Plane Time Wrap Up!

I'm on the plane ride back to London and I just watched the most depressing movie ever. My entertainment system seems to be messed up so does whatever it wants. I finally got the movie section up and a random movie just began. The intro sequence looked interesting so I thought I'd see a bit more. It was a Korean movie about a woman who takes care of her whole family including her senile mother and no one ever does anything for her. Then she gets sick and spends the rest of the movie dying! Gahh!! And she is all proud and so doesn't tell her awful kids so they kept treating her like crap and the husband is no help because he is too grief stricken to help her so it's still just her taking care of grandma as she runs away crazy with dimensia. And by the way she has an alcoholic brother who only takes money from her and hits his wife and gambles. Needless to say I have been bawling for the past 2 hours much to the horror of the quiet Asian man sitting next to me. I even had one or two of those trying to stifle a sob and then you accidentally snort moments. Spoiler, she dies at the end... I've broken out my computer and put on some cheery music to try and change my mood. I figured it was also time for some reflection. I spent the last week split between 2 islands on the east side of Thailand's south coast. I was a bit nervous traveling by myself, but I had literally gone 10 minutes on the ferry to the island before I was chatting to a group of travelers from Canada. They were a fun group, fresh with the excitement that the first week of a trip brings. We split ways at the pier but said we'd try to meet up later on. I had no plan for accommodation, but I had an idea of where I wanted to go. I checked the prices for taxis from a few different drivers and was surprised that the price was exactly the same no matter who I asked and there didn't seem to be any chance of haggling. This was something I had never encountered on this trip. A nonnegotiable price? Were there tuk tuk unions set up on Koh Tao and my guide book had failed to mention it? I was about to give up and pay the 200 Baht when a driver offered a free ride (I'm listening) if I stayed at the resort he works for. 'Can I see it before I commit to staying?' Long pause. 'Yes, it's ok.' I hopped into the back of a pick up truck with a few other travelers and we were off, simple as that. Once at the hotel I looked at the room, a very nice resort with a pool, air conditioning and a room with 2 sizable beds. Had I had another person with me it might have been a good deal, but as I was alone, 800 Baht per night was a bit out of my price range. I himmed and hahed around the room, checking out the bathroom and the pillows, I finally asked 'none with an ocean view?' 'No' 'Oh.... I really had my heart set on it... Well it's very nice but let me check at one other place and then I'll be back. Thank you so much!' And I was gone! I walked around the corner and checked into a dormitory. 2 cheats in 2 days?? I was so pleased with myself. I went directly to the beach trying to get the lay of the land. The island is small... so after about 20 minutes I had the place covered. Now what? There was a sign for kayak rentals so I bought an hour and took to the sea. The water was so clear I could see the ocean floor even after paddling out 100 meters or so. While afloat I decided that if one is to travel alone they need activities. So, I went to shore and went about signing up for various tours around the island. I found an all day snorkeling trip for the next day and a yoga class for that night. The yoga class was fantastic, it made me really sad my yoga retreat had been cancelled. The instructor had all these sandbags that she would come around and place on you as you stretched in order to get you deeper into the pose. At the end, as we were lying on our backs focusing on our breathing she came around and put lavender scented pillows on our eyes and massaged our necks and scalps. I could have kissed her. When I went back to my hostel I made a friends with a guy from Canada and we decided to go to the lady boy cabaret show. We went for drinks at the bar downstairs in our hostel first, where we made quick friends with the staff. Apparently connect four is a popular bar game here, and the locals are experts. I have not played since the age of 10, however, so after a few drink betting rounds I was getting pretty tipsy. But we couldn't stay! Lady boys wait for no man! So lady boys are considered a third category of gender in Thailand and they are well loved and accepted part of the culture (as far as I could see). The show was basically like any drag show you've ever seen, featuring hits from Gaga, Cher and an end medley of ABBA. My Canadian friend was pulled up on stage at the end and put in sequins and a blonde wig. We stumbled home afterwards to find the guys in the bar still playing connect four. We declined any more rounds and made our way off to bed.

The next day it was time for my snorkel adventure. I was picked up at my hostel by a motorbike taxi and taken to the pier. The guide told me that we were a small group today, only 3 of us. I looked at my 2 companions, an older Russian couple who spoke little English. The woman was not even wearing a swim suit saying that she would just hang out on the boat and the man looked sullen, or perhaps he just looked Russian, it's hard to say. Great, I thought. I had been excited to meet some people, it was a 7 hour tour after all. Other people started showing up, however, and I realized (much to my relief) that there were many guides sharing the same boat, and that they all had about 3 travelers with them. We stopped at 5 different spots around the island. I saw beautiful coral, tons of colorful fish, 3 sharks and a school of fish so large that from far away I thought it was a giant rock in the water and was stopped dead in my tracks when I realized it was all fish. The school was amazing because you could swim through the middle of them and they would flee in all directions creating a ring around you as far as you could see. The sharks were not so large (about 1 to 1.5 meters) and I was told they weren't dangerous. I told my guide I wanted to see one and he led me around for ages pointing in different directions to me under the water. I followed and then there it was! A shark about 40 meters away! I was so proud I was facing a fear and was this close to one in the ocean. Then 2 more sharks showed up, and my brave new attitude started to sour. I wouldn't say that I panicked... but I suggested to my guide that we had been out long enough and that it was probably time to head back. I suggested this by swimming away in the direction of the boat.  The tours last stop was at a small private island right off the coast of the main island. It had a white sandbar from which you could swim to what they call the Japanese Garden. It was a beautiful stretch of coral in every direction with clear clear water and tons of little fish. The day was perfect, I wore a t-shirt for most of it to prevent my back from burning, but unfortunately neglected the upper part of the back of my legs - so I have a pretty funny looking burn on my butt. Oh well, for 7 hours on a boat, I think I did pretty well. I also met a couple on board from Portland and they asked what I was doing the next day, I told them I was leaving for a different island and they said 'oh, us too!' so we decided to meet on the morning ferry and try to find a guesthouse together. When I got back from my all day adventure I was worn out. I showered and tried to take a nap, but although my body was tired, it had neglected to tell my brain which was wide awake. I decided to go for a walk and after only a few minutes ran into the group of Canadians I met on the ferry on the first day. They said they were headed to dinner so I tagged along. We sat on the beach in giant bean bag chairs as the sun went down over the water. After, I went out and got a few drinks with some girls I met from England and then it was home to my hostel/bar where the staff were singing Thai karaoke. I watched them rock out and after every song they would explain to me (over the microphone, even though I was a few feet away) what the song meant and if there were any love songs they were inevitably dedicated to me. I was actually getting quite sad to be leaving Koh Tao, 2 days was nearly not enough and the island was so small it had been so easy to make friends and then run into them over and over again. But, it was time for the next adventure.

I woke up the next morning and was again driven via motorbike to the pier. There I saw the couple from Portland already waiting, sitting next to their bags looking very tired. We all perked up once on the boat, however, because the in boat entertainment was the Sean Connery/ Nicholas Cage masterpiece The Rock. I almost wanted to stay longer to see the end of it. While on the boat we were approached by a woman who ran a hostel saying she'd give us a good price for a beach bungalow and a free ride from the pier if we booked with her right then and there. We felt a bit pressured because we had had no time to look around or compare prices but in the end we decided to do it. I was pretty excited, the room cost 50 Baht less than what I was paying at the dorm and I would have my own room right on the beach. Got there and it was pretty sad little hut, just enough room to stand up in and hotter than all hell with a small fan. Evan and Rachel didn't seem too happy with the accomodation so we paid for the ride from the taxi and went to a bungalow down the beach a bit with AC and with a porch directly in front of the ocean. If the tide got high we could have poked our legs through the railings and dipped our feet. Our first day we basically hung around the beach and when we felt more up to it went to the main beach front where we thought we could get some free BBQ. Our guide book was right, there was free BBQ! The book also failed to mention that it ended at 4pm. We showed up and were going to have to pay full price so we continued to walk until we found a place that was more reasonably priced. The next day we went on a day trip adventure to so and so National park. It's an island chain that's preserved so you can not stay there, unless you arrange specifically and then you can only camp. It took about 2 hours to get there and instead of docking at a pier, we were let off the side of the boat into kayaks which we all took to explore the side caves that surround one of the islands. The day was great, we spent it kayaking, swimming and hiking to caves on 2 of the main islands in the park. We were given lunch on the boat and around 4:30 we headed for home. We met two German guys on our boat and invited them over for a few beers on our porch. We had some dinner at a restaurant one bungalow down on the beach and then went out to explore some of the local night life. We wandered into a bar that seemed to be full of mostly locals and soon realized they were all prostitutes. Whoops... A few middle aged men came in to 'have a drink' and after we finished one round we decided to head out. The owners seemed happy to be rid of us and I think the feeling was mutual. Next we went to a bar with a live band playing, with a Thai girl in a D.A.R.E. t-shirt singing covers of Western rock songs. We were all getting pretty tired by this point and started to walk home along the beach. We saw a woman selling balloon lanterns. I bought one, and the lady lit a piece of toast fastened in the center of it on fire. Once enough gas had built up inside I let it go into the moonlight. The lantern is supposed to bring good luck, so here's hoping, in any case it was beautiful to watch as it raised further and further into the air and then eventually burned up in the distance. Next day we rented motorbikes, went to the waterfall, i loved the bike so took it around the island some more and found a quiet beach on the north side of the island there was no one there so i took a dip in the nude. Felt great, but it was getting late and I had no desire to ride home in the dark. Went to the next beach over and got an oil massage and then a fancy dinner. then a tuk tuk home so I could pack for my final trip towards London. Still on it, I can't believe it, but I am only 40 minutes away from landing, so the trip has almost officially come to a close.

I think the thing that surprised me most about this trip was how home sick I got during parts of it. I have never been a person who gets home sick, at least not easily. It's interesting leaving home and the comforts of your every day life. I've always known I had good things, but it may have taken me half the way around the world to realize how good I do have it and how much I love it. This trip has been one series of jaw dropping sites after another. To try and pick one event or one moment that was the best would be impossible. Each country has given me a new eye opening wonder that are all hard to explain. It's like if ou have ever walked through the Louvre (or any other giant, great museum) and by the end of the day felt desensitized to the masterpieces all around you. I feel like if I had spent any more time in SE Asia I would not have appreciated it anymore. Ending the trip with time chilling on the beach was perfect, especially after the taxing experience of seeing the Angkor Wat temples.  My favorite part might have been performing in the village in Bali and feeling the energy of those performers and the crowd. The whole process of getting into the makeup and dress and being welcomed by a village and made to feel like family. I will definitely remember this trip and the people I met on it for the rest of my life.

Birthday at the Pal-alice

It's my birthday!! Happy to me! We woke up this morning at 4:30 am so we could watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was a bit cloudy but really nice to be in the temple with few other people when it was really cool with no sun. We walked around a little and then headed back to the hotel for an hours nap and some breakfast. Then we rented bikes!! Ainhoa has not rode a bike since she was 10 years old so she was a bit nervous to say the least, but I convinced her she wouldn't have forgotten and she shakily took some practice laps before we headed out onto the main road. She rode well, but like a grandma. I virtually didn't pedal the whole way trying to coast to go slow enough for her to keep up. I kept shouting back encouraging words and telling her speeding up wouldn't hurt, but she stayed at her snail pace the whole way there. We started at Angkor Wat, picking up where we had left off that morning. We stayed in the temple for over 3 hours going through all of its halls and courtyards. We had a wonderful guide book that told you the stories of every inscription so we spent a long time walking around spotting stories from the Ramayana and Mahabarata as well as some Cambodian creation myths about how the gods got their immortality. Then we went to lunch where the women next to us got ambushed by about 20 kids and then she proceeded to buy one thing from each of them. When we left her she had a coconut in front of her with many bracelets and postcards and she was haggling over the price of some magnets. God only know how long she stayed there. We hoped on our bikes and went out of Victory gate to that other temple and then one more Ta Keo, not worthy then biked to Ta Prohm the one in ruins. We were kicked out of this temple because it was getting late and the sun would soon be down. As we were leaving it started to rain and then we biked in the rain for a good hour at least. We went sooooo far many miles! I had a great time, We sang and just embraced the fact that we were getting soaked. God bless Ainhoa for her first time on a bike in years being so adventurous with it and not hating me forever! We got home and showered and then went out for dinner and a drink. We wanted to celebrate my birthday but were so tired from our day we literally had one beer and then turned to each other and said 'bed?'. We talked to our waiter for a while who spoke better Spanish than English so said Ainhoa, Lost my camera! next day more temples

Went to Phnom Penh saw the memorial at the killing fields went to a night market I got a ring, i lost the ring the next day... of course went back to bed next day had a whole exploration plan but decided to sleep a bit longer instead and it was a good idea i went out into the city around 10ish and accomplished everything I had wanted to do in under 3 hours. I saw the Palace, National Museum, their big Wat and walked along the river for a while. It really only took me those few hours to be completely sick of Phnom Penh so i headed back to my hotel and drank a coke in the lobby and watched looney tunes with the kids until it was time to go to the airport. I don't necessarily blame Phnom Penh for my disinterest in it. I think I was just sick of traffic, dirtiness and so many people. Luckily I was off to the islands! Now, when I started my trip My bag was exactly the regulation size that Air Asia would accept to carry on board. In the past month, however, I may have done some shopping... In fact I have accumulated some pretty odd shaped souvenirs so when I turned up at the airport I figured it would take a miracle for me to not have to pay the checked bag fee. I went to an empty bag scale and put my bag on. A disgusting 13 kilos... I had to get it down to 7. I opened it up and began to take out clothing until the bag reached the precise weight I wanted and then I proceeded to the bathroom. I put on 2 bras, underwear, 2 bathing suits, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 6 shirts, over all this a baggy legged jumpsuit, and on top of all that my Bali temple shirt, I then wore my sarong as a decorative scarf - I was a vision. I nonchalantly pushed my cart up to the actual check in desk, trying not to sweat too much in the Cambodian heat under all my clothing. It was going well... 'Anything to check?' 'No,' I replied 'I think it should be alright.' She eyed my misshapen bag filled now with a giant puppet and bulky wall hangings I had bought from the temples. 'Would you please put it up on the counter?' 'Why of course!' The scale took a while to determine the exact weight and then landed exactly on 7 kilos. 'How much am I allowed, again?' '7 kilos' 'Wow, what d'ya know?! Lucky, huh?' I was grinning from ear to ear. I only saved about 20 dollars, but the satisfaction of getting past people trying to nickel and dime you is one of life's finer pleasures in my opinion. Once safely past security I went to the bathroom and came out 8 kilos lighter. Off to some island paradise!