Cooking My Eggs - Onsen Thai Style!

The hostel I stayed in is really cool and laid back.  There was a drunk South Korean dude, Sun, in my dorm the night before.  He is from Gwangju, not a very touristed city in Korea.  I'd spent a few nights there on my South Korean foray.  So we hit it off well.  He was interested in South Africa, particularly why a white person can call themselves South African.  Thank Buddha for the internet.


I rented a bicycle from the hostel and did an 18km circuit to the south of the city.  My first stop was a natural hot spring.  On inquiry I found out it is possible to soak in the hot spring.  Onsen here I come.


There are a few differences to the Thai hot springs compared to the Japanese onsen.  First, it's mixed bathing.  Consequently, second, everyone is wearing a swimming costume... glad I brought mine.  Third, we'll come to that.


Then there are also the similarities: for instance, talking for an hour to a local in broken English and badly broken Thai.  This conversation covers the usual where are you from?, what job to you do?, are you married?, how long have you been here? etc.  Enough to cover an hours worth.


After soaking it with Lom I met a French girl and an Argentinian girl.  Should have gotten a picture of them, damn.  Around lunch time we got peckish and wondered to the Park kiosk.  There we found out you can buy raw eggs and boiul them in the hot spring water.  20 minutes for a soft boiled egg.  Difference no. 3:  they boil eggs in the onsen.


After eating my scrumptious eggs and cup noodles (made from boiuling spring water) I continued my cycle tour of Pai's surrounds.  I found a bridge that replaced a bridge the Japanese built during WWII.  Pai's version of a canyon - someone didn't look up the definition of canyon when they labeled this one, but it was cool place anyway.  And a big waterfall.


In the evening I hit it up with the funky crowed from my dorm, the hot spring girls and a few South Africans I'd met earlier in the day.