Bangkok, Baby!

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Phew! After almost 24 hours of travel...by boat, taxi, back of motorbike, train, bus and tuk-tuk I have finally arrived in Bangkok, Thailand in one piece.
I was so hard peeling my self off the white sandy beaches of Kecil. I made many new friends and had grown accustomed to the relaxed atmosphere of the dive shop. When I wasn't running around trying to resolve the car fiasco back in Japan I was reading a book in my hammock chair or writing in my journal and sipping tea at the shop. Just looking down at the lush green scenery from my chalet was a nature-lovers feast for the eyes. I had at least three types of hummingbirds flutter around the hibiscus bushes at my feet. I could watch iguanas and monitor lizards poke around the grassy lawn for a second or two before rushing back into the jungle. There were giant geckos on the roof dangling above me on mosquito patrol. And after the sun set, hundreds of bats would fly about in the cool night air swooping low above our heads looking for a tasty bug to eat.
I left the island on the 12 o'clock speed boat with just enough time to hug good-bye my wet German buddies back from their morning dive. Tasha and Maz were in the city again getting more tests done. So I had to leave paradise without saying good-bye to my best friend who brought me there. *sniffle, sniffle*
It was a long trip to the Thai border but once I crossed I found the atmosphere much better. Everyone seemed to either gloss over the sight of a lone female foreign traveler..or they smiled. The leering and cat-calls seemed to immediately stop and I even had a few Muslim women approach me on the train. I ended up sitting next to a jolly British guy on the 3 hour journey to the main train station, Hatiyai. He was English teacher in Kuwait in SE Asia on vacation. He spoke Thai and helped me buy a spicy chicken rice lunch when we stopped at one of the stations. He was good company!
I'm not sure how many of you know - but Southern Thailand has been a scene for much conflict and terrorism recently concerning political and religious unrest. (You can read more at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3436&l=1) That area is extremely dangerous!! The train we were on was heavily guarded by the Thai police with machine guns. Every stop we made on the way to Hatiyai was covered by men in sandbag dugouts with all sorts of armory poking through.
Luckily, nothing happened. 😉 And we made it to the station safely in time for the overnight train to Bangkok. However, I made the usual mistake of following an Italian couple who seemed to know what they were doing. The lady argued with the guy at the counter in Thai for a while and decided that the fare was MUCH too expensive and that we should all just take the bus. I followed them half way to the travel agent before I realized that price for an air-conditioned berth was JUST the RIGHT price. Of course I was willing to pay an extra $3 for a bed and a place to stretch my legs. So I ditched them on the street and ran as fast as my legs could carry me the 600 meters back to the station. My 18 kilo backpack weighing me down with every step and spicy chicken sloshing in my stomach I had all sorts of locals and touts on the street yelling "Go! Go!! Fit lady! Fit lady!" (or was that "fast lady"? Who could tell.) And I made it there...one minute too late... The train was pulling away as I stepped on the platform.
I slinked back to the travel agent and booked a bus ticket to Bangkok for even more than the train fare. The Hatyai bus station was a sight for sore eyes. Everyone there seemed well dressed and polite. For being in one of the most dangerous cities in Thailand, it sure didn't seem like it. The scene was like night and day from my experiences with the bus in Malaysia (I'll be posting back-blogs about it soon). The bus attendant was cheery and seated me next to a nice lady. They gave us cookies and juice and pampered us like kings the whole way there!
And at 7am we arrived at the busiest bus station I have ever seen in my life. I loaded the packs and rubbed my eyes and found myself in an unusual situation. I had no money and no idea where I was. I walked around the station for a bit and tried my luck with an ATM. God bless Thai technology! It worked and I found a tuk-tuk driver that would take me to the only place in Bangkok with cheap accommodation that I could remember the name: Koh San Road.
Yes, yes, the hardened backpacker would probably turn up his nose at even the mention of Koh San. If you've never been there, it is an area of the city just teeming with foreigners of all sorts. If you grab a drink in one of the side-walk restaurants on Koh San you will be greeted with some of the best people watching in SE Asia. People of all sorts flock there. The guest houses are dirt cheap, the shopping is good and it's generally a very convenient stop-over to other cities and countries.
So, tonight will be my second night in my little closet of a room in Koh San. And I have spent these past few days trying to track down an internet cafe that can open Japanese Acrobat files. No such luck. The transfer of Ol' Betty Blue in Izumi is still incomplete and my poor successor continues to drive without insurance. I went to the US embassy today to get a document notarized. I got there at 1:45 - with just minutes to spare before they closed all US citizen services at two. I rushed through security and stepped up to the window only to discover that the documents I needed were NOT in my backpack but were at an internet cafe in a department store 4 stops and 2 different subway lines far, far away. *sigh* And on top of all of this I am dealing with a case of head lice. I could have picked it up anywhere. It took me a few hours to swallow my pride yesterday and go in the pharmacy to get medicine for it last night. After a bit of discussion the ladies in the shop decided that "lice" were "animals" and that I should put this greasy cream on my head to "kill all the animals."
Well, I did. And I didn't sleep well with a creamed up head. Not to mention thanks to a large group of rowdy American service boys who moved into the room next to me. After smoking a few joints and taking a couple hits of ecstasy they noisily decided to hit the streets of Pat-Pong. Yes, we certainly can be proud of our men overseas....
I got my pictures uploaded to a CD today! I tried to load them up to the site but they are way too big. If anyone has any advice or tips on how to do this let me know! I am dying to share them with all of you.
I booked a 2 day 1 night trip to Kanchanaburi leaving tomorrow. It should give me something to do while I am waiting for all the papers from JP to come in and the embassy to open Monday morn. I saw the movie Bridge over the River Kwai a few months ago when I was in Japan and it really touched me. So, being a sort or history buff - I'm getting excited about seeing the real thing! After much debate I decided to take a tour. This way I can go many places without worrying about taxis and buses and also have the chance to meet more people.
Be looking for my next blog about it!

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