Archchun is from Montreal, Canada of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. He studies epidemiology. Lyn is from the Philippines, South Island Mindanao, and grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. She studies public health. I am from the California, U.S. of Taiwan descent, and studied demography. We met in London. When we left we didn't know when we would see each other again. Turns out, it would be two years later in Thailand.
This trip was to reunite with them. They had just flown over from the Americas to here so a lot of it was readjusting to the timezone. As a result, this post is short.
Let me start with the flight. The flights to Koh Samui are more expensive since it's a resort island. Not many airlines go into the airport. The most common one is Bangkok Airways, which is the flight I took. On my way there, there were 15 people. All white. I was the only person of color there. I felt like I was going to Europe. When I land, I get on a traveling cart with these people, and then through immigration. I see my friends on the other side and run to embrace them, and we faint into each others' arms. We then go out to look for our driver to take us to the villa.
Our driver's name is Chicken. It's probably the best name I've ever heard given to someone, and Archchun and I are cracking up as Lyn is screaming "CHICKENNN IS THAT YOU?" while random Thai men approach us in cars. He eventually finds us with a smile. His voice is pretty soft, and his command of English is not too good, so he greets us with broken phrases and smiles. He has a meek quality as he helps us load luggage into the van and then drives off. Lyn, upon getting in, yells, "HOW AREE YOU DOING CHICKENNN." in a Filipina accent. This becomes a running joke with us throughout the trip, as well as in our friendship. We get to the villa, then head out again.
There's a portion of Koh Samui that is just like Pattaya and Soi Cowboy in Bangkok. Loud foreigners (read: white people), who troll around the streets with young Thai women, acting drunk. Ones that would never dare to behave like chavs back in their home countries (mostly from the U.K., Germany), but have no problem doing so in a foreign country, with foreigners. Then, there are the older crowd (60+, also usually white) that walk around with young Thai women. This is equally as disappointing, in a general sense (as in, there may be some legitimate relationships out there). In these areas for Thailand, you notice the dregs of colonialism and whiteness. Being dropped off into Cha Weng beach at first, on a Saturday night, this was what we saw. It's not the most pleasant sight when you first land in Southeast Asia. So, what we do instead is duck into a small gay bar tucked in the back alley near this party area. The men there are all 40+ sitting around. We must be an odd group of folks that roll up, since we're younger, and there's one Asian looking guy and girl, and a brown guy. But, as it is with the gay community, some of them stop by and chat and are incredibly friendly. None of the standoffish behavior you see at the younger gay clubs in the big cities. It's a small community, and we felt welcomed in. The owner finds me on Grindr later and thanks me for stopping by his bar. So, despite talking about the phenomenon of white people in Asia and the power dynamics that come into play, on a personal level, there are connections that are made. We sip on our drinks and then leave.
It turns out that Saturday night was only a small glimpse into Koh Samui. We call Chicken to shuttle us into the city center. "HELLO HOW ARE YOU DOING?" We head to the street to get some food, and are met with the kindness of Thai locals. We see a local ma and pa kitchen to have some food (entering because there were a lot of Thai people), and it turns out to be a very delicious meal. Afterwards, we go over to the beach to relax. We sit at this beach for 3 hours, soaking in the sea and sitting and catching up. When we leave, one of the guys asks us where we are from because our group composition. We explain and he sits down and starts chatting with us. He tells us about the development of Koh Samui, ranging from the resorts to the tourism. He has an opinion about the foreigners that come in and treat the place like trash because they are here to party. He also shares about his stories working on the beach restaurants. Stories detailing people attempting not to pay and leaving, about people refusing to adhere to warnings and getting stung by jellyfish when drunk. In the service industry, it's difficult to negotiate or resolve these complaints coming in from tourists and so they end up paying out of their own pocket, because "the customer is always right." He shared more about how the tourism industry, despite boosting the economy, made Koh Samui-ites moneyminded and business driven, and made locals more stressed out to make money because that opportunity was there. He thanked us for listening and we thanked him in return. To him it may have just been sharing a story, but to me it's a real insight into local perspectives on the tourism industry here.
We wanted to get local food and so headed to the farmer's market that night. Finally, street food. There were all kinds of things for sale on the street and we happily nipped away at the food. Thai salads, random cute buns, insects, all kinds of meats. It was a completely different part of the island from yesterday. A fresher perspective on the island. But, as the hours winded on so did the jetlag, and so, we called up Chicken to head back to the Villa. "HELLOOOO CHICKEN HOW ARE YOUUU DOINGGG."
Our villa has an infinity pool in it. The water is incredibly cold but it's refreshing in the Thai heat. After attempting to get vacation pictures, we head out to the next beach. After that, we get some drinks on the beach while the tide washes in, and we look at the sunset. The island feeling begins to set in, and we begin to relax.
Archchun and Lyn were previously in Bangkok and were fortunate enough to observe the wake of the passing of the Thai King. Many people dressed in black, no music was allowed to be played on the radio. They said that many shops had banners of the king put up in front of shops in his honor, almost elevating him to god status. The hero of the people for the past 70 years, finally laid to rest. I find it extremely lucky that we get to witness the deaths of great former leaders in our time. You don't realize how big of an impact it has on the population until they pass. When they do, their passing is almost an indicator to the end of a generation of national identity, politics, culture. Lee Kuan Yew, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and recently Fidel Castro. The great leaders that have done great -- and not so great -- work in our time, being honored, revered, and maybe even criticized. Their reach is wide. When I was volunteering for Singapore Fashion Week a Thai designer also had a moment of silence, playing the Thai anthem for the audience. Although it may be difficult for us to understand the gravity of these situations since we don't live in the country or region, these younger countries are slowly watching their George Washingtons pass away. And so, being in this area, we're witnessing these wonderful historical events happen not in retrospect in our history books, but in person. That feeling when you walk around and seeing everyone in black, with the posters up for the King of Thailand. That feeling when you see citizens of Singapore line up for 10+ hours to see Lee Kuan Yew's casket. That feeling of the death of socialism from one of its greatest leaders. On the islands, you don't notice the death that much since they're a bit further removed from things in the capital. However, there wasn't a lot of loud music, and there wasn't a lot of public events during the time due to national mourning. I bought a newspaper copy commemorating the King of Thailand for a souvenir. I should have done the same when LKY passed.
On the last day, we went to another beach. On our way back from the beach, I meet a man standing outside of a restaurant trying to solicit us to go on, but we kindly refuse, and he kindly does not push any further. I take a look at him and he looks a bit different, and his English is accented differently than the Thais. I ask where he is from, and he tell me he comes from Mandalay, Myanmar. What a strange cross-section, a Burmese guy working on a tourist Thai island, and not on the mainland in a bigger city (Bangkok). I ask him about how he made it to Koh Samui (he knew a friend) and how business was at the seafood restaurant (not so good, since the King passed). He then shared about his time in Mandalay and how he loves his country, and talked about the history of isolationism and how it set the country back, but how he's hopeful for a rising new Myanmar. That same flame you notice in many young residents of developing ASEAN. He told me there were three women he holds close to his heart: his mother, his girlfriend, and Ang Sang Suu Kyi. Perhaps he believes a successful Myanmar lies in her hands. Who knows what the future has for Burma, and for this humble man standing in front of me. I wish I could have lingered a bit longer to chat to him but Archchun and Lyn were heading off to eat and I wanted to join them. So, we went to grab a bite. At night, we just checked out another market and called Chicken to leave back to the villa.
'HI CHICKEN, DO YOU REMEMBER JASON IS GOING TO THE AIR PORTTT?' Lyn yells over the phone. Looks like our time together had come to an end. It's weird, whenever I have more relaxing vacations they seem to move faster. Maybe I really was having a lot of fun, catching up with two old friends and seeing Koh Samui: a weird mish mash of dreggy white culture in Southeast Asia, mixed in with a kind and hospitable local culture, and an intersection of ASEAN identities. I get to the airport which is reminiscent of Hawaiian airports. All the shops are in little hut-like structures, and you walk down the main road in the center as if you've just entered some Disneyland exhibit. It's oddly surreal and artificially resort-like. The plane is as empty as when I arrived, and just as white. Consistency is never a bad thing.