Stay classy, Thailand...

My time in Koh Samui has been bizarre. For example, right now I'm having a late lunch at a beachfront restaurant and one of the staff has just turned on the music. The CD? Kenny G Christmas Album. Seriously...IT'S FEBRUARY! Signs here (all over Thailand actually) still proclaim Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Now even with Chinese New Year over there is no excuse!

Looking out onto the beach, there are A-frame signs littering the sand advertising day trips around the island, elephant treks, snake shows etc. Local touts trawl up and down the beach selling icecreams, tennis paddles, footballs, sarongs and souveniery knick knacks. The part of the beach I am on is quite rocky so not many swimming but certainly lots of people baking themselves silly on loungechairs. Some people look purple they are so tanned, and also don't give a care that Thailand is quite a conservative country and are walking around topless. My first thought upon arrival was how ugly the island looked with resorts cutting into the mountains, lessening the beautiful greenery. People think this place is great, but to me it's just overwhelmingly awful. Admittedly, I'm staying on the busiest beach in Samui - Chaweng - where the main road is a mecca to Globalised food brands. McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, Pizza Hut etc. There are girly bars everywhere where socially inept men can buy coolness for the night and play pool with a girl who tells him how "handsome" and "strong" he is. I'm not scrubbing Samui entirely, I know there are other parts of the island which are less developed, but I just think Chaweng screams awful, the equivalent of Patong Beach in Phuket. The one thing I do agree with here is the Thai massages on the beach. I've had one already today and I may go back for a second. Hooked, I tell you...

My speech at Rotary went well, spoke to about 20 members (one of them an Honorary Consul for Australia). It was located in one of the most exclusive resorts here in Chawend and we had a WEstern style buffet dinner before the meeting. Pork in mushroom sauce, potato, baked veggies...all these "new" flavours to me...yum! I just talked about my experience with Andaman Discoveries, and how I found the experience. Rotary helped fund NATR so it gaves them an update of how things are going now they are no longer working in the region. On a selfish note, I wanted to do this as an exercise in self confidence as I hadn't made a speech really since my school days as 'El Capitano'.

So I leave Samui tomorrow on a hellish trip to Bangkok on the bus. Leaving Samui around Noon, I get into BKK the next day areound 6am. Wish me luck, and curse Bangkok Airways having a monopoly on flights from Samui as they are ridiculously expensive.