Hello all. I hope all is well. Meg and I arrived to the island of Ko Pha-Ngan, Thailand, a couple of days ago. It took much longer to get here than we expected, mostly because our first bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was late, causing us to miss our next bus and forcing us to spend fourteen hours in Bangkok (on little sleep) waiting for the next bus. But it's cool. It's technically the hot season on the island and so the streets are much more vacant than they would be during other parts of the year. We made the mistake of booking a room ahead of time and without fully understanding its location on the island. The room has a fantastic view from its balcony, but it's a slight hike from the center of town.
Things are much more expensive here than elsewhere we have been. Sometimes it feels a bit like San Diego. For instance, using the Internet here is five times more money than other cities we have been to. Thus, I am going to make this a short entry. The weather is hot, and the water is incredibly warm. And clear. And salty. Next we plan to visit a neighboring island named Ko Samui. We expect this island to be more developed (hotels, etc.) and even more expensive. One last note, it's funny, there are bars all over town that play movies throughout the day and night. They have a setlist of six movies or so that they play one after another. It's a nice way to take a break from the heat and grab a bite to eat. This place truly is a chilled out beachtown.
- J
