Koh Chang and being hungry in Thailand

So, I've been in Thailand for a while now, but this weekend was my first travel weekend.

Anthony and I headed to Koh Chang, which as I understand it is the second largest island in the magnificent Kingdom of Thailand. It's a massive island that is reasonably underdeveloped. There are a few touristy areas, but no where near to the scale of Virginia Beach or even Lake George. The island is mostly mountains, jungles, and a few scattered beaches.

Anthony and I left Bangkok on Thursday at 4:00. We thought the bus to Trat, a province in Thailand, left at 5:30, but there was another bus that left at 4:00. We actually had no idea where the bus was going, but we trusted the Thai bus people enough to get on and go. After about 5 hours of mixed review (the bus was old and there was a little Thai girl with a nasty habit of kicking the seats of people that were sleeping and no one stopped her, father included), we arrived at the Trat bus terminal.

After using the bathroom, we found a lady who took us in her truck to "her place," which was a nice enough bungalow place for only about $7 a night. It rained harder than I've ever seen that night. The next morning, her staff drove us to the ferry along with a lot of French tourists and we went off to Koh Chang. On the boat, some Thai lady sold us rooms on the island, which for two nights cost us about $19.

It had rained a lot on Koh Chang too that night, because everything was wet and many roads were flooded. Right after we got off the ferry, I convinced Anthony that it was a good idea for the two of us to rent motorbikes and travel to the hotel, despite the fact that we had no idea where we were going. He eventually listened to me and we rented motorbikes for two days for $7 each. They were old, but they moved well and got us around the island quickly, as walking was not an option and public transportation was incredibly limited.

We drove around Koh Chang for a while until we found our hotel. We ate at the restaurant there, were a nice ladyboy served us our meal. Then we explored a bit of the beach and relaxed in the room for a while. The accommodations weren't all that spectacular. Let's just say, Anthony and I need to be taught how to flush a toilet without a handle on it.

We decided to explore Koh Chang. We found a road with a sign that said "Jungle Way," which we figured meant there were a scenic jungle road to explore. We road our motorbikes down the road, which gradually became less of a road and more of a "work in progress," so to speak. The road would be very nice, and then a stream, and then road again. We tried to get through, but eventually Anthony crashed his bike in the mud and I got mine stuck in a ditch and had to pull it out. Inevitably, we both ended up barefooted as we lost our shoes to the mud of the jungle. It was a horrendously hilarious situation. Anthony ended up having to buy new sandals and I had to buy a new shirt, as mine was covered in mud. Somewhere during this experience, I popped my tire, but continued to drive on it anyway for the rest of the trip.

That night, we tried to find a mythical "party beach" that we never actually ended up on. Anthony's light broke on his motorbike, so we looked around for a shop for a while, but everything was closed. Except bars. We drove by a couple of them and ignored the ladies yelling at us to come in, but finally we were suckered in to the Ting Tong bar (appropriately named, Ting Tong means crazy in Thailand).

We stayed there for a long time, until they closed actually. We talked with the girls there, drank a lot of Thai beer, and played board games. I especially enjoyed the Thai version of Jenga and playing Connect 4. Whenever conversation subsided (which was surprisingly infrequent as Meaw, the girl I was talking to for most of the night, spoke very fluent English), we'd play a game. It was a lot less boring than quiet bars in the states. Meaw tried to teach me Thai, but I couldn't remember any of it because Thai is (a) one of the most confusing languages on the planet and (b) Thai beer has more alcohol in it than American beer, and I got very drunk that night. I made the rather poor decision of riding my motorbike while intoxicated back to the hotel. I didn't get hurt and nothing bad happened, but blacking out and not remembering driving home is scary enough that I'll never do that again. See, I am learning in Thailand. I also have now gotten sick in two oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic. It is my goal to one day throw up in every ocean.

The next day, Anthony and I went to this wonderfully impressive waterfall that the island is known for. It must have been a fifty foot drop into a crystal-clear pool of water below. I was incredibly hungover, and maybe still drunk as I didn't really sleep all that well, but sitting at the waterfall and just listening to nature and the sound of water crashing down was really nice.

After the waterfall, we met up with our bar friends and went swimming in the ocean. Meaw bought all of us beers and we sat by the Pacific Ocean, watching the sun move through the sky, listening to the waves, and discussing life in Thailand and America.

That night, we went back to the Ting Tong bar and I drank more again. Anthony and his friend, who's name neither of us remember because it was very Thai, went off to go to the ocean. Meaw decided to show me around Koh Chang and give me a taste of the nightlife, which meant hand me a beer while she drives me around Koh Chang and I drink. She took me to a nightclub where we danced for a while, and then we went back to the ocean.

The next morning, Meaw came to say goodbye and welcome me back to the island. I'll be taking her up on the offer. I liked Thailand while I've been here so far, but I fell in love with it last weekend. Koh Chang was one of the best experiences that I have ever had. It was honestly a paradise and if I had to envision a heaven right now, Koh Chang was very close to it. It was so laid back, relaxed, and carefree. Never in my life have I ever felt more comfortable somewhere. If I had had more money with me, I'm honestly not sure if I'd be in my room typing this post right now, I probably would have stayed in Koh Chang for another day or two. I've been to a lot of places, but I've honestly can't recall a time in my life when I felt so at peace with myself and my surroundings. Every worry and fear that I have seemingly evaporated as soon as I stepped foot onto that island.

And what now? I don't know.

Now, as for the rest of my Thai life, I realized the one thing that I am missing besides all of my friends and family while I'm in this crazy country: food.

I have not yet found a single Thai dish that I love. Granted, I haven't tried nearly everything, but I've had a lot of varieties of chicken and noodles and rice and pork, and nothing is mouth-watering for me. Anthony has his favorites, but I just don't feel it, and that makes me miss food from home all the more. I'm also out of my favorite candies until the package from home arrives.

The day I get home, I am having an enormous feast. I am going to eat a ridiculous amount of food as soon as I get back.

Planned consumption:

- Wendy's Chicken Nuggets, Fries, and Chili
- Mr. B's Roast Beef Sandwich and Potato Nuggets
- A big turkey sandwich with cheddar cheese, bacon, and mayo
- Spaghetti with Hunt's Meat Sauce and meatballs
- Domino's Pizza, only pepperoni and sauce
- Pizza Hut bread sticks
- Outback Stakehouse's ribs and garlic mashed potatoes
- Taco Bell potato burrito with beans, beef, and spicy chicken
- Cereal with milk on it. Lots of it.

And more. A lot of people give me shit here because I order Western dishes when we go out, but for some reason they seem to forget that when they're home, they eat a variety of dishes, not just the same type of food every day of the week. I mean, yeah, when I was broke at the end of the summer (financially and otherwise, summer-issues included), I lived off spaghetti and pizza, but those were hard times. When you have options, why would you eat the same spicy chicken dishes every day? It gets boring.

So, while I'm firmly in love with Thailand now and am already dreading going back to the cold misery of the barren and isolated Oswego, a big part of me (my stomach) wishes every day that it were back in the states.