Traveling in rain is not ideal. When you have lots of bags & are traveling by open topped boat it actually starts to suck quite badly. Lugging around bags from place to place & looking for the cheapest spot to sleep becomes a pain in the ass, instead of being part of the quest like I usually find it to be. This is how it was from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. Being still a bit off from a night spent dancing does not help. And just when you think the hardest part is over you see the large incline you must hike to get to the hostels a little off the beach, where it should be a bit cheaper. Luckily the first set of bungalows turn out to be owned by a rad Belgian guy & his Thai girlfriend. I grab a shack for $3 usd and get settled, not long after lying down my power goes out and I find myself in the dark as it's getting dark, mosquitoes the size of dragon flies biting my ankles, but the bungalow owners are on top of things and come by to drop off candles and ask if I would like a little pot to tide me over till the power comes back on. Umm... Yes please?! End up hanging & playing music with my new found friends till the wee hours. Bonds are formed and experiences shared. One of my reasons for traveling. Just realized it's thanksgiving and although there's no turkey, I have more to be thankful for than ever. On the road traditional holidays have no value and days all blend together. Heading back to Koh Tao on my second tour of Thailand after the Philippines in March.
For now it's on to Chumphon for a night just to break up the long trip back through Bangkok and up north towards Chiang Mai & Pai. Unlike the miserable boat trip to Koh Tao, the trip to Chumphon was perfect. The weather was amazing and I thought over & over how there's no place I'd rather be. Met some more friends on the boat and saluted them with a Chiang, Thailands' local brew. A lot of times I go to places with no expectations. I like it that way so I can't be disappointed. If it was just a vacation I suppose I would be let down but because this is life it takes a lot less to make me happy. Things like a good, cheap place to eat next door or a hot shower highly affect my visit. Sometimes I'm thankful for a place with not a lot to do so I won't feel guilty about not being super productive. This was Chumphon in a nutshell. Because it wasn't a huge tourist attraction I could find cheap accommodation & food as well as some extra amenities thrown in that you may otherwise have to pay for. Also refreshing to be the only white person in a certain area for a least a short time.
xo
H
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