooter. Judging from Alex's ever-tightening
grip on Andrew's shoulders, it was harder than we thought to get used
to the scooter. We met up with the girls and the six of us headed out
on our three mopeds, intent on getting to a small beach on the
southeast of the island.
Halfway there, we encountered a series of dauntingly sandy hills,
but were able to make it up them no problem. The last big hill,
however, was so steep and rocky that it was all but impassible, so we
decided to park our scooters and walk from there. We walked down the
other side for what seemed like forever, and ended at a very small cove
with rocky sand and, unfortunately, hard coral all the way up to the
water's end. So, relaxing in the water was difficult, as we were
constantly getting stabbed by the sea rocks. We kicked back on our
beach mats for a little before deciding to go explore other parts of
Koh Tao.
We climbed- slowly- back up the hill and through the jungle. We
found our mopeds, and the Swedes, sadly, had decided to return home.
This was mostly due to the fact that they slightly resembled cooked
lobsters. We bid them farewell, and started back down the dusty dirt
hill to the main road. It was too steep and sandy at first, so Andrew
idled down with it and Alex followed behind. After we came to a flat
straightaway, we decided we could ride the rest of the way. Alex
boarded and we set off. Everything was fine and dandy.
Then we crashed. There was a mound of dirt, not unlike a speed bump,
that we made over with ease. Problem was, just past it was a build-up
of very soft sand, so after going over the bump we sunk into the sand
and dropped the bike. Luckily, neither of us had a scratch on us, but
the bike did not fare as well. We had scratched the plastic underside
on the right side. No big deal, we figured, as that part is bound to
get scratched up anyhow. So we kept going.
If the mound of soft dirt was problematic for us, imagine our chagrin
when the road began sloping downward again. The path was much harder
than before and the slope not as steep, so we kept driving. After a
bit, though, we had picked up too much speed going down a hill, and the
sandy gravel got the better of us. That wreck was not nearly as quaint
as the first, and when we were done with it we both had road rashes on
our hands and feet and Andrew's back, and Alex's backside had sustained
significant bruising. And once again, the bike got a pretty good mark
as well. This time, the left brake, mirror, and front panel got
scratched. The panel, which was red, had the deepest, and most obvious,
scratch of all, although it was still only an inch long. After that, we determined the bikes would not be used
on anymore up or downhill adventures. In fact, we were close to
returning them right then, but opted instead to keep them for the rest
of the day, sticking only to the flat, paved roads. We met back up with
the girls at the beginning of the main road, and one of them had
wrecked as well.
We all decided to drown our sorrows with sandwiches at a nearby
restaurant, and then went our separate ways, planning to meet back up
for dinner. We rode home, as carefully and slowly as inertia would
allow, cleaned up our wounds, and took an after-wreck nap. We spent the
rest of the day lamenting the scratches on the bike and wondering what
it would cost us, but were still able to drive it over to the Swede's
beach for dinner. Along the way, Andrew almost killed 12 people when he
had to execute a turn, but he saved them all at the end by pulling
sharply to the left. What a nice guy. Dinner was nice, too, but the
impending doom of having to return the bike, let alone having to ride
it home, was overwhelming, and even our Snickers Shake wasn't quite as
tasty because of it.
When we finally headed home, it was again as carefully as we could
manage. We decided to go straight to the rental shop and get it over
with. The man there was quite the thespian, and had dramatic speeches
to accompany his looks of sadness at the bike. He retrieved our
contract and pointed out that normally the damages we caused would cost
4500 baht, but he would be okay with 2500. That is about $75, and we
were not jumping up and down at the discount. In fact, we decided to
haggle with him, as his reasoning for the high cost was that he had to
"completely replace" the front panel. Completely replace? The scratch
was an inch long. But yes, he claimed he always completely replaces the
parts if there's the slightest mark, so that others can not make it
worse and then "claim it was already like that." He stated this was all
made clear in the contract, which Alex scoffed at. Surely we didn't
sign something that said he could replace the part entirely for one
scratch. Let us see the contract. ...Oh.
The argument about the illogical nature of his repair plans went on for
half an hour, and by the end of it we had gotten him to ask how much we
wanted to pay. Nothing, Andrew woud have liked to say, but we offered
him 2000. Then, he backed down on his offer for us to name our price,
and told us we owed 2500. We angrily reminded him that he had asked for
an offer from us, thus commencing the bargaining process, and could not
fall back on his original price. After some good, old fashioned
hard-headedness, he agreed to the "lower" price (a little over $60),
and returned our passport. But before we could get out of there, he
told us we still had to pay for the rental. Another 200 baht. That was
quite angering. We paid and left, but not before Andrew asked if he
could keep the scratched front panel, as the guy had said that "it was
worthless now." Turned out the guy didn't want to give it up, so we
left, somewhat begrudged.
Since Richard never fails to complain about these lengthy posts, and
since Daniel was reading our last one "like a TAAS article" (that was
pretty funny, actually), we'll end things for there. We will say this,
though: later, while walking by the evil bike shop, we saw what looked
like red tape over the scratch. Andrew resisted the urge to push the
scooters in a domino effect, but we have been sure to glare every time
we pass. Next time we'll fill you in on our second set of dives, which
included several sharks. Did one of us get eaten? You'll just have to
wait and see.
