Surat Thani - Night Market

On our journey from Koh Samui to Bangkok, Alan and I had a little time to visit the Surat Thani Night Market while we waited for our connecting bus.
As we walked there Alan mentioned that he didn't think that people here were quite as friendly as on Samui. Thirty minutes later our view was totally different.
We entered the market and looked at a few stalls. It was fairly standard night market stuff with a food section selling traditional Thai snacks including deep fried chicken, various meats on sticks, curries, noodles and rice meals etcetera. We did see some some foods that we had not seen before in particular what looks like a waffle folded in half with various fillings.

In that browsing period we spoke a few quiet words with some of the vendors, who were friendly enough. But then Alan decided to buy himself a new wallet. Once the transaction was completed you could feel a buzz of excitement go around the market, as we were now not just tourists but tourists who bought stuff. We could see and overhear the girl who sold the wallet turn to the next stall holder and issue a string of Thai with the word "farang" thrown in. Farang means foreigner or Westerner and we guessed that the gist of the conversation was that a farang had just made a purchase from her.
From that moment on as we walked around picking up little bits of foodstuffs from the various stalls people were eager to speak with us and show us their goods. One lady with very good English and she told us that she had worked in a hotel in Samui for some time. A man tried to encourage his daughter to speak with us and another lady showed me her baby.
A nice group of people, we left that market with everyone having their lives enriched just a little.
The Bludger was happy to spread some good will and enjoyed the food greatly.

Sunday, last day of freedom. Location Lamai Beach, Koh Samui

July 28, 2013 I awoke early and had a walk along the beach. At this time the day was cool and the water felt warm. A solitary fisherman was casting his line from some rocks, joggers ran by and the local dogs lay there protecting their territory. The water was calm, the sky overcast, there was little or no wind and the sun had not yet risen to heat the air. Despite this it was warm and I built up a sweat walking along the sand which is quite soft underfoot.

At this time of day there is little open and I ended up in a bakery for a breakfast of omelet and a plate of fruit. Getting breakfast before study looks like it may need some forethought and preparation as the hotel does not include breakfast other than Tea and Coffee and some bread and a toaster. Later I took a longer walk and visited a nearby waterfall and a viewing platform part way up the nearby hills. It was a slow walk up the hill due to the heat and my lack of fitness. The view was not spectacular but worth the effort.

At the viewing platform I noticed a man coming across the valley on a flying fox. Until then I had not noticed the cables. After dismounting he came up to the platform and we talked for a while. It turned out that his family own the property and have an extensive section of the mountain side that they are turning into an adventure park. The flying fox was in process of being installed and he was testing the run. He took me up to see the start. At this point in time it is a series of cables bolted into the rock, but he explained that they were going to build launching and landing platforms and stairways to make the climb easier. I made my way back to the hotel and picked up a selection of fruit along the way that will become tomorrows breakfast. At lunch time I ventured out for a healthy meal and ended up having an excellent Green Papaya Salad at "Grill Bar". I asked for it spicy and they got the chilli just right not too hot to start with but by the end of it my lips and mouth were on fire, but not overly so.

After lunch I had a massage that was not very good. Despite saying no sex I spent the entire hour warding off the advances of my masseuse. Then it was time for a swim and I spent some time in the Ocean. Tick in the box I have swum in the Gulf of Thailand, both from Vietnam and Thailand sides.It was so hot that by the time I had walked back to the hotel, which is not far, I had to cool off in their pool.
In the evening we had our first function for the TEFL course. It was a social evening for us to get to know each other. We assembled at 7pm and walked to a nearby restaurant where we had a reserved area and an open bar. There was also a huge spread of finger food consisting of fairly typical Thai nibbles including Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla), Deep fried Prawns, "no name" - which is a vegetarian patty and a few others. Pretty good all up.
After that first night madness ensued and people were seen at various bars over the next few hours.
The Bludger behaved himself.

Ayutthaya to Koh Samui

In Koh Samui I will spend 2 weeks obtaining a TEFL/TESOL certificate. I have already done several hours of online training. The next 2 weeks are the practical side.
To get to Koh Samui at reasonable cost was a small challenge. A direct flight from Bangkok was more than I wanted to pay.
I packed and left my Hotel first thing in the morning. After a quick breakfast with PeaPa, consisting once more of Pork Noodle Soup, we walked to the ferry to cross the river to the train station. PeaPa had to work so we parted company there. The next available train was at 8:27am and the trip cost 11 baht, not even 50 cents. The timing was well within my schedule and I had a good buffer for possible delays.
The train arrived on time and I found a seat, sharing a booth of 4 with a Thai couple.
Images of Thailand: The ticket collector came by and punched my ticket. He then moved on, stopped, came back and spoke with the couple in the other seats. I could tell by the actions that he was telling them that I was heading for Don Muang airport and asking them to make sure that I got off at the right station.
I love those small unexpected acts of kindness.
As it happened the train was delayed one stop short of Don Muang and it was after 10am when I arrived at the Station. The airport was a short walk, basically on an overhead walkway across the tracks and main road to the terminal.
Checkin was quick and easy. My water bottle was removed at the security screening and I made my way to the departure lounge.
I was having flashbacks to a previous visit to Thailand. I have only used Don Muang airport once before on my first visit, all other entries have been through the new airport. But I had these strong flashbacks of a restaurant that I had eaten in and I am pretty sure that I ended up in the same departure lounge at gate 73.
It is spooky the way memory works. I could not have described these areas at all immediately prior to visiting them again.
My destination was Surat Thani. Surat Thani is on the coast of southern Thailand with nearby ferries to Koh Samui. The short flight was smooth and without incident. I scored a set of 3 seats to my self in the emergency exit row. I wished that I was 3 foot taller so that I could have used all that space.
The next part of the journey was to get to a ferry terminal. There are several. I did this with a bus/ferry combined ticket and I was led like a sheep to the terminal. All up that took about 2 hours from the airport to the ferry and cost 350 baht.
The ferry trip was nice. I love being on the ocean. Safety was a concern however. It was a car and passenger ferry a "roro" i.e. "roll on roll off" or "roll on roll over" as they got renamed after the Herald of Free Enterprise (google it). I could not see any life jackets, nor lifeboats and only a small number of life rafts that were so degraded I doubted their ability to stay afloat.

And I have to trust my life to that in an emergency?

Still the seas were calm and I was seated on the open deck with the better chance of survival.
For the record this was a 4 beer trip, was tempted to make it 5.
At Koh Samui I walked through the barrage of people offering taxis and hotels and called for a minibus driver who would share the van. By the time he had rounded up more passengers it was the overloaded ark with 13 passengers, driver and a pile of luggage. Never the less for only 200 baht I was delivered safely to my hotel.
Note for future TEFL participants: The Holiday Park Hotel is lovely, based in the heart of the party district of Lamai beach. Even though we are in budget rooms they are comfortable, clean and roomy. They are air conditioned, have a small safe and a bar fridge. All that you need for your stay. The staff are lovely, warm, friendly and helpful also.
First item on my agenda was to fill the fridge with fruit juice and beer. Job done, there is a 7/11 across the road (technically a Family Mart, but you know what I mean). Then it was into the pool. A minor concern there - insufficient sun beds.
And that means that this post will have to be finished later as I am just having a quiet beer in the hotel communal area and getting ready for dinner.
Later:
Dinner was at the Bikini Bar, on the beach. According to the advertising it is famed for "jerked" chicken and ribs. I have no idea. I had some spring rolls that transmogrified into Onion Rings as they had run out of Spring Rolls and a Tom Yum Goong, hot and spicy prawn soup.
Images of Thailand: Two young boys were having a rough and tumble in the sand. Their mother moved to another table and shared "a fag" (her words that I overheard) with another couple. The boys stopped playing and one sat near to meet. I was disgusted to see him spitting in the sand. He moved away and then started to spew. I have done similar after eating a meal and then exercising so I didn't think it too out of the ordinary. His mother was still "fagging on" totally oblivious. Eventually I decided that she should be told so I attracted her attention. There ensued about 30 seconds of motherly concern, the boy was pronounced OK and mother went back to her fags. Daughter took a photo, no doubt for facebook.
I am  honestly not sure whether this was good parenting or not.
The Bludger ate too much and has left no room for beer so has retired for the evening.