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| 22 February | On board Wot Yot |  |
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Andy has been waiting for money to be wired to him. He has been waiting a week now, but there's still no sign of it. He has a bottle of Jack Daniel's he picked up in the duty free a few weeks back as security in case the money doesn't get through in time. "But I want to drink it, not sell it!"
Natalie and I went at 1:00 to meet the skipper and retrieve our passports, passed through immigration. We met the others we will be sailing with. Brenda, Blue, Nashina, and Katrina. We all did a little shopping for snacks, then met back at 8:00. We take trishaws down to the yacht club, of course, daahling. On board, it's hard to see in the dark, but the boat looks pretty decent. We motor out of port, then raise sails. I couldn't handle the stuffy quarters below. Plus Natalie and I were sharing a double and I didn't want to deal with it, so I slept up on deck, grimly holding onto a rope to keep from rolling off onto the tilting deck. Even though I slept little that night, I loved it. The wind, the waves, losing sleep was worth the experience. |
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| 23 February | On board Wot Yot | |
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I guess I do get sea sick after all. I was feeling a bit queasy this morning. But a good breakfast and some swimming settled my stomach. I ended up going to Langkawi anyway, despite Karen. We landed there sometime around noon. There was a nice beach, but it wasn't all that special. The others went into town to get duty free cigs and alcohol. Natalie and I went to the resort and took a swim in the pool. Then we went back to the beach to relax and chat.
That evening, a delicious dinner was served by our captain/chef/smuggler. What a day. A night spent under the stars singing every song we knew (badly). |
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| 24 February | On board Wot Yot | |
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We lifted anchor and headed out soon after breakfast. It was rough sailing today, the wind whipping the waves into fine rollercoasters for our boat to travel. Urp.
We stopped off at one island for a dip in a freshwater lake, then on to another island for anchoring. There was nice coral and good snorkeling there, but it was a cloudy day. I still got a nice sunburn, though. Longtail boats were everywhere, the sea gypsies plying their trade. When evening came, we had a barbecue on the beach. It was hard work finding enough wood for a fire, but soon we had delicious chicken supper with potato salad. After eating, we started with a bottle of tequila from the skipper, but soon polished off a couple more bottles of Thai whiskey. The girls were totally pissed off their heads. I was totally sober, it just didn't hit me today... Still, another good night. |
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| 25 February | On board Wot Yot | |
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There was a problem with the front sail today, so we just motored around to the next island and dropped anchor. We spent the day lying around and walking through the rainforest. The ocean here was very beautiful, with live coral, starfish, manta rays, all sorts of fish.
Natalie, Nashina and I walked down to a little Thai nomad village (sea gypsies) at the next bay over from where we were anchored. On our way there, I managed to slice my foot open pretty badly on the sole on a sharp shell. Ouch! The people were very friendly. Neither of us could speak the other's language, yet we found a very hospitable welcome. They offered us some free whisky, soda, attempted to barter, it was very interesting. Natalie and Nashina swam out to the fishing boat to see if they could find some more mackerel for our evening barbecue. I started gathering wood to build the fire, limping badly now. whimper Eventually, Natalie and Nashina came back riding in a longtail with lots of fish from the gypsies. We invited them to join us later for dinner. They had given us more fish, squid, and crabs than we could possibly eat.
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| 26 February | On board Wot Yot | |
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I woke up early this morning lying on deck under the brightening skies. Feeling rather grimy, I jumped overboard to go for a swim and clean up before the others woke. After lathering up (with eco-friendly soap, thank you very much!), I dunked down to rinse off, but I was still too close to the boat. While I was under, the wind caused the boat to swing around. Bam. I took a solid hit to the head, leaving me dazed and floating for a few minutes before lifting my barnacle scratched face out of the water. Ouch. I swam to shore and walked out of the water on wobbling legs before dropping down to sit and clear my head. The easy life sure seems rather hard on my poor body... Swimming back out to the boat, I was struck by how quickly I adapted here. It no longer seems strange to me swimming out into the deep...
There was no wind all day. Oh yes, except for that head wind of course! The skipper started drinking and chowing down on kalimari from the night before. By nightfall, he was totally pissed. He was in rare (or raw) form for his jokes. It was a little scary, considering that we were motoring at full speed in the dark and there were reefs on all sides. We almost ran another dive boat over in the dark, with neither of us running with any lights on. "But I'm not drunk! As long as I can talk and walk, I'm only tipsy!" We got there with no problems. It was an amusing evening. |
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| 27 February | On board Wot Yot | |
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God, I hate Mondays! Not! I woke up this morning to yet another paradise. Koh Roc on one side, Koh Noc on the other. We were only about 10 metres off the beach, the skipper had cut it a bit close. The setting was absolutely gorgeous. I swam out to sit on the beach and watch a perfect sunrise, letting the peaceful washing of the waves on the shore clear my mind. Good meditation. I only went back to the boat when the ocean tide steals my beach.
After breakfast, I put a mask and fins on and swam around the island, going with the current. I saw many barracuda, lobster, and the usual lovely fish and coral. The problem was when I turned around. I was now fighting the current. It was hard work. When I finally made it back, I collapsed. I couldn't move a muscle, just lay there while everyone else got quite active, going for swims, walking on beach, and other busy Monday activities. The waves are so loud. I think I may take a nap... |
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| 28 February | Koh Phi Phi | US$1 = 24.6 Baht | |
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I woke up this morning to an incredible sight. Towering limestone cliffs climbed up on 3 sides. The water turning turquoise, green, then blue as the sun rose. Only one distant long tail boat disturbed the peace. There was only the sound of waves, the birds calling, and the wind. Flying fish splashed past, and I swear I saw a rainbow.
The only bad thing this morning was my foot. Swollen to twice its normal size, I don't know if it's because of the sprained ankle, the infected gash in the sole, or the new gash on the ball of the foot. OwOw. Whimper. I might have a problem... Still, you can't beat mornings like this. Ahh! The others eventually got up to express similar wonderment. After breakfast, the place started to get busy. First one longtail boat buzzed into our lagoon. Then another. Then three more. Then a dive boat motored around the corner. Then a high speed hovercraft full of Koreans pulled in. It was starting to get crowded! Ah well. We suited up and dove into the crystal clear water. There was some good snorkeling here. It was nothing compared to the Great Barrier Reef, but still good. I dove deep and said hi to some scuba divers. This life must be good for me. I could stay down much longer than usual. I was getting down to 10-15 metres easily, and staying down there! And that was it. One by one, we got back on the boat, had lunch, and sailed to Phi Phi Don. We continued to pass beautiful cliffs and caves all along the way. When we got to port, no one moved to leave. Marselle was in hurry to get rid of us, because he wanted to "have loud, passionate sex with Nashina," or so he says, and we believed him. Before we left, he took our passports to pass them through immigration for us. We'll pick them up tomorrow. Now to see Phi Phi!
Ugh. What a nightmare. The "road" was packed with dive shops, pizza shops, souvenir shops, every sort of tropical tourist trash you could name. Sorry Russell, your paradise is no more! The housing situation was pretty full and expensive, with poor standards at the first few places I checked. My ankle hurt too much to walk on for long, so I just gave in and went to Charlie's. It was not the cheapest place, but it was clean and ensuite. That evening, I decided while in hell, I might as well have a good pizza. Yum. |
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| 1 March | Koh Phi Phi Don | |
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March already?! I took a wander through "town" early this morning. At 7, nothing was stirring. At 8, it was still quiet. But by 9, the place was bustling. This is definitely a tourist spot. My ankle was really bad this morning. I could barely walk on it. I had better rest it for a couple days. Else, I would be out of here tomorrow.
I moved to a nicer room to get away from the generator and it was much quieter. I bought a book to read, and I was off to the beach for the afternoon. I must say, it is a very beautiful island, if you can ignore the trash, the generators, the many dive shops, etc. It was nice to see bare breasts on the beach again as well. grin In the afternoon, I headed back to my bungalow to get a work out! 150 push ups of varying types, crunches, curls, shoulder lifts with the full water bucket, stretching, everything I could do while still favoring my ankle. It felt good to work up a real honest sweat. I still have some of the conditioning left over from Memphis... That evening, I went down to the dock to meet Marselle and retrieve my passport. I found out that the ferry had already arrived. Blue and Katrina were there as well. We wandered down the beach until we were near the Wot Yot and saw him emerge. We yelled and got his attention and he rowed to shore. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Uh oh. The bad news was, he didn't make it on the ferry to Krabi today. The good news was that he was still alive after last night. He got royally pissed and stoned, beyond what even he was used to, and so he missed the morning ferry. He was still looking pretty dead. He is going to try again tomorrow. Ah, no big deal. It kind of forces me to rest my ankle for another day. I'm considering going to Koh Lanta... Dinner and a video, then I just ended up reading until very late. |
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| 2 March | Koh Phi Phi Don | |
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I needed to change some money this morning. I used the last travellers cheque of the original US$2800 I brought with me from home. That lasted longer than I expected, though of course I have also been using my credit card from time to time...
After some breakfast, I did some laundry, sat and read on my front porch, listening to the gentle sounds of birds, the wind in the palms, the ocean, and of course, the generators. My ankle's still no better, though the cuts are healing. Can a sprained ankle become infected? I've had enough sitting around here, though. I think I'll leave tomorrow, but to Krabi or Koh Lanta? I'll decide in the morning... After another workout, I took a "swim" in the ocean. It was low tide, so I had to walk almost out of the bay before the water reached my waist. I met Marselle back at the port and got back my passport, no problem. I received 2 months for free. Too bad I had already bought a visa in Malaysia... |
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| 3 March | Koh Phi Phi | |
| I woke up early to catch a ferry, but my ankle was the worst it's been. It hurts just to stand on it. I quickly decided to spend one more day here. Argh. I spent the usual day, beach in the morning, exercise in the afternoon, then took an hour swim out of the bay and back. My ankle hurt too much to kick, so I just used my arms and almost killed myself. Whew. | ||
| 4 March | Raileh beach | |
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Time to leave. I crammed all my gear back into the backpack and hobbled over to the ferry to Krabi. It was a hot, 2 hour ride over to the mainland, and once I was there, another hour or so on a long tail out to Raileh beach, following Natalie's advice. It was further away than I expected. But the place was incredible! It far outdoes Phi Phi or any of the other islands. Limestone cliffs, clear water, caves, much fewer tourists, not to say none of course. I had only planned to spend one or two days here, but now it looks more like 5-6 days, between the various beaches, the caves, the jungle walks, a day in Krabi town for business, etc. I found a basic bungalow for 150B just a short walk from the beach.
The beach was brilliant. When the tide went out, it left all sorts of caves to explore. I found a very nice one. It had stalactites, stalagmites, curtains, everything you could ask for in a cave, plus some blessed silence. It was an excellent place to meditate. There were amazing acoustics. I swear the wind was talking to me. In the evening I went to bed with the geckos, maybe a rat? Whatever it was, it was loud and running all over the place... |
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| 5 March | Raileh | |
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I spent the usual morning on the beach. Thank you god for making me a traveler! My ankle was still very bad. I'm getting ever so worried/fed up with it. Just another nice relaxing day in paradise. It hit home once again this morning where I am, what I'm doing. Oh my, am I dreaming? I must be...
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dori (Dutch), the queen of the beach. She came here for the first time four years ago and has only returned home for short intervals since to make enough money to come back here. I can believe it. There is power here. We watched a thunderstorm take place over the ocean with clear skies above us. Dori pointed out the sleeping Indian, the silhouette of the cliffs against the sky. It was an excellent long evening. Dori kept pushing drinks on me. Everyone was pissed, stoned, and totally mellow. "Just passing through..." There were beautiful, original songs as well by Chas and another guy. They all met 2 years ago on Koh Pan Ngan and have been running into each other ever since. Dori invited me over to "her" beach tomorrow. I might as well check it out. It looks like I'll be here awhile... |
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| 6 March | Raileh | |
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My ankle's still no better. Maybe I broke it? Nah. I hung out, and chilled most of the afternoon, then took a long swim over to see Dori. She has a nice setup there. Her tent's under a beautiful overhanging tree. A hammock and some bamboo mats make her living room. Her kitchen is a open fire pit on the beach. The artwork on her walls are the incredible limestone cliffs. Very nice. She's trying to talk me into moving over there. There are some basic bungalows on her little beach I could move into and get away from the more developed side unless I wanted to go there. If I end up sticking around, it could be good. No generator! Monkeys, scorpions, a pet otter, a pet eagle, a sex changing Thai cook (halfway through his/her change), it's an interesting place. I only had my swimsuit on, so I had no money with me, but she bought me dinner. Yum. He/she can really cook! The Thai people there were all saying (in Thai) that her boyfriend (me) is cute. "Are you sleeping alone tonight?" We started to walk back (the tide was out) but it started to pour, and she had left her stuff out. She quickly dashes back, see ya later!
I have just enough money left to pay for housing tomorrow and 40 baht into Krabi. The exchange rate here is lousy, and the Bangkok Bank ATM takes visa, so I had better go tomorrow... I ran into 3 of the gang from Singapore. They're staying 2 huts down! Taking a holiday before starting work in Australia... Go figure. It's a small world after all... |
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| 7 March | Raileh beach | |
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I had to do some business today. A longtail boat took me to Krabi, where I proceeded to take out some money from the Bangkok Bank ATM. Third World? I don't think so. Even though I wasn't expecting anything here, I checked for mail at the poste restante. Nothing of course, but can't blame a guy for trying. It wasn't possible to place a credit card call normally from here, so I decided to wait until later to try calling home. I'll write a letter instead... I had thought that Thailand was expensive, but that's just the resort/beach areas. I bought 12 litres of water at a shop for only 40B! Back at Raileh, they charge 10B for 1 litre! I had a heavy load in my daypack going back, but the money I saved on water alone paid for my transport there and back.
At Raileh, I swam out to Phran Ngang beach. What a beautiful setting. At the far end, there were some cliffs which of course required climbing, along with the rock climbing school. I crawled around the caves as much as the light allowed, getting totally filthy. The hard part was getting back down. The rope I had used to get up was anchored below the edge, with loose dirt above it. I finally worked up the courage, reached down to grab the rope, and jumped off. I managed to split my knee open on the way down. I was drenched with sweat and blood by the time I got to the bottom. Holidays are hard work! I then swam back and enjoyed the pleasant rain shower that started just as I emerged from the water. Out to YaYa's for a few drinks. I felt the need to get pissed tonight, so I sat with the Singapore crowd, Stuart, Katie, Julie, and Simone, and drank. Stuart overdid it with the weed and ended up just sitting there staring into space, completely stoned. Turned in rather early, about 12:30. |
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| 8 March | Raileh beach | |
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I didn't get up today until almost noon. Whew, guess I was tired! My knee killed like crazy, but at least I'm not worried about the ankle now. Groan. I was going to do some hiking today, but I had to put it off again...
I think I will skip Vietnam. I would rather travel overland to Turkey, and I'll not make it before the trekking season ends in Nepal. So it looks like a no go. Oh well, another separate trip... I met an American guy, Joe, at my table tonight at CoCo's over a very good chicken curry in coconut milk. Afterwards, the two of us went to YaYa's for a couple drinks. Joe's a pothead of the first degree. He's been smoking since he was only 12, and demonstrated his skills in rolling a joint with only one hand. What skill. I started talking to the very cool bartender, Gulap (Leah), from Minnesota. She said that the owner of YaYa's is the brother/son, something of the local Hetman. No cop will mess with him. That would explain why there were people lighting up all over the place, even one of the other bartenders behind the bar. |
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| 9 March | Raileh | |
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Rose (Gulap) mentioned last night that she played her penny whistle up at the mountain lagoon. It sounds good, so I decided to try. The path to the "lagoon" was not for the faint-hearted. First, there was a scramble up a rather steep face. Then, after scrambling through the woods for a time, you need to climb down a strenuous valley, grasping the ropes along the way to avoid sliding down into the pit... Both my ankle and knee were on fire, but I ignored them.
The "lagoon" is really more of a pool. The tides come in under the rocks and fill the pool at high tide and empty it at low tide. On all sides but the way we came in, the sheer rock rose straight up to the sky. Great echo, the whistle sounded good. I met Joe down there and we climbed out together and went over to Raileh East. We walked down the beach looking for trails up into the caves. Princess cave was open, but the very decayed walkway was falling apart. I didn't trust the looks of it, so I didn't go in too far, but Joe went further in and said they were impressive. Next, we climbed down into the jungle. There were swarms of mosquitoes and no trail, but it was a good hike. Then Joe discovered a dead snake across our way and discovered why. Grasping it by it's pinchers, a huge, bright red centipede, maybe 8 inches long, was dragging the snake through the brush. Scary poisonous things. Enough for us, we turned back and went to Andaman for a late lunch, sat and talked until the tide went out enough for us to walk back along rocks. Out to YaYa's for a quick drink and to see Gulap. We arranged to meet her tomorrow so she can read us some of her stories and so she can give me some penny whistle sheet music to copy. Back to CoCo's for another excellent meal, and returned to YaYa's. I met Beckie, another traveler "stranded" here. She teaches us the fire dance. Weighted chains that are set afire and twirled around in a hypnotizingly graceful pattern. |
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| 10 March | Raileh | |
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While I was walking back to my bungalow from the beach this morning, a coconut practically kills me crashing down from the tree above. I decided that if it tried to kill me, then I had no choice but to eat it! I had the urge to open it and see what they're like. It was harder work than I had anticipated, but I managed to husk it and got the round shell out. I took my knife, "popped the cork", and had a drink. Yum. Then I proceeded to crack it open and chowed down on fresh coconut. Mm. A Thai guy walking past noticed me enjoying it and stopped by to chat. I shared some of the coconut and got some sort of unripe mango in return. Good morning.
I didn't do much else all day. I just hung out, read, swam, etc. At 4:00, I met Gulap at YaYa's. She read me one of her stories and some of her poetry. The story was a short sci-fi story about the "scorpion stinger". I thought she wrote rather well. There was power in her poetry as well. Then we each played a bit on our whistles. She had the same brand as mine. Good stuff. My main problem in learning to play was that I had no music to learn. She gave me 3 books of tin whistle music to copy. Hooray, something new to play!
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| 11 March | Raileh | |
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Late start to the day. In the afternoon, I went out to Phran Ngang beach to check out some caves Beckie told me about. She told me to grab her as I went past the spot where she'd be bouldering, but I didn't see her. The caves were splendid. They went on forever, at least the equal of many other caves I paid to see. There were a few ropes here and there, but no other development. It was wild and beautiful. The torch was absolutely necessary, there were a lot of scary drops on all sides. I climbed up to an opening looking out over Raileh west that had a gorgeous quartz floor and brilliant view.
I emerged 3 hours later, covered from head to toe in mud (dirt + sweat = mud). A quick rinse off in the ocean and walked back. Now, I found Gulap and Beckie clinging to a rock wall on the way back, practicing their bouldering. |
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| 12 March | Raileh | |
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I went into Krabi to try to copy the sheet music Gulap gave me for the whistle, to get water, check mail, and develop some film for Gulap. The PO was closed (doh!) it's Sunday! I did manage the film (210B for 36 exp). I couldn't find a working and open Xerox place, so I just bought some sheet music paper, a new journal (volume 2!), and water.
The ride back was extremely rough, lasting over an hour, and with the boat carrying 14 people. We all arrived drenched through to the skin. Another good dinner at CoCo's. I found out that Joe took off today. People just continue to come and go. On to YaYa's to talk with Gulap while she worked. She gave me a free beer as thanks for the film. About 6 hours later, I left. I went to see Beckie at Sunset. I found her practicing slinging fire. She tried again to teach me, but I'm afraid I didn't do so well... It was a beautiful night. The moon will be full in 2 days, the ocean was on fire with blue phosphorescence, and good music drifted out of the night. |
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| 13 March | Raileh | |
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The usual calm morning on the front porch of my bungalow. I copied and learned a couple songs from Gulap's books. Then a swim and some sun at the beach. I met Beckie on my way back. She was going back to the lagoon. Want to come? OK.
We both went barefoot, finding it easier to climb the cliffs along the way... It was also more fun, ignoring the ropes and rock climbing on our own. The caves made a natural amphitheatre of sorts, the echoes from the depths making even my whistle playing sound magical. After a fun climb out, we went to sit on the beach and watch the rock climbers do their thing. Brr, scary. Beckie and I went to dinner together, discussing her favorite places in India and Nepal. They sound good. This meal will shock my system! I've only been eating one meal a day recently, plus far too many cookies. Very bad. Maybe this place really is bad for me? Nah. There was a fire show tonight! Everyone seems to do it around here. I found Beckie there rather mellow. The flame is amazing when you're drunk. Streaks of hypnotizing blaze filling the void, the flames glistening off of their oiled bodies, as they move with an alien grace to the music. Tex, Jim, and one other were dancing with the fire tonight. It was beautiful. There was almost a full moon, a bonfire behind them (extinguished 3 times because it almost set a nearby building on fire), the sky was clear, bright as day. |
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| 14 March | Raileh (Where else?) | |
| It was my usual sort of day. I woke up late, read on my front porch, lay on the beach for a time, ogled the half-naked women, swam an hour or so, took another climb to the lagoon. I have been skipping breakfast and lunch almost every day. I just haven't been hungry. The lack of nutrition is starting to tell. I had to have an early dinner, because I felt so light headed. CoCo's did their usual good stuff. I feel much better now. Right now, I'm sitting on the far end of the beach. The night is quiet, the waves calm, the moon is bright enough to write by, as I'm now doing. The southern cross is visible just over the cliffs, and the water is ablaze with a blue glow. I think it'll be an early night tonight. I also think I need to move on. Sometime in the next day or so, I think I'll go to Ao Nang to copy the sheet music Gulap gave me, get some cheaper alcohol for the full moon party here, etc. I also desperately need a haircut and a shave. Time to lose the beard, it's too hot for this climate. The others here probably won't recognize me as a clean cut person. | ||
| 15 March | Raileh | |
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I got up early this morning for once. I realized I really have been letting myself go lately. Sleeping 12-14 hours a day, skipping most meals, not caring for my appearance, drinking far too much. So. I shaved off the beard and had an absolutely delicious breakfast at CoCo's as a start. Then I went into Ao Nang for business. It was not all that I hoped it was, so I took a songthoew (bemo) into Krabi from there. I drew more money out of the ATM (Thailand's been costing US$22 a day!) and went to get a haircut. Problem. When I asked, the barber said he spoke English. I told him what I wanted: "Short." He proceeded to meticulously cut about 2 mm off all around. Hm. No, short! Another millimetre. No, yao pai, too long! I showed him a picture of Bev, Sue, and me at Lake Wanaka in New Zealand and pointed to my short hair. "OK." Another 1mm. Argh! I took the scissors from his hand, smiling of course, and cut my own hair to the length I wanted. OK? OK, smile. Another mm. OK? Argh, OK! I gave up. I'll get it cut again in a couple weeks. Hey, for 30B, I shouldn't complain! I just wanted it short, sniff! I guess he liked it long or something. Back to Ao Nang, then a longtail from there to Raileh. Oh, after picking up a bottle of Singh Thip for 60B first of course! I think I'm getting pissed tonight... I don't want to travel with it...
Well, nothing happened. I few people noticed my new look, "I hardly recognized you!" Dinner with Beckie and Kat at CoCo's. Then, I went to sit on the beach with the others and watched the full moon cross the sky. I was tired though, so I went early to bed. Almost. I had locked myself out! When I left for dinner, I left my key on the bed! Argh. I could see it lying there through the window. Easy enough. I removed a glass pane from the window and retrieved my key. It took over a half hour, with many people walking by, but no one said a word. It would be so easy to break into someone else's place here! Really encouraging... |
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| 16 March | Raileh | |
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Up early again, with another breakfast at CoCo's. I felt like taking a swim, so I grabbed my goggles and headed out. I swam past Andaman beach to a tiny little beach all alone in the cliffs. There, I sat and recovered from the hour long swim, built a sand castle, and relaxed in the shade for a couple hours. Nice. Then, I swam around the bluff to Andaman, walked the beach (Dori was not home again), dove back into the water, and swam back to Raileh. Good workout! Then lay out on the beach and talked with a neighbor.
At 4:00, I went to YaYa's to see Gulap and Beckie and listen to more of Gulap's poetry. She writes some really good stuff. Sitting on an indoor deck, looking out at the ocean, occasional people walking by startled to hear poetry. What a wonderful setting. I decided to try dinner, but Raileh 2 was closed, a bad movie was playing at Sunrise, and nothing else appealed. PB, bread, and water for dinner in paradise. Oh well. Alone with no family, no friends no country |
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| 17 March | Raileh | |
| I decided to finally move on tomorrow. I just sat in all day and researched Thailand, strange as that might sound after over 3 weeks in the place... Let's see, self pity, hmm... My ankle is still crippled, my knee the same... Poor Seán... No food all day. Then about 7:00, Beckie swung by and dragged me to dinner. To YaYa's afterwards of course. Gulap copied a couple of her poems into my new journal. Beckie and I decided to get pissed tonight. We started with beers and ended with a bottle of Singh Thip I bought other day. That did it. Talked, twirled, all night long. Happy St. Patrick's Day! | ||
| 18 March | Krabi | |
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Up and out. I ate breakfast with Gulap and Beckie to say good-bye. Sniff. Quick hugs, and I was gone. Maybe I'll see Gulap again in Kathmandu. She'll be at the Century Lodge on Freak St., 3 April - end. It was harder leaving Raileh than I thought it would be. This was the longest I've stayed anywhere on my entire trip. Oh well, moving on...
A longtail takes me one last time to Krabi, where I have to pass the time until 4:00 when my bus leaves. I wait, and wait, and wait. The bus had broken down. "Few more minutes." And wait, and wait. "OK, minibus Surat Thani, bus Bangkok. You Samui?" Yes... "You stay here, go tomorrow, free room." Huh? There was not enough room on the minibus. They were crammed in there. I'm not stressing over it. Too tired right now. 6:00 now, sleep or wander? Chinese style hotel room with a fan. Earplugs to the rescue tonight! |
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| 19 March | Samui | |
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I actually slept rather well last night. The room was nice, cool and quiet. I got up very early for once and watched the sun rise. Nice. A very Thai croissant and some good banana bread made a substantial breakfast. Yum. My bus made it out of town this time. Good-bye Raileh!
We got to the ferry port about 11:00, but only four passengers were there, so they wouldn't run the noon ferry! The next one was not until 2:30, so we had a short wait. The boat finally left at 2:30, now crammed to overflowing with passengers. It was a long choppy ride, several of the passengers losing their lunch. It might have only been 2½ hours, but it seemed much longer. On the other side, I easily jumped a songthoew to Chewang Beach. Once there, I overheard some others also planning to go to Charlie's(Viking) huts. So I wasted no time. While they sat around and argued which way to go and who had the pot, I sped ahead. I found the last available room and took it as the four others trudge in the gate. Sorry guys! It was very basic, but for 80B, who can complain! Wow, the beach was incredible. A pounding surf with some of the first real waves I've seen since Byron Bay, many months ago. People were right. The place is very touristy. There was nothing but supermarkets, restaurants, and bars, bars, bars. The strip goes on forever. Ugh. I wanted to go dancing, though, and this is the place, so I will stick it out a couple days at least... I relaxed at a bar on the beach until about 9:30, then moved on to the legendary Reggae Pub. In Singapore, a Thai girl who worked there had told me that it had burned down. I guess either they rebuilt it or she was wrong... Very nice place. It had a large bar, a restaurant, a dance floor, a stage. But it was also completely empty! The bartender told me that it picks up late, so I stuck around. 60B beers?! By 10:30, a few more people arrived. A couple Thai girls barely into puberty were dancing on the floor, obviously employed by the Pub and wearing very skimpy clothing. There was a drunk guy trying to dance with them. And eventually, a few very red, very fat, 50 somethingish old men came out with their 15 yr. old Thai girls. It was extremely pitiful. I couldn't take it anymore and ran out of there. |
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| 20 March | Samui | |
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It's hard to believe spring is only just arriving back home. It's been one long summer for me as soon as I left New Zealand. 4 months so far, many more to come! Other than Nepal, summer should continue for the next year or so. Sitting in my US$3 a night beach bungalow, perfect weather outside, topless beauties on all sides (not in here, unfortunately). Strains of "When you love someone..." coming from next door. Thinking back to that email I typed to Marc about 1 year ago when I was working in Memphis. "Sitting in my air conditioned office, looking out on an airport. I've been here 14 hours so far," etc. It seems like that all was a different person. Maybe a video I saw in the restaurant last night? It couldn't be, I didn't go to a restaurant last night! A book I read? Nope. Hm.
I still can't really decide what I want out of this trip. It goes without saying I'm looking to have a good time and to see the world. But after 5 months, can I really point to a significant accomplishment? Good memories, sure, but that's for old folks who have nothing else in their life. I've been places - and will go to yet more places - most people dream all their lives of going, but that's just good for bragging. I've become a bit less naive maybe, better able to trust my instincts, a bit tougher perhaps. Yet if I went home today, I'd revert right back into my workaholic, loner, safe lifestyle without a pause. So is all I'm looking for an extended vacation, an escape from the humdrum, the day to day? Or do I want more? Right now, it feels more like a compulsion than anything else. Yes, I'm having a great time. Yes, I definitely want to continue. But I'm spending my life savings, enough for a down payment on a house. I'm jeopardizing my career by taking so much time away. I'm causing the folks grief as they worry and wonder where I am. So I feel I should have more of a goal than simply a good time. I should have a purpose rather than just drifting from place to place. We'll see. Well, now I have seen a sight more pitiful than those old men with their whores. Me, sitting in my room, drinking Singh Thip, eating peanut butter, playing my whistle, and getting pissed to go out, alone. Very sad. OK, here's another one. They're not getting much better, but I decided to keep trying. Don't ask where it came from... Your eyes are blazing fire my dearOK, whatever. I checked out the Green Mango club. It was much better, maybe because it was later. Again, I found an awesome club. There was a waterfall, multiple levels, open air, etc. The dance floor was packed. The only problem was the DJ. He kept alternating great dance music with shit. Two bad songs for every one good. I didn't want to deal with it, so I just sat back and watched. |
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| 21 March | Koh Samui | |
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A dull day. I woke up late, did my laundry (played in the surf with my clothes on, then rinsed them out with fresh water in the showers). Ho hum. I managed to mail 12 letters and postcards! That is my record so far. Need to change airticket to Kathmandu. No way I'm leaving Thailand in 6 days. Basically relaxed for the rest of the day. Dinner at an excellent, but expensive Italian place.
Then. I finished 2/3 bottle of Singh Thip and 3 bottles of Lipovitan D (a super-charged drink consisting mainly of sugar, caffeine, and vitamins. Oh, and speed, if you believe the other travellers). Then I went down to the Green Mango again and had a couple more beers. Whoa. There was a great crowd tonight. Pissed, strung out on caffeine and sugar, I just kept going. The power kept going out, but the crowd just made their own music - singing, clapping, stamping their feet - and danced along. Good time. When I left at 4:00, the crowd was still going strong. Talking to a couple on my way back, I realized how long I've been gone and how long I have yet to go. Lots more to see and do. I think I'll make it yet. So that's it. Time to close this journal and start a new one. All in the name of memory... May the wind be always at your back, May the road rise to meet you, and until we meet again, may you have one hell of a time! See ya!
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| 22 March | Chewang | |
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A new book begins. Same same. It was pouring down rain this morning. A hole in the roof directly overhead briefly woke me long enough to toss an old crisp bag on top of the mozzie netting so the drizzle went elsewhere. I rose to greet the day hours later, feeling just fine. I decided to go into NaThon (the port) to run a few errands. I asked Lonna, my neighbor, if she wanted to join me. Sure. A New Yorker, she was in Thailand for only 3 weeks. One week Samui, then a 2 week Modern Dance seminar in Chiang Mai. Not bad.
We wandered around and shopped for fisherman's pants for her. I changed my air ticket to Nepal for 21 April to give me more time in Thailand. Much better. I haggled at a book shop for a good deal on some books. Lonna was meeting a friend at Big Buddha at 4:00, so she took off early. I met them both later for dinner. Aaron's the typical creative type guy. Long hair, loose attitude, talking about dreams, etc. They rented a motorbike for 150B. He wanted to go to cabaret show, so off we went. I discovered something: I'm a prude! It was a surprising discovery. Seeing all those Thai guys walking around, dressed (and looking) like sexy women, breasts (silicon) and all, I just felt disgusted. Aaron loved it, took pictures and hooted it up. I'm afraid I just stood frowning disapproval. I left early to check out the Santa Fe club. It was another spectacular place with good music. Anywhere else in the world, it would be packed solid, with queues around the corner. Here, it was echoingly empty. Very sad. I met others on my way back and we decided to go to the Green Mango again. They took off on their motorbike, then Aaron came back and gave me a lift. I was in a weird mood tonight. I wore my sarong and black T-shirt just to see what sort of reactions it caused. I received many looks. "Fairy!" from the men. "Nice!" from the women. Especially the Thai women. I swear, every Thai girl in there approached me in the first hour. The hookers rubbing themselves all over me, the dancers dragging me out to dance, lifting my "skirt" to see what I wore beneath. Even the "nice" girls in groups of 4 or more came around to talk, complimenting my style and staying to talk. One very nice one sat around for a long time. June, 24, an "old maid" by her reckoning. She was also born in Sep '70. Even though she was a "nice girl", she kept giving me signals she would like "Irish boyfriend." OK... Too bad I'm leaving tomorrow. I spent most of the evening talking with her anyway. I wasn't much in the mood to dance, so I just watched. Lonna and Aaron went up on the stage and gave an impromptu modern dance performance. Interesting, but to my unsophisticated eye, not too good. It looked like they were having a good time, though, so just fine. I ran into that Sue, the Irish girl I first met in Port Marquarie and then in Cairns, Australia. She danced over (very hot) and said she liked my dress. And so the evening went... I left very late again. Back at my place, I went for a swim in the ocean with a couple of skinny dipping women. What a life. Finally to bed about 5:00. |
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| 23 March | Haad Yao, Koh PN | |
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Up at 7:00. Groan. I almost didn't make it up... A quick breakfast at the bakery, then on the ferry to Koh Phan Ngan. About 1 hour. When I got to the port, there were cops everywhere, hassling a few backpackers. I decided not to take any chances, so I hopped the first long tail out of there. I ended up at Haad Yao. I found a place, only 80B with a private shower, toilet, hammock. Rather nice.
Now what? Shall I check out the area... Nah, I just sat and read, rocking in my hammock. I was barely functioning on 2 hours of sleep... I walked over to Haad Tian, the place where that Swedish girl I met in the Cameron Highlands stayed for 6 weeks. It was nice, but nothing too special. It is very peaceful here after bustling, touristy Chewang. They have a "special" shake on the menu, also a Bahng Lassie. Could it be? We'll see. Back to the bungalow to read, but I fell asleep almost immediately. |
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| 24 March | Haad Yao | |
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I finally woke after 11 hours of much needed sleep. Then, a breakfast to the tune of a begging Siamese cat meowing away next to me. What to do today? Nothing, that's what. I wandered a bit, almost blistered my bare feet on the furnace hot rocks around here, sat and read for the rest of day. Ooh, what excitement! yawn! I decided to take off tomorrow, and go down to Haad Rin. There's just no one here, nothing to do. It's just a nice relaxing place to do nothing and... relax. I've done too much of that lately. Down to Haad Rin to hopefully meet people, maybe a little partying before continuing on to Koh Tao.
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| 25 March | Haad Rin | |
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Moving yet again... A land taxi took me to Thong Sala. It was a fun ride, bouncing through the jungle. Then, a songthoew out to Haad Rin. At first, the ride was very tame. Then, wow! It looks like the bulldozers just went through yesterday. The truck drives down these very steep pitches looking straight into the ocean. Everyone in the truck was tossed all over the place. Wild! Once we got there I walked all up and down the east beach looking at places. 200B for a place ensuite, 100 without. None were particularly nice, so I kept walking and sweating with my pack on until I found a place for 120B with a shower. It had no view, but the place itself was the nicest I've seen. They started at 200, but I haggled them easily down to 120. I'll take it!
I like this area. It's sort of like Phi Phi with all the restaurants, westerners, etc., but it's a young crowd. Most (all) of the people I encountered were under 25, including many lovelies. Good enough for a few days... To the beach and ogle the day away... Then a swim and back to the bungalow. This is reading like an adventure story! Do something! Dinner at Namaste, an Indian restaurant recommended by a couple of Germans in the taxi. It was absolutely delicious. They had other good stuff on the menu as well. I'll be back. The beach was rather quiet, so I went back to my bungalow to rest until later, hopefully, when things would be happening... I didn't happen. I faded fast, and slept through the night. |
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| 26 March | Haad Rin | |
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I had planned to rise to watch the sunrise, but it didn't happen. I did make it out for breakfast at 9:00. I can already tell that the day is going to be a scorcher... I took a long swim (half hour) out to the next beach, dug a hole, and swam back. Felt good about it (the swim, the hole too). After lunch, I lay on the beach all afternoon. I bought an excellent 1 hour massage for 100B. It was well worth it. I'd love to be able to do that for other people. I should take a course... Dinner again at Namaste. Excellent chicken korma.
I still don't even know if this place has a night life. And at this rate, I never will... Oh well, snore! |
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| 27 March | Haad Rin | |
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Up at dawn to watch the sunrise. Many others were there as well (some never went to sleep, apparently), but it was very quiet and peaceful, almost muffled. Very nice. I immediately went back to sleep to continue a dream interrupted by the alarm. Back in reality, an apple strudel and some apple juice for breakfast, totally Thai style. I did the same swim as yesterday, and dug another hole - Yo! Rough seas today, but I did it in 20 minutes one way. Yo! Faster! Garlic cheese bread for lunch (hitting the bakery hard today), then out to the beach. Practiced some whistle. Had a snack, saw Natalie, stoned, and said hi. Watched the shadows grow. Slept couple hours, then dinner. I bought a bottle of Singh Thip and got drunk. Different handwriting styles here. Sober, drunk. Interesting! Out for some nightlife, but I didn't find any. Just groups sitting around drinking and talking. Wild Koh Phan Ngan! I was told yesterday, there was a dance up on the rocks that started at 4:00 AM, but today, nothing. Bed at 2:00. Snore! |
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| 28 March | Haad Rin | |
| Nothing. Beach, swimming, bakery, sleep. | ||
| 29 March | Haad Sai Ree, Koh Tao | |
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Up and out. 2 last pieces of garlic bread from the bakery. Yum. I shared a drink with a black French girl on the songthoew into Thong Sala. She was wearing nothing, repeat nothing, but some sort of net dress that left nothing to the imagination, as her nipples poked through the large net holes... It begins to pour down rain halfway there, we were all soaked. Fun ride. Scary. I finally got a real haircut in Thong Sala. I asked for it short, I got it! The girl almost shaved me, leaving only the barest stubble on the sides and slightly longer on top. Cool! It feels strange.
250B for the express ferry to Koh Tao. Oh well. I'm going to dive! I only have 1250B left, I'd better start living cheap or I'll have to change money before leaving Koh Tao. They have bad rates there, I hear. On Koh Tao, I ended up staying at AC bungalows somehow, even though it was not where I'd intended. Oh well. Of course, then, I relaxed the rest of day. I climbed the rocks, sat on the beach, and found some nice mountain bikes for rent for 100B/day. Ouch, but they were new, nice bikes. Dinner at Koh Tao Cabana. Good food, good atmosphere. Home at 7:30, bed at 8:30. |
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| 30 March | Haad Sai Ree | |
| Up at 4:00, thanks to the rooster crowing nonstop outside my window for 3 hours. Argh. Where's my gun? After a bad breakfast at my place, into "town". I went around talking to the various dive shops, seeing what prices were like. I talked to Big Blue and Koh Samui Divers among others. Similar places, similar prices. Same, same. 1200 and 1000B respectively for 2 dives. 2400 and 1900 for 4 dives. Koh Samui Divers had better prices, but I didn't get quite as good a feeling talking to them. I won't go tomorrow, so I will see if Big Blue will match the prices. If so, then good. Tomorrow, I'll bike around the place, I decided. The exchange rates are really not that bad here. | ||
| 31 March | Haad Sai Ree | |
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The rooster waited until 5:30 this morning. Breakfast at Cabana, then on to get my bike! Yeeaus! It felt good to ride again. It was already hot at 8:30 though. I rode all the way to the southern end, partway up to the "mountain" lookout. The trail was too steep/narrow/washed out for me to handle, so I continued on foot. Nice view both ways, island and ocean. Back on the bike, I found a small private beach, "Freedom Beach". There, I interrupted - or rather didn't interrupt - a couple having vigorous sex on the beach. They looked up, grinned, and went right back at it. Looked to be enjoying themselves... I sat discreetly down the beach, on the other side of a bunch of trees. Eventually they finished and went for a swim, nude. Very nice. Back on bike.
I finally moved on, continuing around the island. I stopped into the market briefly for a couple more waters (absolutely dripping wet with sweat all day), then to the north end. I saw a few more beaches, Koh Nang Yuan (closest point to the island), and a bit more, but the last hill up to the lookout took the final bit of energy I had left. It completely crippled me. I barely made it back to Sai Ree and to my bungalow. I collapsed on the stairs, too exhausted to even take a shower, just staring blankly into space. These 7 hours of biking, were harder than anything I've ever done in Switzerland, in New Zealand, anywhere. The extreme heat and humidity, the rotten road and trail conditions (more erosion gullies than paths), the very steep hills, the heat, did I mention the heat? made it far more difficult than any mountain. I returned the bike at 5:00. The guy who had previously been somewhat of an asshole was now very friendly all of a sudden. He's proud of his bikes, and after studying the bike intently, commented "no wipeouts!" He was very happy and surprised the bike came back the same as it left. I was famished, so I went to get an early first dinner. A delicious gouda and salami sub. Yum. The proprietor/waiter there sounded French. He was talking to a very attractive girl at the bar in French. She made a few comments looking at me, good ones, assuming I didn't understand. As usual, I let the moment pass. |
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| 1 April | Koh Tao, Sai Ree beach | |
| April Fool's Day! I got up this morning just not in the mood to dive. I decided to go back to Freedom Beach and swim. Hour walk to the beach. It was empty when I got there, but soon filled up. I found some coconuts, slurping away on coconut milk and chomping on coconut meat. Yum. Of course, Natalie showed up. She didn't recognize me with my new do. I actually had to say my name. Or it could be that for once, she was not stoned. This was the last time I'll run into her, she's not going further north. I lay in the shade all day and ate 3 coconuts, swam in the ocean. In the evening, I packed it up to go home. Bye Nat! Long hot walk back. That shower felt good. It was not cold enough. Dinner again at Cabana, no appetite. Bed very early 8:30. | ||
| 2 April | Haad Sai Ree, Koh Tao | |
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Up early to dive! I decided to go with Samui and save a bit of money... 1000B poorer, onto the boat. 2 dives out on the Southwest Pinnacles. 20-30m visibility, the water was 27° C, hazy, hot, and humid. It felt good diving again. I was a little awkward at first, but soon into it again. I saw barracuda, 2 leopard sharks, many schools of fish. It was the deepest I've been yet, about 20m. It seemed much easier than in Australia to go deep. I didn't even need to hold my nose once to equalize. Good sign. It ended all too soon as I ran out of air after about 40 minutes. Out and up for free pineapple, bananas, and water. 1 hour surface interval, then down again. More of the same. Many sea anemone, sea urchins crawling around, clams with jack-o-lantern faces, a turtle with glowing eyes. The dive master was pointing out the interesting stuff, showing what we could touch and pick up. Interesting. Slimy cables, sticky anemones, ticklish urchins with a big eyeball, etc. 45 minutes this time, I seemed to be using less air now that I was relaxed... 22m. Not like old times with Sabine, etc., though. Sniff. Still, 2 more dives for the log book! Now I can go north.
Hm, that's right. I just realized that after almost 6 weeks on the beaches and islands, it's time to go inland. No! I'll miss the sunsets on the beach, the clean ocean air, the naked breasts, the relaxed lifestyle. This is the longest I've ever stayed in this kind of area. Amazing how well I adapted! Beach Bum! Reading my old journal, 2 things come to mind. First, I've knocked one of my goals I threw out there back on 19 Dec: shaving my head. The second thing was a poem that sprang out at me from a couple lines I wrote while drunk in Raileh. The Fire Dancers |
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| 3 April | Outside a train Chumpron-Bangkok | |
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Sniff, it's time to leave the islands. I changed some money (50B commission!), paid my bills, and bought a ticket to Chumpron. All the agencies in town were only selling day minibus/ferry deals that didn't arrive in Bangkok until 12:30 midnight. No way. I decided to take my chances in Chumpron.
The 5 hour ferry ride passed easily, me sitting in the shade and drawing as the back of my shaved head received a royal sunburn. Next, a songthoew dropped me off at the train station. That's when I found a problem. There were no 2nd class tickets available. First class tickets were far too expensive, and third class was standing room only. Next, I went to the bus station with a funny Italian man who only spoke French and Italian. There, we found another problem. All the buses between here and Bangkok were full. We discussed it in French for a few minutes. A local bus might get us there in a day or so, with no aircon and very packed. It may. He finally threw his hands up and went to find some food. I wandered into a nearby "tourist office." The girl there spoke no English, but I managed to get her to help me. She called around and gave me the same news, everything is full. There may be 3rd class standing room on the train at 20:15. At least, I think that's what she said... Drained by the heat outside, I sat down in the nice cool aircon office to think. I decided to give it a go... Just as I was about to leave, a Kiwi girl came in. She was on her way to Koh Tao, but she had no money until the banks opened tomorrow. Nice girl. She took a room for the night, we dumped our bags in there, and went out to find some food. It was fascinating walking through the markets. Now this is more like it! There was no English anywhere! 8B for a whole pineapple cut as we watched. We ate at a little roadside place, only 15B for a green chicken curry. Yum. We had a good talk. Trisha points out the thing we both need to find is balance. Work and pleasure, necessity and want. Neither of us finds it easy. I ran into a German guy I had met earlier back at Trisha's hotel. The two of us then went out to the train station about 7:45. First we heard that the train was full. Then people were saying there was no train. Then the news drifted back that there had been an accident. Oh? Trisha had mentioned noticing a big train wreck coming down here yesterday. 10 people died. Hundreds were injured. That is partly why all transportation is full today. Do I really want to do this? Yeah, OK. 102B for a 3rd class, fight-for-a-seat ticket. We had a long wait. The train didn't arrive at the station until after midnight. It arrived more or less on time, but that was the only good news. This train was so packed, I managed to only squeeze my pack onto one car, I couldn't even push myself into that mass of humanity and luggage. But by this time, I couldn't get my pack back. There was nothing left to do but hang on. I spent the next 9 hours hanging out a train going maybe 80 mph, standing outside on the lower step and holding/gripping/white knuckling the handbars on either side of the doorway. The first hour was absolutely terrifying. The landscape rushed past at horrifying speeds. Trees whipped me with their branches. Signboards passed mere inches away from my wide-eyed gaze. After the second hour, I started to compose the following entry to my journal: "By the second hour, the trip, which could have been, should have been a nightmare, became rather relaxed and pleasant. Staring up at the clear skies, at the passing countryside. I actually started to enjoy myself." That lasted all of ten minutes. By the third hour, the nightmare had returned. My hands were tired, my legs were tired, my eyes were squinted shut to avoid the burning ashes from cigarettes tossed out by those in cars ahead of me. I was wondering how on earth I was going to survive this. I considered jumping off and finding a train next day, but I still couldn't get to my pack. I even fell asleep a couple times, immediately waking to find my hands slipping off the rail. What did I say about returning to traveling? Ha! I somehow managed to survive to see the sunrise. The last hour was the longest, with the seconds on my watch passing like days. My hands were twitching with fatigue, my hands and face were black with diesel fumes and dirt. No city ever looked as beautiful as Bangkok did that morning when we pulled into the station. |
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| 4 April | Bangkok | |
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I took a tuk tuk with a Swiss guy and a tout to Khao San Rd. Free transport and a very nice place. Ploy Guesthouse. We decided to check elsewhere first, but the alternatives were grim. I decided to go back. This was a bit pricey, but not for what I got. 150B for a 3 bed dorm (room was 300B for a double), aircon, free breakfast, hot showers, ensuite, extremely clean, very friendly. Steve, an Irish guy from Dublin was staying in the room. He has had it to himself for the last 2 weeks, recovering from reactive hepatitis, caught in Sumatra. He's a cool guy. The Indonesian hospital told him he had HepA, and for 2 weeks, he had to learn to cope with that. Then he came here and found out better. Whew.
I ran straight out to the GPO to get my mail! Yes! I had a good haul. Letters from Angela, Jeni, Marc, Sabine, Francesca, and a package from Mom containing a new journal. Oh well, too late for that, but I think I'll hold onto it. Almost everything has been here almost 2 months now, so the news was old. Mom's letter said to call anytime to let her know I'm all right, so I decided that I might as well, I may forget later. It was 1AM their time, but they sounded happy to hear from me. They were full of all their unneeded warnings received from skewed news reports. When I mentioned that I may (won't) be back before Xmas this year, they grew quiet. "But you said you'd be back in October!" Mom finally said. She starts talking bullshit about my company laying me off, insurance costs, etc., basically saying you have no choice, you must get back before December. Bullshit. I felt sorry for hurting them like this, but there's no way I'm going back until I'm ready. Back to Khao San by river taxi, and wandered around the area. It was full of travelers. I rested in my aircon room for a while, then went shopping for soda, water, garlic and bread. Chowed down on raw garlic bread. I really have had a craving for it lately... Out for dinner at a roadside place. I sort of like it here, but everything is a bit extreme. Bangkok itself is just fine, not nearly as bad as its rep. Sure, there are lots of people trying to make money off others, plenty of tuk tuk drivers with pictures of their "special girls", but not nearly as bad as Jakarta, just a bit larger/nosier/more polluted... To bed in a cold room with a warm blanket. Ahh... |
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| 5 April | Bangkok | |
A morning of small ecstasies. Waking up in cold room with a warm blanket. Ah! A hot shower. Ah! A fluffy, full-sized towel. Ah! A free breakfast. Ah! 
I had planned to do some sightseeing, but it didn't happen. Instead, I went to a wonderful old library with English books from the last century. I wandered around the Siam area, and just explored the city. It was only 34° C, it would have been a rather decent day if only there was clean air... After I had enough of the pollution, noise, and crowds, I went back to my room, for another great shower and to relax with a new book, and some more garlic bread. About 10:00, Steve asked me if I wanted to join him and some others for dinner. I was tired, but said OK. We met up with 5 Thais, friends Steve had met over many times in Bangkok. We went to a atmospheric Thai restaurant, there was no English spoken here. It was a gay restaurant, but tonight it was relaxed, with good music and a friendly crowd. Thai-style meal. We were all served plates of rice, with an assortment of dishes in the center of the table. A bit of each. Our drinks and plates were constantly refilled. It was excellent food, but I only recognized 1 out of about 8 dishes I tried. They were all good, some were extremely hot. Rum and cokes followed the meal, followed by dancing. I was too tired by this time, so I just sat and watched. One of the others, Santi, paid for everything. Steve told me it would be rude to object, so I had a free, fun time. It was nice for once to meet ordinary, friendly Thai people, rather than the tourist industry sort. |
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| 6 April | Bangkok | |
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I tried to get my Nepal visa this morning. Bus 8 would take me to Sukhimvit 71, and the embassy was just down the street. Tried was the key phrase. The bus never passed by, so I started walking. About halfway there, doh!, I forgot to bring my photos! Argh. It was too late to go back, so I just wandered the day away. I checked out a couple more bookshops, walked around the older part of town, passed by the Grand Palace. I basically wasted the day.
I felt like having Indian food for dinner. Someone told me the Royal India restaurant had good food, so I asked Jula, a lovely Thai girl at the hotel for directions. I must have walked past it 4 times, but I never found it. I finally gave up and bought a pizza to bring back with me. Jula took one look at my pizza, "Indian food?" and burst out laughing. She tried to get me to sit with her and watch a little TV, but I was very hot and tired. Up to the aircon to chill and gorge. |
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| 7 April | Bangkok | |
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Today, I am going to get my Nepal visa! I made a special effort to get up early, got exact directions on where to catch bus 8 and a half hour later, I was on my way. I paid my fare, sat down, and watched the street numbers. 15 minutes later, we crossed the river. Um, wasn't the embassy the other way? It was the wrong bus. Luckily, bus 11 across the street took me right there. By the time I got to the embassy, it was 11:30. The visa desk closes at noon. But I was out of cash. I needed to work the visa card. Problem. None of the ATMs around the embassy accepted my card! I was madly running around, further and further from away. I finally found one, got the cash, and dashed back. Just under the wire. I plan to pick it up when I return to Bangkok on the 19th.
Walked all the way back, about 10km, stopping in air conditioned malls along the way. It was very hot and muggy today. I was drenched with sweat. Air con malls feel good. I checked prices on guidebooks, looked for a radio, researched Kilimanjaro. Dad lied/was wrong. Jan is just fine for the climb. Peak season in fact. After all that reading he's done, I have to think he's just trying to get me home sooner. Argh. I finally got back to the hotel about 7:00. After a quick shower I went for supper at the Royal India. I found it this time with no problem, though I wasn't impressed with the food. Ah well. Back to find Jula at the desk again. Yes, I found it. Good. Steve had said yesterday that she was showing all the signs she likes me. She had given him similar signals a few months back until he started seeing Bohleen. She helps herself to some of the pineapple I'm eating. She sits me down, pulls a chair over. Touching me, asking questions, arm around me a couple times, whenever we're alone. She asked where I'd be going. "Chiang Mai?" Yes, in a few days... "Me too, water festival." She has an apartment there, that her sister just moved out from. Would I like to go with her? I was surprised, but decided what the hell. Maybe I'll get to see the festival from a local's perspective. This makes her happy, and she gives me a big hug and sits closer. That's basically how I spent the evening. She brought us out some watermelon and sat and talked with me all evening until Phonthip came on duty. Then she vanished into thin air. Steve and I had a long conversation. He was talking about visitations, "the flies", about his father's death (birthday yesterday), poetry. He is Irish, so I assume a bit of poetic license was being taken with the truth, but you could tell he really believed it. I was actually in tears, the feelings he conveyed were so strong. It really struck a chord in me somehow. I didn't see it coming. Wow. He lent me a Buddhist book containing some powerful poems. |
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| 8 April | Bangkok | |
Up late, did nothing all day. I sat and talked with Jula some more. We decided to leave tomorrow night instead of Monday. I finally gave my clothes to be washed, so I was looking a bit ridiculous in jogging shorts and long sleeve T-shirt. Stayed in and wrote. Steve is moving into his new apartment sometime today. 3000B a month, aircon, phone, etc. Not bad. He and Bohleen can now have some privacy as well... I spent the entire day just sitting in the lounge. Writing, talking to Jula. She kept bringing me water, fruit, Pad Thai for dinner.
Benedicto: I have lived on the lip of insanity, In my solitude Sometimes, when a bird cries out, |
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| 9 April | On the bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai | |
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Up at 5:00 AM, groan, to get the bus tickets. Jula was waiting downstairs. We grab a cab and take off. As soon as we climbed in, she slid next to me and grabbed my hand. OK. I guess in "private", she's willing to be more aggressive. Mm, nice smooth legs... 75B fare to the bus station, she insisted on paying to my displeasure. At the station, all buses were full. We managed to get tickets for a bus leaving from a more distant station at 6:00 instead of tonight at 10 or so as planned. Oh well, it doesn't matter when we get in, we have a place after all... Jula starts work at 8:00. Poor girl, she can't go back to sleep. As for me, snore!
Up again at 9:00. Breakfast, then packed. I'm leaving my big pack behind and taking only my large daypack. It felt great to travel light. Jula was very insistent that I not tell anyone we're even going to the same town today. It would not be proper for a nice Thai girl to travel with a farang. At 3:00, we caught a taxi to a remote gas station for our bus. The bus didn't actually stop in Bangkok. We were very early, so we went to a nearby mall to pass the time and to eat. The bus finally left at 6:15. It was rather nice. There was air conditioning, good leg room, blankets, food, drink, a video (in Thai of course). I felt a bit conspicuous being the only farang on the bus, especially with a Thai girl, but we were in the front row, so at least I didn't see anyone after all are on. About an hour into the ride, Jula pulled the blankets over us and we tried to snooze for a bit. Still, I must say it was the most pleasurable bus trip I've ever taken. We finally got to Chiang Mai about 4:00. I was so tired... We then took a tuk tuk to her apartment, a simple studio. Her sister had been living there, but moved out 3 months ago. It was very dusty from the street below, so we spent the first half hour just cleaning before crashing into bed. |
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| 10 April | Chiang Mai | |
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Up after only 3 hours sleep.
I spent the day wandering, eating from the market, exploring. I was walking around in a daze, with a stupid grin on my face. We stopped off to talk to Patra, a 50 yr. old Thai woman who is moving to Hawaii next month to marry an American... 50? I don't think so. She was very beautiful, but looked maybe 35-40. We ate dinner on the floor at Patra's. There were various Thai dishes with rambutans and mangosteens for dessert. Yum. Also a couple beers. To my surprise, Patra also started in on me, flirting with me like crazy. It's feast or famine I guess! I'm still not finding balance. We three wandered the night market, watched some beautiful Thai dancing, and ended up at a bar. After a couple games of pool and a couple beers, Patra and another exquisite Thai girl dragged me off to her room for more potent whiskey (Jula's not into it.). Wow, strong stuff! A bit too strong. When we finally left about 1:00, I was stumbling home. |
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| 11 April | Chiang Mai | |
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When I woke this morning Jula was not to be found. She got back as I was climbing out of the shower. I gave her some peace and did some sightseeing. I'm just not into the tourist stuff. This city has very beautiful temples, but there's no feeling in them. There were too many loud farangs with their cameras. Songkran is fast approaching, here in fact, just not yet "official". After getting shot by 3 water pistols and having 4 buckets of water dumped on me, I decided to go home before my passport or other stuff got soaked. Also, my allergies have been bothering me lately, so I took a Benadryl to help, forgetting its side effects. Between slowness from the previous nights' drinks, sore muscles from activities, and the heat, I was barely staying conscious.
Jula was snoozing when I got back. She left soon to go visit her sister, to return in a couple hours. "Meet any exotic women?" Marc wrote in his latest letter. I'll say. "Eat anything that crawls?" Angela asked. No, but Jula and Patra were munching on beetles last night, to my horror. Jula didn't get back until 6:30, but her beeper kept beeping. I figured I'd leave it alone. None of my business. When she returned, she asked "Why you no read beeper?" Huh? She was leaving me the message: "Seán... I love you." Aw. Hm, this could be a problem... She was tired, so climbed in bed for a couple hours sleep before going out later. After a quick bite at a roadside place, we went back to the same bar as yesterday. Patra and the others from last night were there. Another game of pool with Patra (I lost) - gambling 1B on the game. A German guy there, Patrick, knew Jula from Bangkok. As I carefully looked on, he was making a major play for her. It was a casual evening. Patra was even more serious tonight. Rubbing against me while we played, sitting on my lap. "Just joking!" Right. We all went to sit down. Patrick sat with Jula, keeping up his efforts. She was friendly, but wouldn't allow him to touch her. Good, I have no need to be jealous. I did have a problem though. The Thai women seem to find me approachable. One girl there really caught my eye. Not the classic Thai beauty. Rather, a sexy, Asian, maybe Vietnamese look. I kept smiling her way, obviously admiring her. Oops! She came over, squeezed in with me, and started talking. Hm. This girl was asking me to visit her, "to learn Thai." Maybe I'll stay here longer? But, see, she wasn't the only one. Another hot women was dancing next to our table. In rare form, I also gave her the eye. I was wearing a sort of lai, a few flower necklaces some other girls had given me. This girl leaned over, brushed my ear with her lips, and asked me to give them to her. Do they have a significance I don't know about? Because as I draped them over her, her eyes widened. She gave me a wai and slid in with me also. I wish I could have had a picture. Lucky for me, Jula spent most of the evening playing snooker out of sight at the other end of the place. Fortunately, at this time, Patra came back, told me we were leaving and pulled me away. As I left, the girl told me to come by her work office tomorrow, handing me a card, which I promptly lost. I carried Patra home on my back. She was moaning and caressing my chest the entire way. Joking now, with Jula there, but not all joking... We dropped her off at her place, then Jula and I went our way home. She immediately pulled my arm around her. She had far too much to drink, and was swaying a bit. She was complaining the entire way home. "Too much Singh Thip, big headache!" We got back and collapsed. |
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| 12 April | Chiang Mai | |
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It's a complete water festival! The streets were just lined with both Thai and farangs with buckets, hoses, water pistols, anything that could hold water. In the first five minutes, I got 5 buckets tossed over me and two whiskeys tossed in me. Jula was dressed nicely, and avoided most of it, but I was enjoying it. Standing still as someone else dumped yet another bucket. We swung by Patrick's place, to my displeasure, and went to get lunch at a roadside guesthouse, and watch the festivities. And they were festive!
Afterwards, we stroll over to Patra's to celebrate Songkran in traditional Thai fashion: feasting. Patra and I went to the market to pick up some crabs, fish, mussels, etc., then rushed back to her room. Patrick had some food poisoning from lunch and was feeling poor. Patra went out to get some medicine that did the trick. There was an enormous quantity of food. I can't believe we ate it all. The large bottle of Singh Thip was disappearing as well. Jula was attending to me, cracking crabs, shelling mussels, putting them on my plate. I was stuffed! Jula was drinking far too much. She's not used to the stuff and kept up with Patra, who was an alcoholic. Afterwards, Patra tried to get Patrick to go back with her to the market. He played the typical German asshole and refused, stretching out to sleep on her bed. She goes out with Jula and gets back with tons of rambutans, guva, cantaloupe, oranges, falang?, and some other unknown fruits. More feasting. I stretched out on the bed afterwards, resting my eyes. Jula came over, made me comfortable, and told me to sleep "20,30 minutes." Eh, OK. |
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| 13 April | Chiang Mai | |
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Up very late. Overslept past the giving of gifts to the monks at 5:00. Damn. Jula announced that she changed her mind and would stay one more night. We went down next door for "breakfast" about 10:30. Then, Jula wanted to pack, telling me to go enjoy Songkran.
When I got back to room, I was laughing like crazy. "That was fun!" I gasp, coming in. She's finishing packing, but scolds me, I'm dripping everywhere! After a quick shower, she asked me to set the alarm for 7:00 to go to dinner, mumbling. OK, we curled up to doze. I couldn't sleep, so after an hour or so, I rolled over to write in this journal. After almost getting up to date, the loud celebration on the street outside picked up volume. Happy New Year! Splash! Out to a busy Thai restaurant for dinner. Patra came along as well. As we sat down to eat, the cutest child I've ever seen toddled over, maybe 5 years old. He goes up to me. "Hello!" Thai kid. Absolutely beautiful. He doesn't know what it means, just keeps going hello! every time we talk to him. Reaches to shake my hand. Jula and Patra were going gaga over him, talking with his parents. There was a totally relaxed family feel, even though they'd never met before. Patra sits the kid down, and the parents go off to eat until our food arrived. He was the best behaved, calmest kid I've ever met. Food arrives. Khao culi kai (Thai chicken curry) for me, some soup for Jula, and bugs for Patra. Crickets, maggots, beetles. Aroy! she exclaims, smacking her lips. No thanks, I'm full! Next, the Miss Songkran competition. Jula insisted. It was very boring for me, I didn't understand the comedy skit, the Thai music, same, same. The contestants all had beautiful faces, but soft bodies, not at all fit, so unappealing to me in their brainless smiles for the cameras. One was lovely though, as both Jula and Patra point out. Suwait maak! Jula uses my camera to take pictures of her. Whatever. Then, back to our place to move a few things before the water throwing begins again tomorrow. As the others gathered stuff up, I slumped onto the bed, all energy drained. I managed to help carry stuff down to the rented tuk tuk and into Patra's room, but then I desperately needed sleep. We walked back together, arms around each other as a full red moon shown down from above. How romantic! |
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| 14 April | Chiang Mai | |
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We went shopping in the market, then to Patra's to have a brunch of sorts. Patra prepared a delicious omelet, some greens, and various other dishes for us. Yum. I was not feeling tip top today, maybe a cold, maybe allergies, maybe malaria. I left them to talk, and went to get wet again. It was much quieter today. There were not nearly as many people, but it was just as wet. I didn't have the energy to stay out for long, though. I went to sit under a shade tree by the river to relax and just watch for a while. It was very entertaining. I was not left out, though, because 5 exquisite Thai girls gathered around me, sprinkled perfumed water on me, and painted my face with white makeup.
After I had enough, I strolled back to retrieve Jula. We had to go to get her Bangkok bus ticket. My bus doesn't leave until 10:30 tomorrow. We then went back to our place to finish packing. Suddenly, she ran downstairs, came up and asked how much money I had. Why? She had forgotten to pay her rent. She had repeatedly been trying to take money from the Bangkok Bank ATM while we were here but it never could connect to her account. With the bank closed, she only had the money she came with, which would have been enough. My suspicions instantly came up, but my instinct said it was OK, so I lent her the 2500B she needed until Bangkok. I hope she doesn't let me down... We went out to Patra's one last time for another Thai style dinner, yum, then hailed a songthoew to move her out of her apartment. She was leaving her things with Patra. When Patra moved to Hawaii, she would be taking her apartment. She left me the sheets and pillow which I would give to Patra in the morning. Also, a few wet clothes to also give her before I leave, plus one black bra to carry until I got back to Bangkok. :-q Then, it was time for Jula to leave. We took a songthoew out to the Arcade bus station (20B each). It took the last of my small bills, I only had 500B notes left, so she went and bought something with her own money so I would have small change for the songthoew back. When it was time for her to leave, she got me a taxi straight home for 30B, a note to show the songthoew drivers to get me back to Arcade easily, and a passionate kiss goodbye. I got back to the empty apartment feeling very sad. I ended up buying a load of junk food and drowning my sorrows in sugar. Sniff! Hard to sleep alone at night... |
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| 16 April | Pai | |
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I got up early to beat the heat and grab a bike. After a great breakfast at Northern Green, I picked up my bike and hit the road. It was a nice bike, but way too small for my long legs, and I looked rather foolish with my knees up around my ears. Oh well, I felt like biking! I wasn't much interested in visiting hill tribes or any such activity. I had a different destination in mind. I left the main road and went along some dirt roads until I came to a beautiful, cool waterfall up in the hills. It was all uphill going there. I arrived to find a crowd at 9:30! There were tents set up, people selling food, drinks. Not for farangs, mind you, but for picnicking Thai people. I spent a pleasant morning there. A couple kids came over and wanted to ride my bike. I played with them for a bit, until they exhausted me with their energy, then sat and recovered by the water. A Thai lady sat next to me selling lychees. A guy bought a bunch, then handed me some as a gift. The lady smiled at me, then gave me more. Nice! The lady's daughter, maybe 16 years old, was standing behind her. She kept flashing her breasts at me and staring. Argh! It keeps happening! No, I'm not imagining it! The waterfall was nice. At the edge of the waterfall, some smooth rocks provided an excellent waterslide, but there was also lots of garbage lying around. I stayed long enough to cool off, then back on the bike.
I rode back to Pai by way of a number of hill tribe villages. They were interesting, but under the blazing hot sky, the air was full of dust and haze blocked the view of the hills. Most villages appeared empty. I only saw two or three people tending a dry garden. But people were still tossing water today. It was the last day of Songkran. It felt good on my sweaty bike! It was a musical night that evening at the guesthouse. We had a few good guitar players, a Korean flute, a recorder, and my penny whistle. An American picked up his guitar, started playing some songs, and the flute and whistles joined in. It was the first time I had tried accompaniment seriously. Our combined effort sounded very nice and drew a crowd from all parts. We had to stick to the traveller classics, the songs all nationalities seem to know. After we finished, we all went out to dinner together, it was a good group. We joined up with some Thai guys, the others had a smoke, and they started making plans to go out into the hills on their own tomorrow. I would have joined them, but I don't have the time anymore. Happy Easter! |
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| 17 April | Mae Hong Son | |
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The morning was just as cold as yesterday, fooling you into thinking it would be a pleasant day before turning on the oven. Still, the hot shower felt so good. Another huge breakfast at Northern Green. Yum. I was sorry to leave Pai so soon. I could feel it last night. This is one of those places! Just like Raileh, just like Byron Bay, just like Koh Phan Ngan. I could have easily spent a few weeks here. Oh well. Next time...
I took the "bus" to Mae Hong Son. It was really just an oversized songthoew, packed beyond capacity. Some people even rode up on the roof. It looked like fun, but not on this trip! The road passed some awesome scenery, winding through the hills. The only thing that made the view less than perfect was that there was none! Haze covered all so that I could only make out that it would have been incredible if it could be clearly seen. When I got to Mae Hong Son, I got a room at the Sawasdee Guesthouse. There were only kids there to show me the room, and neither of them could speak English, so I finally had the chance to use my Thai! I thought I did okay. I got them to lower the price, got them to give me a basin for laundry, etc. That was fun. It was another blazing day, but I needed to confirm my flight with Thai Airways. I found the local office, but no, they only handle domestic flights here. They told me to call Chiang Mai. I tried an agent to see if they could do it for me, but they replied no, go to the Post Office. At the post office, they said no, only overseas calls from here, go to a store, get a phone card, and use one of the green booths. How much? Maybe 15B/minute. I got a 100B card to be safe, but then couldn't figure the phone out. It kept making strange sounds when I started dialing. I finally had to go into a nearby trekking shop to get help. It turns out that Chiang Mai is a local call, no need for an area code. Oh... After that, it was easy. It only took 2 minutes, costing 17B. Argh. Wasted money, I have no calls left to make after this... I wandered a bit more to check out the area, but it was deadly hot, and no one was out. I was forced back to my guesthouse to chill and do laundry. Once the sun started down, I visited the lake and passed some wats. Very nice area. To dinner at a rather expensive restaurant with no English menu. It was very good, I thought, worth the little extra I paid. Coming to Mae Hong Son might have been a big mistake. I haven't seen anything talking about a bus to Bangkok. It looks like I need to take a bus to Chiang Mai (7 hours), then buy a ticket for the next day to Bangkok, which means I need to leave tomorrow morning. Uh oh... |
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| 18 April | Chiang Mai | |
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Up early to beat the heat. I found out, no, I couldn't get a ticket to Bangkok from here. Damn, that means I leave today. I must get to Chiang Mai by tonight to buy a ticket to Bangkok for tomorrow night. It's a shame, because it's a beautiful area. Truly impressive setting. Temples, park, surrounding hills. It was all hidden in haze, but I could see it would have been breathtaking.
I caught the 12:30 bus to Chiang Mai. Again, there were great views and scary roads. At a police checkpoint, an officer took one man off the bus because he didn't have any ID. What will happen to him? It was a long hot ride. We had a short stop in Pai. I jumped out to visit the others sitting at Northern Green. One of the Thai guides we met the other day had been showing them around the villages for free for the last couple days. I should have stayed... Oh well, on to Chiang Mai. Maybe I'll go to Bangkok tonight? Yup, that's what's happening. I got to Chiang Mai sometime around 7:30. All the buses both today and tomorrow were full. I had no choice but to find a train to get me there. I might as well go tonight... I hailed a motorcycle taxi to the train station and hung on for dear life as he rattled through the old city. No, all 2nd class was full. So... 3rd class it is. It was the slowest train around, taking over 14 hours, but it was the last one leaving tonight... I hope it turns out better than the last train I took! ... Well, it didn't really. I got a seat this time, thank god, but that was the only good point. There were three people wedged onto a two person bench, facing another three people, then the aisles, etc. filled up. At one point, someone was even sleeping under my seat! It was deathly hot and very loud, I didn't sleep a wink. If that wasn't bad enough, the guy next to me kept stroking my arm and leg on his side. I had heard of this, Asians amazed at body hair on Westerners, so I paid no mind. But then he started getting fresh. He kept pretending to fall asleep and dropped his head onto my shoulder or in my lap, his hands wandering. Ye gods! After 14 hours of this, I was ready to scream, I couldn't get away from touching people. I tried plastering myself out the window, the guy plasters himself behind me. I got rude at that point and knocked him into the aisle, at which point he resumed his falling asleep act... Bastard. The end of this trip marks the start of the next day, I guess. Into Bangkok same as before... |
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| 19 April | Bangkok | |
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We finally got to Bangkok about 11:30. There were no other travelers around at the station, and all the tuk tuk drivers wanted 80B or more. No fucking way. Remember, at this point, I haven't eaten (except for some smarties) since dinner on Monday, I haven't slept for over 24 hours, I was disoriented and not thinking too clearly. I never saw a bus so I decided to walk it. The joys of traveling light! A half hour of sweaty walking later, my perfect sense of direction led me right back to station. Argh! I tried again, with better results.
When I finally got back to Ploy, Jula was there, but gave no reaction at first. My old dorm room was full, so she put me in the room next door. As soon as the door shut, she was on top of me. "Oh, I love you so much", hugging and kissing me, despite my appearance. Well! I got cleaned up, but I was feeling very lightheaded. I dropped off my film to be developed and went for food. At lunch, the Thai girl serving me kept giving me the eye. She would swat my ass as I went up to get a drink, brush against me, giggling away. I tell ya... I wish it never would end... After I managed to eat something, I went back to Ploy to sit with Jula. She spooned some cornflakes into me even though others were in the room. I was drooping a bit, so after I related my experience, she scolded me for having such a hard time and sent me off to sleep. At 6:00, it was time to pick up my pictures! As usual, there were not enough of the ones I wanted. None of Gulap or Beckie. Argh. Also, they messed up some of my best shots at Songkran with the water camera. Damn. When I showed them to Jula, she stole the pictures with her in them. I have the negatives, though, so I will make copies. For now, hide the negatives! |
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| 20 April | Bangkok | |
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Up at 5:00. Groan. Jula has to go to work, but stays with me until 6:00. I'm immediately asleep again, but up at 7:00. Too much to do today! Busy day. Out to the GPO to check my mail again and call folks. I got off at the wrong stop on the river taxi and ended up walking maybe 3 km to the GPO. More mail! Letters from both Mom and Dad, and Francesca! Yes. No. Dad's bitching at me, Mom's moaning about our last call, Francesca wants me to fly to Rome from Turkey to see her. I phoned home, again a bit late, about 10:30. Mom answered, glad I called. We cleared the air a bit after the last call, but Mom was still pushing for me to hurry up. She wants dates. She is also considering meeting me in Turkey, maybe Egypt. They had started phoning embassies, hostels, etc. when I didn't immediately report in to them after sailing from Malaysia. Only 2 weeks later, I wrote. Dad was blaming me for their panic in his letter. Argh. This was just like the last time in Greece when the bomb went off in Istanbul. Settle people!
Then, a mad rush to Nepal consulate. Too late! The bus takes forever to get there, and doesn't arrive until 12:30. A friendly guard told me to come back at 2:00 after lunch. The office would be closed, but they'll be there. OK. I wasted the next 1½ hours wandering, writing Dad a blistering response. Back at 2:30. The doors were locked, but they came out when I knocked. I got my visa! Wait a minute. Only 30 days?! Yes, I must extend it in Kathmandu. Argh. More business to conduct. Back to collapse with Jula. She had returned my money, so I was doing fine now with cash. She came through for me as I knew she would. I was ashamed of my suspicions...
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©Copyright Seán Connolly |
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