in it to wing it

Day 6: Ko Samet

If an EDM party is supposed to involve a lot of drugs, dancing, and sweat, then I was a rather poor candidate last night. I met a group of Thais who I spent the night drinking beer and having travel chats with before heading home on a stomach full of pork soup. Just tousle my hair and call me Mick Jagger.
The morning is spent swimming in an aquamarine vortex and imprinting my body in the fluffy sand until it is time to explore. Walking up past the stores and guesthouses, the road turns to gravel through the jungle and leads to a huge reservoir. The path sweeps around the whole monstrosity and connects back to the road. It moves uphill until forking steeply down to the right and then straight ahead it turns to dirt with a sign reading ‘Sunset Viewpoint’. I head west and the view overlooks the ocean on an almost uninhabited side of the island. There’s an old abandoned school here – white bungalow dormitories on stilts and a big white classroom looking out over the Gulf of Thailand. I follow the other fork in the road and it descends a steep hill to a resort of gorgeous huts and bungalows with thatched roofs built up into the hill. The lovely Thai charm of the whole bay is almost overshadowed by the fat middle aged Americans who pollute the beach. Perusing the menus of the restaurants reveals that this spot is reserved solely for people who sleep on sheets softer than a baby’s ass.
The water here is magic; somehow more transparent than the lies of a drug addict. I float like a forgotten beach ball until my body prickles with a million microscopic jellyfish – a small price.
Out of the water and out of reach from the tingling tentacles, I go up and past the fork, coming to another road yet to be explored. I walk for eternity until my stomach starts blaspheming and turn down a path leading to beach and hopefully food. At the edge of the bay rests a ridiculously serene restaurant built in amongst the shoreline, gnarled trees shading the sand and rock floor.
I mow on seafood curry at a little table by the water, watching as the sunny day becomes threatened by black clouds across the sea. In the distance, rain thunders down as if blatantly yelling at me to go home. It moves in like a pack of Hells Angels on a rampage and I make it back just in time to take cover at the beach bar.

The sky dumps gallons of water over the island. I observe it for one rum and coke long, before heading to my overpriced room for a shower. I collapse on the bed and close my eyes. It’s 630pm, and I sleep.