On the western edge of the Gulf of Thailand sits the port of Surat Thani. I stand dazed in line waiting for a ferry in a black top parking lot.
We are headed off to the islands of Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao. I had little idea of what I was in store for. The sleepy sea and sky make little noise as passengers scramble for any piece of shade. Clouds hold still as the sweat continues to drip down my back.
Islands sprinkle the sea like cereal in a giant bowl of milk. As we approached Koh Pha Ngan, a sandy atoll with the iconic white stone cliffs of Thailand sparks the excitement of landing. Young travelers wander the shores, as the sun reflects off the divers scattered in the shallow water.
True teal water against tropical rainforest with white sandy beaches. Thailand is a mystical place.The roads are thin. Snuggled against the shore is hotel after hotel. Farther inland small thatched roof houses and restaurants stack on top of each other.
MOTORCYLCES FOR RENT. GET A TATTOO HERE. FULL MOON PARTY. JUNGLE PARTY. ELEPHANT TREKS. BOOZE BUCKETS. THAI MASSAGES
If you are into any of this- Koh Pha Ngan is the place you are looking for.
The first night my buddy Eric, also an American college student, and I dominated the beer pong tournament against 18 teams from all over the world. The variety of nationalities included: German, Scandinavian and European. It felt like the Olympics as the restaurant cheered for their favorite teams. Eric took down most of the cups but I came in handy by making the lonely last cups that required a lot of aim and a little luck.
Our prize was made up of: 'Same Same' (means girly man) shirt, two buckets with hard alcohol and energy drinks, which is like 10x stronger than those back in the US.
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| Final 2 Teams |
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| CHAMPS |
It was time to celebrate out victory down at the beach. The wild ones run towards the giant jump rope, but now two men round up the rope into a bucket of gasoline. After a short soak they bring it back to a wooden stage and lit it on fire. The heat overwhelms your space and the essence of danger ignites within. Are you brave enough to jump in? I tried and let's just say woke up with the biggest bruise on my thigh.
Maybe the foam pit dance floor is more my thing. Everyone seems to lose all control as we dance for hours, maybe it's the Chang. Chang, the cheaper option of Thai beer, has energy stimulant ingredients. It didn't help one girl in my tour group though. I came up on her comotosed in the sand. It was time to call it a night as we all found out way back to our hostel.
The next day hungover we hopped on a ponga boat named Snoop Dogg for some island exploration. Phu Dang Waterfall was the first attraction. There is a cave within you have to swim underwater to get to. Then you start crawling towards the white pencil tip light above you. Grasping at whatever I can in this black hole, I think "what the hell am I doing?"
Those words seemed to reoccur throughout my time in Thailand.
The second stop was at a secluded beach for some lunch. I spent the day swimming in the salty waters where you could float like a empty plastic bottle.
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| Reggae Bar |
The sun started to set as we came back to port. This night we decided on visiting the magical Reggae Bar. Lit by glow in the dark writing on the walls and the few candles, this bar was my favorite in Thailand. The soothing sound of Bob Marley's voice was needed after a techno fueled fiesta from the previous night.
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| Foam Party on the beach!! |
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