China to Thailand

Hong Kong------

After Kunming, Hong Kong Internatial Airport feels like a space station, I'm a huge fan. The rooms are cavernous, the surfaces immaculate white, save for bright signage and adverstisments, but the ceiling-- a seemingly endless sea of wave form white and shadow-- is what stands out the most (besides the size).

After looking more closely it seems that what's really doing the trick is natural light. Expansive windows let it in at the sides, and the ceiling above the decorative waves is all slim, white lattice with emptiness abounding. Above it I see a solid roof, but it slants up and away from the center, letting in light at the eaves. With the reflective surfaces (most of them), the space feels even bigger than it is.

I'm wishing for more time in Hong Kong, and I haven't been outside the airport. Nor will I go, since my flight departs this evening. Several hours remain till then, but my exploring will be hampered by the big pack, which I can't check in. Royal Jordinian doesn't come into counter space until 7:00. Such is life.

I can't imagine enjoying Hong Kong overmuch, it is a city after all, but it looked intriguing from the plane-- so many little islands, shipyards, and ships of all manners on the waters. The city seems all near the shore, comprised of neat skyscrapers, yet behind, and even amidst it, are forested mountains. I may be back someday.

The currency here is downright fun to boot: brilliant green, purple, pink, and orange, plus odd, wave-edged coins. Sadly I'm not rich enough to keep money as a decorative item, and I just spend all my HK cash on "A Dance with Dragons."

Bangkok---

Bangkok is humid, more so even than the aftermath of a hot, hot shower. You could cut the air with a butter knife. Inside my hostel, however, it was ever cool as could be asked for.

Saphaipae Hotel was the name of the place, and I was quite pleased with the best bed I've known since the states, showers that actually showered, helpful staff, and a tasty restaurant. I checked in after midnight and had the whole dorm to myself, but was joined on the morrow by a fellow American (though a six year EU resident).

Having accidentally donated my towel to Dali I was obliged to buy a new one. So, Jeff (I'm fairly certain that was his name) and I set out to do some exploring. The first thing, besides the heavy air, that struck me were the smells. I'm somewhat accustomed to the fragrance of a Chinese city, but Bangkok is different. There's a palpable touch of peanut in the air, a fair bit of spice, a tolerable level of left-out-too-long fruit, and, of course, exhaust. The city is populous, but insanely quieter than anywhere I went in China.

We wandered to a larger department store, secured my towel, and had a bit of lunch at the food court. It was nothing special, but faster, healthier, and about six times cheaper than most American fast food. Afterwards we grabbed some ice cream, and that was slightly odd.

The ice cream was normal enough (coconut), but the toppings included dainties I wouldn't fathom on dessert. We had a choice of chocolate sprinkles, toasted peanuts, red beans, corn, two varieties of julliened, mystery fruits/vegetables (mystery because some process had been performed on them), and some weird things most like pomegranate seeds, though they were three or four times larger, and bright, artificial purple.

I saved adventure for another time and took some sprinkles.

Bangkok to Koh Samui------

Bus is not the way to travel in Thailand, not if one can avoid it. I took a sleeper from Bangkok to Suratthani for a mere 1000 Baht (ferry to Koh Samui included). I got there alright, but it took a good fifteen or so hours. A flight, on the other hand, would have done the job in about one. Our cabin, which I shared with an Italian family, was too cold for sleep, and build for midgets.

From Suratthani we took a ferry to Samui. There I left the Italians and hopped into the back of a truck to join some French girls for a ride over to Lamai beach. One of them sported a massive scab, incurred, I learned, at the famed Full Moon Party (an event I've thought of attending, but the internet tells me it isn't what it once was, and is nowadays an over-commercialized, police-infested, hive of luddites). The two of them were rather enamored of it nonetheless.

But, sadly, the internet is not infallible. It informed me I'd find Lamai to be a relatively quiet Samui beach. "Relative to what?" I wonder now. The streets are a pattern of tailors, massage parlors, bars, and hotels. At night the air trembles with the bass of inumerable dance clubs. Lamai is most clearly a vacation destination, and I don't expect to stay overlong. There must be a truly quiet beach on these islands, and I mean to find it.