San Francisco to Taipei to Bangkok to Koh Samui. Believe me, it was a LOOOONNNNGGG day.
The trip started with the carry-on luggage Nazi of China Airlines in San Francisco. I had two carry-ons – my rolling laptop bag, plus my “purse,” which contained my DSLR, my longer lens, my point-and-shoot camera, my jewelry, my cash, some cosmetics, my glasses, my contact supplies and a few other things. My “purse” was probably actually heavier than the laptop bag. Usually, the airline employees barely give me and my carry-ons a second glance. This guy was eyeing everyone, though, and made 98% of the people weigh their carry-ons on his scale. He only asked me to put my laptop bag on the scale, thankfully, and it passed. While he was checking the weight on mine, a few people behind me sort of inched forward. When he noticed, he yelled at them to basically retreat because he hadn’t given them permission to move yet. He yelled a couple of times as everyone scurried back to their places. For those whose carry-ons were overweight, he made them repack to his liking (i.e. make two carry-ons out of one overweight one).
The flight to Taipei was long and the food was average (chicken something or other). I managed to watch three movies – “Belle et La Bete,” “That Trip to Italy” and “22 Jump Street.” I also listened to some albums by Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Lorde and Magic. The layover in Taipei was relatively short. The flight to Bangkok was without incident. Breakfast was seafood noodles. As we were coming in for the landing, it appeared that Bangkok was huge – spread out for miles and miles.
The Bangkok airport (Suvarnabhumi) seemed new, as if everything may have recently been renovated. The Customs guy asked me to remove my fedora so that he could take my photo. He also asked if I was traveling alone and the length of my stay in Thailand. Once I grabbed my luggage, I asked airport employees where I needed to go to connect to a Bangkok Airways flight. Domestic connections were on the fourth floor, so I squished into the elevator with plenty of others. Checking in with Bangkok Airways was relatively painless. Since I couldn’t understand what the security guard was saying at the metal detector, I was checking out the photos to see what I had to take out. I took out my laptop and iPad. She said something about my mobile, so I started to take it out as well. She waved to let me know that it wasn’t necessary. I’d asked about liquids, too, but she didn’t need to see those, either. I did, however, have to remove my fedora again.
Beings my eating schedule is always off when traveling, I went in search of food. I ended up at a food court scarfing down a burger, fries and soda at Burger King for 310 baht. When I located my gate, I noticed that they were offering complimentary food and beverages to passengers. Free is always a nice touch! Wish I’d gone to the gate first to check it out, then I wouldn’t have wasted money at Burger King! Even so, I managed to grab a little sandwich, a calzone filled with Thai chicken and basil, plus some orange juice to nibble on and/or throw into my bag. They fed us on the flight, anyway; more chicken with sticky rice.
The approach to Koh Samui wasn’t as stunning as the one to Phuket had been. Koh Samui’s airport seems smaller than the one in Phuket, too. Though it was overcast, it was definitely humid. The owner of the apartment I’d rented on AirBnB, K., and her daughter were there to pick me up. She’s French-Canadian, so we exchanged a few niceties in French. She asked if I’d prefer to speak in French, as opposed to English, but I assured her that my French is not that good! When we arrived at the apartment, she came up and gave me a little tour. I told her that I couldn’t wait to take a shower and go in search of a massage. She happily volunteered to pick me up after my shower and take me to a spa that she frequents. After my quick shower and hurried unpacking, she was there, as promised. She took me to a place called Let’s Relax. It was about 5:10 p.m. and they said they could take me at 5:30 p.m. for a one hour traditional Thai massage. K. was willing to wait until 5:30 p.m. with me, but I told her to go ahead and go eat or whatever her daughter and she were planning to do. She said she’d be back at 6:30 p.m.
That was my virgin Thai massage. I’d heard that Thai massages can often be more painful than relaxing, so I tried to prepare myself mentally. The masseuse washed my feet, then led me into a room where she presented me with baggy pants and a loose top. The pants had tie strings on them, but I wasn’t sure how they were to be worn. I fashioned them some kind of way, which amused the masseuse when she returned. She disassembled my “fashion faux pas,” carefully folding/draping the pants and tying them for me. Yes, now that I’ve had my first Thai massage, I completely understand where the pain comes from – lots of stretching and serious pressure applied to, well, pressure points. Due to my exhaustion from traveling for nearly 24 hours, I still managed to pass out for awhile until she grabbed my arms from behind and attempted to pull them out of their sockets! That momentarily woke me up! As old as I am, my flexibility is not bad, though, so she stretched me every kind of way and I was fine with it. When the massage was finished, I sat in the lobby drinking green tea and nibbling on almond cookies until K. picked me up. My bill was 500 baht and I tipped 100 baht (i.e. $15.50 for the massage with a $3 tip). They seemed surprised, either by the tip or by the amount; can’t be sure. They kept telling me that they could give me change, but I didn’t need any. Perhaps it’s more common to tip in the vicinity of 10% to 15% rather than 20%, so I’ll remember that in the future.
K. drove me by the mall and a few other places en route back to the apartment. She offered to take me to the grocery store, if I wanted. I was too tired, though, so she offered to take me in the morning instead. We agreed that she’d pick me up at 9:00 a.m. to stock up on some food stuffs for the week.
I tried to stay up late, but I was done for by 9:30 p.m. I went to sleep to the sounds of frogs, crickets and what not, waking up around 3:00 a.m. to the sound of rain. I was awake for about an hour and a half, but finally fell back to sleep.
I was extremely happy waking up this morning. This apartment is the epitome of serenity, with a pronounced Buddha theme throughout. There’s rattan furniture, several Buddha paintings, a huge Buddha statue next to the bed, the hand of Buddha in the bathroom, books on Thai culture and history, Jim Thompson silk pillow cases and other Thai accessories. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a toothbrush and many other toiletries are provided as well, though I brought my own. Waking up to Buddha next to my bed seems to be put me in a peaceful mood immediately, though!
The grocery store at the mall is known as Mr. C. It has food, as well as clothing and souvenirs. The selection of French meats and cheeses was impressive, but Bophut is mainly composed of French expats. A couple of unique products I noticed were durian cookies and Sriricha pineapples. The durian cookies would get a pass, but the Sriracha pineapples were tempting. Unfortunately, I haven’t the slightest idea how to cut and core a pineapple, so I passed on that, too. I bought blue cheese, Mimolette, spicy salame, potato chips, gummi bears, watermelon, cauliflower, orange soda, garlic bread, green curry chicken puffs and mini croissants with chicken for a bill that totaled 688 baht. The cashier confiscated my 4 Heinekens and regretted to inform me that alcohol couldn’t be sold after 11:00 a.m. I have no idea what that rule is for AND it was only 9:30 a.m., but she took my Heinies away, nonetheless. K. explained that stores aren’t to sell alcohol between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., but will often refuse to sell alcohol any time before 11:00 a.m. She assured me that the convenience store down the street from me will sell alcohol at nearly any time of the day (or night)!
At 11:30 a.m. I trudged down to Fishermans Village in the rain. It wasn’t quite as cute as I’d hoped, but is a nice enough place to while away the time. Kama Sutra is one of the first restaurants you’ll see, so I stopped in for beef with garlic and pepper, steamed rice and a Singha. Service was friendly and the food was alright. I sat there observing the relative silence between most of the expat couples as the ceiling fans whirred above and Pavarotti’s “Nessun Dorma” played in the background.
A second Thai massage was in order at Cyan.Spa, which is apparently relatively new. The facilities are very nice with a view of the ocean. The one hour massage was only 450 baht. Once again, the masseuse washed my feet, then led me to the massage room and left me with a pair of those baggy pants again. I tied them on correctly, left my top on and she began. She definitely hit my sore spots as I winced and writhed a few times. I enjoyed some tea again afterwards, but no cookies.
I was on the search for a tea house called Namcha Samui, but never found it. Instead, I had a glass of sauvignon blanc at some restaurant before walking back to the apartment.
