Ko Chang, Thailand 6

New Year's Eve 2007





Instant coffee in my mickey mouse mug.

Thais from Bangkok arriving in hordes.

Group of Thai friends, probably from Bangkok, have tripod set up on the beach, doing photo shoot. First the girlfriends pose like models for cute shots. Then the group in party poses. One guy sports a white tennis visor and fluorescent hot pink pants. I laugh.

We didn’t confirm our reservation at the Inn in Bangkok and have let the taxi, ferry, bus and the whole idea of returning to Bangkok go out with the tide last night. We’re staying on the beach for New Years. The party planned should be a repeat of Christmas Eve and then some.

We’re taking a chance here. If we miss the 9am taxi, we miss the 10:30am ferry, and then we miss our bus back to Bangkok and thus, miss our flight back to Korea. Everything has to fall perfectly into place, like clockwork.

It’s not the itinerary that scares me. It's the hangover. For one more day on the beach, I’m willing to risk it.

I realize that what I love about this beach is the simplicity. No noisy, dirty water toys. No speedboats and waterskiers, no jet skis. There’s one volleyball net and it’s off the beach. Basically, apart from a few kayaks, just couples and kids playing in the water.

No man is alone here. If he didn’t bring a girl with him, Thailand provided him with one.

In Korea and Japan, couples don’t frolic in public so much, out of respect for those who might be lonely. But here in Thailand, there’s plenty of frolicking going on. No guilt. No shame. You’re only alone if you choose to be.

New Years Eve was very crazy on the beach. Nature, Siam and Treehouse all had big parties. Outside Siam, old speakers stacked 15 feet high in the sand and tied up to the palm trees.

We drank vodka by the bucketful, literally. Drinks are served in kid’s sandpails (300 b each) and they pack a punch. Bartenders free pour into the bucket with the bottle tipped upside down.

Rang in the New Year with fireworks, of course the fire show, clinking buckets together and hugs all round. Lanterns were launched that glowed in the sky and soared out over the water, higher and farther and finally out of sight.

Sometime after 3:30 am, I tried to sleep. Impossible. Laid in bed, cold and sick. Turning. Shivering. Pounding techno tunes shook the walls of my hut until about ten to 7. The alarm went off at 7. Ten minutes of sleep.



Someone hurling outside me window. Heaving and spewing. Heaving and spewing.

At Nature Beach















Last day at the beach









Lonely Beach