Thailand and Me
On the way home, I booked a stop-over in Singapore and took a train up through the length of Malaysia and entered Thailand through its southern border near Hat Yai. Although Hat Yai is the biggest city in South Thailand, there were hardly any westerners to be seen. After 6 months speaking English in Australia, this was something totally different. And so, it started. From this day I would have a continuous connection with Thailand.
After a one-night stop, I carried on to an island called Phuket. For some reason the word Koh (island) does not precede the name Phuket, but it does for every other island in the country. Maybe it is because Phuket is the biggest island and is linked to the mainland by a causeway. Phuket in the Andaman Sea had the wow factor with the beautiful Patong Beach (a bit more commercialized now) and the stunning scenery with limestone rocks everywhere you look. Think of James Bond Island in 'The Man with the Golden Gun'.
I tore myself away from Phuket and headed for the Gulf of Thailand and specifically Suratthani Province and the beautiful Koh Samui. This time I was clearly going to an island as I had to board a ferry at Donsak Pier for the approximate 90-minute ferry journey and passed other smaller islands before arriving at the pier near Nathon.
Koh Samui was clearly a lot less developed than Phuket. A simple concrete island ring road went one way or the other and I headed away from Nathon and to a place called 'The Little Mermaid' in Tongtakean Bay, just north of Lamai Beach on the East Coast. Hanging on to the back of a pick-up truck with the wind in my hair, I breathed the fresh air as we passed one unspoilt deserted beach after another whilst the heavily-laden coconut trees swayed in the breeze either side of me.
I hired a motorbike and spent a month exploring Koh Samui, swimming at various waterfalls, including my favourite, Na Muang, visiting temples and discovering idyllic little beaches where you can crack open a coconut on a rock for a free drink.
On 12th April I started the journey back to Phuket before heading to Singapore for my flight home. After travelling for most of the day I had a shower before getting dressed and heading out for the evening.
After stepping out of my 'bungalow' door I had barely walked half a dozen paces before a young lady ran up and threw a small bucket of water over me. I was soaked and a bit miffed. I soon discovered it was Songkran, which is Buddhist and Thai New Year, the best time of the year in Thailand. Young people celebrate with a water festival, where they basically drench everyone they see for 3 days but it is good natured and by pouring water on you they are actually wishing you a Happy New Year! I joined in with this many times over the years. People will also pour some water on their elders and family members to bless them and wish them good luck.
I returned to Cornwall with the intention of working the summer season in Padstow before heading back out to Thailand in November.
I headed to Lamai in Koh Samui as it had a great beach and was not too big that I couldn't walk around it and there wasn't too much concrete, unlike Chaweng which was more spread out. I was looking for something to do which would enable me to stay there and opened a small bar and café. I kept this business for a couple of years, but I was yearning for a more traditional and cultural experience.
My best friend from Padstow had settled on Koh Phangan which is the sister island to Koh Samui and only 12KMs away at the closest point. We rented an 'office' in an area called Baan Khai. The office consisted of one large room at the front, with a bedroom and kitchen area at the back and an adjacent Thai-style bathroom outside.
The beach was literally 20 metres in front of the office and the road from the main town Thong Sala ended in front of the office. Travellers would jump off the pick-ups/taxis and some would climb in to Long-Tail boats to carry on to Haad Rin, the home of the notorious Full Moon Party.
Soon we bought a 'mobile' telephone. This was in the early 1990's and before government telephone lines had been introduced to Koh Phangan. The phone came in a big, black bag and consisted of a large battery with the phone handset sitting on top. In order to receive a signal from the mainland we had a 50ft aerial on top of the roof!
The phone and installation cost £2500 and it was the only phone for 5kms in any direction. We provided a service for the locals so that they could make domestic calls in Thailand and we provided a service for the tourists and travellers so that they could make International calls back home to their friends and families and reverse charge/collect calls which were very popular with young people!
Once we had the phone, we were then able to open as a travel agent. Again, it was a service for the travellers and did not involve any flights. We just sold trains, ferries and buses linking the main tourist destinations within Thailand but including Malaysia and Singapore. This was a great life, sitting in the office wearing just a pair of shorts on a beautiful, unspoilt island in the Gulf of Thailand.
We had this business for several years, but gradually islands develop, roads get built and telephone lines are introduced. I also had a plan to travel to Java in Indonesia to import Batik paintings and Sarongs and supply beach shops back home in Cornwall. Back in the mid-90s not too many people knew what a sarong was!
I also had a plan to work in Regents Street in London for a large independent travel company as a Far East Specialist which I did for 4 years before returning to Cornwall and starting my business with Travel Counsellors in January 2005. Before starting the job in London I had lived and worked in Thailand for 7 years and also travelled extensively around South East Asia including Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and India.
I have been married to a Thai for 17 years now and these days spend a lot of time in Chanthaburi. Thailand is a second home to me and having spent a lot of time living in Thai communities as opposed to staying if hotels, I speak Thai and have good knowledge of the culture and geography.