Forrest Gumping

Koh Samui was an absolute blast. Karen and I have two very different opinions on the best way to travel, and this time we did it my way, which I like to refer to as Forrest Gumping. Karen would rather plan every detail of our trip before hand so we can spend maximum time relaxing and not have to worry about the many aspects of travelling that consume so much time. Transportation, lodging and activities are the three main things that Karen would like to have planned before hand. This makes perfect sense and I respect that kind of thinking, but I have never been all that good at it. I prefer to just land somewhere randomly and find a place I like, stay there and meet people and ask them what the best things to do are. There are pros and cons to both of these practices. The problem with planning is that you are usually choosing everything from online, and often what you see online is not what you get in person. Also, to have everything bought and paid for is dangerous in case there is something terribly wrong with the place you have chosen to stay online, and you have to fight to get your money back. Forrest Gumping gives you the option to pay for as many or as few days as desired, and move around trying out different things.
The downside to Forrest Gumping, is that it is often more expensive and time consuming than pre-planning. During our Koh Samui trip we spent many hours on the island walking around in the heat looking at dingy rooms until we found a place that we liked. Time that would have been better spent on the beach, after 24 hours of travel time. Also, we were there during thier new year celebrations and it was nearly impossible to find last minute transportation around Thialand. This would have been an area we would have been much better off pre-planning for.
There is something to be said for the free-wheeling, devil may care, let the chips fall where they may, gonzo style of travelling that I enjoy so much, but just to even things out a bit, maybe we will go with Karens way the next time. After this trip, I think it might be a nice change to have everything taken care of beforehand.
Bye for now,
Ed