Time for Thai Part II

I know you've been waiting anxiously for part 2, so without further ado, here it is, uncut and uncensored:

It took us a while to find a hostel, since we didn’t want to take the first one we found, in fear of being ripped off. But we tired quickly of wandering around with our packs, and resignedly ended up picking the one we had looked at first. Our room had two large beds, a ceiling fan, a small patio overlooking the road, and most importantly, an air conditioner, which we immediately turned all the way up. After relaxing for a while, we headed to the street in search for a place that we didn’t think would serve us what some Thais refer to as “urban chicken”, a.k.a. dog.

We found it was uncommonly easy to meet people on Kho Sanh. Everybody there was travelling to some part of Thailand, and we gained a wealth of knowledge just through talking with them. Bangkok, we were told by an American at the restaurant, is just a place where people stay over, en route to either the north of Thailand, or to the Gulf of Thailand in the south, which is where the beaches are. After having a couple of beers, we headed to our guesthouse, and fell asleep to the sounds of classic Bob Marley tunes drifting in from the street below.

The next couple of days were spent running from one temple to the other, while dodging mad tuk-tuk drivers, and buying as many fake T-shirts as we could carry. We also visited the infamous area of PatPhong, more out of curiosity than anything else. Known for its seedy bars and clubs where young girls dance and do everything else, our night was characterized by persistent Thai men and women grabbing hold of us as we walked past their “establishments”, and showing us crude drawings illustrating their offerings. I’ve never heard the phrase “ping-pong act” used more often.

Realizing that time to hit the beaches was running out, we booked an overnight bus to Koh Samui, highly encouraged by the fact that our US$9 got us a bus fully equipped with air-conditioning and reclining seats. After buying some pineapple on the street, I boarded the bus, happy to finally rest for a while.

I don’t know what woke me first. The freezing air blowing in my face, the deafening noise emanating from the TV showing “Blown Away” (a mediocre movie saved by the inclusion of some killer U2 tracks), or the annoying attempts of a bunch of Israeli guys in front of me trying to flirt with some Spanish girls in English, a language it was clear that neither group had an immediate familiarity with.

Either way, I didn’t really care. All I could think about was bright blue skies, white sands and the perfect beach.

Well kids, that brings us to the end of part deux. What lies ahead for our hero? Will South Sea pirates ruin his vacation on paradise? Will the scantily clad passport-worshipping Thai girls lure him into their clutches? Or will a drug-fueled rampage threaten everything he holds dear? Stay tuned viewers. Part 3 coming soon. Same time, same channel.

M.L.