Friday, January 20, 2012

Woke up sick with a cold. No sore throat, but my nose was really runny. Took a long time getting ready. Rented a scooter from a nearby shop and rode to the 7-11 to buy lots of water and orange juice. Ate lunch at the same small restaurant nearby. Rode to a pharmacy to buy some medicine to alleviate my symptoms and bought a nose spray. Feeling more composed, I set out to see Ko Ma at the northwest corner of the island and some other beaches on the west coast. I stopped along the way at a table on the side of the road to buy a couple tall bottles of golden gasoline (40 baht each). Saw Ko Ma, Haad Salad, Haad Yao, Haad Son, and a couple other beaches. I would park my scooter and walk a little up and down each one to get a feel for the place. Some of them were much nicer than Baan Tai beach. My nose was running like crazy the whole time. Learning to drive a scooter was fun and easy, although a little nerve wracking at first, given the crazy ways the locals drive. Now I want to get a scooter or motorcycle when I return home. No one else was staying in my dorm room that night, so I went to the night market alone on my scooter. I quickly ate and then returned to my hostel to rest. Watched a couple Battlestar Galactica episodes online and then went to bed.