From Asia to Europe

Here I am, back in the cold of the late fall in Central Canada, ie. ‘home’ (now). I’ve been here now only two days, and so my eyes are still focused squarely on the past – as such, my attempts to chronicle that last few Thai moments are better written now than later.

Where did I leave off? ….Right, in the thick of the bit of ‘rest and relaxation’ that was Koh Samet. While we were spoiled with the sights and weather of Southern Thailand early in the trip, it was, in retrospect, a lovely ending to continuous bus hopping and guest house searching.

Shortly after the trip around the island, we installed ourselves in all the usual tourist places: by day, on the beach (avoiding the nasally calls of ‘massssssage’ aimed at each of us and ‘pedicuuuure’, especially at Chrissie) and by night, at the Naga Bar, followed by the Silver Sand bar. Which is to say: we drank by night with all the vigour of a uni student, and by day we nursed our hangovers as lazily as we could. The bars were full of mixed characters: singing Swedes, teary expats, Thai male gigalos, enterprising Iraelis, year long travelers taking a break – all evidently with one activity on their minds. (Note: Thai male gigalos).

Our departure left us with one and a half days in Bangkok to snatch up everything we’d had our eyes on during our few brief stays in the city: it was a frantic zigzag mission across Khao San Road, the weekend market and famed knock-off mall. In the process, travelers from the past two months of travel kept materializing: Swedes from Koh Samet, an expat from Pai, and 3 of our full-mooners from Coconut Beach on Koh Phangnan. It’s a wonder that anyone actually leaves the country – like the quicksand Chrissie stepped in near Pai, it sucks you in and keeps you there. After some time, you can’t even remember when the dreadlocks and tattoos appeared.

I left Chrissie to another day of pure consumerism and flew out to meet Matt and Del in Taipei while visiting the school and filing my taxes all the while (a pleasant surprise when the agent showed me what I can expect to receive back – another future holiday in store?) While Taipei felt strangely foreign, it was nice to return to the comfort of milk tea and dumplings. I met Matt’s new ‘man-friend’ – Matt is such a collector – but with good taste… I should have employed him with the task of finding me a boyfriend, preferably one who wants a ‘woman-friend’.

My layover in Vancouver saw a brunch with my former neighbour Scott, a sort of Robin Williams with a Melbournian accent. Conversation involved the usual bi-polar flipflop between joke, politics, health and well-being – he’s onto the next idea while I’m dragging along, laughing at the last. At one point our waitress graduated from perplexed to giggly when I peeled my luggage sticker off his face and Scott exclaimed, “I just got a brazilian on my forehead!”

One last memory to end this trip and overseas blog, on the beach near the Naga bar with bartender ‘Bong’ or ‘Bang’ or more likely ‘Dong’:

Barman: “You have beautiful hair.”
Chrissie: “Thank you.” (Uncomfortably.)
Barman: “You are so beautiful.”
Chrissie: “I bet you tell that to all the girls.”
Barman: “I don’t!”
Chrissie: “Fuck off! Yes you do.”
Barman: “Oooo, a strong one. I like you.”

Just, Laura.

Pfffffftttttt….. the sound of our deflation as we find ourselves once again on a beach, trying in vain to recover our tans so we can strut around with that ‘traveled’ (or sunbedded) look for a few days in Canada.

Koh Samet is an island a few hours’ journey from Bangkok – it doubles as both the local holiday spot and Sweden junior. There are two races here – Thais (who all look the same) and Swedes (who all look the same). Chrissie and I are likely to fit in to the left of the Swedish side – we camouflage well enough, but my barebones Swedish vocabulary, (“very good decision,” “cool” and “b****”) puts an ackward halt to conversation.

The weather’s been temperamental here, so there’s a mass exodus from the guesthouses and restaurants as the sun breaks through. Today though was warm enough for me to test out the ‘photosensitivity effects’ of my Doxycycline anti-malarial: my fingertips are peeling. It’s the strangest thing, very “Death Becomes Her”, and leaving me wondering what’s to fall off next.

We’ve decided that we were spoiled with our 3 weeks touring the best of the south before coming here. We just today took a snorkelling/deep sea fishing/fish farm visiting tour of the island – and while the American family next to us was all ooh’s, aah’s and camera flashes – we sat in the sun surveying the sights with our connoisseurial eyes and exhaling the odd ‘hmph’. Dancing Goon (Khun?), our tour guide tomboy was a good laugh though – the jester performing for us snooty queens. Hmph!

On the 14th, after we bake ourselves to a crispy perfection, we’ll head off to Bangkok for a day or two of shop-till-you-drop, 20 baht pad thai and prositute watching before boarding flights to Taipei.

Off we go for another (sigh!!) dinner by the beach and drinks. (Soaking it in before these pictures become screen savers.)

Aristocratically, Laura.

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Unwittingly dancing with the devil may have spared us from an unluckier fate. When Chrissie and I mounted the night boat last night on our way across to mainland Surrithani, we couldn't have picked two more strategically positioned beds. In hindsight, ... [Continue reading this entry]

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