I spent the majority of my second week in Singapore trying to convince someone else to skip the first week of school with me. This task proved to be more challenging than I thought and I realized that I was going to be traveling solo. Luckily a good friend of mine from back home, Paul Moore, had been traveling South East Asia for the summer and was on the last leg of his journey, the beaches of Thailand. After some messages back and forth, we settled on some dates and I was ready to head out.
I was scheduled to depart Singapore on Saturday at 6p.m., but I wanted to be there early, leaving no chance that I could miss the bus. I jumped on the "Number 10" to Vivo City and made my way back to the Golden Mile Complex where my bus was departing from. I made my way downtown with "the gang" as most of them were heading off to festivities as it was Singapore's National Day (Celebrating 43 Years of Independence from Malaysia). They headed off to the parade and I was left on the bus with my huge backpack and sense of adventure. This was the first time where I felt like I was backpacking. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was wearing my huge bag and knocked the "emergency exit hammer" off it's handle, forcing the bus to stop and the driver to reset the system, or the fact that I had a one way ticket to Thailand and didn't really know where I was going, but whatever it was, it felt great. I made it to the departure station with plenty of time to spare and grabbed some snacks from a gas station nearby. I swear those snacks came to be the best snack investment of my life.
The trip to Koh Tao was about $65 Canadian which isn't bad considering the mass of land that I was covering. The trip included a "VIP Coach" from Singapore to Hat Yai (16 hours), Thailand, a mini bus to Surat Thani (5 hours) and finally a night boat from Surat Thani to Koh Tao (8 hours). In true Singapore style the bus left right on time and I settled in my seat in the back corner of the bus. The VIP Coaches lack anything really VIP except for the fact that there is air-con and the seats can lean back pretty much all the way, allowing me to sleep, much to the dissatisfaction of others on the bus. While on the bus, I met Mr. Lo, a grandfather of 9 who was heading to Thailand to visit his grandchildren. I was glad I met Mr. Lo on the bus as he had done the same trek many times and was able to direct me through all the border crossings. As we left Singapore, the bus went by the "Water Stage" and we were able to get a glimpse of the parade and we crossed just in time to see the NSE Paraglider drifting down to the main stage. What a send off! The trip to Hat Yai was pretty uneventful. I tried to watch some Kung Fu film in Thai and get some sleep. Along the root through Malaysia the bus made several stops at food centers in the middle of nowhere. I'm 99% sure that the only business these people get are from drowsy tourists looking to eat anything. I didn't really spend any time in Malaysia other than in these food/disease traps, but even from the small view I got of Malaysia, it was distinct from Singapore: everything was really dirty. I shrugged my shoulders, followed Mr. Lo and got some duck udon (that I swear was made a couple months ago). I slept the rest of the way to Hat Yai and arrived just after sunrise, right before the streets come to life.
Hat Yai & Surat Thani
Upon arrival, I was told that the mini bus would be coming to pick me up in a few hours and that I could take my time and "enjoy the sights". It was a weird feeling. I didn't want to travel too far, but I also didn't want to wait at the travel agent's office for 3 hours. I took a quick walk around the area decided that there was nothing to see as most of the shops were closed and I had no reference point for where I was other than the office. Right next door to the office there was a massage parlor. I convinced myself that my feet were sore and that they needed the treatment. I've never paid for a massage before, but it was the best hour of my feet's lives, and I knew that I'd be getting one again. After my nap/massage the mini bus arrived and I hopped on board with two friends who were traveling form Puerto Rico and Mexico (Juan & Santiago). They were on their way to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party that was coming up next Saturday. I was planning to attend and thought it would be funny if I pumped into them amongst the thousands of people. They through a CD (Sublime) up to the driver and we were pumped to have the minibus (a.k.a. ghetto van) to ourselves for the 5 hour journey. We were wrong. As the bus made its way, it picked up more and more people along the way and we all squeezed in and I now appreciated why they called it "mini". We arrived near the dock in Surat Thani which of course was the last stop out of all the passengers who were on the minibus. Juan and Santiago's ferry was leaving in an hour and a bit, but mine departed at 11p.m. so I waved them off and took a walk around Surat Thani. Aside from seeing the water, some funny signs and weird mannequins, it appears as though Surat Thani's sole purpose is to get people to the islands (Lonely Planet agreed). I went to go pick up some Thai Baht from the ATM so that I could get some food. I figured that I deserved some Western Food after all the busing and sketchy Malay Food Traps, so I got some pizza from a place that sold "Authentic Italian Pizza". Although it lacked the authenticity they promised, it sure did hit the spot. I sent off a couple emails/facebook posts and realized that I still had a few hours to kill.
I walked along the waterfront casually watching these thin, wooden boats zip by. I was about to sit down on the water's edge and a couple of the boat drivers started shouting at me and asked if I wanted to go for a ride. "300 Baht 1 hour" they said, I said "200 for an hour", with a bit of hesitation, one of them accepted. I wasn't really too sure what I was going to see, but at least it would make the time go by faster. The boat ride was such a surprise. After trying to survive in the hot sun with no fan or air-con, the breeze from the boat was worth every Baht. We went through this pseudo canal network in the forest and I couldn't help but feel like I was going to be mugged and left for dead for some reason, not that scenery was ominous - quite the opposite in fact, but for some reason I was ready to bargain for my life. I saw families playing in the water, men fishing, men and women gathering coconuts. There were some long stretches were we wouldn't see anyone for a while and I couldn't help but feel like I was on the Disney Jungle Cruise. I felt guilty that I couldn't appreciate the serenity of the place for itself and resorted to imaging animatronic hippos squirting water at me. As I let the feelings of Disney float away - I was brought to one of those peaceful moments in life where I'm not thinking about anything and I just... am.
Danger: Slave Ship!
Back on land I spent about an hour in a cafe watching the Olympics. They kept on showing the same clip of a Thai weightlifter losing, but losing with a winning smile. It was great to see how excited everyone was getting for her. I went back to the travel agent and they offered me a shower. I wondered if they offered all of their guests this high class treatment or if they just felt bad for whoever else was going to be on the boat with me and that it would be better if they let me use one. I scrubbed up and made my way to the infamous night boat. I call it infamous because one of my mates back at NUS, Luke Murray, told me how he had taken the same boat, and how he got caught in a storm. The water was crashing all over the boat. The crew put on life jackets. He'd try to go to the washroom, and he had to jump over the all fish that were flopping around trying to suck in water that wasn't there. He got no sleep as he spent his night praying he wouldn't die. He said it was hell. I thought "To bad the sky looks clear tonight". That being said, I did want to get some sleep so I decided to get settled on the boat, and go for a quick beer run to 7/11. I jumped on the boat and I couldn't help but laugh at the sardine-can vessel I was going to be riding. I lodged my bag away and found my "bed". Right beside me a heard a couple of guys with English accents so I decided to invite them in on my plan to grab a couple beers to knock myself out. They decided to join without much hesitation, much to my delight. Kunal, Ramneet and I headed to "The Sev" and they introduced me to the joy of Chang Beer (really cheap big bottles of Thai beer) and warned me about the "Chang-Over" that I'd get from it. We enjoyed our beer outside, after sourcing a bottle opener from some Germans (of course) and got our second round of beers opened by a local who did it with their mouth. (10 points for Thailand). We made our way to the Night (Slave) Boat and decided to play cards before we passed out. I had a bit of a freak out, when one of the crew came around for my ticket and I didn't have it. Luckily, I just misplaced it (as I do many things) and we were good to go. After a few games of "Big 2" and "Poker" we called it a night. I fell fast a sleep, no doubt thanks to the Chang Beer and as I fell asleep and I couldn't help but smile about what was to await when I woke up...aside from the Chang-Over of course...
I was scheduled to depart Singapore on Saturday at 6p.m., but I wanted to be there early, leaving no chance that I could miss the bus. I jumped on the "Number 10" to Vivo City and made my way back to the Golden Mile Complex where my bus was departing from. I made my way downtown with "the gang" as most of them were heading off to festivities as it was Singapore's National Day (Celebrating 43 Years of Independence from Malaysia). They headed off to the parade and I was left on the bus with my huge backpack and sense of adventure. This was the first time where I felt like I was backpacking. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was wearing my huge bag and knocked the "emergency exit hammer" off it's handle, forcing the bus to stop and the driver to reset the system, or the fact that I had a one way ticket to Thailand and didn't really know where I was going, but whatever it was, it felt great. I made it to the departure station with plenty of time to spare and grabbed some snacks from a gas station nearby. I swear those snacks came to be the best snack investment of my life.
The trip to Koh Tao was about $65 Canadian which isn't bad considering the mass of land that I was covering. The trip included a "VIP Coach" from Singapore to Hat Yai (16 hours), Thailand, a mini bus to Surat Thani (5 hours) and finally a night boat from Surat Thani to Koh Tao (8 hours). In true Singapore style the bus left right on time and I settled in my seat in the back corner of the bus. The VIP Coaches lack anything really VIP except for the fact that there is air-con and the seats can lean back pretty much all the way, allowing me to sleep, much to the dissatisfaction of others on the bus. While on the bus, I met Mr. Lo, a grandfather of 9 who was heading to Thailand to visit his grandchildren. I was glad I met Mr. Lo on the bus as he had done the same trek many times and was able to direct me through all the border crossings. As we left Singapore, the bus went by the "Water Stage" and we were able to get a glimpse of the parade and we crossed just in time to see the NSE Paraglider drifting down to the main stage. What a send off! The trip to Hat Yai was pretty uneventful. I tried to watch some Kung Fu film in Thai and get some sleep. Along the root through Malaysia the bus made several stops at food centers in the middle of nowhere. I'm 99% sure that the only business these people get are from drowsy tourists looking to eat anything. I didn't really spend any time in Malaysia other than in these food/disease traps, but even from the small view I got of Malaysia, it was distinct from Singapore: everything was really dirty. I shrugged my shoulders, followed Mr. Lo and got some duck udon (that I swear was made a couple months ago). I slept the rest of the way to Hat Yai and arrived just after sunrise, right before the streets come to life.
Hat Yai & Surat Thani Upon arrival, I was told that the mini bus would be coming to pick me up in a few hours and that I could take my time and "enjoy the sights". It was a weird feeling. I didn't want to travel too far, but I also didn't want to wait at the travel agent's office for 3 hours. I took a quick walk around the area decided that there was nothing to see as most of the shops were closed and I had no reference point for where I was other than the office. Right next door to the office there was a massage parlor. I convinced myself that my feet were sore and that they needed the treatment. I've never paid for a massage before, but it was the best hour of my feet's lives, and I knew that I'd be getting one again. After my nap/massage the mini bus arrived and I hopped on board with two friends who were traveling form Puerto Rico and Mexico (Juan & Santiago). They were on their way to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party that was coming up next Saturday. I was planning to attend and thought it would be funny if I pumped into them amongst the thousands of people. They through a CD (Sublime) up to the driver and we were pumped to have the minibus (a.k.a. ghetto van) to ourselves for the 5 hour journey. We were wrong. As the bus made its way, it picked up more and more people along the way and we all squeezed in and I now appreciated why they called it "mini". We arrived near the dock in Surat Thani which of course was the last stop out of all the passengers who were on the minibus. Juan and Santiago's ferry was leaving in an hour and a bit, but mine departed at 11p.m. so I waved them off and took a walk around Surat Thani. Aside from seeing the water, some funny signs and weird mannequins, it appears as though Surat Thani's sole purpose is to get people to the islands (Lonely Planet agreed). I went to go pick up some Thai Baht from the ATM so that I could get some food. I figured that I deserved some Western Food after all the busing and sketchy Malay Food Traps, so I got some pizza from a place that sold "Authentic Italian Pizza". Although it lacked the authenticity they promised, it sure did hit the spot. I sent off a couple emails/facebook posts and realized that I still had a few hours to kill.
I walked along the waterfront casually watching these thin, wooden boats zip by. I was about to sit down on the water's edge and a couple of the boat drivers started shouting at me and asked if I wanted to go for a ride. "300 Baht 1 hour" they said, I said "200 for an hour", with a bit of hesitation, one of them accepted. I wasn't really too sure what I was going to see, but at least it would make the time go by faster. The boat ride was such a surprise. After trying to survive in the hot sun with no fan or air-con, the breeze from the boat was worth every Baht. We went through this pseudo canal network in the forest and I couldn't help but feel like I was going to be mugged and left for dead for some reason, not that scenery was ominous - quite the opposite in fact, but for some reason I was ready to bargain for my life. I saw families playing in the water, men fishing, men and women gathering coconuts. There were some long stretches were we wouldn't see anyone for a while and I couldn't help but feel like I was on the Disney Jungle Cruise. I felt guilty that I couldn't appreciate the serenity of the place for itself and resorted to imaging animatronic hippos squirting water at me. As I let the feelings of Disney float away - I was brought to one of those peaceful moments in life where I'm not thinking about anything and I just... am.
Danger: Slave Ship! Back on land I spent about an hour in a cafe watching the Olympics. They kept on showing the same clip of a Thai weightlifter losing, but losing with a winning smile. It was great to see how excited everyone was getting for her. I went back to the travel agent and they offered me a shower. I wondered if they offered all of their guests this high class treatment or if they just felt bad for whoever else was going to be on the boat with me and that it would be better if they let me use one. I scrubbed up and made my way to the infamous night boat. I call it infamous because one of my mates back at NUS, Luke Murray, told me how he had taken the same boat, and how he got caught in a storm. The water was crashing all over the boat. The crew put on life jackets. He'd try to go to the washroom, and he had to jump over the all fish that were flopping around trying to suck in water that wasn't there. He got no sleep as he spent his night praying he wouldn't die. He said it was hell. I thought "To bad the sky looks clear tonight". That being said, I did want to get some sleep so I decided to get settled on the boat, and go for a quick beer run to 7/11. I jumped on the boat and I couldn't help but laugh at the sardine-can vessel I was going to be riding. I lodged my bag away and found my "bed". Right beside me a heard a couple of guys with English accents so I decided to invite them in on my plan to grab a couple beers to knock myself out. They decided to join without much hesitation, much to my delight. Kunal, Ramneet and I headed to "The Sev" and they introduced me to the joy of Chang Beer (really cheap big bottles of Thai beer) and warned me about the "Chang-Over" that I'd get from it. We enjoyed our beer outside, after sourcing a bottle opener from some Germans (of course) and got our second round of beers opened by a local who did it with their mouth. (10 points for Thailand). We made our way to the Night (Slave) Boat and decided to play cards before we passed out. I had a bit of a freak out, when one of the crew came around for my ticket and I didn't have it. Luckily, I just misplaced it (as I do many things) and we were good to go. After a few games of "Big 2" and "Poker" we called it a night. I fell fast a sleep, no doubt thanks to the Chang Beer and as I fell asleep and I couldn't help but smile about what was to await when I woke up...aside from the Chang-Over of course...
2 comments:
Lovin your blog and can't tell you how excited I am for you. Thanks for sharing and for letting me live vicariously through your adventures!!! Keep posting, the pictures and stories are unbelievable
rosie reading the term "chang-over" in koerner library = dirty looks from everyone in the near vicinity
funniest thing i've heard in a while! :)
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