Koh Samui and My Birthday

Since my last post, the gang and I have been taking it very easy here on Lamai beach, rumored to be the best beach in Koh Samui. It seems like each of us have come down with some sort of health affliction at some point, and this time it was Jessica's turn. She was not feeling well for the first two days of our stay here, with a persistant cold that may have evolved into a sinus infection. So, while Jess slept it off, Brian, Staci, and I just hung out on the beach and soaked up some rays.

We befriended a German couple along the way, who proved to be a lot of fun. We went to a few meals with them, and Brian and I spent one evening on the beach with them, comparing cultures and stereotypes over a bottle of Bacardi. We had made plans with them two days ago to meet up on the island just north of here (Koh Phangan) for the Black Moon Party (an internationally acclaimed, all-night beach party). We spent the day before the party walking the touristy Chaweng beach area, where there are many cheap clothing/food stands. Our actual intention for going, however, was to find the 'bug food stand' that the Germans went to the day before. Here you can sample a wide variety of fried critters, from grasshoppers and grubs to cockroaches. We figured it would be a good cultural experience and at the very least a good photo opportunity. Unfortunately, a storm was rearing its ugly head on the horizon when we passed through the bug stands, and they were closing down shop, so I guess we will have to wait for Bangkok!

At the end of the day it was pretty obvious that Jess was going to be in no shape for the Black Moon Party, so we reluctantly made alternative plans. Fortunately, by email we found out that the Germans also missed the party for a similar reason (sea sickness taking the ferry to Koh Phangan), so we will try to meet up with them on Koh Phangan at some point in the near future.

My birthday, which was two days ago on Sept. 28th, turned out to be a memorable occasion. The day started with Brian buying me a 2-hour Thai massage (don't freak out, it only cost ~$9), which was the best I've experienced so far. When we walked back to the hotel room afterwords, Brian kicked the door to the room seemingly accidentally. When Staci came to open the door, I walked in to find homemade cards and a bunch of Chinese fireworks on my bed. Before I could figure out the scheme, Jessica came around the corner with a birthday cake, complete with candles and the icing inscription 'Happy Birthday Mike.' It was a great surprise--I seriously wasn't expecting anything like this, due to the obviously limited resources at our disposal. The cake tasted great!


That night, we walked to the beach and set off some serious fireworks while sipping on some quality Singha, an expensive Thai beer (pictured above). The fireworks here are crazy by the way (the pic below gives you an idea)--this kind of stuff would never fly in the U.S. if you didn't have a permit from the city. Don't worry though, we were quite safe, and somehow no one lost any appendages.

As for our travel plans from here, we are sort of taking a day-by-day approach, since we only have about 2 weeks left in Thailand. Today we are leaving for Koh Phangan, the same island where the party was that we missed. Ironically, this island is supposed to be very pristine, dispite the parties that take place on the south side, and we are bound for a cozy beach bungalow overlooking coral reefs and adjacent to a waterfall in the jungle. It should be a great stay, but the one stipulation is that electricity there is very limited and A/C is nearly non-existant, so internet use and comfort may be compromised. But if it does not meet our expecations (or we cannot bear the heat with no A/C), we can always come back to Koh Samui.

Either way, I will keep you all posted as much as possible!

Mike