Waking Up
I woke up around 9am and made my way to breakfast. I was staying at this resort for two nights, so this would be my only full day at the resort. As I made my way across the path to the lobby I was greater by the manager, Fred. He was soft spoken and extremely friendly. We chatted for a while. He's lived on the island for six years and was from France. He asked how the unit was and I mentioned a broken shower which he promptly addressed. Breakfast was amazing. The bacon was a nice bonus and pretty tasty. Everything else, from the fresh fruit to juice was equally fantastic. Fred and breakfast really defined the experience of the hotel - and completely turned me around my negative experience the night before.
Relaxing at the hotel
The plan was to update my blog and relax by the pool. Write, jump in the pool when hot, repeat. I realized I needed some sunscreen and made my way to the store off the main road by foot. Sunscreen and bug spray are not cheap on the island. Those two things together along with saline solution for my contacts cost about $20. I did get the pharmacist to give me 10 percent off though.
After a couple of hours of relaxing by the pool I eventually got restless. I inquired about a scooter rental, but the lady said she couldn't do it without my passport. For the first time in the history of my travels, I surrendered it for the scooter. I saw no record throughout TripAdvisor about the hotel screwing people, so I just went with it. The scooter was 250 bhat a day, a little under $8. You're probably thinking, that's an awful lot to pay to someone to kill you. Hopefully you're wrong. Riding around the island on the scooter was nothing short of awesome.
Wandering the Island
Once on the scooter I made my way north. The scooter was easy to ride and fun. I wasn't in a rush to go anywhere, so I let the occasional speed demon pass me. Drivers were remarkably considerate of one another and I don't think I saw a single person get cut off. Once I got a few kilometers out of town drivers became few. An occasional roadside/beachside restaurant would pop up. I stopped and had a quick bite to eat. For a few bucks I had some chicken wings and a tiger prawn bigger than I've ever seen.
Sunset
Since I wasn't far from the west side of the island, I figured I'd go to a beach and see the sunset. The sunset really produced little to no color and was entirely unremarkable.
Nighttime
Aside from wandering from town to town, I really didn't do much. I stopped by one of the island's major grocery store and walked around a bit. The store sold everything, from electronics, music, to groceries.
Uh oh...
On the way back to the hotel I saw a really bad accident. Talking with an Australian couple around my age, it happened a few minutes before I passed. Surprisingly, the driver walked away without injury.
I ended the night by picking up some street food from a place called Muslim's Chicken. I figured if anyone knew how to make good chicken it would be the folks that eat chicken and not beef. It was pretty tasty.
I woke up around 9am and made my way to breakfast. I was staying at this resort for two nights, so this would be my only full day at the resort. As I made my way across the path to the lobby I was greater by the manager, Fred. He was soft spoken and extremely friendly. We chatted for a while. He's lived on the island for six years and was from France. He asked how the unit was and I mentioned a broken shower which he promptly addressed. Breakfast was amazing. The bacon was a nice bonus and pretty tasty. Everything else, from the fresh fruit to juice was equally fantastic. Fred and breakfast really defined the experience of the hotel - and completely turned me around my negative experience the night before.
Fred and me
The plan was to update my blog and relax by the pool. Write, jump in the pool when hot, repeat. I realized I needed some sunscreen and made my way to the store off the main road by foot. Sunscreen and bug spray are not cheap on the island. Those two things together along with saline solution for my contacts cost about $20. I did get the pharmacist to give me 10 percent off though.
After a couple of hours of relaxing by the pool I eventually got restless. I inquired about a scooter rental, but the lady said she couldn't do it without my passport. For the first time in the history of my travels, I surrendered it for the scooter. I saw no record throughout TripAdvisor about the hotel screwing people, so I just went with it. The scooter was 250 bhat a day, a little under $8. You're probably thinking, that's an awful lot to pay to someone to kill you. Hopefully you're wrong. Riding around the island on the scooter was nothing short of awesome.
Merchants sell gas throughout town in liter bottles
Once on the scooter I made my way north. The scooter was easy to ride and fun. I wasn't in a rush to go anywhere, so I let the occasional speed demon pass me. Drivers were remarkably considerate of one another and I don't think I saw a single person get cut off. Once I got a few kilometers out of town drivers became few. An occasional roadside/beachside restaurant would pop up. I stopped and had a quick bite to eat. For a few bucks I had some chicken wings and a tiger prawn bigger than I've ever seen.
King size prawns
Restaurant view - it was on the beach
One random stop on the bike
Since I wasn't far from the west side of the island, I figured I'd go to a beach and see the sunset. The sunset really produced little to no color and was entirely unremarkable.
Nighttime
Aside from wandering from town to town, I really didn't do much. I stopped by one of the island's major grocery store and walked around a bit. The store sold everything, from electronics, music, to groceries.
They still sell CRT based TVs...and also flat screens
I'm pretty certain these are not pirated
They have a convincing certificate of authenticity on each disk. Impressive
Red bull is like 30 cents...at least I think it's red bull
This is the only place in the world I've seen it discounted
On the way back to the hotel I saw a really bad accident. Talking with an Australian couple around my age, it happened a few minutes before I passed. Surprisingly, the driver walked away without injury.
The driver walked away with a few bruises
If you look at the car it hit, you can see the axel broke
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