Koh Samui and a YouTube Video
I haven’t blogged since I left Koh Tao. Instead, I’ve been making a YouTube video of the snorkeling I did on the island. The video also suggests that, if you’re free to travel right now, this would be a great time to come to Thailand. Beginning July 1, there’s no longer a requirement to quarantine for those who’ve been vaccinated. Instead, you can come to the beautiful island of Phuket for fourteen days. After that time, you can roam freely around Thailand. Phuket is a large island, so being restricted to the island for two weeks is not a hardship. You do need to stay at an approved hotel. Certainly, Phuket will not be in full party mode, as it usually is, but Phuket has many beautiful beaches and some good snorkeling. The plan is called the “Phuket Sandbox”. There is also a plan for a Samui/Phangan/KohTao sandbox, beginning July 15, but, plans for that are not yet final. This would be even better. You can spend your fourteen days on these three islands. This would be a great opportunity to snorkel in Koh Tao.
Anyway, enjoy the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/iVaB-gReHO4 My friends Bobby and Annie gave me permission to use their song Flying Fish Rock, and it definitely rocks!
I’m now on the island of Koh Samui, the third island in the group of Koh Tao / Koh Phangan / Koh Samui. Samui has nice beaches and has a reputation as a party island for tourists. Of course, at the moment, there are few tourists. On the weekend Thais take the ferry here, but during the week you just don’t see many tourists. So, there’s an interesting contrast. You have beautiful beach resorts like the Chaweng Garden Beach Resort where I’m staying ($50/night including breakfast), but as soon as you leave the resort, the town has the abandoned look of Coney Island during the winter.
Nearly all the bars, discos, shows, nightspots, restaurants, etc. are closed, many are boarded up, and most are for sale or rent. It’s going to be a long road to recovery. Strangely, many of the massage parlors are open, and Samui has a LOT of massage parlors. Normally these places are packed with tourists. Most of the women who do this work come from the northern province of Isan. This is a poor farming region. Young women from this region often go to tourist spots in the south to work and the money they make is sent home to their families. It looks like these women are staying on the island through covid to make whatever money they can for their families who depend on this income.
It seems that in the US, people are feeling like covid is over. That’s certainly not the case here in Thailand.
I hope all you folks in the US enjoyed your Independence Day.
And, give the video a try: https://youtu.be/iVaB-gReHO4
easterntales 