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Published: February 22nd 2007
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Our Arrival into Thailand
The "taxi" that took us to the bus of gloom. In the early morning of January 30th, we boarded a ferry from Langkawi, Malaysia to Suma in the Far South of Thailand. This was the only place that we could enter Thailand from Langkawi. According to the Canadian Consulate, the Far South of Thailand is considered to be a dangerous area for tourists (There were reports of beheadings and terrorist activities in 2004). Because of this, we decided it would be best to travel north to one of the islands in SE Thailand.
While we were on the ferry, we were trying to decide which island to go to first. On a whim, we decided to change our plans and head to a 10-day meditation retreat at a Budhist monastery. It was en route to the islands. April's sister had attended this retreat a few years ago and highly recommended it. We concluded that it would be neat to try meditating for a few days. Besides, I figured it wouldn't hurt to get some sunshine for our minds before our bodies soaked up the sun on the islands!
During the last half of the ferry ride, we noticed that the ferry was traveling in circles. After several minutes of circling, one of the ferry crew announced that a storm was approaching and that the boat was back-heavy. Consequently, some of the passengers were required to move to the front. Guess who was ordered to the front of the boat? You guessed it, Heather, April and I, the only 3 white girls on the boat. Compared to the rest of the passengers, we likely appeared to be the "heaviest" ones in the bunch. (Many Asian shops don't carry clothes above size 8).
Fortunately, the storm didn't hit and we arrived safely at the ferry terminal. After stepping into the terminal, we were bombarded by travel agents and pressured to buy tickets for buses that were leaving "immediately". We were overwhelmed by their incessant badgering and felt pressured to make a snap decision or else miss the bus. Thus, we quickly decided on "a steal of deal": a direct four-hour ride to Surat Thani in an air-conditioned mini-van. Surat Thani was the closest city to the monastery.
This "steal of deal" turned into an 8-hour ride crammed into the back seat of a mini-van with 12 other passengers. The air-conditioner barely worked. To add insult to injury, we learned that we were charged three times more than the rest of the passengers who were all Thai. Furthermore, we had to wait 25 minutes for the bus that was supposedly leaving "immediately".
We were the first passengers on the bus. Seeking more leg room and better air circulation, April attempted to grab some seats near the front of the mini-van. She was scolded by the driver. He pointed at her and said "You, in back". So there we stayed for 8 hours with only a few crackers and some water. We were starving because we had not eaten breakfast or lunch. Both ferry terminals in Malaysia and in Thailand only sold snack foods.
Our 4-hour ride dragged into an 8-hour marathon because the driver kept randomly stopping to pick up or drop off people along the road. It seemed like it was an eternal milk-run. Every time we stopped, we asked "how much longer". And every time we asked, the driver replied "one more hour". We stopped asking after the third time.
Mid-way through our journey, we began to sing to stave off delirium. A few rounds of children's songs, country twangs and Sarah McLachlan tunes made us forget that we were hungry, thirsty, hot, sweaty, cramped and annoyed that we had been triply overcharged for our tickets merely because we were foreigners.
Disgruntled.
That aptly described our mood when we arrived at our guest house in Surat Thani around 7 pm. We had to settle on a room with 2 single beds as it was the only available room. Too tired to find another guest house, we decided to push the beds together and sleep horizontally on the twin beds. This gave us more room than sleeping vertically on the beds. I knew that I would be roughing it as a backpacker but I never thought that I'd be sharing a quasi double-bed with two others!
Exasperated.
That aptly described our mood after spending 30 minutes walking down a crowded sidewalk in search for some supper. Due to the language barrier, we were unable to ask where to eat. We passed a few restaurants but they looked sketchy. We finally stumbled upon an outdoor food market. We selected a food stall and then watched as our food was cooked in front of us.
Immediate Relief.
That aptly described our mood after we devoured a plate of pad Thai.
Zzzzzzzz.
That aptly described Heather, April and I sharing 2 single beds. Our long, exasperating day of travelling firmly convinced us that we needed to attend the meditation retreat. We knew we needed to learn a few new ways of coping with frustration.
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Jim and Joyce
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What a trip!!
Hi Celia, We have been enjoying your blogs about the trip. Pam gave us the address so we can keep up with the trip. Have a blast. We will keep reading your adventures. Thanks. Jim