Into Thailand and island hopping

Three days ago while I was in Koh Samui, I lost my camera (or it got pickpocketted) so I don't have images from Panang to upload here. I don't care too much about the camera or the fact that I had to shell out another 300 dollars for a new camera; what I do care about is the 200 pictures that I had taken in the last 3 weeks. But on the upside, I like my new camera much more...

It's been over a week since I last updated so a lot has happened in that span. I traveled to Panang on the west coast of Malaysia, very close to the Thai border, with Garlef, the German guy I met in Taman Negara. Panang is the second largest city in the country, and many of the buildings boast an impressive array of colonial architecture, which is a little bit funny because Chinese noodle shops or Malaysian curry places own these buildings. Garlef and I stayed there for 2 nights. On the second day, we rented mountain bikes to explore the island, which turned out to be difficult as we had to ride between the thousand motorcycles on the road (no sidewalks, really). Nevertheless, the it was good to get some exercise, and we were able to go to the Kok Lok Si Temple, which houses the largest statue of Bodhisattva.

To cross the Thai border, we decided to go through Langkawi Island because road crossing in Southern Thailand is dangerous due to racial violence and political uprisings. So we woke up at 7 am, hopped on a boat, got to Langkawi, got on another boat into Thailand, rode a local bus for grueling 5 hours to a stop off point, and finally an A/C coach bus for 3 hours into Krabi, which is right by Phuket. Here, Garlef went to Phuket, and I decided to go to the East coast islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao. In the morning, we said farewell and went our separate ways.

These east coast islands are known for all-night parties, especially Koh Pha Ngan, which hosts the world famous Full Moon Parties (and half moon, black moon, pretty much any excuse for a party) each month, where upwards of 10,000 people come to the beaches to party. On Koh Samui, my first destination, I was surprised to find how developed the island was, with McDonalds, Starbucks, and numerous resorts lining the main street. On one of the days, I rented a motorcycle to explore the island and go to the mall to get a new camera, which was a little dangerous now that I think about it. There was basically no Rules of the Road, no stoplights, and they ride on the left side of the road. Nonetheless, riding down the curvy coastal roads was exhilarating. Each of the three nights I went out with some of the guys and girls I met on the island. They were interesting nights, to say the least...



After 4 days, I hopped onto another island, Ko Pha Ngan, where I'm at right now. It's a quaint little island, but packed with raging tourists from all over the world in this one area of the island called Haad Rin. Last night, I watched the world cup (which is GREAT to watch in a country other than the US) then headed to the beach to meet up with some of the people I met on Koh Samui. We had a grand ol' time. And today, I just slept on the beach, reading, listening to music, pretty much doing nothing.



Tomorrow, I'm going to Koh Tao, which is well-known for scuba diving as there are over 40 dive operators on the tiny island, servicing divers from all over the world. And now, I'm gonna go catch the Spain-Switzerland game. Go Switzerland!

- Ryoji