Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I went down to Wala yesterday, to meet up with WenDee. In fact, she asked about me through my Sis and very nicely wanted to say goodbye before she jets off again.


I found out that she was embarking on a backpacking trip which includes Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, with a final stop in Bangkok. I know that she'll have a blast and come back with many stories and good pictures to show on her site. This woman knows how to shoot, lemme tell ya.

I always thought that I'll make a good backpacker. The idea of traversing all over places, especially those that haven't been mobbed by the commercialism of the modern world, just seem so tempting. You see them on travel programmes on tv, talk to them on planes, and find that they are almost always young and have plenty of time on their hands. With a big-ass backpack on their back, they hold many tales from their jaunts all over the region that they are traveling.

Yet, after flying for so many years in comfort, I'm becoming less convinced that I can make it roughing it out there in the big, unexplored world. I've gone soft from all the creature comforts that most of us take for granted; clean potable water, hygienic food, working loos, and cable TV. I did bring it up to my good buddy redcocoon once, and the answer was a resounding N-O. He too, I suspect, does not wanna give up too much convenience in return for some true traveling experience one can only get from stripping oneself down to the bare essentials, and getting to know the land very much different from your regular cushy tour packages.


Speaking of traveling, Ko Samui holds many fond memories for me. It's almost a pilgrimage that my friends make every year, this time with child, wives and girlfriends in tow.


Most times we put up at Chaweng, which is a hub for many activities. There are frequent trips to Lamai, Surat Thani, Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan and Nathon to visit the local friends that we have come to know through one of the gang, who introduced me to this idyllic beach paradise some years back. I in turn started asking like-minded buddies to join me yearly, and the group just grew and grew. At one time there were almost a dozen of us boarding the evening flight on Bangkok Airways to get there.

I can almost taste the Tom Yum Koong(the real deal) from here...

Chok Dee Krup!!