my 'bed' was the portion to the right of the person in yellow. amenities here included, well, nothing really, unless you count insects.once my full moon experience had come full circle, it was time to move on. i split off from team argentina and headed to ko samui for a little r + r. they were a great group of people, but my minimal spanish skills made me the odd man out in the group. they're sticking together for the next few days, then two of them are going to hong kong while the other hits laos. i may join her up there, if i can work it into my as-of-yet unplanned schedule.
my goal on ko samui was to find a beach bungalow in the middle of nowhere where i could kick my feet up and relax for a few days. i was craving my own space, not to mention a toilet with a seat. after a short boat ride to the island, i rented a bike (i've gone from fearing these things to loving them), and with no map and no idea where i was going, i began to head west. ko samui wasn't set up with travel agencies + taxis waiting around the pier like every other travel destination in the country.
eventually, my bike rolled to a stop just before sunset at a bungalow in mae nam, on the quieter, more peaceful side of the island. at first, my living arrangements there seemed ideal: a flush toilet, fan and bed in a private bungalow about 50 ft from the sand. sure, it woulda been nicer to find a place on the water, but by then it was getting dark, and i was more than happy with a place that accommodated both my weary head and weary ass.
of course, in a lesson i have experienced over and over on this trip, nothing is as it seems. as soon as i turned on the lights in my bungalow, i noticed bugs in the room. lots and lots of bugs. more specifically, mosquitoes. i know it's odd, but i'm just not a fan of these critters, especially not when there are enough of them to form a thin haze in the room. i immediately went to the owner of the place and pleaded for another bungalow. the conversation went something like this:
me: uh, pardon me, but there appear to be a whole bunch of mosquitoes in my room. can i get a different one?
thai lady (smiling): oh, no worry. we have mosquito nets for the windows. (apparently she meant screens, not nets)
me: in my room too?
thai lady (still smiling): yes.
me: well, mine aren't working. in fact, if they are working, all they're doing is keeping the mosquitoes from getting OUT.
thai lady (silent, smiling. thai people love to smile, especially when they're at a loss for words)
me: can i get a different room?
thai lady (smiling, of course): oh no, no more rooms. not for that rate.
apparently, the other rates were a little too high for my liking, and still didn't guarantee against mosquito infestations. but hey, nothing builds character like a whole new test of my endurance and limitations. and bugs or not, at least i had a toilet to call my own. after burning my quads spending a large portion of the last few days in the squatting position, there was no sound i was happier to hear than that of flushing water. i would've stayed in the bathroom all night just listening to that sweet siren song if it weren't for the fact that the skeeters were using that room as their HQ.
the fact that i survived the night with only a single bite is a testament to three things: my bug spray, mosquito coil and mosquito net. up 'til now, i'd only used the spray once on the trip, and the coil + net were still in their original packaging. all of a sudden, my fear of coating myself in stinky, sticky chemicals went out the (mosquito-netted) window. and so what if the instructions for the coils said not to burn them indoors? when the options are choking a little or itching a lot, i'll pick the fumes any day.
here's what my bed in paradise ended up looking like:
yeah, the net wasn't even big enough to cover the whole bed, so i had to weigh down the corners with my bag + a pillow. i slept well enough, considering the conditions, and ended up spending the majority of the next day in a state of utter relaxation on the beach in front, which conveniently, featured no mosquitoes. funny, huh?
yeah, not bad.in fact, after a few hours lounging about under a tree, i decided i'd had enough relaxation. it was time to hit chaweng, the town on ko samui where the action happens.
-sg
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