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Part 39: Night Life....
Later that evening I met my friend Oliver at the Arc bar, one of the busiest night spots in Samui.
There was a pretty decent beach party here tonight, with a great vibe already building up as it filled up with a young crowd dancing to the pumping music.
The DJ box was set high up overlooking the beach, there were fire jugglers, dancers and saxophone players free-styling to the music. People were dancing in the pool, on the sand and around the table's - this was definitely the place to be tonight.
We found ourselves a couple of sun-beds right on the beach front, it was a great place from where to see everything.
It was here at the Arc bar, that Oliver introduced me to Dave, an English entrepreneur. This chap was fascinating and really interesting to listen too. Seems he certainly lived a colourful life back home in the UK, Dave very kindly bought us drinks for the evening.
He was like a Ray Winstone type character, popular with everyone, locals and tourists alike stopped to exchange pleasantries, greeting us to like we were his business associates or 'made men' you could just listen to this guy talking all night and he was full of interesting facts and stories.
We drank 'buckets' of local spirits and beer, sharing laughs, mainly listening to him before he disappeared with a young Thai girl after whispering into her ear.
Me and Oliver chuckled to ourselves knowing full well where he was heading.
The night was still fairly young so we stayed at the beach party soaking up the atmosphere. I was pleasantly surprised at the DJ who was playing an impressive mix of tech house instead of the usual pop chart holiday cheese, I was really liking it, and gave him the thumbs up at his selection.
Pushy young local kids were trying to sell us 'kooky' key rings of monkeys performing sexual acts or flower necklaces. A taste of what this place must be like in peak season hit me with dozens of mainly Australian tourists making up the majority of the crowd here.
Most people would be heading to the full moon party on Ko Phangnan this following weekend and seemed to be the talk on everyones lips, everyone kept asking me if I was going.
Admittedly I still wasn't sure about going there after hearing some pretty shocking stories, its certainly changed over the years. Drunken tourists, urinating in the sea consequently turning it into a filthy pit and if that wasn't bad enough it was beginning to get a bad reputation amongst the locals.
Oliver then took me to his favourite bar with a brilliant Thai female vocalist and band singing old covers. We both sat outside drinking yet more beers listening to the live music, this was a bit more like it for me.
Bars close relatively early here, for a major holiday resort and it was time to head home. I negotiated with a motorcyclist outside who drove me back to the accommodation, that was another experience especially after feeling quite drunk.
The next morning I settled back into my routine of relaxing by the beach and walking. Not a lot had changed. The same dog walkers were still there as were the joggers. I walked to the beach bar where Oliver was staying.
Like I mentioned before this was the first destination since I left the UK that It was not so easy to meet fellow travellers and I was grateful to have the company.
Most of my budget was disappearing fast, therefore the next few days would be spent eating as cheaply as possible.
This is another side of travelling and backpacking which took me a while to master. All the challenges I have had to previously face only serve as a way to overcome them when you are alone. Samui certainly wasn't the cheapest place to stay or eat.
Months ago at the beginning of my trip, I was spending way to much money but having since learned the art of budgeting, I've been able to extend my stay in Asia.
Many of these blogs very often make backpacking out to be a very glamorous affair. In most aspects, it is.
I especially love the freedom of being relatively nomadic. Getting to see new places, meet new people, with out the day-to-day responsibilities that my peers back home have. Of course there are many advantages to being a backpacker.
But the less glamorous side like Living off a strict budget, dealing with dorms, hostels and the unexpected.
Being separated from friends, family and loved ones, language barriers, living out of a back pack, constant mosquito/bug bites, rats, tummy bugs, horrendous toilets and bad sanitation are just some of the challenges I've faced so far and are not easy to deal with.
Has it put me off? No way!
If anything, it has strengthened my resolve and built my character.
I have already spoken about how I feel its made me a better person although my family and friends will be better judges on that.
I want to continue to travel and write blog for as long as possible, already thinking of my next adventure beyond returning to the UK.
I was fairly satisfied up to now that I had seen most of what Koh Samui had to culturally offer, so my remaining week on the island would be consisting of mainly relaxing on the beach and minimising my spend.
Later that day when walking along the beach back to my accommodation, I spotted two smiling Thai old ladies cooking chicken pieces, and fish on a fire. They appeared to be preparing the food for local fishermen and waiting workers - noticing me glancing they offered me some of the chicken.
'How much?' I asked.
'30 baht ' they replied. (Less than a pound)
It was perfect for me, considering my budget so I sat down and gleefully ate the food, it wasn't a coincidence either as an Australian couple joined us too - we all had our own little picnic on the beach.
Turns out these sweet ladies were trying to make a living out of selling food. Kind of makes me wish I noticed them before - would have saved me a fortune, and besides - I was beginning to tire of vegetable pad thai noodles.
After sitting there for a while watching the sun go down I casually strolled back to my room.
A few more people had checked into my hotel and this miserable batch seemed even less likely to make conversation based on my first impressions - unsurprisingly none returned my pleasantries at all.
My last week ended exactly as it began. Back in the comfort of my routine. The breakfast, the barefoot stroll, the brunch, the swim and the walk. I can think of far worse things in life and was certainly not complaining. I was grateful to my new friend Oliver for keeping me company and Dave the entrepreneur. We shared many laughs and conversation together and would definitely be staying in touch.
But now I was ready for the next stage of my journey....
'A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through, traveling to new places'
Wilfred Peterson
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