My last entry ended with me in Koh Phanga, at a yoga retreat. I was there for 9 days and learned quite a bit about this particular yoga practice (Agama). I won't bore you all with the details, but what I can say is that I have finally learned the sun salutation poses. I was always lost on these poses when I attempted a yoga class!
I left Koh Phanga for Bangkok to meet up with Nicola! Yay, another visitor. We had a great time, mostly! I'll let the pictures show the great time we had but I'll tell you about the bad time. Nicola also wanted to visit Phuket so I decided we would take backpacker transportation, i.e. the overnight bus or the train. I was sad to learn the train didn't go to Phuket as I had taken the overnight train from Koh Phanga to Bangkok and loved it! (Comfy bunkbed, although tiny. I got the top bunk and there were straps to make sure I didn't fall out during my sleep!) What a disaster the bus turned out to be! First, we were told the bus would leave Bangkok at 6 pm; we didn't get on the bus until about 7:30 pm. This is after trekking about a mile in the rain just to get to the bus from the place we purchased our tickets. Second, the bus was HORRIBLE. Nicola got a seat right under the emergency exit (you know the one, in case the bus tips over and you have to exit through the roof) and it was leaking. Every time the bus lurched forward, she got water on her. The first few hours of the trip she sat with a poncho draped over her. The bathroom on board was so horrible, I won't even describe it. Third, we were told we would arrive in Phuket at 9 am.........we didn't get to our hotel till 4 p.m. Lastly, a few hours after arriving at our hotel, I get an email from my mom asking if I had make a $2000 purchase at a jewelry store in Phuket. Um, no. Turns out, my credit cards were stolen from my bag on the bus. Great! Thankfully, I have an awesome bank and I had the foresight to have a power of attorney, so the bank had contacted my mom to question the charges. In just a few hours, they were able to reverse $3000 in fraudulent purchases. Needless to say, it was the worst bus ride I have ever been on and I felt so bad for Nicola. In an attempt to give her the travel experience I had been having, she got to join me on the worst one! Hopefully it wasn't so bad that she won't want to travel with me again!
