I'm Not a Beach Person

Anyone who has known me for a long times knows I always say that I'm not a beach person. I'm here to tell you all that I was wrong. Maybe it's that I'd never been to a real beach before. Maybe it's that I've really only been to Cannon Beach and Edmonds Beach, and Richmond Beach. Hell, even the beaches in San Diego are just lame in comparison to what I found here in Ko Chang.

We've been staying the last few days at Lonely Beach in Ko Chang. Beautiful sand, shockingly blue water, and so, so few people compared to a place like Hawaii, or the beaches in Europe. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are people here, but there are no crowds. And this is the high season! I've never had trouble finding myself a secluded spot on the sand to sit and read, or just vegetate and look at the water.

Our second day here we went kayaking for an hour out in the water. The third we rode scooters around the island and found a beach that was 90% locals. The fourth we spent on an eight hour boat trip around to some of the smaller islands here. This boat trip also included snorkeling.

I've never been snorkeling before, and I'm not exactly the strongest swimmer. At first I was having a lot of trouble getting used to breathing through the apparatus, but by the end of the day I was significantly more confident (though not nearly as confident as everyone else on the boat). There were some amazing tropical fish in the water. Photographs really don't do justice to the beauty of those creatures. There was also quite a bit of coral, and various other sea creatures.

For the first time in my life I think I'm really not worried about anything. No stress. That's right, me not stressed. I really don't want to leave here. I guess I could stay here for the whole seven weeks, but there's a lot more to see in this part of the world. We're already one day overdue to leave according to our "itinerary." But really who cares. We'll be leaving tomorrow though, and heading north towards Chang Mai. I have one day left in this paradise. I think I'll get out from in front of this screen and go enjoy it now.