Leaving Koh phangan should have been easy. And it was, after I hitchhiked to the ferry port. Now normally, of course I wouldnt do such a thing but desperate times = desperate measures. Got to Bangkok after a 12 hr bus and ferry journey of which, the last 4 hrs on the bus invovled driving through crazy thunder storms. Someone, someplace up there was not a happy bunny that evening and we got the brunt of it! So in typical thai fashion, we got dropped off miles away from said drop off point- im starting to detect a trend here- and were met by a barrage of tuk tuk and taxi drivers. We pushed ourselves through the crowds, backpacks in tow, and headed towards the Khaosan Road (main backpacker area) by foot.
I befriended an Irish girl along the way and after spending 10 mins in the pouring rain having no luck finding a single room for the night, we decided to share room for the night. this was very impulsive and very un-me. It turns out though, she wasnt as much of a stranger as once thought! REmember the Brummie lad from Koh Samui? Well, he was her friend who he had flown out to spend time on the island with! Not only that, where does she study ? London met. And whó's shop does she regularly pop into? Dads! THe world truly is a small place - a massive realisation on this trip. Yapping away over dinner and laying in comfy beds, we slept easy feeling like we'd known each other for years.
28th Sep 09
The boys arrive. I'd intended to cross paths with some friends from London who had travelled around Thailand, Vietnam and SIngaore in time for the F1 the weekend before. Their trip culminated in BKK and they were hanging around for a few days. Me included, there were 4 of us and so getting a room was much easier. For 2 nigths we stayed at D&D Inn (really popular hotel on Khaosan Rd) in a massive 4 bed room and enjoyd some sun (finally!), good foodm, huge laughs by the pool and in and around BKK.It was so nice seeing them after what seemd like an eternity and being the only girl was nice!
Now is the time to inform you all of the changes in my appearance since ive got here. on the islands i was mistkane for an Israeli all the time with many people coming up to me and talking in Hebrew- a compliment i would say seeing as the women are golden skinned and rather goodlooking. Howeveer, sadly ive moved down a few shades on the Dulux colour chart since then. I would now say I appear to have originated from the African subcontinent- much to the dismay of some of you back home! It providde muich amusement for the boys- apparently it was difficult to see me in the dark (some people need to get their eyes tested i say) but their parting words of semi-wisdom ""please dont tan anymore"has been taken into account. I've finally startd to slap on the sun screenn but with 3more months of sun to come i dont know how much help it'll be.
30th Septemebr 09
Early morning wednesday, my few days with the "lads on tour (incl el retardo)"came to an end. Having lready travelled alone, i didnt anticipate it to be hard to carry on for one day before the tour. but it ws in fact quite hard. I think it ws because my time with them reminded for the first time of home and my antics with friends back there. After another pep talk from my wise man back home i trudged on and checked into a new place (literally a box) for the night and spent the day walkign around BKK, exploring some more. I ate an extraordinarily good roadside shack recommended by a German guy who makes sure he eats here everytime he's in BKK. he was an interesting guy who had spent the last 2 years working as a social worker with midgudied kids in Bangalore. AS im set to go there in Dec we had a lot to talk about and the hours flew by.
Later that night, i stepped out in the pouring rain to grab some dinner. I stumbled across a quaint little place playing jazz music and which seemed very popular. I was the loser sitting at the table for 2, on my own, right at the front of the restaurant for the whole world to see. Until another lone traveller walked through the door. And again, at that moment- on impulse- i did another very un-priya-like thing. I asked her if she would like to join me. Bracing myself for a strange look and the middle finger, she kindly took me up on my offer and we ate dinner together. And lo and behold, what did we realise- she was an LSE alumni also! Not only tht, but we'd been taught by the same lecturers! Need I say it again? What a small world! A really nice end to an otherwise dull day.
I'll be on tour from the 1st and so access to the internet may be limited but no doubt i'll have a lot to update you on so i'll ty and keep you posted as much as possible but the entries may not be so long.
Px
