Eastern Gulf Coast of Thailand

It's day 10 of my 10 week adventure, and I am just beginning to settle in to the oh-so-slow pace of life here. After leaving Bangkok for Koh Samet with my new Dutch travel-buddy, Judith, I was thrilled to find myself stranded on an island paradise with clear, turquoise water, white sandy beaches and tons of beach-walking vendors selling their wares. We booked a room with AC, which seemed important at the time, jumped in the ocean for a dip and made some new friends. Our South African buddies, Scott and Natasha were English teachers living in Bangkok and getting out of the hustle-and-bustle for the weekend. We opted to share a "bucket" which is the Thai tourist drink that is advertised everywhere. It consists of a large plastic pail filled with ice, Thai rum/whiskey/bourbon, Coca-Cola and Red Bull. The sickeningly sweet beverage goes down surprisingly smooth when consumed via a long plastic straw, and suddenly our one shared bucket turned into two, then three. Then we were ready to find a party. A few beaches down we spotted some fireworks and heard the faint bumping bass of a promised good time. Walking along on the pristine beach in the soft break of the ocean waves, I start to feel relaxed. The tension of long travel days, and life at home seem to wind its way out of my neck and shoulders, down my arms to my fingertips and slowly and methodically float away. The beach party is in full swing by the time we arrive, and we enthusiastically join the twenty or so tourists on the dance floor stomping our feet to late 90s pop music infused with a techno beat and heavy bass. More buckets arrive, and are drained, we dance for hours, wiping our sweaty faces off on our arms, clothing and each other as we embrace. Life is grand! We dance, we laugh we celebrate this life that is ours and the blessings and luck we have stumbled upon on this journey towards perfection.

The next morning doesn't feel so celebratory. I spend the day huddled in the shade of a beach umbrella, healing my pounding head and queasy stomach with regular dunks in the salt water and my first western meal: a chicken burger. It's not very good. Judith and I make plans to leave the following day, bound for another island paradise, 3 hours farther south with a much bigger and more diverse array of activities to offer.

After a taxi, ferry, bus, another ferry and taxi ride later we arrive at Lonely Beach on the island of Koh Chang. We meet another fellow traveler on the bus. Her name is Ninke and she is Dutch as well. She's been backpacking through Southeast Asia and New Zealand for over a year and is returning to Koh Chang for her last few days before she flies back to Holland for a dreary winter at home. She leads us to a bungalow and finally I've found what I've been looking for! We sign on to share a home together for the next five days and pay 600 baht/night (about $19 US) to sleep three of us in one large and one small bed with a private bathroom and fan. We are 50 yards from the beach. Lonely Beach is backpacker central with restaurants, bars, bungalows and tattoo shops lining the streets of "downtown". There are two convenience stores, one is called 11-7 and one is called 7-Day which aim to attract the attention of Western travelers searching for a familiar 7-11mini-mart. I start to understand the Thai saying that is plastered over all the t-shirts, dresses and hats: "Same. Same. But Different." I get it now. Our days roll one into the next in a hazy flow of beach, sun, card games, laughter and delicious meals. We attend a beach party and dance in the waves until we are too hot to stand it and jump in the water to rinse of the sweat and sand of the dance floor. We explore town and find a restaurant featuring a long-haired, greasy Thai band playing Neil Young and Dire Straits covers. I think of my Dad and smile. We eat Pad Thai, and Pineapple Fried Rice, Spring Rolls, Tom Kha Gai and as many fruit shakes as we can handle. My $30 US per day budget seems extravagant and my new friends are so fun! The best part is that this dream world is real. I am really here. This is my life. This is who I am. I am a backpacker, and I LOVE IT!