Koh-mpanions

In the last 30 years for many Westerners, Thailand has become synonymous with tropical paradise.  This is only true in the Gulf of Thailand and on the west side of the southern peninsula.  Here the waters are sprinkled with islands, or kohs, that have become famous thanks to film, magazines, or tales from other travelers: Koh Samui (famous spa locale), Koh Phi Phi (site of movie "The Beach"), and Koh Pha-ngan (spot of the notorious Full Moon Party) are just a few.  I chose to stay on the gulf side and divided my limited time between Koh Samui and Koh Tao, an island popular for its cheap and beautiful scuba diving.

The typical morning on Samui does not begin with a beeping alarm clock, but I went against tradition the first Monday I was there and awoke at 0545.  I made a 15-minute walk on moonlit streets, as even the sun does not wake at that hour, which I hardly knew to Tropical Murphy's, the main Irish pub in the beach town of Chaweng.  TM's was one of the few venues I had found the day before that was playing a live English broadcast of Super Bowl XLII.  Even though my regular season American football viewing days are limited, I usually try to watch the one game in February.  Even if the game itself proves to be lopsided, there is usually enough supplemental entertainment to warrant the 4-hour block of time.  Luckily for me, the game itself was one of the better ones I've seen in recent years, because the other entertaining aspects of Super Bowl Sunday were absent.  Normally, I associate the Super Bowl with chips and salsa, cold beer, funny commercials, and friends' commentary.  This was the first game I've watched while eating an Irish breakfast, or any breakfast for that matter, drinking hot tea, and missing the commercials and friendly conversation.  The broadcast showed only the game, so when the action stopped, the camera just continued filming an inactive field often with the commentators mics still turned on.  Entertaining to hear their side banter and throat clears but not comparable to a K-Fed or cat-wrangling commercial, especially since there were only two other people in the bar with whom to share it and both quite drunk from the night before.

On the morning I was to meet Liz and Keiko, two friends from Tokyo, an odd and wonderfully serendipitous event happened when I returned from the internet cafe.  I did a double take as I approached my room in the Green Guest House because Noak and Henrik, two Swedes I met in New Zealand, were sitting next door on their room's patio.  I first met these guys in Queenstown while traveling with the international family I had made there.  Noak and Henrik had their bonding unit and I had mine, so we spent little time together save one night of partying.  I ran into them again in the Christchurch airport and, since we hadn't established much of a friendship, had little to talk about.  One month later, I spotted Noak sitting on a park bench in Cairns, Australia.  We laughed at the coincidence and spoke a bit more.  Henrik joined us and insisted we exchange contact info as we were all going to be in Thailand at the same time.  I joked that we don't seem to need such trivial things.  Turned out I was right.  For the third time in as many months and countries, we ran into each other.  It seems as though we will not be free from each other until we spend some quality time or accomplish some all-important quest together.

Running into the Swedes was an excellent surprise, but I worried that we'd yet again be robbed of our fated QT.  They were here to rendezvous with friends from home, and I had planned on spending just a few days on Samui with Liz and Keiko before we made our way to Koh Tao for some scuba diving.   I told them my plans with the ladies from Japan and we agreed to do something just prior to me leaving the island.

It turned out that Keiko had another purpose for coming to Thailand aside from holiday: research.  She owns a spa in Tokyo and was interested in products and services offered at some of the renowned Thai spas throughout the country, many of which were situated on Samui.  For two days, she rented a car which I navigated and Liz drove around Thailand's second biggest island.  When she was investigating products or sampling treatments (rough life...), Liz and I would borrow the car and explore different beaches and points of interest.  At the end of each day we'd dine somewhere new and eventually return to our lodges in Chaweng.  We visited temples like Wat Pra Yai, home of the "Big Buddha", and Wat Plai Laem, the most colorful (and therefore my favorite) temple I've seen.  We watched the sun fade in the south and eventually set in the west.  We ate in bungalows, resorts, and a street carnival in Nathon, where I sampled grilled squid, baked crab, and friend grasshoppers.  These two days brought me much closer to the island's diversity as well as to Liz and Keiko, who I will be seeing again soon when I visit Japan.

The day before I was slated to leave to Koh Tao with Liz (Keiko was headed back to Japan earlier than she was), I chose to spend some time with Noak, Henrik, and their friends while the ladies did some of the shopping they had been gabbing about.  The Swedes had already rented four scooters the day before, and as I was person number 8, we all easily paired up and toured the island stopping at Lamai Beach for some 'massive' waves (as Noak called them) and Fisherman's Village in Bophut for a quick Thai lunch.  For those of you who know me, I don't need to mention that I'm no expert on a motorcycle, moped, or scooter.  Hell, let's be honest, I've not even driven one before.  So, you can imagine the sweat under my arms as I was learning on the chaotic, fast-paced streets of Samui.  But, as I was the only inexperienced driver and had a partner for whom to care, I couldn't possibly lose face by backing down.  The male ego sure can be a b**** sometimes.

That evening, Liz and I joined our friends from the north for an authentic Swedish dinner at a local Swedish pub and then hit the Green Mango Club for some 'well-mannered frivolity' (bonus points if you know that reference).  When we had closed the joint down, we made our goodbyes since Liz and I were leaving on a ferry the next morning at 0930, far too early to wake anyone up. :)  She and I both wished for more time with the group since we had had so much fun, but we knew it was time to leave if we were to see Tao before she had to fly out of Bangkok.  Fate, it seems, was not yet ready for our departure.  In the morning, the first three words that came from Liz's mouth were, ''I have to go back to Tokyo.''  Yeah, no kidding.  Eventually.  Nope, she meant that day.  She had checked her email and been notified of an upcoming interview in Tokyo in two days.  She had already booked a flight back to Bangkok from Samui and changed her flight from Bangkok to Tokyo.  I was stunned at the turning of the tide and mourned her early departure, but a bigger thought came to mind: I no longer needed to leave Samui that day.

I changed my ferry, accommodation, and dive start date on Tao and had two more great days with the Swedes.  The cosmic force bringing Noak, Henrik, and I together had not yet been satisfied with the quality of time we'd spent together at the time of my original departure.  However, I think there is no debate now as to whether or not it is.  We rented scooters again and I led them to my favorite beach in Choeng Mon as well as back to the Big Buddha, which some of them had not yet seen.  We returned to Lamai to challenge the waves yet again.  And we spent the evenings in Chaweng on the beach, sipping beer on our patios, or watching pirated movies on Noak's laptop.  In total, I spent 10 days in Samui, which is the longest I've stayed in any one place, and much like my time in Noosa or towns in New Zealand, it wasn't due to place itself but the company kept there.

Unlike Koh Samui, Koh Tao was only my home for three days, just long enough to complete my Advanced Open Water certification.  However, those three days were long enough to meet some more great people and get in some great dives as well.  One of the aspects of diving I like most, as I'm sure others do, is the social community divers comprise on dry land.  My class was only three people: Kenji, my Japanese instructor with seven years and 4000+ dives of experience, Will, a 21 y.o novice diver from Australia, and me, yet I left Crystal Dive Resort with contacts from seven other people from the U.S., Australia, and Norway.  We bonded over a dive's highlights as well as the blunders we'd made on an written exam or performance review.  This classroom camaraderie is one of the things that makes diving such a fun and close-knit community.

The Advanced Open Water course is made up of two days of bookwork and five dives.  Two dives, the Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation Dive, are mandatory while the other three are elected from a list of a dozen choices: Underwater Photography, Wreck Diving, Altitude Diving, and Dry Suit Diving to name a few.  I opted for Multi-Level Diving, Underwater Naturalist Diving, and Night Diving.  Multi-Level diving is not too glamorous but important to know.  It teaches the student about nitrogen levels in the blood during a multi-level dive (many dives are just at one depth).  The Underwater Naturalist Dive was recommended by Kenji as a two-in-one dive since I had an underwater camera.  He taught me to use my camera while we studied the aquatic life.  On the surface, I relayed what flora and fauna I'd shot and get credit as a naturalist.  I had only done one other night dive in Australia and enjoyed it immensely, so this was just an excuse to do another and learn a few principles about the differences to day diving.

I left the islands of Samui and Tao several days ago to explore the northern regions of Thailand.  While I miss the friends and beauty of the gulf, I have since run into two more friends from prior adventures and seen a few more wonders this old country has to offer.  But that is another story...