"Soberkran" and other adventures

Songkran is a national holiday that marks the start of the Thai new year. It also occurs at the hottest time of the year, so the people celebrate by having a giant water fight that lasts several days. We began the holiday by having a water fight with the summer campers.

Then it was off to Koh Chang, Thailand's fourth largest island, for a relaxing holiday.

I called the first several days of the holiday "Soberkran" because some bacteria decided to crawl inside my ear and give me an ear infection. (Cost of doctor visit and antibiotics: $70. Next purchase: travel medical insurance.) I couldn't drink because I was on antibiotics for the first three days of vacation.We spent three days on Koh Chang. One day, we rented motorbikes--this was my first real experience on a motorbike--and toured around the island. I was a little shaky at first, but picked it up fairly quickly and managed not to crash.

We then went to a much smaller island, Koh Maak, for three more days of relaxing. We did have one night of fairly crazy drunkenness, but because my parents read this and I want them to hold on to some degree of respect for me, I won't go into details. (I'll only say that I drank myself into a hole. Literally, not figuratively.)

Overall, we had a great time, and spent lots of time playing in the water. We then headed into the town nearest campus for a night and day of big waterfights. It was an interesting experience, but not something I would want to do for several days in a row. Then it was back to campus for the start of the second camp.

We only have two weeks of camp left, and then it's three weeks of more traveling. After that, I'm leaning towards staying in Thailand for a couple of months. More island living. Apparently, I can't get enough.