Island Bound. First Stop: Koh Samui

Mon 25 Jul 2016
Welp.
Yikes.
Here goes.
Tash has left.
I'm officially traveling on my own now, and I'm pretty nervous to be doing so. I know this sounds completely ridiculous, because didn't this entire journey start with me traveling alone? And while that's true, I was traveling to Cambodia to meet a bunch of people who were also traveling alone. We were all alone, so it made being alone not so lonely. The loners had each other. This time around however, I'll be hopping from hostel to hostel trying to meet people who maybe aren't alone, who maybe already have "their" people, who maybe aren't doing the same thing as me at all. Then what?

Luckily I had lots of time to mull it over. A whole day to be exact.
The van picked me up at my hostel at 8am. The driver told me we would be full ('would be' being the key words here) so I'd have to sit in the front middle seat of the van. Considering the van was competely empty at the moment, bar for one passenger in the front seat, couldn't I sit in the back until it filled up? Nope. Not an option. I had to be in my seat for the entirety of the ride. Alrighty then. In I climbed. My knees were in my armpits and I was in the middle of a pretty thick shoulder sandwich, but hey, at least I wasn't alone, right?
Thankfully as we stopped for another pickup a family with small children inquired about boarding the van. I was relieved of my duty as keeper of the middle seat and was permitted to crawl in back. Although I was still a key ingredient in the shoulder sandwich, my knees were not in my armpits and I still wasn't alone. Things were really looking up for me.

The van drove for about 2 hours before stopping for lunch. I ordered some soup-- thank god because little did I know I wouldn't be eating again for another seven hours. The van finally let us off at a bus station where we sat for about an hour before boarding a large bus. The bus took us to the ferry dock where we boarded the boat that would take us to Koh Samui. After spending forty five minutes on the boat we were able to see the island. After exiting the boat we took yet another van to get to our hostel. Over the course of my nine hours of travel, I had met some really nice people. Maybe traveling alone wasn't so lonely after all.

I finally checked in to my hostel. I was totally exhausted, and starving. I needed to eat. The girls in my room were super nice. They had already eaten, but offered for me to hang out with them later. On my way downstairs, I ran into a few guys who invited me to join them for dinner. One of the german guys offered to take me to a really good place down the road so I accepted. Minutes later, I was eating a super yummy dish, listening contentedly while my new friend told me about his travels.
Maybe I could do this whole traveling alone thing.

On our way back from dinner we stopped at the Sev to pick up some beers and headed back to a lively party in the lobby. Cards, beers and a little live music were what kept our hostel going that night. A group of us decided to head to the beach to check out the bar scene and believe it or not I actually ran into one of the guys I had spent numerous hours of travel with earlier in the day. By the end of the night I already had an invitation to go hiking for the next day.
I don't know what I was worried about. Traveling alone has actually turned out to be super fun, and not even a little bit lonely after all.

Phuket was Packed with Pros...titutes

Fri, Jul 22, Sat, Jul 23, Sun, Jul 24, 2016

Tash and I had heard mixed reviews about Phuket so we decided to go and check it out for ourselves. I flew from Bangkok and arrived at our hostel earlier than she did, so I headed out to do some exploring. The streets were alive with people. Tash met up with me around 10:30. We walked all around Phuket, and finally headed down a sidestreet to a pop up tiki bar for drinks. The girls working at the tiki bar were super friendly and wanted to chat with us in english, which is what we ended up doing for most of the night-- minus me trying to get a few thai phrases in here and there.
The girls were really fun and kept playing games with us and betting our drinks on them. Lucky for us we got multiple free drinks out of it :)

Phuket is known for its surf, so Tash and I were planning on surfing while there. However, because we weren't able to get bamboo tattoos like we had originally planned, but instead had to get traditional needle tattoos a week prior, we weren't yet cleared to go in the water. We were initially pretty bummed about this, however, the weather on Saturday was quite gloomy-overcast and rainy for most of the morning- so it wasn't conducive for surfing anyway. Instead, we opted to sit in a mexican restaurant overlooking the beach while eating tacos and drinking margaritas.

Once the rain finally let up, we made our way to the beach where we rented chairs and read in the sand.

That evening, we experienced the "patong nightlife" (bar after bar after bar of young thai prostitutes on display beckoning anyone and everyone to come inside) This definitely was not our scene, so we kept wandering and finally came to a bar with live music. This was more our style. We played our signature game, 'what're the odds', which led to Tash taking test tube shots, rubbing limes under her armpits and eating a whole bowl of peanuts in one gulp. It also led to me having to allow a stranger to apply my lipstick in the middle of the road... who had it worse? I'm not quite sure.

After the band finished, we decided to check out a Phuket night club. It was huge. But the thing I remember most: suckers. There were a bunch of people eating suckers. Maybe this was code for something? A new drug perhaps? I never did get the answer. To this day, I still believe Phuket is just riddled with an exceptionally high population of dum dum enthusiasts.

Sunday was our last day together in Phuket. The weather was overcast but we headed to the beach one last time to soak up the [not so sunny] sun and the sand. Tash and I were saying goodbye for the last time. A girl I had known for less than a year but had shared enough experiences with to last a lifetime. She was one of the first people I had to say goodbye to on my journey, and it was a pretty weird feeling. Maybe because I didn't know if I'd ever see her again? Maybe because I knew that this was the beginning of the end of my time in Thailand? Maybe because I relied on her to plan most of my travels and now was going to have to go at it on my own for the next month? Who knows. Either way, I'm better off having met this left of center, small town, big personality, texan.

These Ruins Ain't Gonna Ruin Our Style

Thursday 21 July 2016

Well we decided to do it. We decided to plan an excursion to the "ex" capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya. We'd heard mixed reviews but mostly that it was hot (shocker) and that it was old (tell me something i don't know, people) and that it required a lot of walking. Our van was scheduled to pick us up at 6:30am at Terminal 21. Anyone who knows Jenna knows that getting up early is NOT her thing. Like not even a little bit. Like not even at all. Anyway, Term 21 is minutes from my apartment and multiple MRT stops from Jenna's. See where this is going? Jenna assured me she'd be there and that she didn't want to spend the night at my place the night before. Ok...
Fast forward to 6:30am the next morning. I was there. Jenna wasn't. But... neither was the van. Fast forward to 6:35am. I was there. Jenna wasn't. But... the van was. Thais are rarely ever on time so I double and triple checked with the van driver that he was actually the man who would be bringing me to Ayutthaya and not some stranger picking up a floral delivery or a thai tea or a thai prostitute. He assured me he was my main man and that yes, he would be delivering me to Ayutthaya. However, he assured me that he would not be waiting for my friend. WHAT? Usually thais are so friendly and accomodating. Please sir? Please? No dice. Jenna was literally minutes from getting off the MRT but my man was putting the pedal to the metal. Was I going to have to go on this day long excursion by myself? Oh hell no. I worked my charm-- broken thai sentences work like a dream-- and managed to get our stop itinerary out of the driver. I called Jenna and gave her the rundown. We devised a plan. She would get back on the MRT and try to catch us at our next stop. Did it work? No. New plan. Hop on a moto. Thais haul ass through the city on motos, especially during rush hour. Bobbing and weaving are practically their middle names. Anyone who knows Jenna knows that riding a moto is NOT her thing. Like not even a little bit. Like not even at all. (Ok, maybe riding a moto is slightly more her thing than getting up early... but barely.) If this plan ended anything like the last one, I would be going to Ayutthaya alone. As Jenna drove I was giving her real time updates of our van's location. (If google maps is hiring then I should be seriously considered.) The van dumped us at our last pickup spot before Ayutthaya. Please let Jenna be here. Please let Jenna be here. 2, 3, 4 minutes went by. Our new driver- I had been abandoned by my main man, but this is commonplace in Thailand- got us all in the van. But my friend, she isn't here yet. He assured me we'd be stopping at the police station to retrieve her. Yeah, just like the last guy who assured me he'd be delivering me to Ayutthaya. Anyway, I got in because what choice did I have? As we drove I saw Jenna.  "puan, puan" I yelled. At this point, the whole group was invested in the saga of the overtired american risking life and limb to get to our van. They all cheered when the van stopped and Jenna got in. Anyone who knows Jenna knows that rushed, made it by the skin of my teeth moments, are NOT her thing. Like not even a little bit. Like not even at all. So she put her earbuds in and for the next hour found her zen place. And me? I was just glad to have someone to take selfies with.
An hour later we came upon the ruins that are Ayutthaya. It's amazing to see rubble so old and know that it was once an ornate temple or palace. I wonder if Bangkok's biggest and brightest will ever deteriorate to this level?

Our takeaways- it was hot. it was old. and it was a lot of walking. But, it was also really awestriking to experience the beauty of rubble (kind of an oxymoron I know, but check out my photos and you'll understand what I mean).

What was even more awestriking? Jenna and I were walking near a half intact brick wall when we came across this amazing, epitome of mother earth, pocahontas style grandmother willow tree. All of a sudden the weather started to turn, the clouds started to form and the tree was illuminated against a sky that was hot with lightning but cool with the downpour of raindrops. We ran and ran- although at this point we were already soaked- to a small shelter with an overhang. We waited and waited, because midday rain is commonplace in July in Thailand, but it didn't let up. I caved first. I went splashing and sloshing through the flood because it was imperative that I find a bathroom. Ten minutes, a few botched sentences in thai, and a secret passage through a pop up market later, I found a bathroom.

We then boarded the van and headed back to Bangkok. Although, instead of being dropped at Terminal 21, we were dropped on Khao San Road. In the light of day. What? Is this really what this place looks like? I had never, ever experienced this road during daylight hours. Much less stone cold sober. Is Khao San even a thing during the day? Jenna and I decided to stick around and find out.

We wandered up and down the streets looking at vendors, and then settled down at an outdoor bar. We started playing 'what're the odds'- our most favorite game in Thailand- when we were approached by two travelers much like ourselves. They asked if they could sit so we invited them for a beer. What occurred next was.. well.. I'm not quite sure what to call it. A grown man's tweak, melt down, freak out followed by obnoxious over apologizing. What? Maybe Khao San Road wasn't totally different during the day than it was at night...

Jenna and I decided to hit up another outdoor spot, one with a two seater table so we wouldn't be approached by any innocent looking travelers. After a few more beers, we decided we were going to make a night of it, but certainly not on Khao San Road.

Jenna and I worked opposite schedules in Thailand so we never got to 'go out, go out' together. Because tomorrow was a holiday for Jenna, and because I had already finished working, we were able to spend a night out on the town. We went to one of Jenna's favorite spots for drinks and dancing. Anyone who knows Jenna knows that dancing is TOTALLY her thing. Like definitely more than a little bit. Like totally a lot :)
It was the perfect end to the perfect day!