The Young Man Odyssey

Our plans diverging, Will and I said goodbye to each other in the sleepy hours after the ferry. I caught another ferry to Ko Phangnan.

As the ferry got underway, I smoked the last of my Marlboro cigarettes, and it made me feel completely ill. That, with the fact that the sea was rougher than usual, attribute to the worst boat ride of my entire life. I tried various positions to combat my sickness, but nothing worked. Somehow I fell asleep for short time, and when I awoke at the dock, I felt a thousand times better, I vowed never to smoke again.

Off the ferry I grabbed a sawgathew, which is a pickup truck with benches screwed into the bed. My plan was to go to a tiny fishing village and catch a boat to Bottle Beach, a backpackers paradise only accessible by boat. Unfortunately upon my arrival the sea was too rough, and I opted to go by foot.

Telling the locals of my plans, they all laughed in my face. And as I started off a very noble fisherman came and told me I would surely come back as the beach was closed. So, I booked a room in the fishing village and plan to stay two nights.

The pace of this town is slow, and as I went to restaurant I sat down, and the owner called the waitress. She drove her motorcycle from her home, through the restaurant and past my table, parked three feet away from me and took my order. I love life on the islands.

The picture above is the view I have about 20 feet from my bungalow, I believe it is worth the $5.50 I’m paying for the room. I have settled into this town for a few days, and am not sure what my plans shall be. But it is the closest thing to paradise I have seen.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 3rd, 2006 at 11:29 pm and is filed under Thailand, Laos, Vietnam 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.