Why, oh why, did I spend a week in Bangkok?! I am so angry with myself.....because it is a week that I could have been here, in Koh Chang, which is the closest thing to paradise that I have ever seen.

We left the city at eight this morning, rushed, with no breakfast....and sat on a bus for six hours. All in all, the bus ride wasn't bad. It was fairly comfortable, enough leg room and air conditioned. We arrived in Trat (southeast of Bangkok) in time to catch the three o'clock ferry across.

The boat was loaded with farang (Thai for "foreigner") and almost sinking with everyones overloaded rucksacks. At this point we are near starvation....

We get off the boat, and into a shared taxi. For 30 baht (about 1CAD$) we can get to the area of Koh Chang referred to as White Sands Beach. The island is covered with so many shades of green you'd think someone had painted it. They are uncountable. The clouds are so close to the mountain tops that I swear I could reach out and grab them.

It was raining slightly and the sky was threatening a thunderstorm, that, at this point, hasn't come. It didn't stop us from throwing our bags in the beachfront bungalow and jumping in the ocean, though.

The water is so warm. It's like someone has heated the entire ocean to the temperature of bathwater. And we swam until the sun was ready to set, but just before it did, a rainbow appeared behind me, over the misty mountains. It was like each direction I looked was fighting the others to be the most beautiful. It sounds too good to be true, and I very well could be dreaming, but if that's the case.... I don't ever want to wake up.

Posted by Kate at 7:58 AM |

Last night, J and I went to see a movie, and I could have sworn that when we walked out of the theatre, we were going to be on the corner of John and Richmond, and we were going to stop at Milestones to have a Bellini, and then probably meet up with some of our other mates.

Instead, we walked out into a packed mall, in the middle of the blistering Bangkok heat. No joke...it is really hot here. Humid, sticky, somewhat disgusting. And I'm not at all sure how I feel about Bangkok. There are so many tourists... I actually have to stop and remind myself that I am in Asia, and not on Queen Street in Toronto.

There is one main road here, (well, there are lots of main roads, but only one that I am talking about) and it is actually a big joke that you can't leave without having your hair shaved, or mohawked, or cornrowed or dreaded...I have done none of these, but I'm postitive I am in the minority. Khoa San Road is a tourist trap, and I'll be quite glad to get off it and see Thailand, rather than just a collection of poor, or cheap, travellers that have a banded together to say they were in Thailand, but eat at McDonalds and have never even spoken to a Thai person.

No, I'm not bitter....why do you ask?

Posted by Kate at 11:02 PM |