I blew out a flip flop and needed a replacement pair. The front desk at the hotel told me that the resort store had them, but although they had other beach apparel they offered no sandals. The cashier informed me that I could find some at the market and directed me there.
I walked along the beach road for ten minutes or so and found a typical market. This one catered to locals, there was not a tourist to be seen. That may be a consequence having no desire to purchase their wares or the fact that all the vendors only spoke Indonesian.
I searched in likely stalls myself but saw none on display. After having made the rounds twice I started to inquire. I have been in many situations in my life employing non verbal communication so I gave it a shot.
My act was to point to someones sandals, push forward money and pantomime taking their sandals. Then I would point at their sandal and smile and give a thumbs up and at my hiking boots and frown and give a thumbs down. Then I would point to stalls and uplift my hands in a gesture of which?Many got it, many did not, many were just amused. I got every conceivable answer but the one I sought. A big no, which might mean the don’t know or that nobody has them and I got pointed to stalls that didn’t. Finally I tried the act with various vendors and one guy smiled and pulled out a rice bag filled with sandals and offered me a pair. They were not of a desirable style and they were half the size of my feet. I pantomimed bigger. He got it and reached in the bag took out a pair, put it down and repeated that several times until he pulled a pair that would only be a a couple of sizes too small.
Finally he shook his head no, He had divined the balance of the contents of the bag.
All right, I walked back to the hotel and one of the taxi drivers that rotates through servicing customers indicated that he knew of a surf shop that might have big sizes. We went all the way to Densapar, a pretty good drive. The traffic is merely very busy as opposed to the chaos of yesterday with the motor biking fiasco.
The largest they had was 42, but I bought them anyway. They appeared high quality and were priced like something upper end. Well I probably won’t be able to do any better.
As we had come this far I asked him where the nearest Apple store was. He took me to one then another and finally I found a Mac Air 13” Retina Screen and plunked down $1,500 for something that sells for $1,000 in the states. I guess that would be import duty for an American product made in Asia. I don’t know, but I am loving it.
With a 12 hour run time on battery, I should be able to blog on trains, buses and airplanes and the picture editing software sure beats what I was using on Linux.
So back to the hotel sitting in front of the pool, I plunked myself in front of a machine with an interface I had never used, googled up a couple of tutorials and was off to the races. I took some disk drives that I had laying around and set up one as an encrypted Time Machine drive, which is there term for a special kind of backup. I took another drive and set it up to store things. This box has 128 GB of flash drive and no hard drive.
I have 140 GB of pictures of my travels I have already posted.
Then I started a couple of backups of my software development in expectation that I would never need any of the code I had developed ever again, but that if I failed to do this that I would get an email within a month from somebody who wants an Aerospace Distribution Solution.
Having fun learning, take care. A lot more posts will be coming, both of my current activity in Bali and running backwards through the reportable parts of the Philippines.
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In what can only be considered a serious companion upgrade I shipped Ellen back to Olongapo, she can figure things out for herself from there and waited in Puerto Princesa (Palawan, Philippines) for my friend Candice coming from Sydney and her room mate Coco.
I received a text message at 6:30 in the morning telling me they had arrived. It was a bit of a journey for them, they had left Sydney three days earlier, had an overnight layover in Hong Kong and another overnight layover in Manila. I exited my hotel to see the two cuties standing across the street. Candice and I hugged like it had been years but it was only the prior summer that she and I shared an excellent adventure with her friend Sajou from Morocco and my friend ??? from Thailand and New Mexico. Three adventurous cute girls that jungle trekked and snorkeled with me.
Coco greeted me with a wink and a clicking sound which she frequently employed in an amusing fashion. The three of us took all of our bags (I had three) and road a tricycle to the bus terminal. The tricycle is a form of tuk tuk, a 100 cc motorbike with a side car. We were deposited in short order, bought a ticket and waited. The van ride to El Nido is five hours. There nine of us and luggage in what could not be considered a large van. Fortunately I was assigned the shotgun seat. One stop for a bathroom break and some bad food and another for a mango checkpoint. In the south of Palawan there is a disease that is killing the mangos and this was an effort to slow down the inevitable spread of the disease.
Five hours later we arrived and I returned to the hotel I had recently departed, situated right on the beach in the middle of the beach strip. We returned to Seahorse Charlie’s and booked a special tour of what I considered the best of El Nido. Girls, I will show you the best and then we move on.
Ok, girls, off to Playa Cabana. We will have enough opportunity to visit empty beaches over the next few days, when do you get a chance to zipline from one island to another?
We dined on the beach on fresh caught seafood and the exhausted travelers quickly retired for the night.
The Best of El Nido 12 Apr, 2014
Candice
The following morning we returned to Seahorse Charley’s at 8:00. There are four basic tours offered by scores of offices up and down the street, all selling the same thing, all just taking a commission and calling some boat operator. The go to the same places at the same and what could be an awesome experience is reduced to just a very good time. By leaving an hour and half of the swarms we could enjoy each visited location to the greatest extent possible. Two guys were were waiting for the same tour. They seemed pleased by the arrival of the eye candy.
After a five minute walk we arrived at the pinoy, a classic philippine boat style and set off for a day of snorkeling, swimming under limestone walls to hidden lagoons and beaches, snorkeling under coral heads, climbing steps carved out of limestone near a shrine. The tribe the shrine touts it as the holiest shrine on earth and the view as the best sea view on earth. The
view is spectacular. Beach after beach, lunch cooked from fresh vegetables and fresh fish. A truly excellent day for 21,000 pisos.
After returning we agreed to meet with Steve, one of the two guys for dinner. Coco wanted something different than seafood and Steve recommended a place. I should have known that a guy who has had throat cancer and says he can’t taste anything is not a person from whom one should take suggestions on matters culinary.
My squid was like rubber, I sent it back, the next dish was no better. Coco received overcooked spaghetti covered with a sickly sweet thin tomato based sauce. I don’t remember what Candice had but I don’t think it was much better. Steve had a large plate of tempura vegetables and shrimp that looked like it was actually worth eating.
During dinner all Steve could talk about was his whoring. He lives in Angeles, a city of whores and sex slaves some reportedly chained to their beds by Americans and Russians and made to service up to twenty people a day. It’s pretty horrific,
I decided I had no need to keep in contact with Steve and gave him a fake phone number when he asked for it.
El Nido to Koron by way of Linapacan
13 April to 16 April
Have you ever seen that picture of a canoe floating in what looks like air with a shadow in the sand? Many people will post that on Facebook and talk about how lovely it is where they live. That picture was taken in Linapacan according to the photographer. Linapacan was our halfway point to Koron, famous for the ???? large number of sunken Japanese ships sunk during world war two.
The previous evening we had charted a boat to Koron by way of Linapacan again from Seahorse Charley’s.
There are many tours that operate on large boats, but we wanted the liberty of going where we wanted to go, staying when we wanted to stay and we had to go Linapacan which the large boats don’t. It turned out to be a brilliant decision I haven’t done so well in the last two months (yeah, I am little late posting this, but now I have a Mac Air and can write while traveling, I am as of this moment, June 3 in a private car going from Legian, Bali to as far west as I can go on this island… more on that some other time).
Our first stop was at our captain’s village (??? ) near Napnac beach. I asked if the deck hand could stay and watch my stuff, I was assured that everything would be fine. As I was told this somebody was standing next to the boat, peering in. This was the only time in El Nido I had seen bars on the windows. I really didn’t take the reassurance well. “I don’t think if my stuff is stolen you will be paying me back.” Coco returned to guard the boat. Why is she being deprived of seeing this village because the mate won’t watch our stuff?
Candice and I walked around the village while our captain shopped for fish. Wide white sand paths were bordered by bamboo picket fences enclosing small yards containing houses constructed of wood with woven bamboo walls and thatched roof. This woven bamboo is a common material, it is inexpensive and there is no need to heat or air condition these houses. The material purchased by the roll.
We met the captain’s son and the mate’s girlfriend. Provisioned, we returned to the boat and the patient Coco and resumed our trip.
Our next stop was a lunch break. The captain prepared salad and fish and fruit. He told us that this whole beach was owned by the guy in that house over there and behind it was a village that had no electricity and no water, that they bring in water by motorbike. The village was too far to walk to but there was not much to see. I looked at the house in the distance and laughed to myself. As he was just starting a fire I walked down to the house and greeted the owner. I had been there weeks ago on my second motorbike tour of the area. “Hey Doug!” “Is that you, Jim? How did you get here?” “By boat, we are down the beach. Where does your property end?” “At the fence there, it’s not big, but the beaches are public.” “I thought so.” “The village has a well, right?” “Yeah.” Haha. I walked to the village and looked around, was greeted by a slew of women who were sitting around cross legged and talking. They offered e coffee. We talked for fifteen minutes, but the coffee never materialized.
Back to the beach. We ate and took off. Not much point in dawdling here. It was nice, but not awesome and awesome lay just ahead. Back on the boat Candice told me that my comment about the people was insulting. Maybe it was, but didn’t Coco get her money stolen just yesterday out of the room by some very friendly people?
The boat had a problem and the captain located a piece of electrical wire and improvised a fix. I inquired as to the nature of the problem and he told me it was the carburetor. Sure it was, this is a diesel engine, they have fuel injection, probably a throttle linkage and language barrier. I looked at the engine and a manifold had been wired to the block where a weld had given.
We snorkeled reefs on stunningly clear water, we snorkeled in caves. The girls took a lot of pictures of their tight young bodies in bikinis. All of the bikinis had been given to them by a friend in Bali who was starting a swimsuit business, The only thing she asked in return was pictures. Well, she got a lot of pictures. I posted them on Facebook and my friends were appreciative.
Such was the routine, snorkel, return to boat, snorkel, return to boat. Lunch on a deserted beach. Repeat the morning’s activities in the afternoon. Pull up near sunset, set up a tent, start a fire cook dinner, sit around and look at the starts.
The second day we stopped a village in the Linapacan area, but not the island proper. The manifold was removed and taken to a shop where it was welded. We bought some fish headed to a beach for our last night and then made our way to Koron.
Koron
The Bay of Koron was, to be kind, far less than clear. The captain said, “Contract fulfilled”. We arrived at our destination, the dock was ten feet above our heads. The boat pulled up to some bamboo scaffolding and we passed our gear up, scrambled up to the dock on the scaffolding, grabbed a tricycle and headed off to find a hotel. After checking in, Coco, after not having had a shower for three days desired a long hot shower went off without a plan and located something within fifteen minutes. I must admit everything about the second hotel was superior to the hastily selected one.
We had a week left and came here to dive. The girls wandered the town and I went my way, trying to find somebody who who grind the two kilos of coffee Candice had brought from Indonesia, without success. What is the deal with instant coffee in the Philippines?
The next day while the girls were out they texted me that the learned of a “resort” in the middle of nowhere and would I be interested in moving? Some guy named Luke had approached them and told them about the place. Hey, this town kind of blows, it just a place from which to stage diving wrecks.
?????
The next morning I was anxious to get moving but as it was a holiday no buses were running so we would have to hire a private car. Texts flew back and forth in all combinations between all parties the next morning. I wanted to get out the city, Luke wanted us to wait until 2 as there were some other people coming in and it would be too expensive if just the two of them had to split a van. Not my problem. He texted Candice started to get upset with me for my impatience. Blah, blah, blah. Well it turns out that there were six of ready to go at ten and Bryan, the owner wanted us all to wait for him. Dude, just rent a motorbike.
Also in the van were two guys from Canada, one from Toronto and one from Windsor who were teaching English in Hong Kong and Korea respectively. There was also a woman whose name I don’t know from I don’t care that I instantly disliked. She was the center of her universe. Let’s talk about me. She was one of those who didn’t converse, she talked and waited to talk, never engaging the other person. I may said two words to her. They should have been “fuck off”.
It took most of an hour for the van to travel midway down the west shore of the island. Upon arriving we were very pleased to have decided to come. There were but two “tree houses”. Good marketing, I guess, but they are not tree houses. The cabins were spacious. The only power in the day came from 60 watt solar panels, frequently neglected, sitting in the shade in the morning. This power could be used to charge phones, tablets and the like but was not enough to run a laptop. At night a gas generator (really? gas?) was run and sufficient amperage could be delivered to run just about anything you could carry.
I would plug in my phone to charge it and go off to do something and a random neighbor would have arrived, plugged in his or her phone in place of mine and when done, fail to plug mine in.
The two girls and I took one of the two cabins and the two guys and little miss Howdoiloveme took the other cabin. We had dinner and retired early.
The next day Bryan, the owner, showed up with his girlfriend. We had heard of their drunken antics on a motorbike and after a week in the hospital her face was not nearly as bad I would have thought. Brian’s girlfriend was a fillipino or as I guy I know who consults all over southeast asia a flip. More on that later, but I assure you 99% of them fit his description.
Whatever, that was an aside. Everyone in the group was a certified diver but Coco though she had had been on an adventure dive. We came here to dive, let’s dive. Luke said he had a dive shop. I don’t know whether I believe him. He was also not Padi certified.
After sampling 10 types of coffee and drinking various teas and having coffee made in a contraption I have never seen before I walked down to see a waterfall and didn’t return for two hours, I was hot and sweaty, the driver told me I took a long time. What? I can’t believe people do that a lot faster than I did. Then I told him that I had seen both waterfalls, I guess that was a first in his experience, kilometers through the jungle and thousands of steps I thought I had done pretty well. (3 June, 2014, Bali)
Coco dove a shallow wreck that was actually snorkelable (I guess I just made up a word) Candice and I dove ??? and a oil freighter. Inside, along the deck, it was so massive it was easy to forget it was a boat unless inside. It was awesomely cool.
The next day we kayaked around randomly and encountered a long stretch of beach with a devasted resort. It was in ruins. The prior November hurricane Yolanda had hit the Phiilipines with the highest wind speeds ever recorded on earth. The resort would have been ugly even before the disaster, Poorly constructed buildings jammed together along a kilometer of beach. While the girls sauntered along the beach and frolicked in the water I went around the bend and saw a couple of guys in a boat of a style I had never seen before. I went ashore and a Brit welcomed me while his dogs, 2 big mastiffs and a shar pei approached me. “Don’t worry.” They were enormous and muscular but their demeanor was such that it was obvious they sought little more than a scratch between the ears. He then invited me in, but I returned to fetch the girls. Now I was more than welcome. A guy living alone on an island loves the company of a pretty girl, especially if he is sure she is not going to stay long. He offered drinks, lamb roast, ribs, pork, a full dinner. He definitely wanted us to stay.
I turns out that he is the guy who was developing the resort next door. He stated that he was an emissary of the British Embassy and based on his tales I had a tendency to believe him. He was completely enamored of Coca and requested us to come back for dinner soon.
Another day passed and it was time for us to go. We headed to the airport and flew to Manila where Coco took a room for the night and flew back to Sydney.
Kalinga
While deciding where to spend our last week upon our arrival, should we fly to Bangkok, maybe Malaysia, Candice spent a few minutes on my computer and decided she wanted to go to Kalinga. Whatever girl. I don’t know what’s there, but I have all the time in the world and if that’s what you want to do.
So it was time to make our way to Sagada. When we arrived at the bus station we were advised that all buses to Tabuk were sold out for the day and the next day. We elected to go the nearest city, figuring we could catch a bus from there. We bought tickets for the 11 p.m. bus. Now we had about five hours to kill. We sat in the terminal, I pulled out a multiple outlet extension cord, unplugged a fan and we charged up our phones and sitting on bags of rice surfed, chatted, read Facebook, whatever.
Finally it was time to go. The bus ride from Manila to Tuguegarao was twelvehours and that wasn’t even our destination. We arrived just before nooon and sought lodgings. It was mid day, but really, it was time to get some sleep. The next bus to Tabuk left at six in the morning. I set my phone for five and woke Candice up and we walked in the dark, arriving at a driveway that held a solitary bus. I hoped this was the correct place.
Other people started to show up and the conductor opened the door. We boarded and Candice decided she was hungry and went off in pursuit of food. It neared six, where the hell is Candice? At six the bus started to back out. I called for it to halt and as I was taking her and my bags off the boss she strode up nonchalantly with her food and explained that the service was slow. Really girl? We almost missed the bus. She looked at me as though I was the king of drama and wondered why I wasn’t thanking her profusely for bringing me a cup of coffee.
At Tabuk we caught a bus to Bontoc a 10 hour ride and from there we took a forty five minute bus to Sagada.
Quite the journey and quite a roundabout path. We had spent twenty three hours on buses and an overnight stay to get to our destination.
Sagada
We finally reached our intended destination. Being unable to sleep on a bus, I immediately took a nap. Candice went out exploring.
I woke and walked the town. There is one primary road and it is narrow. Two cars abreast and pedestrians could not be accommodated. Visitors to the town are encouraged to park their cars at the hotel and walk. The town is eminently walkable. Stores sell purses, satchels, backpacks, camera bags sewn right in the shop or nearby.
The first morning I went for a walk while the girl with the golden tresses slumbered. Down the hill, around the corner, I looked down on the flat top of a cloud enveloping a valley. We strolled the streets looking at the wares. I took many walks down the road, through pine forests and exchanged a lot of texts with little miss crazy in Cebu (not Candice). Candice pursued her own interests.
There are caves to be explored with an entry filled, rice terraces to see, trekking, and hanging coffins.
On the ???? day we agreed to meet in the hotel lobby at 7:00 in the morning. I showed up, waited until 7:30, sent Candice a text and went for a walk. At a little after nine she texted me back and wanted to know where I was. I was several kilometers down the hill. She told me that she had met up with Jenny and was now at the church and I should meet her there. Back up the hill I asked where the church was, “which church”. Oh man, I went to the church and she was not there. I sent another text, she replied that she was in the cemetery. Where is the cemetery? Ok, I went to the cemetery and got another text, she was no longer there. Hell I showed up in ten minutes. I walked further and sent her a message that this was ridiculous, chasing her through town, showing up where she said she would be and she wasn’t there. Obviously Jenny had her own agenda and Candice was happy to tag along. I really didn’t care, I could explore on my own but chasing around to vacant destinations was not my idea of a good time. I told her to just do whatever she wanted, I was going back to the tour office. She said she would meet me there and we retraced our steps
Buscalan
“Hey Jim, I hear that there is a village up in the mountains in the rice fields with a small group of people that grow pot, make hashish and have an old lady famous for her painful tattoos. There is a nice five kilometer trek in the mountains to get there. What do you think?” “Sounds awesome and whatever you want, girl.”
A guide is a requirement but I have no idea why, the trip is easy, including the trek.
Joining us was So we headed down to the bus station at 6 in the morning and made our way to Bontoc, took a jeepney to a transfer point and found a bus heading to Bugnay. This bus was full and the top had maybe 10 people on it. This was our bus. My backpack was handed up and I ascended a ladder, the rungs where maybe 25 centimeters wide and 30 millimeter rungs but 8 centimeters from the body of the truck. I ascended carrying my computer bag and my daypack filled with electronics and camera equipment.
My feet hung over the edge but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Our next three hours would be spent on a road cut out of the side of the mountain. On our left was a cliff wall, to the right a steep drop off. The road was barely wider than the bus. Periodically we had to duck to ensure we didn’t get an overhead cable in the neck. The views were spectacular, verdant rice terraces and towering mountains in the distance. I was certainly positioned to take pictures.
We arrived at the start of our trek. I had no desire to carry a computer I wouldn’t be using and all of the stuff in my pack that couldn’t possibly be of any use while trekking uphill and walking along cliffs. I asked if there was anyplace I could store my stuff. The guide made a phone call and a few minutes later someone arrived on a scooter and drove me one kilometer down the road. I unpacked what I needed and deposited the rest in indicated spot and was driven back to the bus drop off point. In the mean Candice, Jenny and a Filipina descended the and proceeded to do likewise. I walked back down to join them and returned with them.
We headed up the road and shortly caught up with our guide and a couple hailing from an unknown place.
We proceeded at the pace of the slowest, Candice proceeding at the leisurely Caribbean pace of Guadalupe. I preferred to complete this trek before it got too hot and before it started to rain and proceeded ahead. Soon I caught up with the guide and the couple then passed them. Candice, Jenny and the philippina took up the rear.
I ran out of water and stopped by a house on the side of the road and asked if I could have some. I was directed to the tap, a piece of 18 mm pvc sticking out of a rock that continuously streamed clear cool mountain water. I was soon to learn that nobody shuts off their water. Anything they didn’t use was diverted to an aqueduct that served the rice terraces farther downhill.
When I reached the end of the road part of the trail I encountered a tram which is employed to transfer goods into and out of the village on the far side of the valley. This tram was constructed by the government, not by the people of the village and is not used for transporting people. I saw many others serving similar villages.
The road became a footpath along the wall of a viaduct and occasionally had a sheer drop off on the right. There were a couple of narrow bridges with no rails. I will admit heights bother me, I crawled over one of them. Down, down, down. In the valley a pool had formed and the river flowed on. Children frolicked in the pool and I moved on encountering stairs, about a thousand and I ascended into the village.
Each person I encountered inquired as to the whereabouts of my guide. I told them he was about an hour behind me. Parched I inquired as to where I could buy a coke. Sugar was in order. I was directed to a house and approached the pane less window and asked the girls within if I could buy a coke.
As the generator is not run in the day time even though it was in the refrigerator, the liter of coke was warm. I had a couple of glasses and offered the bottle back for them to distribute. The girls then invited me into the house and we chatted for a while. One is supposed to bring gifts, so I gave them the kilo of coffee that had been brought to me by Candice from Indonesia. I had been carrying it for two weeks but couldn’t find anybody to grind the beans, so the bag was unopened. This was gratefully received and I was offered a cup of coffee. I accepted but never received same.
They then proudly showed me a large bundle of marijuana and a bag of hashish. The hashish sold for 60 pesos a gram. I doubt they had a scale.
After about an hour the rest of the crew showed up and asked if I had taken a motorcycle ride. Haha, no just walked at my usual pace.
Though I walked all through the village repeatedly I only saw Candice once after that. I don’t know where she went. I was provided lodging the room of a woman’s house. The bed was wooden slats and privacy was afforded by a curtain. I was asked where my companion was and I indicated that I had none. The person inquiring pointed to the woman who owned the house and said she could be my companion for the night. I looked at the time worn overweight woman and her husband and wondered if this was a joke.
On another pass I reached the edge of the village and happened upon some blacksmiths squatting under a house, with a hand operated billows forging the very heavy duty knives that serve as machetes. I don’t know what they use them for, they seem far too heavy for any use I have
A dinner of rice and potatoes was prepared and I ate it. One more pass around the village, the girls were not to be seen. It was dark and I barely made it back to the house where I slept in little comfort on the wooden slats and knowing that after three wonderful weeks I would be departing at dawn without a chance to say goodbye to my wonderful companion.
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I am sitting on a train after my last adventure in Vietnam. Tomorrow I fly out to Kuala Lumpur. It’s been an adventure, for sure and I apologize for my failure to update. If I have to work on it, then I won’t write this entry, so I shall just go with stream of
consciousness.
My computer can barely fit on my lap, an extension cord is draped across the back of the seat ahead of me. The extension cord has come in handy since I bought it in Krabi, Thailand. Not only does it give me extended reach as outlets that are located inconveniently in the most improbable of places it functions as a ground adapter as I have not found a grounded outlet yet.
My overstuffed backpack sits next to the window, I have an aisle seat and the window seat is occupied, the occupant graciously offered me to put the pack there.
I am a day late getting back to Hanoi. There is a girl there waiting for me. I have never met her but know her througb a mutual acquaintance. I have been talking with her nearly every day for the the last two months, SMS messages, google+ messages, emails and phone calls. Most of it was just a way to kill time for one of us or the other. Sometimes I calledher and asked her to translate things for me. I offered to buy her dinner before I leave the country. She showed up in Hanoi yesterday and wasdistraught that I wasn’t there. Why? She was spending Valentines day alone. Hmm.
Damage report. My new phone, I bought bu a month ago has incurred somedamage to the case due to the inadequate protection, it fell off a table in my hotel room. I am on my way back from Nimh Bin. On the way out I discovered my kindle screen was cracked. The thing was so light that it was in a pocket in my vest in my backpack. When these things are placed
on buses, they are not handled gently, to say the least. My compact camera LCD is cracked. That happened on the train ride out there, it was in a case on my belt, the screen was out towards the spare batteries, I was in a sleeper bed on a train, rolled on my side and that was it. That works out to about a dollar a picture taken. It has an extended accident warranty for five years which is only honored in the US. I could probably find a traveler to take it back but as I am always on the move, I have no address to have it returned, so somebody stateside is going to get a very nice camera.
My last two days I did some light walking, no more than eight miles a day, boated down rivers, under and through karst formations, and generally saw the beautiful country side outside Nimh Binh. It was very cold there. No buildings are heated, I slept, fully dressed under two comforters. I was in Nimh Bin for but a few days, having made my way from Sapa.
How is this working the trip backwards working for you? The trip fromSapa to Nimh Binh was by way of Hanoi, where I was also supposed to the girl I am going to meet tonight, but I told her I didn’t much like Hanoi and I just blew through, arriving at four in the morning and disregarding all the motorbike and taxi drivers who told me that there was no train to Nimh Binh so they should take me to a hotel. I had a few cups of coffee, went back to the station and inquired. Yes, there was the station for Nimh Binh the next train left at 6:30. Sorry girl, I am outta here.
Sapa was gorgeous. The day I arrived I got to my room on the fourth floor of Sapa Paradise View and looked at the mountains in the distance and over the top of clouds that shrouded the valley. I just explored the town and the surrounding area on foot constantly encountering Mungh women the conversations went like this with little variance
“Hello, where you from?”
“Panama”
“Canada?” or some other country
“Where you live?” (What hotel am I staying at?)
I would just shrug, what the hell difference does it make and why should I tell them anyway?
“You want to come to my village?” (Would you like to pay to trek with me to my village?)
“Do you want to buy …” (Something one of their relatives sewed at home.
The town is hotels, restaurants and outfitter stores with really high quality knockoffs.
I shaved, got a haircut, some new clothes, a manicure, a pedicure a bath, shower and massage and now I guess I have to leave this town as I can’t get a moment’s peace. I can’t sit on the balcony, I can’t even be in my room without somebody knocking every ten minutes to see if I need something. Same guy I was yesterday, just looking a bit more presentable for a big date in a few days.
. do you know mkati? I gave ur number to my frnd also (Leigh)
Ohh there u are… Haha… let’s meet at pacifc star bldng, mkati.. There is a starbucks there.
I am stuck in some city. I don’t know where I am, can we make it 8?
8pm? Hmm. I will ask her, I want her to meet you.
No, she says that is too late. Hw bout 6pm?
Six sounds good.
OkOk ill wait4 my frnd’s txt
So I met this girl and she was going to take me to see a park in her hometown. I had to do something to fill the morning, so I thought I would take a walk in a park. She took me directly to an eco resort. I paid admission and walked in and she walked back to the admission desk and came back with a key, opened a room door and said, “This is our room, do you like it?”
Room? I thought we were going for a walk in the park.
What u do with other girl?
Gave her cab fare home.
You wth OTHER GRL?
Just going for a walk in the park, I thought. She is bigger than I am.
Hmmmm. k
I am on my way from who knows where.
haha.. That’s bad..OkOk see u in 2 hours then
Be safe, i
‘
I am in Montalban, it shouldn’t be too bad.
i dunno, its in rizal haha… But dunno hw far is that… Anyway just be safe.. u took a cab?
Waiting on a cab. She told me she was going to show me a beautiful park and some waterfalls, the she took me to a resort and asked my how many nights? What? OK, we can do it at my apartment, I thought you might want to rent a room. (expurgated)
OkOk, That’s wat we wil do then haha. We were abott to take u to mall Of asia and manila Ocean park but snce you are late, plan change.. Lets go clubbng..haha
Ok. I coitus use a little mayhem.
Oopps, phone COULD
what?
Autocorrect, never mind.
Voice Call
is evrythng Ok? I just told d cab to take u to makti, pacific star building.
Wht yllng bout?
He told me it was 1500 and it was very far. I told him to turn on his meter. He wouldn’t stop. I opened my door but he wouldn’t stop until the door was going to hit a car. I got out while it was still moving in front of a cop and he took off. The adventure continues.
haha.. Bad drivers, yah dnt fall 4 tricks…
Just get a taxi to Quezon, right? Near your house?
it wud be better f u get a taxi going to makati, so dnt need 2 transfer frm 1 taxi to anOther
OK, whats a fair fare from Quezon? It only cost me 209 to get here.
Oh from quezon city to makati around 250-300
OK then it can’t be more than 600
Yeah.. R u on a cab nOw
Haha. I think that’s the only cab in town.
Omg haha. Goodluck lol..
Do you know where I can score some opium? What a day!
Wats an Opium?
He says just plat number ends in 6 so he can’t take me there. But he will take me to someplace that can.
i see .. then frm where he drop u, u wil take anoter cab going to mkati?
No idea. marijuana.
What?
Smarikana. Auto correct again. I am going to Smarikana.
A lot more shit. Still texting can’t talk over all the street noise.
An uneventful ferry ride and about an hour and a half later we were at the port of Sumat Thani. We rode in the back of a truck to the minibus station where things started to get interesting. Nobody understood where we wanted to go. When I finally showed the guy on a map he broke out laughing and showed our destination to the other drivers who roared with laughter. We were told we had to go to another place that was three kilometers away and took a tuk tuk for 100 baht. We had reservations at the park. We called the numbers but none of them were valid, I remembered that the numbers all started with 0 and prepended a 0 and reached a fax machine. We walked around to a hotel and found the spot where we dropped off, it was no 3km, that was just the route the tuk tuk driver took. At the hotel the woman told us the name of a city we needed to go to, we looked it up on a map and it was nowhere near our destination. She finally got hold of the park and told us to a different city to go to, which was not too far from the park, we bought a couple of tickets for 125 baht each and rode to nowhere. We had completely escaped any travellers and tourists. We finally were told this was our destination. Now what?
As I hopped out of the bus, a guy in camo approached and said he was a park ranger. Wow! That was easy. We hopped into the back of his truck and drove off to the park. Although Marek and I each had reservations for 400 baht a night,it turns out that was the rate for a cabin, not per person. The website was ambiguous, better safe than sorry.
We were shown to our cabin, dumped our stuff and were soon brought dinner. We expected a communal eating area, but … As we passed a cabin a guy was playing a guitar.
Throughout the day we were joined by the curious and continually photographed, hundreds upon hundreds of pictures of the most mundane activities, lacing boots, eating, sitting in a truck. They don’t get many guests I think and white people must be very rare.
The next day we had a short walk in the wet jungle, wading across a river, thoroughly soaking my hiking boots, the cost was 200 baht apiece which three days later are still not dry, hanging onto my backpack, I nearly just lost one. In the afternoon we rafted. That was 350 baht each, on inflatable kayaks. In the evening we were invited to join the group, two rangers with their guitars, the girl brought us a cold pomegranate and we listened to them play their guitars and sing in Thai.
We hoped to see animals the park has elephants and tigers, but the terrain is rugged with most of the slopes 30 to 80 degrees and the wildlife was scattered throughout the remote parts of the park.
We arranged for them to take us to the train station.
We had each paid 1,200 baht for three nights which works out to about $15 a night. It turns out that was the cabin fee, not per person fee. Whatever.
Additionally we paid 200 baht each for the jungle walk, 350 each for the rafting and an usual request 1,000 baht to take us to the train station. So that adds up to 1,900 baht. The total bill was 3,600 baht meaning 1,700 baht for five meals each, bottled water and cigarettes.
Wednesday 11-Dec-2013 10:53 AM somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand
I am sitting on the second deck of a ferry boat, plugged into the only wall outlet I could find, heading back to the mainland to go visit Kaeng Kraeng.
December 8, 2014
Today’s travel tip:
Before you take off on a motorbike with a hot blonde girl in a bikini on and a python skin belt with pouches on an island in the Gulf of Thailand, ask her if her husband is with the Russian mob and if she is being followed.
I should go into that story, it didn’t last long,
but it was interesting.
Next stop, I had to buy a phone card to charge up my internet minutes. Outside the door was a guy looking at his phone, trying to decipher the message through the thoroughly cracked screen on his Samsung Android.I told him what it meant.
He had just rented a motorbike and was out for a day of exploring. I suggested we go see a waterfall, there are a lot of them on this little island. Off we went. We walked for a while, scrambled up rocks, back into the jungle. Upward and onward until the weak had given up and there were no other hikers. It really wasn’t that much work. We walked back down, cooled off in a pool of cool water in a bed of granite boulders, we offered and accepted half a liter of water from a couple of Dutch guys, chatted with a French couple and headed off to parts unknown, here a temple, there a Chinese temple in front of which were hundreds of motor bikes. Not much to see there, they were giving away bags of food.
Beach, dead end. We rode around and through the island, never bothering to consult a map nor choosing a destination. My new acquaintance, Marek, an Estonia,n asked somebody what the biggest waterfall was. Sure, why not. Off we went, more concrete roads, a roundabout, another road, a long expanse of freshly graded clay, the road degraded into ravines. We came upon an improvised waterfall sign that led by a small stall operated by a guy blinded by opaque cataracts that led to a small wall, maybe 60 cm tall with a small retaining area that fed dozens of 5 cm PVC pipes. Onward, it was dusk, and we found a sign for a waterfall. We didn’t know how much trekking was involved but decided to venture in and and see if it was close. It was close and one of three, certainly nobody came to see that little thing, it wasn’t much of a walk or much of a waterfall. Whatever, I didn’t want to be in strange jungle after nightfall especially one that likely had a large number of large highly venomous snakes.
We were damn near the middle of the east end of the island, we were aware that there were no waterfront roads but decided to see the coast before heading back. A sign indicated Theneset Seaview, let’s have a quick look and head back.
We parked the motorbikes and our arrival was announce by three dogs which resulted in the appearance of a Thai woman who directed us to the view spot, a large deck ensconced by boulders with a great view of the sea and not a tourist in sight. We both looked at each other, back and the sea, silently changed our plans and Marek turned to me and said, “So, we spend the night here.” That was easy.
We ordered dinner and met the cook, the woman’s husband. I had a few iced coffees, no sugar, which always evinces a reaction and we sat on the deck and recounted the felicity that gave rise to our stay. We had a few items to charge up and asked if there was an outlet. The husband walked off and fired up a generator which remotely puttered the sounds of a small diesel engine and soft music started, some Hendrix blues, Bowie’s Little China Girl, Stevie Ray Vaughn and so it went, great stuff, all of it. Kerosene lamps were set out. We dined and told travel stories, while our hosts checked on us attentively but not intrusively. A little “joy” was produced and the evening passed tranquilly with a pleasant mild buzz.
I asked whether there were a lot of snakes there and Noi assured me that there weren’t. After I talked about all the snakes I had as pets she produced her phone and showed a conflict between her dogs and a cobra that had occurred fifty meters from where we were sitting.
Now, where the hell is our cabin?
Morning
A foot long gecko hung out over the door on the inside of the cabin. I walked up and shortly thereafter and Noi appeared and offered coffee which was soon followed by an omelete and fresh fruits. After a morning swim in the bay Marek and I decided to check out of our respective lodgings and motorbiked up the road “Lonely Planet description’ and then west to the International Airport, a small building with a earthen driveway, I don’t know if the landing strip was paved. Back up another road back east and off to my lodgings. I packed, grabbed a few items and asked if I could store until I returned. My hostess agreed to contact the motorbike company and extend my rental for another two days.
We quickly found an internet cafe and Marek reserved the last bed at the park. A few blocks later we located the bank and paid for our reservations, which cannot be made online.
I was dressed for any eventuality, in a swimming suit, hiking boots, a shirt and a jungle vest. When we made our way to the southeast corner I walked back to the pool while Marek checked out. I immediately recognized the pool as a place with wild pool parties from a Thailand posting on one of my many research sessions. Here there were but a few people in the early twenties, drinking beer for breakfast. In the picture were scores of hot young Thai woman running around without clothes. If only Marek’s room mates had picked up a naked girl he wouldn’t have been so surprised once her pants came off. It would seem to be in the best interest of all parties to disclose that the junk is external. I looked more than out of place in my garb, but cared little.
We set out to what we hoped was a quiet beach on the northwest of the island, adjacent to another tiny island that was but a short swim away. We found a little spot on the water and had Pad Thai and mango salad. We lingered and finally set out to the beach a picturesque, sparsely populated stretch of sand with a beautiful small island that one might be able to walk to during low tide.
We arrived back at after dark, each had a banana shake and I a couple of iced coffees and a wonderful meal. We showed our day’s pictures to Noi and Oo and Marek broke out his computer and showed pictures of his travels to India, a destination Noi and Oo have considered.
We passed the evening with quiet blues and mirthful conversation.
Next Day
I gave thought, but no consideration to renting out the whole place by the year at 20,000 baht a month, about $700, but then came to my senses. Hell, I had just abandoned my house on the Caribbean a few weeks earlier due to restlessness.
We moved an old large battery, topped up the electrolyte, fixed the end to a charger and started up the generator. After the charger was set to the 18 volt position the hydrogen started to boil out of the electrolyte, but without a hygrometer or volt meter it was impossible to ascertain the condition of the battery. At least that would give them some music during the day hours without running the generator.
Morning
Moi informed us that there was an alternate beach and an alternate trail. Off we went, down a trail that headed away from the intended direction and instead of walking narrow paths through the jungle we descended on narrow concrete steps between houses and soon were met by a large pig that came around a house to investigate. A large monitor scampered off a rock and into the jungle. It seemed as though we were intruding as we were near front porch of all the houses, but, many were probably rental units anyway. Over large granite rocks. Is the progression pebble, rock, boulder, rock? I guess so. It is the “Rock of Gibraltar” and “The Rock” in the Bay of San Francisco and El Piedre outside Guatape in Colombia. Back the length of the beach we were on the previous morning to the South end we crossed a rickety wooden bridge that brought us to a dead end, found another walkway right in front of some cabins, waded through some water and found the little beach. Abandoned cabins were everywhere, perched atop rocks on the water’s edge, high up on rocks on the hillside, on the beach, all of them dilapidated and devoid of furnishings. Very strange.
We swam in the bay around the large rocks and headed back, a different way, of course. Across a field, under a fence, through the jungle, over more rocks, through somebody’s yard, the generator running, boats lying around and nobody in evidence. Marek suggested that we swim the river, murky with suspended sediment, but fearing crocodiles I suggested we follow the river for a while. Soon it became rocky again, we found some inscriptions on a stone, later to find that that was the marking ordered by a former Thai king to mark one of his favorite places a found our way to the other side up a slope and to a road. We happened upon a large four bedroom house with an infiniti pool that rented out for 13,000 baht a night. A short trek on a road and we were back.
We described what we had seen and Noi told us that most guests don’t even find the beach and that we had seen a great many things she had never seen. We just hung around. In the evening I suggested to Marek that we just have them go to town with us, gather our things and drop us off at the ferry.
We paid them 1000 baht to take us to town, bought our shit, posed for more Facebook pictures got on the Ferry and headed out to Turat Surani.
So much to see, so much to do. I have been enjoying the quiet of this little rustic mountain spot but as time is limited due to being afforded but 30 days I have to go somewhere, either to Bangkok to extend my stay, make a visa run by crossing the border and returning, or just moving on.
I initially planned to bus it back to Bangkok and go see XXXXXXXXXXX on the way and then fly to Malaysia, but realized that it would be easier and faster just to bus it south.
A short hike in the mountains made me realize that boating is not a conditioning activity and that I am nowhere in the shape I was while trekking through the Andes eight hours a day. It’ll come back. I have managed to lose a noticeable amount of weight, but I don’t have a scale.
So what now, Koh Toa, Kaeng Krung Park? Probably both
I made reservations at the park for Monday, but they require payment two days in advance, which can only be done in person at a bank. Fortunately there is a branch on this island. I guess I have to rent a scooter, go to town, find an internet cafe, print off a reservation, go to the bank, pay for it and get it signed and try again.
I think I will spend a couple of days snorkeling on Ko Tao then return to… wait, what the park is no longer listed on the reservation site?
Well, maybe I will rent a scooter and explore. I’ll report back this evening.
I was not impressed with Koh Samui, the much lauded place was a wonderful destination if one were seeking pharmacies, bars, restaurants, hotels, custom made suits, tattoos, tour providers, money exchange, ATMs, massages and blowjobs from the extremely hot professional girls who work the pool tables in the bars, each of these are available in a endless loop, punctuated by sides streets with of German Town, Russia Town and smatterings of Swedish and Australian restaurants and sports bars edging a substandard beach. There, I got it over with in one sentence. Moving on.
Yesterday was the king’s birthday and consequently alcohol sales were prohibited, although the Australian bar served beer. I didn’t ask. In any event, the town was dead last night and I just sat in my room and read.
I had sought some snorkeling, but the boats all went to Koh Tao where there is a national marine park. Why not go there then?
This morning I walked out of the hotel and the prostitute that solicited me yesterday at six in the morning, was riding up in a scooter to meet with a customer in the lobby. Let me flash back to yesterday. I was standing on the street in front of the hotel, smoking a cigarette at six in the morning waiting for the coffee, such as it was, to be available. Coffee means near hot water and instant coffee, it’s about the only thing available anywhere. The woman drove up to her house, directly across from hotel entrance, parked her scooter and asked “Where you go? Where you go? You have wire?” I indicated I had no idea what she was talking about and she indicated her ring finger. Oh, wife. No. “I go buy oil, be right back.” No really I am just looking for a coffee.
I got my computer and went to the lobby to check my email and Facebook messages. Still no reply on that business deal. WTF? After several coffees I returned to my room to put away my computer to find a condom stretched over my room door. I summoned a maid who removed it with an ungloved hand and then washed the knob after I asked her to.
When I looked on the internet for lodging on Koh Tao, one appeared for Ko Phangam, an island that lies halfway between Koh Samui and Koh Tao. There were some bungalows in the mountains that seemed a like a nice way to get away from things and I made a reservation on airbnb.com. I informed that I would get a confirmation or a denial, probably within four hours. I decided I would go to Ko Phayam regardless and find some lodging. There were three companies within 100 feet selling tickets. I went to one and bought a one way trip, taxi and boat ride for 450 baht, about 15 dollars. That’s the last currency conversion I will give you in this post.
A taxi was to pick me up between 11:00 and 11:30. A guy showed up at 11:17 and indicated no little disgust that I wasn’t just standing there waiting for him. I shutdown the computer and put it in my bag, total delay a little less than a minute. The sky darkened and I followed him to a hot van with worn out seats, the padding material exposed at all the corners and much of the edges of the seats. I placed my backpack, camera bag and computer on the first passenger bench seat as I had been requested. Shortly thereafter we picked up a Russian couple at a five star resort and one of his suitcases was carefully laid on the seat next to my luggage. The second bag was heaved onto the top of my electronics before I could react.
A few minutes later we were at Big Buddha pier and I took a seat behind a Canadian couple and we compared notes on Thailand. They were heading to where I had just come from. I just listed the places without tendering any judgments. I hope they enjoy it. They did tell me that Trawangan, Bali was awesome and I made a note of that.
I walked over to the rails and smoked a cigarette and introduced myself to a German guy. He asked where I was headed. I describe the bungalows in the mountains and he excitedly told me that that was the type of thing he was doing. He had just spent a week at one of the two places offering lodging on Koh Phayam, places one would only find if someone were to tell him, family owned and operated and offering peace and tranquility.
Our one o’clock scheduled departure took place well after the half hour for no obvious reason. About three quarters of an hour later we arrived at our destination. In the mean time, I had exchanged several emails with the girl who was making reservations on behalf of the woman who owned the place. It turned out that the offered transportation had to be booked well in advance. It’s a small island, how hard could this be? I showed my confirmation and was shown a map of the island and was told that it had to be in this area as indicated by the place name. Where exactly was unknown. I found a book for tourists that detailed activities, restaurants and lodgings, but my intended destination was not listed. I called the number provided, the phone was not in service. Finally, I turned on images for my email, saw a map, clicked on it and google maps opened up and showed the exact location. The fare was as I was advised in my booking, 200 baht.
The Russian couple and I were the only passengers and we waited for additional fares, but by this time the dock area was cleared of any potential customers and we headed out at 3:00. About 20 minutes later the taxi driver called the bungalows and indicated that I was there. He told me that as there were only three passengers the fare was 300 baht and further that a taxi would come from the bungalows to pick me up. We watched a man poking coconuts with a pronged stick and toss them into the bed of pickup truck. The taxi driver indicated that coconut milk was very good after joy. I inquired with a thrusting right fist “Joy? Sex?” he pantomimed smoking a bong. Ahh, dry mouth. I prefer my version of joy. I paid him and he departed.
Soon an elderly woman appeared on a scooter and asked if I was going to a certain bungalow. That was not the name I had been given on my reservation, but I replied in the affirmative. She indicated that I should sit on the back of her scooter. Between me and two much stuff the additional 300 pounds the frame bottomed out. She made a phone call and indicated that a taxi would come from town. I had but a mile to go, so I started walking. I could be there in twenty minutes. On my way another old woman came and asked where I was going. Sure, wrong bungalows, but I could transfer tomorrow, it’s not my fault they don’t answer the phone at the place I reserved. We went a short ways on the concrete road before it turned to dirt. When it turned to mud, I had to get out and walk. Despite the short distance it was fairly steep and I wasn’t accustomed to carrying this much and I hadn’t quit smoking when I hit Southeast Asia, as I had intended to.
I found the place without any difficulty, dropped my bags, looked out at an expanse of jungle and chatted with a couple of elderly Thai women, one being the person who had given me the ride. I was hungry, not having eaten yet. I got a small banana one of the little sweet ones common in Panama but not available in the states. I asked for a shake and quickly received a banana shake and was then offered a bar-b-qued banana, which was delicious but not nearly enough to sate me. Hell, it was almost dinner time and I hadn’t eaten anything else all day.
The woman told me that to eat, I should rent a scooter and go back to town. Shit! I didn’t want to rent a scooter, I didn’t want to see a road much less a town. I came here to be one with nature. It turns out that normally they serve meals but that the woman’s cousin had died and she had been spending her days at the temple. There were five other guests checked in but not in evidence, they were off walking in the mountains. It turns out that they had all been there each year for many years and were going to town for takeaway three times a day. Damn..
She offered to make me fried rice, but I have been avoiding rice and offered to make me some So far, in Thailand, I have lost five micro USB cables and six pounds. The weight loss I attribute to avoiding starches and my nemesis, ice cream. Hopefully some good mountain hiking will accelerate that process, I’d like to drop another twenty. It is now 6:20, the power just went out. My computer says I have 1 hour and 52 minutes of run time. I doubt it.
My phone is running on battery power. I bought a micro USB cable yesterday and charged up the phone last night, today the batteries quickly died and it wouldn’t take a charge. Damn cable. It can’t be all three USB ports on my computer, I hope. I plugged in my Kindle. Damn, it charges. The phone is fucked. How did that happen? I haven’t been caught in the rain or dropped it in the sea.
The camera was kind of shitty, the phone did get some water in it a while ago and the camera hasn’t been up to snuff since then, when was that? Oh, yeah, when Kivia came to Bocas. Haha, just saw her a couple of days ago.
As my only source of internet is the phone and I can’t charge it, I tried to turn it off. It immediately said
[ODIN3 FACTORY]
PRODUCT: GT-S7500
VERSION: ST7500AIMC2
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL
Downloading
Do not turn off target!!!
Great, burn up what little battery power I have while downloading an operating system upgrade I don’t need over a G3 connection. I hope it finishes before the battery dies. After that, I may have a working spare battery and then I guess I have to replace the phone. I won’t be anywhere long enough to get it repaired.
The phone died, I replaced the battery with a good one, it started to boot, turned off and is now a brick. Life.
I put in a third battery. It booted, but showed no battery life and died.
I put in a fourth battery, now out of batteries and it says, charging. I don’t know.
In the end I went to bed without dinner, having had just a shake and a couple of bananas for the day.
After yesterday’s disaster I felt no need to tarry in Krabi. My next stop is Ko Samui. First stop is apparently Surat Thani and from there I can take a ferry.
I inquired at the reception desk of the hotel how to get to Surat Thani and was immediately told I needed to go by taxi. A taxi driver, standing nearby and apparently a friend of the person behind the desk quickly explained that it would be 2 1/2 hours and 3000 baht by private vehicle and proudly pointed to the old sedan parked in front of the hotel. No thanks, I want to bus it. That will be at most, one tenth the cost and provide some interaction with people. Well, the bus leaves at four, maybe five. Great help there guys. Perhaps I should just bus it to Krabi Town and secure a seat.
Half an hour later and 60 baht later… That was easy and the next bus leaves at 1:00 and costs 150 baht.
I read on the bus and arrived at Surat Thani. I was expecting a bus station, but was told to disembark at some intersection. I looked up and a man inquired “Kho Samui? Hurry, hurry.” I had never caught site of the bus driver. The man stepped down out of the bus. I placed my bags down and he grabbed my backpack with a profound grunt, but managed to sling it over one shoulder. He proceeded to walk as quickly as he could manage under the load and a block later the bag swung and knocked down an elderly woman. As I stopped to make sure she was ok, he merely turned around and had a hearty laugh and proceeded. Three blocks later he placed the bag in the back of his beaten down little pickup truck and told me to sit in the cab. He wanted 2,000 baht to drive me to the ferry terminal. I stepped out, retrieved my bag and walked a short distance before confronting another person. “Where you go? Where you go?”, the refrain of the Thai national anthem. I indicated that I was trying to get to Kho Samui. He brought me to a tour company that told me it was too rough to go out today and that I should buy a ticket now, get a room and they could take me in the morning.
I walked on. An old lady stopped me, called out the refrain and took me to another place. A bus ticket and a ferry ride to Ko Samui was 380 baht. This was the last bus and left in less than half an hour, at 5:30, directly in front of the business. I was hungry but was advised that I had no time to get food. Next door was a woman with “two menus” one was pork, she pointed to a pot of meat simmering and the other fried chicken. The pork certainly had to be an improvement on the chicken and I opted for that. It wasn’t bad.
On the bus I sat behind a german girl and across from her Chilean boyfriend. He was working on his Phd in biology and had spent considerable time in Gamboa, Panama. The ride time was consumed by very pleasant conversation. A one hour bus trip terminated at the ferry terminal. I slipped the plastic ticket card I had been provided into the slot in the turnstile and walked through. I took a seat on the second level foredeck of the big, rumbling steel boat and I continued to read. I didn’t even notice that we were a mile from shore. The seas were very calm. An hour and a half later we arrived at Ko Samui. I had been advised by a woman who travels for a living, making damn good money from her blogging that I should head out to Lanai Beach. When I was approached by a woman with a map asking me, “Where you go?” I told her Lanai Beach, but before listening to her ridiculous quote I queried the driver of another truck. Yes, he was going to Lanai Beach, second stop, that would be 200 baht. I don’t know how long that ride was about forty minutes, I guess. In the middle of a narrow, bustling street I was told this was the center of town.
I got out, walked a few blocks and found a very nice hotel with a swimming pool, secured a room with a balcony for 750 baht, plunked down my stuff and headed out for dinner.
This town was nice, every business had a dozen customers, anothing was dead but nothing was mayhem. Restaurants, bars, hotel, convenience store, pharmacy, pool parlor, repeat.
The pool parlors had two or three tables of incredibly hot girls looking like they were just having a nice time. The tour books indicate that these girls will beat you at pool every time and are available for take away.
I just wanted something substantial and decided that it was not mandatory to eat Thai for every meal and dined at a Swedish restaurant, hardly a scarce resource here. I made the mistake of ordering Stroganoff with sausage. The sausage was hot dog.
Ahh well, I will explore tomorrow, it’s ten o’clock at night and I have no sense of urgency.`
Jonathan Allen LaFleur