by Anthony Brunello

Like many travelers to south East Asia, I was first introduced to SangSom on Koh San Road in Bangkok, before I was to be shipped out to the ‘dive scene’ of Koh Tao.  My wife and I were hanging with a local from Bangkok, Trang a jovial young Thai who was the point man for i-to-i, which is a middle-man company in the overseas volunteer industry, a total sham but I digress.

The first night we met Trang, he drove us around Bangkok to a night market as his three year-old daughter Sha La La (named after a stripper) ran laps around the Toyota SUV. After countless Changs, Tigers, and spicy Thai food I don’t recall how we wound up at home but I am sure Trang went off to party with a Pommy ex-pat who was lurking at the market… in hindsight she might be the reason we drove halfway around Bangkok to eat at this non-descript night-market. I felt a bit of guilt when his Japanese born wife naively asked me the next morning if we had stayed with Trang that night and partied.

“No,” I answered as I looked away in shame.

Night 2 Came, and I now realized that Trang liked Western Girls and he liked to party, so I took note when his friend, whom we randomly managed to pick-up on our way to dinner plopped down a fifth of what appeared to be an indiginous inebriator, several small glass bottles of Chang Soda Water and 2 tall glasses filled with circular ice cubes that have a hole through the middle of them. The hole in the ice is quite important to Westerners…the affirming notion that the water is indeed filtered and safe to drink.

Wanting to experience some Thai culture I quickly asked what Trang and his friend were imbibing.

“Thai whiskey”, was the response.

“How do you drink it?” I asked.

“With Soda Water and ice,” giggled Trang.

Hmm soda water, ice, and whiskey seems refreshing I think, as the ever present humidity of Bangkok result in copious amounts of eternal duck butter.

Fashioning myself as some sort of American I felt it as my duty to try some ‘Thai Whiskey.’ They poured me a glass and giggle as I drink giggling more when I confirm that I like it. I am not sure why they are giggling but I will realize a few weeks down the road. It tastes a bit to sweet to be whiskey (I later learn it is actually Rum) but mixed with the soda water there is a refreshing bite to it that balances out the sweetness. I drink a few more after all I am facing an overnight bus ride into the unknown Thai countryside.

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The SangSom does the trick, I sleep relatively well waking a few times as I toss and turn on the rocking bus waking in a sleepy port town to catch the boat to Koh Tao. Haley and I decide to escape the doldrums of the dock packed with fellow travelers and take a walk around town. Not much was going on at dusk besides a few drunks and families opening their fruit stalls for the expected morning rush. We do however happen to find a man selling fried dough for 10 Baht, we quickly take the man up on his offering…delicious – this will tide us over for the boat ride until we arrive in Koh Tao.

In Thailand eating and drinking on the run are part of the everyday culture. It is not uncommon to see 12 year olds and adults alike roll up to a food stand on a moped and shortly after speed off with a plastic bag full of ice, soda and a straw. In backpacker-centric Koh Tao this manifests itself in the form of ‘buckets,’ plastic bags full of ice, soda and you guessed it, SangSom. It is with this novel and cheap invention that several thousand youth are getting lifted on Thai beaches every year.

Facing the frugality and possibility of facing 8 more months on the road I could’nt bring myself to purchase a watered down bucket for 500 Baht when I could buy a fifth at the 7eleven for 250 Baht. This plan of thought keeps me safe for a couple of weeks until Haley and I buy some SangSom and decide to check out the Lotus Bar.

For some reason which I still do not understand the Lotus Bar was and probably still is the bar of choice in Sairee. Nothing more than pillows on the beach and firedancers that seem to indulge in the locals as much as vise versa. There are many more pubs & clubs one could visit that have more character. Nonetheless the backpackers flock there nightly like lemmings running over a cliff.

The night starts quiet and simple. We start with our first bottle drinking at our apartment then we poach a bean bag at a random bar on the beach. We start to feel the effects of the first bottle and decide we need more, so we step into one of the ever present 7Elevens…ahh air conditioninng. Before we know it we are floating on air waltzing into the Lotus Bar taunting the bartender with the fact that we brought our own booze and will not be purchasing any buckets. I am still amazed how we did not end up at the mercy of Thai mafia that night. stupidly, I am throwing cigarettes butts on the beach, the same beach which I pick up over 300 butts daily when I walk the length of Sairee on trash patrol. To say I am beligerent is an understatment. The night ends as fast as it started Haley and I lose 300 Baht the keys to our apartment and end up mad at each other as we slog back to Ban Mae Haad.

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As usual the next morning I swear I will never touch SangSom let alone drink again. Hangovers in 70% humidity are tough. This holds true for about ten days until Trang and his wife visit the island to see how the conservation project is going. They gratiously invite us and the other volunteers to dinner at Au Luk bay.

We sit above the Bay on a patio enjoying the tropical sunset and welcoming the cool breeze that dusk creates. I try to pace myself and be good but free food and booze are hard to come by when traveling, I feel myself treading on a slippery slope. I start to wash down the many spicy Thai dishes with that good ol Thai standby. Before I know it Trang is ready to party the night away and invites us to go with him to the White Bar, which is owned by an old friend from school. Like a swift kick from a Muay Thai boxer I am wandering the alley connecting Ban Mae Haad and Sairee and the next morning I awake with the not so pleasant taste of menthol cigarettess in my mouth.

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