Lazy days in the hot winter sun

Just after I posted the last update from Bangkok, Gerni and I were treated to the late-night arrival of Tom Garrett, our friend from back in high school. Tom graduated from UCLA, and less than 24 hours later jumped on a flight to Thailand to meet us. On our first day together, the three of us hit the town for a little while, showing Tom our favorite stuff around the city. The best stop was at the Japanese store Muji, where you can shop for minimalist, logo-free clothing and home accessories. I hope the store spreads into the States soon. As we headed home for the night, we squeezed into the back of a tuk-tuk and sped at a breakneck pace through the streets of sticky, sweaty Bangkok. We were going so fast, all we could do was laugh:



Along the way, we passed by a big pro-democracy rally, where hundreds of people gathered to protest the military coup d'etat in Thailand which occurred this past September. The protest was the first indication any of us had seen that people in Thailand even noticed the coup even happened. Before that, it seemed like life went on pretty much as normal for most people. Thais are apparently so relaxed that not even a military junta can bring them down. The military took over the country? Relax, guy! Hang out a while! Have a beer, fella!

The next day, we got on a night bus headed for the island of Ko Phangan, in southern Thailand. It was my 20th overnight stay on public transportation in the last six months, so I was able to sleep like a baby, but the other guys struggled a little bit with their first overnight bus ride. We finally made it to the island after a long ferry ride, where Tom's ultra-charming demeanor landed us two delightful new friends Jemma from Birmingham (England, not Alabama) and Anthony from London. The five of us got a couple of ridiculously cheap bare bones bungalows—$2.50 per person—on the west side of the island overlooking the clear green seas of the Gulf of Thailand.





Ko Phangan is one of the Thailand's biggest party islands, made famous by the over-the-top rave called the Full Moon Party. The parties are such a tourist draw that the always-entrepreneurial Thais also throw half moon and black moon parties, which means that there is always some lunar-related excuse to get drunk. Our bungalow owners packed fourteen of us into the back of a pickup, and we headed over to the half moon party, which was basically a big outdoor club where DJs spun the typical array of monotonous electronica, which was slightly less awful after a few rounds of beer. We had a good time anyway, but other people must have liked it more: the three of us were the only ones who made it back to the truck for our 4 am curfew. The others trickled back to their bungalows throughout the following day.



There was plenty to pack our week on Ko Phangan, and each of us did our own thing from day to day. Since everyone is so busy partying, much of the island is left untouched by travelers, and we took advantage as much as we could.

Tom and I, along with our new Oxford-educated friend Anthony, went on an all day hike into the thick jungle in the center of the island. The island's jungle looks strikingly like the set of Lost, and had a similarly creepy vibe. We climbed around some small waterfalls, splashed around in the river, and tried hard to find our way on the poorly marked trail which seemed like it had been forgotten over the years.



Tom and I went on an even more difficult hike toward the top of the island through incredibly thick jungle and rainforest. As we got closer and closer to Ko Phangan's summit, the jungle got thicker and darker. The trail was extremely faint and often non-existent, and the trek was often frustrating and confusing. At one point, we both heard something rustling about fifty feet ahead of us in the jungle. Huge branches snapped under the weight of a large animal, and Tom and I instinctively sprinted in the opposite direction as fast as we could. I broke off a tree branch along the way, and mentally readied myself to fight off whatever animal was behind us. I caught one glimpse behind me and didn't see anything, but we kept running anyway out of sheer terror. We stopped running after fifteen minutes, and made it back to the safety of civilization a few hours later. After research, we found out that there are tigers, leopards, and jaguars on the island, so odds are decent it was one of those. For all we know, however, it could have just been a monkey or something. Either way, it was seriously frightening.

Another day, the four of us rented motorbikes and sped around almost the entire island. We rode for hours through the city streets of the port town Thong Sala, then up across unmaintained dirt roads through the jungle to the northwest tip of the island to Ao Thong Noi beach, where Tom showed us all how to properly bodysurf in the gnarly monsoon waves. After being tossed around a bit in the ocean, we hopped back on the bikes and rode back across muddy roads and steep hills to Hat Rin, the main party beach and traveler area. We grabbed dinner, then cracked on our headlights and rode through the night like a motorcycle gang across the island back to our bungalow for our nightly porch n' hammock hangout session.

Here's me and Anthony on the bikes in Thong Sala and the four of us at Ao Thong Noi beach:




Tom and I got up early the next morning in order to try to get some more bang for our buck on our motorbike rental. In typical Ko Phangan style, one of the roads was washed out and looked impassable, so we tried to ride around the water through a big patch of dirt, which didn't work out either. The water on the road only looked about four inches deep, so I decided to just try to ride into from the dirt patch. As I started to move forward, the water seemed more like six to eight inches deep. Hellbent on getting through, I kept pressing on, and suddenly — oh shit! — I was up to my knees in water, and my motorbike was half underwater and the submerged motor stopped sputtering. I realized that I probably just completely ruined a $3000 motorbike, and that I basically just cut my trip short by about three months as a result. I started to completely freak out and Tom did his best to both keep me calm and help pull the bike out of the stubborn mud. Once we got it out, we washed the smelly mud off ourselves in the ocean and then came the moment of truth. Much to my surprise, and with a dramatic spray of mud from the tailpipe, the motor started. Crisis averted. The trip goes on.

During the rest of our time on the island, we did our fair share of reading and hanging out. Gerni tore through more than three books, and went hammocking like he's never hammocked before. Tom went snorkeling, and we all had an amazing few hours riding the waves on sea kayaks. We stumbled upon an incredible restaurant called Big Mountain that we all loved, so we ate there for every meal. Each night, we were treated to spectacular sunsets from our bungalow, with the islands of Ang Thong National Marine Park out in the distance.



We left the island a few days ago headed for a national park in Malaysia. It's been no easy task — we've been on an absurd amount of transportation since we left, and we're still not there yet. We're currently in Kota Bharu just on the other side of the Thai-Malaysian border, which we crossed earlier today. We'll hopefully arrive in the national park tomorrow, followed by a visit to the capital city, Kuala Lampur. Check back later for more on our Malaysian adventures.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!
Ryan (and Ryan and Tom)

Photos updated: No updates this time — sorry!