Thailand Part I: Paradise is Dangerous

My friends and I just came back from a long-awaited vacation in Thailand. This story is all about our travels.

My beautiful friends: Chloe, Grace and Amber (and myself) flew into Bangkok for one night and then spent a week on Koh Samed, one of the nearest islands.

Of course the Taipei airport would have a Hello Kitty booth to take selfies in. We did fly with TransAsia — we were careful not to mention the recent you-know-whats before and during our flight ;)

A view of Bangkok from the sky-train. I got the feeling that Bangkok had a lot more to offer than we were able to experience in the one night we were there. Although I’ve heard mixed reviews — some say it’s just a big, trash-filled city and others rave about how fun and exciting it is — my own first impression was the poverty and wealth living side-by-side everywhere I looked. Huge high-rises and department stores with designer boutiques right next to hovels half-crumbling into piles of trash.

We enivatably ended up on Khaosan Road, the main tourist drag in the center of Bangkok. Nothing Thai about it. These two photos accurately sum up our evening:

After half an hour on the Bangkok sky-train and an uncomfortable four and a half bus ride, we arrived at Ban Phe, where we took a ferry out to Koh Samed Island. Me and Grace on the ferry:

‘Koh’ is Thai for ‘island.’ This is Koh Samed.

By the time we finally arrived, made it to the hostel and got out onto the beach, it was dark and we got to enjoy some beach night life Thai-style.

Dried squid: just what every Westerner wants after a long day of traveling ;)

Followed, of course, by a fire show given by a tattooed bunch of “sexy chocolate fire-boys,” as the announcer described them. Most of them clearly loved their night-jobs.

Next day, we headed straight for the beach.

It really was paradise. Parasailing, windsurfing, jet-skiing, boat tours of the nearby islands, bars and restaurants with tables out on the pristine white sand. There were motorcycles to rent and little carts selling delicious pancakes out on the beach. We spent our first day swimming and lying on the beach, building sandcastles and collecting shells. But paradise, as I soon discovered, can be dangerous.

After six hours in the sun, and clearly not enough sunscreen, Grace and I got wicked sunburned. Luckily for her, Grace’s was mainly confined to the backs of her legs but most of my body was lobster red by the end of the day. I don’t look very red in this picture, taken that night, but believe me I was.

By the time we got back to the hostel, I was a complete mess. My friends poured me into the shower and slathered me in aloe. Teeth chattering, dizzy and nauseated, I had to stand outside and wait for the aloe to dry because the air-conditioner was making me shiver so much. I had no idea a sunburn could be so bad. Kids, if you’re reading this, put on some sunsceen. Right now.

The next day, I was taking no chances. Covered head to toe and greasy with sunscreen, I hobbled after my friends as we went down to the main road and rented motorbikes to explore the island!

Eventually we found another, more private beach with fewer people.

These little crabs are fast! We stopped halfway down the island for some more selfies.

But some of the best views were at the southernmost tip of the island. There, we stopped for some coconut milk, and took in the views of a nearby island and the lovely little rock stacks people had made all over the hillside.

One of our favorite afternoon activities was getting Thai massages. For 200 bhat, or about $6 US, you can get an hour long massage, or a mani-pedi at any of the numerous massage parlors along the main road. I noticed that although there were many different shops for this, they all seemed to employ the same group of 6 or 7 men and women. I think one person sat in each parlor and then called everyone else to come over if customers arrived.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the food. THE FOOD!!!!! It was amazing!!! Infinitely preferable to Taiwanese food, I have to admit. The curry and fried rice, the vegetable dishes and the seafood — it was all delicious. I don’t think we had a single bad meal the entire time we were there, or even a mediocre meal. It’s no wonder we have Thai restaurants all over the States, and no Taiwanese restaurants…I think there’s a reason for that haha. Here’s some Thai food pics :)

Crispy fish fried rice:

Red and green salad with oranges and peanuts:

Our feast of 3 curries and fried rice:

Mouth-watering seafood and vegetable stir-fry with cashews:

And a new personal favorite, Som Tum (papaya salad) with shrimp:

And don’t even get me started on the watermelon juices and the coconut smoothies — incredible. One thing we didn’t try: this spiky southeast Asian fruit called durian. Why didn’t we try it? Because when it’s ripe, it smells strongly of rotting meat. It’s so pungent, many shops had “NO DURIAN” signs on their doors.

Now, Thailand is pretty cheap. Apart from the more adventurous water sports, like 1000 baht/$30 for 8 minutes of parasailing, or 2500 baht/$75 for half an hour jet-ski rental, most things were really affordable. I paid on average 150 baht/$4.50 for meals and our hostel was only about 420 baht/$12 a night each. Where they get you is that you have to pay for every little thing. Soon as we got off the ferry upon arrival, it was 20 baht for ‘maintainence.’ Almost every restroom was 5 or 10 baht. And since Koh Samed is an island with no water source, we had to pay for bottled water at every restaurant. Water has to be shipped over from the mainland and pumped into people’s homes and businesses via these water trucks, at great expense. All in all, the little expenses can really add up for the less-thrifty tourist.

Speaking of money and tourists, I noticed that there was almost nothing on the island NOT geared toward tourism. It seems that a great deal of Thailand’s economy relies on tourism. Overall I would say that people’s English there was superior to the average person in Taiwan. All the signs, menus and ads had English and Thai, or were just in English. Koh Samed seemed mainly inhabited by people on vacation, and by those whose livlihood depended on selling things to vacationers. And because most people there were just looking to relax and have a good time, much of the island was distinctly uncared for. There were garbage heaps on the sides of the roads, litter everywhere, and all but the most expensive resorts looked a bit run down.

I noticed myself often thinking “This would be so nice, if only they’d clean it up a bit!” But then I realized that it was people like me who’d made all the mess. Westerners looking for a bit of tropical paradise come for the full-moon parties and leave, not caring what they might be leaving behind. I guess for the people who live there, there’s not much benefit to continual clean up and there’s only so much money and energy they’re willing to expend on it. For me, southeast Asia seems so exciting and exotic. The reverse is true for many people from over here. I honestly didn’t understand why so many people over here are so interested in America and England and want to move there. But I can see now how incredibly wealthy I am by comparison. I think I sort of acknowledged my privelege in being an English-speaking American without really understanding what it meant. But while I was there (having an awesome time) I also began to understand that I have advantages I had never even percieved.

The rest of the story is in Thailand Part II: The Time I Threw an Iceball at a Taiwanese Dermatologist. It’s much less serious, promise ;)

Thanks for reading!