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Published: December 2nd 2011
Headed to Ranong
The future looks bright.It was our last weekend in Phuket and due to the flooding, most of us didn’t have to report to work on Monday. We knew that we had about a week that we could travel around Thailand and from there, we would play it day by day. Erin and I had decided that instead of going to Kanchanaburi, like most of our group was, we’d head to Ranong. We had looked it up on the internet and it sounded like there was a lot it had to offer.
On Sunday we hopped on a bus around 1:00 in the afternoon. We had been told that it would be a 5 hour drive into Ranong. That was wrong...we didn’t end up arriving there until 8:00 pm. We got dropped off on the side of the road...it was pitch black outside and didn’t know where we were or in what direction we needed to head. Fortunately there were a few motorcycle taxis that hung out at the bus stops. The minute we stepped off the bus, the swarmed us like flies. I let them know that we needed to make a decision as to where we were going to stay for the
In The Beginning...
...we were smiling! evening. We did ask them a few questions regarding the list of hotel names we had. Because of the language barrier, they weren’t exactly sure what we were say (and we weren’t sure what they were saying), they did however, point in the general direction of the hotels. They were able to tell us that the hotels were about 1.5 kilometers away. They then said that they were going to charge us 200 baht a piece to drive us there. I quickly did the math in my head and said that there was no way that I was going to pay that much for a 1 mile drive when we had just gotten to Ranong for less than 200 baht per person. They tried to explain that the added cost was due to the weight of the bags that we were carrying. Erin and I decided that we would walk the mile to the hotel. -- This is where I should probably tell you that we both were carrying about 80 lbs. of luggage a piece.
So, off Erin and I went...traipsing down the cobbled stone sidewalk with our luggage on our backs and in our hands. Erin crying
the whole way, "I can't do this...where are we going? What are we doing...my luggage is to heavy." I, on the other hand, wasn't going to let the taxi dude get the best of us, so I'm yelling (in a friendly tone) "Come on, don't give up, we're not turning back...it's the Amazing Race let's go...you can do it. Here take my two light bags, I'll take your two heavy bags." So, now I'm lugging about 100 lbs down the road not knowing where we're going...just walking. Well, doesn't the damn taxi dude ride up on his motorbike just as we are getting to tired to walk any further...he's got this shit eating grin on his face and is laughing at us...That's all of the fire I needed. Off we go again...I stop to ask this family in a truck if they knew where the Asia Hotel was located. They were really kind. Even though they couldn’t speak English, they were able to communicate that they would take us there in their truck. They placed our bags in the back of their truck. In the mean time, Erin’s looking at me saying, “Are you sure we should do this? Is
Hitching a Ride
First time ever htch-hiking it safe.” I had a gut instinct that everything would be okay, but wasn’t absolutely positive...I mean, they were strangers and there were a total of 5 of them. I simply looked at her and said, “We decided to come to Thailand for an adventure...this is part of the adventure. Let’s see what happens!”
Once in the truck, I told Erin that if there was any moment that she didn’t feel safe, to let me know, we would bail. We made a plan that once we got to our destination we would unload our luggage first and then hop out of the back of the truck, to ensure that our bags weren’t separated from us. About 5 minutes later we were in front of the Asia Hotel. I was so grateful of their generosity that I offered them money for the gas that they used to bring us to our destination...they turned it down.
Erin and I walked into the hotel...and weren't feeling it. It was rather shady to say the least. When we got to the room we though we were going to die. There were two beds... There was a stain on one of the beds
Erin's Along for the Ride
...because it's an adventure! the size of Alaska. The room smelled of stale urine and other bodily fluids that I'll leave to your imagination. We both burst out into laughter. Off we went to an internet cafe to find a different hotel. Guess what...taxis close at 9:00. We were to late. So back to the disgusting hotel we head. Well, someone was watching over us, because this guy Robert walks out of no where and asks where we were going. Long story short, he picks up our luggage, and brings us to a new place that is much cleaner and nicer. We decided we’d stay there for the evening...It was 10:00 and we both were starving. I asked Robert if he could recommend a place for us to eat. He loads us back into the truck and brings us to a night market. Because we don’t know the language, he asks us what we like and then orders the food for us. He waits with us while our food is being cooked. He tells us his story and then asks for ours. We received our food, hop back into Robert’s truck and head back to our hotel.
The night gets even better we
Asia House
...I'm blocking the stain on the bed behind me...it's the size of Texas! both decided that we needed a shower...Erin takes her shower and goest to blow dry her hair. Her hairdryer is on for less than 30 seconds and the freaking thing is bright red and smoking...Now she’s been using the hairdryer the entire time we were in Phuket, and never had a problem. She decides to pass on the dryer. -- I take my shower next. It felt great to get out of my stinky clothes and into something clean. I decide to take my contacts out for the evening...I reach into my backpack for my glasses. Well, guess what...they are literally bent in half! I gently unbend them...phew, they are still in one piece. I place them on my face and they are a bit crooked. I decide that I’ll just deal with them being a bit ‘off’, that is, until I start reading...It messed with my vision so I tried to adjust them. Well I failed miserably! They broke in half...that’s all I needed I was in complete hysterics with laughter. Could anything else go wrong? -- As we are about to drift of to sleep for the night, Erin says, “How are we going to get to the
The Bathroom
It was the cleanest thing in that hotel. bus station tomorrow?” I responded with, “Well, maybe we’ll get lucky and maybe our guardian angle will send us another Robert.” It was the best nights sleep I had, had since I’d gotten to Thailand.
The next morning we wake up...I started to chuckle, as I’m reliving the events of the evening prior. Erin, of course, wanted to know what I was giggling about...I start rehashing the even’s events and now we both are in hysterics. There’s a knock on the door...I look at her and say, “We must have gotten to loud.” I walk to the door a bit timid as I’m still in my pajamas...I don’t make it a habit to answer the door when I’m still in my pjs but whoever was on the other side knew we were in there so we couldn’t ignore it. I open the door...There’s Robert with a huge smile on his face. He wants to know what our plans are, and if he can show us around Ranong? We chat with him for awhile, and decide that we would venture out on our own for the day, but that he could come back in the evening and bring us to
the bus station. Off he went.
We get changed and head for a place to eat breakfast...We found a cute coffee shop. It became apparent to us early on in our walk, that we were the only two white people in town. I don’t know if they really see many white people in Ranong, because people would literally stop and stare at us as we walked by. Inside the coffee shop there was a young girl with two other women. The girl kept looking at both Erin and I. The two of us would look back, smile and wave. A camera comes out and the girl starts taking pictures...The camera was often pointed in our direction. Finally, as they get up to leave, Erin tells the girl in Thai what her name is and asks for the girl’s name. She got a bit shy, but with the encouragement of her mother, she answered...I then introduce myself. They ask both of us where we are from. They wish us a good trip. I then ask the girl (miming) if she wants a picture with the two of us...A huge grin spreads across her face and she nods her head yes.
She takes a picture of us and then leaves.
After coffee and a plan we go in search of the bus station so that we can buy tickets to Bangkok...We get lost. When asking folks how to get to the bus station, a couple of guys offer to take us there. Again we hopped into the back of a strangers truck and head down the road. I must admit...because we were driving longer than I had thought we’d need to drive I started to get a bit nervous. We seemed to be going in the wrong direction...I had decided that if we got to far away from where I thought we needed to be, we would bail at the next stop. Fortunately, as we were driving we both began to recognize some of the landmarks around us. This made us feel a bit more at ease. The truck eventually turns into the Bus Station. We attempt to ask the two guys if they would be willing to wait for us...Once again, the language barrier became an issue. It took us about 15 minutes and two different phone calls (they made calls to friends who knew English) to finally get
our point across. The guys were great. The followed us into the Bus Station, waited while we purchased our tickets and then brought us back to the place that we met them. Again, I offered them money for both gas and their time. The turned us down! I couldn’t believe our luck...Now I don't necessarily condone hitch hiking, but I must admit, these pit falls that we had experienced showed me just how beautiful the people in Thailand really are. Of all of the times that we had been 'saved' and put on the right track, everyone had turned down our offer of money. It blew my mind...It’s almost impossible to find that kind of generosity in the States!
Although the 24 hours that we spent in Ranong felt like it was 25 hours to long, I walked away from that tiny town with so much hope, confidence, and a renewed trust in the human spirit.
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