Mini Vaca within my Vaca to Thailand

     So, I had 10 days to spend in Thailand.  I was going to depart on the 11th and return on the 21st.  Because I would be spending most of my time with Mitch and his family, I decided to break it up and not spend my entire time at their house.  I planned a weekend getaway to a resort called Koh Samet or Koh Samed, depending on which sign/map you were looking at!  Like Caye Caulker, it is reached by water taxi.  The bus, in downtown Bangkok, made the 3 hour drive to the water taxi a great time to relax and catch up on my reading.

     The whole countryside reminded me so much of my time in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.  It was hot, humid, and muggy as hell, but it was so nice to be away from tall high rises and air that you can cut with a knife!  I was just in time for the water taxi and had enough time to spare to shop a bit, have a nice cup of real coffee, and buy some cold water for the taxi ride over.  Like China, few things are actually cold in Asia.

     Keep in mind, I ran away to Thailand to escape the billions of Chinese people back "home".  So, here is my resort.  I had my own little cabin overlooking the ocean, there was a great bar, and I was walking distance to "downtown nightlife".  It was heaven...

enjoying my cocktail and then.....the busload of Chinese tourists arrived...wah wah

     They were loud, they were noisy, they completely took over the place.  The staff at the resort were constantly apologizing to me for allowing the Chinese to come....LOL
      I found that the Chinese were more into organized tours so I was able to wander about the downtown area without much interference.  The second day I was there I decided to get a one hour Thai massage.  They are fully clothed and incorporate muscle stretching with the massage.  When I entered, there was me, and one other guy at the far other end.  Sure enough, 5 minutes into it, two Chinese women came in and insisted on being right next to me.  I mean, I could reach out and slap them!  So, after a few minutes of chit chat between them, I started to shhhh them.  I did it about 4 times at a low level.  When that failed to work, I hit them with an "anjing" (?), which is Chinese for quiet.  When that failed to get the one lady off the phone, I hit them with a more assertive "beadzway" (?), which is Chinese for "STFU"!  That seemed to work and the poor Thai massage lady was beside herself apologizing for the Chinese women being there and ruining my massage.
     It was a wonderful place to relax and the food was amazing.  My only suggestion is to NEVER TRAVEL ANYWHERE in Asia during Chinese New Year.