Thailand
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I traveled to Thailand with a few mates. It was never on the list places to go to, the only things I was ever interested in Thailand was the food. The sweet, salty, hot flavours of Thailand. Their curries were the first I have ever tried to cook, first that was taught to me really and for ever since, I have fallen in love with their food. I saw the movie with Leonard Decaprio once, I think it was called The Beach. I always thought those islands in that movie were awesome but also thought that being such a tourist attraction, you would see nothing but people every where, slightly taking away the beauty of the place. If in reality those islands were exactly how they were in the movie, I would have traveled there ages ago!
This time, I went because of a mate’s wedding. It’s had been something that was on line for almost a year and I almost didn’t go, work was always on my mind (and still is) but it would not have right if I didnt make the effort, so off to Koh Samui we went.
Getting out of the airport was seemed awfully familiar. The stinking hot, moist air hits you like a brick wall or conversely, it’s walking into a moist, hot wall of air so thick it takes your breath away. Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Darwin were exactly the same. The smell was distinctively Asia, a mixture of smokey air, rubbish, and woody material! To me it smells a lot like the mats Asian’s sleep on at night with smoke blowing around, WEIRDO!?!?!?!
After a long flight ( I think we took the long way) we arrived in Koh Samui, an island amongst other, smaller islands. A beautiful place indeed.
Architecture is much the same as semi “rural” places any where in Asia, tins roofs which has been almost rusted out, wooden shed looking shops and house, mixed in with modern buildings. Bare land sporadically placed and most have little fires smoking out (see there’s the smoke smell) and dogs all over the place. Immediately picked out the little tin sheds used as restaurants where, at the point where we first drove by in the morning, it was full of young students, lined up on the tables eating in their crisp white school shirts and blue shorts and skirts for the girls.
The hotel, The Kala, was something else I tell you! You enter through a massive set of wooden gates which closes the place in and keeps the rest of the world out. Immediately upon entry you are faced with the view of the water, the islands in the distance and the sea braze taking your breath away along with the feeling of “you’ve just entered heaven”. The view is spectacular and the place made its way down a set of marble stairs to levels of hotel services, the top level being the check in desk (all of which is still outside). Greeted with a refresher towel and a cooling non alcoholic cocktail, we were checked into a grand room, which you guessed it, over looked the same view that welcomed us. The room had the ability of opening right up like a studio apartment, right up to and including the balcony. You can have a bath in your bath room and still enjoy the view. The amenities were spectacular and the room was exquisitely presented, something you would pay a thousand bucks a night for in Australia. The terace continued down to a bar by the infinity pool, and even further down to an infinity decking over looking the rocky coast of the island onto the smaller islands that looked back at us. From down here the view up the terrace was also spectacular, looking into the hills of Koh Samui.
The shopping there is wicked. Suits tailor made for under a hundred bucks, made from wicked fabric and the workmanship is spotless, so a I got a few along with the generic, touristy shirts and shorts.
We entertained our selves with riding scooters around the island. It was great but I crashed it with in 2 seconds of being on it. U-turn, front wheel slipped on a pebble and I went straight down a two meter ditch. Survived with nothing abut a broken side mirror. So $2o down and ego badly bruised, the first day was filled of the statistics we read on a brochure stating we got on arrival at the airpot stating “over 200 tourist are injured or fatally wounded when driving a scooter” replaying in my head. It got better though. I did manage to not think of it and by the end it was like riding a bike. So when in Koh Samui, TAKE IT EASY on the scooters
The food, sublime. We rode those scooters around Koh Samui and stopped at those out door eateries we passed by on the first day. FRICKEN AWSOME!! No joke, these guys are masters and I thought that if they had this very same thing in Adelaide, they would be rich and wanted by the show, Master Chef. It was unbelievable and again, it proves my theory about food “don’t fuck around with it too much, you don’t need to”. Here were guys making fish cakes in front of my eyes, deep fried mini fish, soft shell crab, spicy silver bait, Som Tum and many other things upon placing an order, my first impressions were right, I WAS IN HEAVEN!
Bangkok was amazing. First day in we had soup in the street which was great. Then when we finished we saw rats walking around the tables we were sitting at! whoops!
We stayed the Millennium Hilton Bangkok, one of the best hotels in Bangkok. We ate amazingly hot food, like the green pepper fish curry. The hottest things I have placed in my mouth and I can eat chillies like there is no tomorrow. The waitress who served it had a bit of a laugh, I wondered why, then upon rethinking about the situation with sweat beading on my fore head, I realised why , bloody bitch! We also learnt a few tricks the Hilton and how they prepare their stuff, especially with chocolate. True……CHOCOLATE. They were wizards at it, of all the places, I would never have thought they would be good at chocolate work??
We traveled around Bangkok with relative ease, we had a great tour guide in my cousin who lives and teaches there. Jefferson was great, he traveled from a long distance to show us around and there was no stone unturned. Temples, restaurants, shopping and other places of interest. We were lucky to have him around because Bangkok is so HUGE it was really intimidating. We also saw a snake fight and the water markets where we ate hot and sour soup on the “long tail” boat driven a 3 year old boy and his farther.
Still a lot I missed out on with Thailand but I think it can wait for another time or if I don’t go there again, I think I will be happy with what I experienced. Maybe I was too old when I went but it was an ok trip. What made this trip special was the occasion and the people who were there.