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Round the World Travel Guide

Chaweng Beach Life

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Writing in comfort

I dedicated my first full day on Kho Samui to exploring Chaweng, writing, and reading ” Do Travel Writers Go To Hell“? by Thomas Kohnstamm, a book I came across in Bangkok. Published earlier in the year, it chronicles the experiences of a first-time writer for Lonely Planet on assignment in Brazil.

Another day in paradise

The beach was perfect, soft white sand, multi-colored water with light green in the shallows, and turquoise fading into darker shades of blue near the sections of reef. It was far cleaner than what I saw on Kuta, Bali, and the Thai people in town were much more laid back in regard to trying to sell tourists on tailored suits and taxi rides.

Chillin'

In the early evening, I went for a sunset walk minus the sun (which sets on the opposite end of the island), drank a Singha (Thai beer), and read some more while comfortably lounging on one of the free beach chairs. It felt like I was in a Corona commercial. I then followed the electronic music to Ark's for dinner on the beach. I had a delicious tuna steak with baked potato and salad.

Sunset on Chaweng Beach

Wanting to save the end of my book for another day, I joined a few Dutch girls at an adjacent table. They were spending a month in Thailand, and like me (and thousands more), headed to Kho Phagnan for the July 19th Full Moon Party. We talked over a few drinks, and as it got dark, more and more kids came around selling Styrofoam and flower leis, games of Connect Four, and various other novelty items.

Lanterns began to drift into the sky in the distance, and I was all about lighting one (having first seen them in ” The Beach”?). I wrote all three of our names on it, along with a flower, butterfly, and peace symbol, made a wish, and lit it up. Fireworks were shot off intermittently, adding to the wonderful all-around vibe and experience. The girls were staying at a different beach, and interested to check out one of the big dance clubs so we fought our way through the gauntlet of Thai prostitutes to The Green Mango, which filled up around 1am. After a bit of dancing, and a late night stop at McDonald's, we called it a night.

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  1. Wish I had made it there. We opted for the closer destination of Ko Samet. I hated it there, it was just a tourist trap with rudest people in Thailand. I was actually happier in Bangkok.

    • Mental note has been made….so many islands….the 6-7 weeks I’ve earmarked for them hardly seems enough!

  2. Wish I had made it there. We opted for the closer destination of Ko Samet. I hated it there, it was just a tourist trap with rudest people in Thailand. I was actually happier in Bangkok.

    • Mental note has been made….so many islands….the 6-7 weeks I’ve earmarked for them hardly seems enough!

  3. Man, I am so jealous.. I’ve been wanting to go to thailand for so long!

  5. Hey I had that exact same dinner when I was at Ark Bar for dinner on the beach back in June. I got really excited when I saw 40baht for a tuna steak, and then the waitress informed me that it was the price/100grams with a 400gram minimum. Excellent food with a fantastic atmosphere. I hope you are having fun in the islands and if you need any suggestions for places to stay or that kind of thing let me know as I was just there a month ago.

  7. Hey I had that exact same dinner when I was at Ark Bar for dinner on the beach back in June. I got really excited when I saw 40baht for a tuna steak, and then the waitress informed me that it was the price/100grams with a 400gram minimum. Excellent food with a fantastic atmosphere. I hope you are having fun in the islands and if you need any suggestions for places to stay or that kind of thing let me know as I was just there a month ago.

  9. Dave,is that a triple e pc you’re writing on? Linux or Windows? 8″ or 10″? Looking good. Will follow. Heading down to Samui tomorrow.
    Steve

    • Yes, it’s an EEEpc by Asus running the default Linux. 7.5″ screen. 4gb memory. The stupid AC adapter keeps shorting out from power surges though. It happened once in Nepal, and just recently on Kho Phangan. Since I’m in the islands, I won’t likely be able to get it fixed or a new one until I’m back in Bangkok. Grrr.

      • Other than the power adapter, how are you liking it? I’m considering getting eitehr an EEEpc or a Wind but I’ve not yet decidecd…

  10. Dave,is that a triple e pc you’re writing on? Linux or Windows? 8″ or 10″? Looking good. Will follow. Heading down to Samui tomorrow.
    Steve

    • Yes, it’s an EEEpc by Asus running the default Linux. 7.5″ screen. 4gb memory. The stupid AC adapter keeps shorting out from power surges though. It happened once in Nepal, and just recently on Kho Phangan. Since I’m in the islands, I won’t likely be able to get it fixed or a new one until I’m back in Bangkok. Grrr.

      • Other than the power adapter, how are you liking it? I’m considering getting eitehr an EEEpc or a Wind but I’ve not yet decidecd…

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