Thailand Duex; Sun, Fun and Leaving Your Comfort Zone

So once again I boarded the sleeper train. This time, heading back to Bangkok. At this point I was a little more confident in myself travel wise. I was still a little bit shy in just inserting myself into conversations, but as a whole I was feeling pretty good. This time around I’d had the foresight to book a bottom bunk on the sleeper train. Though the experience as a whole was cool and enjoyable the first time around, staying on the top bunk was not something I wanted to experience again. At some points on the previous journey I felt like I was so close to being launched off the side of the bed, and at others I was shivering from the cold as the beds were right in front of the air conditioning units. Not five minutes after I boarded the train, a large group of American final year college students began to settle down around me in their seats also. A culture trip to Thailand with their college professors. Though, as their professor offered me shots of scotch, I dubiously believed them. The journey with the students made the trip pass by in a fast daze. One moment we were joking about Yifan throwing his bag at me and the next we were saying our goodbyes in Bangkok with a vague plan of action for me to join them in Koh Samet in a few days.

Once in Bangkok, I boarded a bus to Kanchanaburi. The town is just a little bit out of scope of the normal trails that backpackers take, but it was a town I was committed to going to nonetheless. I had read online that the town was full of World War 2 history and I was intrigued. The hostel I eventually found myself at (WesTory) was quiet, but I had anticipated that given that a) this town was a little off the beaten path and b) it was low season in Thailand. It was modern, cool and clean and at around €10 per night, it just fit into my budget. Upon check in, I was the only one checked into my room, though that would change over the next few days.

Dark Tourism

There’s something to be said about dark tourism. You’re never quite prepared for it. Dark tourism is when you engage in activities or travel to places that are usually associated with death and tragedy. Up to this point, the only real tourism of this kind I had engaged in was visiting the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. In other parts of Europe and the rest of the world sometimes visitors are cushioned, and do not feel the whole emotional impact of what they are seeing. In other parts, the information presented to you is so raw and shocking that you can’t help but be mute and reverent as you travel through the site. Visiting the Thailand -Burma Railway centre was such an experience for me. The centre told the story of the 81,000 prisoners of war and 200,000 Asian slave labourers that the Imperial Japanese Army used to build a railway between Thailand and Burma, the so called ‘Death Railway’. Over its 16 month construction period more than 100,000 POWs and slave labourers died. This story may be familiar to a few as the story was told in the movie ‘The Railway Man’ starring Colin Firth. Outside the centre, one can see the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, one of the many cemeteries in the small town that some of the bodies of these poor souls have been laid to rest.

In looking at my itinerary, and figuring out transportation, it quickly because apparent that I wouldn’t be meeting Yifan, Leila and the rest of the students on Koh Samet. It was a pity because I actually really wanted to go. Instead I filled the rest of my time walking around the small town and taking in the rest of the sites such as the Bridge over the River Kwai (part of the railway tracks the POW’s and slave labourers were forced to build), the night market (a staple in all Asian towns) and I took a Thai cooking course! Back at the hostel, I met a group of 3 ladies who were on a weekend break. They were English teachers in a nearby town. I spent some time getting to know them over dinner and many drinks in multiple bars in Kanchanaburi. After 4 days in Kanchanaburi, it was time for me to leave, richer in knowledge, and lighter in pocket (someone stole all of the cash out of my wallet at the hostel… but hey at least they left my cards right? Always look on the bright side…).

Sun, Fun and Beach Life

Next stop on the Thailand Express for me was Krabi. I already knew that Visa wise I was cutting it close. Irish citizens are allowed into Thailand 30 days visa free, and I was nearing the end of those days. I could always do a ‘visa run’ (leave the country for a few days then come back and have 30 days again), but I didn’t want to end up spending too much time in Thailand. Back at home, my sister, Lisa would always joke that I probably wouldn’t leave Thailand at all, that I’d just spend all my time here. I didn’t want to prove her right. I wanted some time by the beach, but I wasn’t really feeling up to going to one of the Thai islands. I had been before the year before and didn’t want to waste time doing the same thing again, so I headed to Krabi instead. A coastal town with a beach, and close enough to Phuket and Ko Phi Phi should I feel inspired to go to an island.

I arrived in the town late and excited because of the hostel I had booked – Hogwarts Hostel. Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things Harry Potter. I was so sure that I’d love the hostel that I would love it that I had already booked 4 nights there (at around 230 Baht/€6 per night), sight unseen. Mistake #1. The hostel itself was based right in the middle of Krabi town, so I would be close to all the important stuff. Mistake #2. That hostel was so loosely tied to Harry Potter that you could change the name of the hostel and no one would realize that there is any connection. Fine. I let it slide. The staff in the hostel were also very unfriendly, and just didn’t care. Upon walking around Krabi town, it became very apparent to me that I had booked my accommodation in the wrong part of Krabi. Yes, it was the main town, but there was nothing to do here. Not. A. Damn. Thing. No sights, no real restaurants, nothing. I checked out the next day of that hostel, money already paid left behind forgotten. There was no way I was spending another 3 nights in that place in that part of town. I quickly hightailed it to Ao Nang in hopes of finding a better experience.

Spoiler; I did. When I arrived in Ao Nang (about a 30 minute drive away) I knew I had made the right decision. I could see some tourists dotted about the place, the town was beachside, so as we were cruising along I had a nice view of the beach and best of all, I could see some nice restaurants around. Score. I checked into Pop In Hostel after carefully scrutinising every review online regarding them first. Very clean? Check. Great social atmosphere? Check check (they had free barbecues every day, beer pong and a bar on site). Helpful with booking tours? We have a winner. After my first night here (it cost around 270 Baht/€7 per night), I ended up just booking the rest of my stay in Thailand here.

Travel; Extreme Sports Edition

I had made it to Ao Nang, I was happy and I was ready to do something exciting and out of my comfort zone (you know, besides strolling around another continent). I booked myself in for an all-day rock climbing, caving and abseiling session. Had I ever even scaled inside rock walls before? Nope. I was about to go and scale the side of a very real mountain with no prior experience though. Once I was picked up and my gear was handed to me, the fear started to set in. It wasn’t even mid-morning (we started at 8am) and it was very very hot. Temperature was about 32 degrees at that time. I was sweating just standing there. Actual rock climbing, as in me actually scaling those rocks taught me something about myself that chilled me to the core. I’m really not as strong as I think I am. And it was not a good feeling for me. Back home, I’m someone who’s really quite active and I spend a lot of time in the gym. Climbing those rocks taught me that if I was ever in a situation where I’d need to scale something, I’d likely fail at the task. And probably plummet to my death.

By 11am I was exhausted and my legs were shaking (rock climbing is mostly about leg power, rather than whether you can hoist yourself up with upper body strength). Unfortunately for me, I paid for a full day experience. Around 1 we broke for lunch and following that we went to go and explore some caves. The cave system was large and complex with bats peeking at every now and again. Once we reached the top of the cave, we abseiled down and continued our trek back to the beach and subsequently were dropped home. I was proud of myself, I made it through the whole day without giving up. Rocks 0. Barbara 1.

The next few days featured me roaming around Krabi and Ao Nang. My desire to see the Tiger Cave Temple led me to booking a day tour that included activities I had no interest in. A morning spent in hot springs (if you’ve seen any of my other posts, do you see the recurring theme with hot springs and tours?) followed by the Emerald Pools (which, as cool as they were, I was too icked out by the slimy algae surrounded it to actually venture in) and finally I made it to my temple.

The area itself is mostly famous because of the 1,237 steps up a mountain crawling with cheeky monkeys that will steal your loose items leading up to the temple. As someone who mostly sticks to lifting heavy weights and circuit based training and avoid cardio always, I had no real scope of how EXHAUSTING and how TIRING it would be to get up those steps. They were not just steps up a mountain. These were not regular sized steps. Some of the steps were so large and so steep that I would have to brace myself and power up using one leg. Some of these steps were about 3 to 3.5 times the size of regular steps. 100 steps in and I was pouring with sweat. 300 steps in, I called my sister Lisa solely so I could have someone to complain to. The joke was on me however because I was so out of breath that I could even spare the air to do so. 600 steps up and I had reached the mid-point with Lisa still on the phone slightly freaked out with how heavy I was breathing. When I made it to the top I was so relieved that I barely registered the temple. I had made it and I was relishing my accomplishment. The temple itself was in need of some care. It was a little old, and a lot decrepit, however being at the top did give you a beautiful view of Krabi from way up high. After looking around and taking some pictures, I looked back at the stairs. What goes up, must go down. Going down was only 75% as horrific as going up.

Phuket Interlude

After days filled with activities and adventure my body was in dire need of a rest. I was completely exhausted and wanted some alone time. I also wanted to leave Krabi, at least for a few days. It was becoming too familiar, and I was quickly running out of things to do. In what would become a familiar activity to me, I opened up google maps on my phone just to see what was around and close to Krabi. Phuket and Ko Phi Phi. I went through the very analytical process of “eeny meeny miney mo” and Phuket emerged the victor.

If some of you are familiar with Phuket, then you can probably point out the hilariousness of my decision. Going to Phuket to rest. Phuket. Party island central of Thailand (after Ko Pha Gnan during the full moon party). But this was the decision I made and I was happy with it. I booked myself into the newly operational Surf Hotel Patong for two nights (2,223 Baht or €57.50 per night) and went for a wander around the town. The last time I had been around so many people was probably Bangkok. Low season in Thailand meant that the areas that already had low enough traffic were near on dry tourist wise. In Bangkok and Phuket I was struggling to see how the destinations were being adversely affected by low season. I aimlessly walked around, for lack of something else to do and mostly people watched. Over the next few days in Phuket, time would pass in this manner, but I was alright with it. This is what I had come for; slowing down and taking my time. I did nothing really of note in Phuket. Spent a little too much time on the beach reading and got horrific heat stroke as punishment. Wandered down to the cinema to see the new Incredibles 2 movie. Partied at Illuzion nightclub with some random Canadians that I met on Bangla Road. Saw a sunset so beautiful that I literally stopped what I was doing and just watched it until the sea swallowed it up. Soon my time was up and it was back to Pop In Hostel and Krabi for me.

My last 2 days in Thailand were filled mostly with reflection on everything I had done up to this point and contemplation on my journey going forward. From the point that I left Thailand, I would be in wholly unfamiliar territory. The would be no metropolitan Tokyo or Seoul to fall back on. No familiarity of the kind Thai people that were partially the reason I had come back to this side of the world after my first trip. No. I was fully venturing into the unknown, going to immerse myself in completely unfamiliar cultures, by myself with nothing but subjective online reviews and my gut instinct to guide me. In what was becoming an irritatingly familiar action; I packed up my bright blue Osprey 80L, and headed for the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Until next time..

Babs.