Day 18 - sporty

The first half of the day does not bring any big surprises for us - breakfast, Yahtzee, 'work'. The plan is to be diligent until midday and then reward ourselves with a visit to the 'Walking Street Market', which only takes place on Saturdays. So we pack our things around 4:00 PM and get ready to leave.

This time we decide to walk directly along the beach. Walking with Birkenstocks through coarse, soft sand is no fun! The sand is too hot to walk barefoot, so it's better to accept having to stop every 5 meters and remove the small stones from the footbed with spasmodic movements. It must look very funny. The atmosphere by the water is very nice. The beach bars are only moderately filled, but the people lounging in hammocks and the lounge music create a pleasant atmosphere.

When we arrive, the market is already in full swing; It's quite busy and Thai folk music is playing from the lantern-mounted speakers. After Jonna has fought her way through countless clothes racks and we have walked around the market once, we decide to eat something: Yellow noodles with chicken (0.90€, 7/10) and grilled rice mixed with egg on a skewer (0.30€, 6/10).

Jonna is looking for an anklet with white shells, meanwhile I watch some men playing a ball game, providing ample entertainment with acrobatic maneuvers. The men stand in a circle on a large square; The aim of the game is to get the bamboo ball into a net with three openings, which hangs about 4 meters above the players. All body parts except the hands are allowed. Additionally, you play 'against' the game, so it's not about who gets the most points, but about the team successfully sinking the ball into the net.

It becomes surreal when an announcement in Thai comes through the speakers, announcing the Thai national anthem. When the anthem plays, it feels like time stands still. Except for the music, it is absolutely quiet, all locals have risen and no one moves on the square or at the market. After about a minute, the anthem is over and, as if someone pressed the play button, the bustling resumes as if nothing had happened. The further the sun sinks, the more beautiful the evening becomes. By now, tourists and locals have settled comfortably on the square with blankets and food. Children of various origins play together on structures that I think come from fishing boats. As it finally becomes night, we make our way back, again along the beach. The (almost) full moon provides enough light to easily walk along the now narrower coastal strip - the difference between low and high tide is sometimes 20-30 meters. It is impressively stormy over Koh Samui, but we arrive dry at our bungalow.

- Alex