Reaching the Halfway Point 

I am almost halfway finished with my four week journey, and preparing myself for some changes. Tomorrow, I will arrive in Bangkok, and I have plans to meet up with a friend, but otherwise I’m still on my own schedule. However, the following day begins my group tour through GEEO (Global Exploration for Educators Organization). I’m not always a fan of group tours, but I really like traveling with GEEO because the groups are small, and mostly comprised of educators, meaning I am traveling with like-minded people. Also, the schedule allows for some flexibility, giving individuals time to pursue their own interests at certain times. Still, after being mostly by myself for two weeks, traveling with a group will have a different feel.

Since I have kept myself pretty busy and been on the go quite a bit the past two weeks, and since I realize I will be on the go a lot in the upcoming weeks, I decided that my beach day on Koh Samui would be my day to relax. And relax I did! I walked all the way down Lamai Beach and back. In doing so, I discovered that the section of beach by my bungalow (The Sunrise Bungalows) is definitely the best. It is clean, isn’t crowded, and has some great boulders to sit on!

I ate a lot of food. I read on a rock. I swam in the ocean and cut my knee on a rock (but just a little bit–I am ok!). Women tried to give me overpriced manicures, and I’m pretty sure a man was trying to sell me black market gems from Burma.

Then I tried to go into town. From where my bungalows are located, this was not a good idea. The road does not have any sidewalks, and cars and motorcycles drive really fast. Then they honk at you to get out of the way when you are already as far to the side of the road as you can get without falling into a ditch! Plus there isn’t a lot to do in this section. If I had gone further, there are a lot of shops and stuff for tourists, but I didn’t feel safe trying to walk on, so I got annoyed and turned back.

If you mostly stay on the beach, like I did, don’t expect to learn a lot about Thai culture. It is pretty touristy and I saw more white people in speedos than I did Thai people. If you plan to stay on the island longer, you could venture out to other parts of the island. Some parts are supposed to be less touristy. But for just one day, I was fine having a quiet day on the beach!