Chonburi

Today I met four friends at the Ekkamai Bus Station, and took off for a day of photo-taking and sightseeing. I had a blast, we all did.

I actually met three friends at Ekkamai. Ton, Ying, and Pee. Off was the fouth and nearly left behind. The bus driver let him jump on...
We left at 8:40 and the drive was about an hour and a half long. We got dropped off on the freeway, and took a two-bench pickup truck to the beach area. That part was by accident. So then the five of us rented bicycles and rode the next 10 km to where we wanted to see. The destination was a rode on the other side of the pennisula that was lined with temples spread out along the hills. We cruised down (and hiked up) the hills bearing the heat. It was pretty hot and there were a lot of monkeys out today. These are no silly monkeys. The monkey population seems to have developed a deep vengence towards the human race. They rob shop owners, hiss at tourists, and climb all over shines in the temples. I have to say the babies were pretty cute though.

When we got back to the bicycle place, everyone was pretty tired out so we crashed on the beach. If you've ever seen a picture of high-traffic beaches with the huge umbrella/chair setups lining the beach, thats where we were. 300 or so umbrellas per a row, with ten colums, and a low table under each. Ton and I got some Som Tum with crab for all of us and Ying ordered about five times more food than I could eat in a week. We left at least 3/4 of it on the table when we left. With lots of food, a nearly deserted beach, and nice weather, it was pretty comfy just sitting with eachother for the rest of the day.

Coming back was pretty non-eventful until we got to Bang Na. I have never had to urinate so badly in my life. I've also never sat through so many red lights before, coming from Bang Na to On Nut. It took about an hour. I was so embarrased.... I just kept telling myself 10 more minutes, even though I knew I was lying. If you have ever been in a large bus before you know the jerks and bounces of stop and go traffic. I was like a cross legged 5 year old. On Nut eventually came, and I relieved myself pretty quickly. I'm still pretty embarrased.

Certainly one of the funnest days I've spent with friends in a while. It was nice to get to travel somewhere new too.