Thursday, January 29, 2009
So I got onto the train heading to Hatyai station, and it was all Thai people on board.
I don't know what it was but I suddenly felt very depressed and dreading to go home. I teared and just felt awful. It might be because everyone around me spoke Thai and are Thai and I just felt so alone. But I think one of the main reasons why I just don't want to come back is because I have made so many friends along the way, nationalities I would have otherwise not met had I not gone on a backpacking trip. Just chilling out and having great convo and not needing to worry about anything.
So I sat by myself, reflecting on my journey thus far when I suddenly heard "seat 24?". ENGLISH!!!! Which could only mean one thing - backpackers!
I turned around and saw two female travellers, one looked like she just came out of Harry Potter with her red unkempt curly hair and pale skin. I didn't know whether I should go up and chat with them, so I just sat in my seat.
A while later one of them walked past my seat heading for the toilet, and I took my chance to ask where shes from.
England, she says. Then she sat opposite me and we began introducing each other. I can't remember her name now, but she and her friend are from South London, recent A level grads so travelling during their Gap Year. Wants to study graphic design and only 20 turning 21. Which I couldn't tell because they look really young like 17 or 18, when normally Caucasians look older than their real age.
Went to their seats and played card games, realised I didn't quite get their accent and slangs and got bored, so I headed back to my seat. But i felt much better after talking to them and I didn't feel so depressed anymore.
Back to Hatyai, I stayed at McDonalds till shopping centres were opened at 10am. Then I wasted time till 6pm when I boarded the bus back to Singapore. Saw this really hot and fit french(? she looks french) lady who is probably in her 50s but looks so much better than people in their 30s with her toned body. She was with her husband (I presume) and they were heading to Kuala Lumpur. Damn why not Singapore. Met another young couple from Sweden (typical swedes with fair skin and blond locks), also going to KL. WHY KL AGAIN!
In the end when we reached Singapore, there were only 6 people, all Singaporean uncles. What a shit end to a journey.
I am already back in Singapore, but that is another story. Let me continue from where I last stopped.
Pai.
Yes I left Pai and took a 3 hour minivan back to Chiang Mai in order to catch a train to Bangkok for my last few days in Thailand.
With a few hours to spare till my train ride, I decided to look for a hairdresser and have lunch. So I found a place that sold 35baht Kao Pad Nuea (beed fried rice, or beef flied lice as they say), and a barber that charged me 80baht for a haircut and 60baht for a hairwash.
Then I bought my dinner which consisted of 2 small packets of chips and 2 small boxes of Honeystar and Cornflakes and a packet of Lactasoy soyamilk, and headed opposite for the train station. Food is expensive on the train (150baht). I learnt my lesson well from the first train ride.
I saw lots of noisy Thai students and I freaked out because I was worried we were gonna be in the same cabin. But of course that was not the case as my 2nd class sleeper was considered too expensive for them (851baht).
As I was seating there waiting for the fucking train to arrive (thai trains.. damn fucking never on time), I met this old Brit lady named Wendy who was travelling alone. At first, I just said hi out of courtesy as I didn't think we would have much in common to talk about. I believe it is called age gap.
But as we talked I soon realised this lady is seriously damn funny and interesting. Never liking old Singaporean aunities and ah mahs, I found myself laughing to her jokes and having a great conversation.
So she is from Surrey, England, and she has 2 daughters who are married and 2 grand daughters, and is a social housing worker who volunteers as a counsellor to teens with addictions during her free time. And she loves going to gay prides in London for the fun and music. What a lady!
Then another passenger came on board and I had to go back to my place, but Wendy told me to squeeze in and share a seat with her. Thai seats are made for 2 skinny thais, not 2 farangs, so we had quite a squeeze. The night came and we chatted till I was so tired I had to retire for the night.
The next morning we said our goodbyes at Bangkok's Hualampong station, and we promised to email each other. Maybe one day I'll visit her in Surrey.
I took a cab down to Lub d Bangkok, my boutique guesthouse in Bangkok. For those going to Bangkok, I recommend this place 100%. Cheap (450baht) dorms with clean shared toilets and free internet and games in the foyer, this place resembles an ikea showroom. Being a design grad, this place is gorgeous. The minimalist style and colors black, grey and red felt more like a hotel. Security was so high tech I think James Bond pales in comparrison. Location was alright, about 10mins walk to Sala Daeng BTS and Silom MRT. Price was quite high for a dorm with shared bathroom, but this place is absolutely worth the price.
Check out www.lubd.com.
As usual, in Bangkok, one shops. So straight away upon reaching my place, I took a shower, checked my mail, then took the BTS to Saphan Taksin, and then changed to a boat to my favourite shopping place Wang Lang. But I didn't see much interesting stuff this time at Wang Lang.
Collected my 4 shirts from the tailor, which I am now finding faults with. I was in too much of a rush to really analyze the shirt when I was there and I forgot to tell them some details I wanted. Well, what the heck. A lesson learnt. But sis said the shirts look fine. Ronald said they look 6/10 and not worth the price.
Met Ploy, treated me to Japanese restaurant and Mango sticky rice at Siam Square, which was so nice of her.
Went back to my guesthouse early as I felt awkward meeting other travellers. Oh I was staying in a female dorm so I was worried how the others might feel about me staying in the same dorm as them. Turned out I was being paranoid as usual as I met them the next morning and all said hi. I'm such a loser. I even met this Swiss backpacker whom I had noticed in Pai cos she was smoking hot. So I asked her if she has been to Pai, and she must have thought I am a stalker because I could describe her outfit down to her shoes. Oops.
In the middle of the night, this crazy South Korean lady in the same dorm received a phone call from her O-mmo-ni (mom) and began talking loudly. Crazy bitch. In the end this Brit lady next to her made some noise about it so the South Korean lady went out.I hope they don't think just because I am Asian I am her friend.
Then it was the dreadful day to head back to Hatyai. So I left the hotel without taking back my 200baht deposit (which I am now emailing them to ask for fund transfer) and headed to the train station.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Pai, Thailand
762 curves round the mountains later in a minivan (3 hrs), I arrived at Pai, a small hippie town where it is known for nothing and yet totally touristy. Like really, people go to Pai to do nothing.
Dreadlocks everywhere, really hippie shit. But too many Thai tourists which I absolutely couldn't stand because there were too many motorbikes on the streets.
As Pai was a last minute decision, I did not research on where to stay, so I only began to walk around town looking for a gueshouse, which was a bad idea as it was high tourists season and many were full.
I finally found one by the name of Pai In The Sky. How original. 250baht with ensuite bathroom, queen size bed with ugly madras bedsheets, a TV with only 1 english channel BBC which was good enough. But the best thing about this place is the location. Smacked right next to the Bus Station.
I met a Welsh lady named Isla and a Brit named Mark who married a Thai lady and had a little boy named Dominic, who is extremely cheeky and would just play with his food, the soil in the flowerpod, the water in the fountain etc..
So that was day 1. Day 2 I met them again at the same little restaurant and they were heading out to the hot springs. The problem with not being able to drive or ride a bike is that I am stuck in one place. So I decided to chill out at the restaurant with a banana milk shake and read a book. SUSHI FOR BEGINNERS. Haha. Which was a good book, really ditzy and totally not me.
The night markets were full of hilltribe crafts and hippie reggae stuff, neither of which I am interested in. Me as a hippie in Singapore? Wouldn't cut it! But I found 2 tees for 120baht each! Looks exactly like those you can find in Bangkok but for a higher price (updated: I found exact same ones in Bangkok for 100baht each. URGH!).
20 baht rice with omellete.
There were also lots of live performances and street buskers. A really relaxed environment listening to music and watching musicians jam.
This band was really good and many people gathered around to watch them play. This place is a newspaper office in the morning and a bar at night.
Pai is extremely cold now. High up in the mountains, the night gets so cold that I have to wear my motorbike jacket, gloves and scarf to sleep! And it was still chilly. One night I went out without my scarf and gloves and I swear I could have just died.
So after 2 days of doing nothing, it was time for me to head back to Chiang Mai to catch a train to Bangkok. My journey is coming to an end.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Chiang Mai, Thailand
So Tegra and I left the beautiful Nan for a noisy city- Chiang Mai. 5.5 hours, and conversations about high school, later we reached CM and went our own ways. Gonna miss having company.
Now I am staying at a couchsurfer's place and my gawd it is the most impressive place. SHE OWNS A 5 STAR HOTEL!! And I get to stay here for free, eat for free etc.. I certainly wasn't expecting a hotel, much less a 5 star hotel. Usually it is just a room!
Chiang Mai is definitely not as cold as Nan,what a disappointment.
One night I went out to the Anusarn Market and met a German girl who has been in Chiang Mai for the past 3 weeks, learning dressmaking! Haha.
I celebrated my 21st alone at an expensive Italian restaurant (400baht), had thin crust pizza and tirimisu. If only I had some company it would have been perfect. When I got back to the hotel though, Gaeng (my host's employee) celebrated with me with MORE CAKE and we even lit up a paper lantern. She said it would bring good luck.
I also joined a tour group (I just hate saying that, makes me feel old) to visit Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand, some waterfalls and another god-knows-what palace. 1500baht I say! Jesus. So I celebrated it on the top of the world. Well, not quite but it'll do.
Did I mention that everyone on the tour were retirees? There were 2 french-canadians from Quebac, 2 canadians from nova scotia, 2 grumpy Italians (italians are always so grumpy eh), and 2 Thais.
With my touristsy-looking pose
We also visited a White Karen village and a Hmong market, which sold only organic fruits and veggies. I was quite apprehensive before the tour as I did not want to contribute to the "human zoo" effect of all these villages, but I was glad that the White Karen village I visited wasn't being treated like a human zoo.
Hmong market
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Nan, Thailand
I am in Nan now and brrr it is cold! I never thought Thailand could be so cold (just think of bangkok).
And I am loving it here. People are friendly. And they don't try to scam you for money unlike Bangkok.
Nan is really a town you need thai to get around. Shopkeepers barely speak thai, so I had to translate thai to english for Tegra.
We stayed at this guesthouse called Nan Guesthouse, and we were the only ones in the Guesthouse until the next day when someone checked in. It was cheap, only 170baht for a double bed room, which meant each person paid 85baht a night! Fan no aircon, but it was so cold in Nan the fan was redundant. Shared bathroom but it didn't matter as it had hot water (so hard to find in cheap Guesthouses) and anyway there weren't any other travellers to share with.
Had to pay 100baht for entrance to the Nan National Museum. Damn, because they thought I was Thai, until they saw Tegra and got the idea that I might not be local, which would be a mere 20B.
Shit english "...these lust two"
Food is cheap too. We had vegetarian buffet for 15baht! And we could buy cheap food at the night market too.
Nan is really a nice change, an untouched city.
We paid 1200baht each to go elephant trekking up in the mountain. Nan, unlike Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, is largely untouched by tourist.
When we came back we just chilled by the River Nan
Sukhothai
So I left Laos and took a bus to Khon Kaen in order to change to a bus to Sukhothai. The journey to suhothai was an arduous one. First, they only had a night bus to Sukhothai, which meant I had to wait in Khon Kaen for hours. Then, they said maybe I should take to Phitsanulok and change to Sukhothai because of the high frequency of buses.
So I took the bus to Phitsanulok and it was a loooooooooooooooong journey around the mountainous area. Beautiful view, but a fucking 6 hour ride going round and round the road bends.
When I finally did reach Phitsanulok, I boarded the bus to Sukhothai and met another travller, Tegra from Seattle. So I had some company for the rest of the 1 hr journey. When we got to Sukhothai's bus terminal, we parted ways and said we'll probably run into each other tomorrow at the ruins.
And we did! I was coming out of a temple when I thought she looked familiar. So we ended up exploring the place together, and even avoided paying 100baht for Wat Phra Ling by sneaking in from the back.
For lunch we had pad thai at a little cafe just by the park. The owner's little girl, 7 yrs old, came up to us and handed us dominos. Me, being without a childhood, didn't know how to play and had to let a little kid teach me. This little kid was really hyper, i suspect A.D.D. But definitely funny, she could so grow up to be a comedian or an actress.
We stayed in the park after dark, hoping to see the ancient wats under different lighting. We waited and waited, enchanging info about Seattle and Singapore, and eventually we were the only two left in the huge park and the stray dogs started roaming around us. We freaked out and packed up our stuff and had to climb over the huge gate to escape.
The early morning and the evening are really cold. You hafta wear a jacket and even snowcaps or gloves.
I eventually convinced Tegra to join me in Nan. So now I have a travellin buddy!