Day 1 on Koh Phangan

May 2, 2013

The resort I made reservations with on the mainland had a taxi pick me up at the port of Koh Phangan.  The taxi was a pick up truck with a covered bed and bench seats on both sides.  There were about five of us in the truck bed.  The man sitting across from me introduced himself to me as Niels from Holland and we had a nice chat as the truck took us to a more sparsely populated side of the island.  About 20 minutes into the trip, the other two or three people in the truck with us were dropped of at a resort.  Niels and I were told to remain in the truck because our resort was further away.  We eventually turned down a small driveway onto a hilly, unpaved dirt road that looked like it had been washed away during the last rain storm.  After an extremely uneven, bumpy ride, we arrived at our resort and were surprised to find that it was completely vacant except for the two of us.  Another surprise was that half of the resort was under construction.  Apparently the owner of the resort was not renewing the lease for one half of the property, so he was moving the restaurant and a number of rooms to the side of the property he owned.

After arriving, we got settled into our rooms.  I had opted for the cheapest kind of bungalow with no air conditioning.  The bathroom had a thatched roof and stone walls.  I could look over the walls of the bathroom into the surrounding jungle.  Animals could easily enter and exit my bathroom and there were a number of spider webs along the ceiling which was only a few inches over my head.  Niels, on the other hand, was in one of the nicest rooms at the resort.  It was a proper room with walls and a proper shower.  It was also situated in front of an in ground pool right along the beach.  After we showered, we met for lunch at the restaurant of the resort.  The burgers we ordered were not very good at all, but we both were happy to be on the island and relaxing.  We made small talk about our backgrounds and got along very well.  Niels had already been in Thailand for about two weeks.  He had traveled through the Northern Thai cities before venturing to South to Koh Phangan.  I found him to be quite interesting and a very nice guy.  I knew that we were going to get along well.

After eating, we decided to explore the island a bit.  It didn't take us long to realize that we had made a mistake choosing this resort.  If there were other people there it would be quite a great place, but because it was the low season the whole place seemed deserted.  We got a ride from one of the workers there and he dropped us off at a busier beach area along the Southern shore.

This is the view we had during lunch that first day.

I had originally chosen to come to Koh Phangan because a friend I knew in South Korea, named Sarah, was actually going to be on the island that week.  She and I had become friends after having discussions about traveling to South East Asia on a Facebook group for the foreigners in our local city in South Korea. She had given me all sorts of good advice and we ended up meeting and hanging out a few times in February right before she left South Korea.  She had already been in South East Asia for about two months by the time I arrived in Thailand and we had plans to meet up once I arrived.  She told me that around the first week of May she would be in Koh Phangan, so I decided it was as good a place as any to start my trip.  I didn't have any idea where on the island she was, so Niels and I just decided to wander around until she made contact with me.



We found that Koh Phangan was not nearly as busy as we thought it would be, but it was very beautiful.  We walked down the beach and asked others where we should go.  After getting a beer, we eventually made our way to a place that Niels had heard of on the South Eastern tip of the island called Coral Bungalows.  It was a nice place with a pool on the beach and many people there.  We decided that we would book rooms here for the following night.  There was a huge monthly pool party happening at this resort later that night.  Niels and I were not really in the mood for a crazy party because we were both extremely tired.  Niels had just endured literally 24 hours of traveling including a 12 hour train from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to Bangkok and then an overnight bus ride to Southern Thailand.  After we had dinner and drinks, we watched the sunset, and made our way on foot to see what else was on this side of the island.  The island had a really relaxed and laid back feel to it and was mostly locals.

                 
                                                    

We walked around some roads, waiting to see a taxi to take us back to our resort.  It was not easy to find one that was not already full of people.  We eventually arrived at what appeared to be a small taxi hub and we sought out the first driver we saw and asked how much it would cost to get back to our resort.  After a nearly two hour showdown of egos between Niels and a taxi driver, over the price of the taxi ride back to our resort, Niels finally gave in.  Niels was pretty savvy about appropriate prices for transportation in Thailand and also pretty stubborn if he thought we were getting overpriced.  Witnessing this scene was really funny to watch because both men were extremely stubborn and I didn't really mind waiting because it was only about 9 pm. Niels only gave in after I pointed out that they were arguing about a few dollars and that this amount of money was not much to us, but it meant a lot to him.  Not to mention that he was working for someone else, so it wasn't like he was keeping all the money from our fare.  Once we got into the taxi we thought our day was over, but to our surprise, the taxi driver appeared to make a detour and then picked up his wife and young son.  Then he stopped for dinner, and also picked up a local father and son.  I would learn that this was pretty normal in Thailand, but on that day it seemed rather strange.  After almost 40 minutes in the bed of his pick up truck, we arrived back at our resort.

When we arrived, there were a few people at the bar of our resort, so I pulled up a chair and introduced myself.  Niels went to sleep because he was far more tired than me from his long trip from Chiang Mai. The bartender was a British expat in his mid to late 40's.  Sitting in front of him were a British woman of about 30 and a German man in his late 30's having beers.  About 20 minutes after I arrived at the bar, an Irish man in his 50's wandered up from the beach and sat next to me.  He was really drunk and the bartender knew him as somewhat of a regular.  The conversation that ensued was one of the funniest I have ever heard.  The Irish man insisted on talking about subjects that I wouldn't even think to say out loud, and the rest of us were tearing because we were laughing so hard.  The conversation ranged from blatant racism against all Thai people, sexual fetishes of tall women, various situations when he was arrested, and his insisting that he wasn't a pervert while bringing up subjects that would point to the contrary.  There was a point where he was actively insulting the British woman's uncle and she was laughing so hard she said that she would be angry later, but couldn't help hysterically laughing now.  

Eventually I made my way back to my bungalow and had to deal with the mosquito net that was bunched up over my bed.  I did my best to get the net around my bed, but it only left the very center of the bed untouched by the bottom of the net.  Also, the bed had a backboard that made it impossible to get the net to fully enclose the bed.  In fact, the one area of the bed that wasn't well covered by the net was right where my head was.  Following about 5 minutes of fiddling with the net, I figured I had it the best I was going to get it and got in.  Like out of a movie, the second I turned off the lights and got myself in the bed comfortably, I heard the fluttering of a huge bug underneath the bed.  I immediately sprung up and out of the bed, turned the light on, and searched under the bed for the source of the sound.  I couldn't locate the bug, but I knew that there had to be all sorts of critters in the room and I just had to deal with it.  I decided to put my earphones on and listen to music to deafen myself to the sounds of all the creatures sharing the room with me.  As long as I couldn't hear them I knew I would be able to relax and fall asleep.  It worked well and I was asleep quickly.

The second day on Koh Phangan was a Half Moon Party, and a much more interesting day.  Eventually I will get to blogging about it.  

First Day in Hue, Vietnam and crashing the "Buffalo Run"

June 7, 2013

After an amazing time in northern Vietnam, I traveled on an overnight bus from Hanoi to Hue.  This overnight bus ride was my first in Vietnam and it was an interesting one.  My seat was all the way in the rear of the bus, and I was laying in the middle of two other foreigners.  All of the other seats on the bus were single seats except for the six in the back of the bus.  There were three on the bottom, where I was, and three right above us.  These three seats were pretty much one huge seat and the three of us where laying shoulder to shoulder.  The guy on my right joined the ride about 2 hours into the trip and had headphones on and didn't really say a word.  The guy to my left was an interesting 24 year old British guy who had just spent the last 4 months traveling in China alone.  We had a nice conversation, for the first few hours of the ride, about our travels.  The rest of the bus consisted of single seats along each side of the bus and single seats in the middle of the bus with an isle on each side of the center seat.  Being placed all the way in the rear of this bus seemed like a stroke of bad luck because it was right above the engine and there was heat coming up from under the seats.  I also felt a little bit claustrophobic because I was crammed in between two men and I felt that if there was an accident, or the bus somehow ended up in water, I was surely doomed.  The isles of the bus were barely wide enough for me to walk through and I had no idea if there was actually an emergency exit.  Another thing that would have made it more difficult for me to escape were the Vietnamese people that were sleeping in the isles of the bus.  Apparently, once the bus is full, people can ride in the isles of the bus for an extremely low fare. Many poorer Vietnamese use this mode of transportation all the time.  Also, being right above the engine made me think of the possibility of a fire and that also scared me.  After about 4 hours in the bus, it stopped at a rest area.  I went to the bathroom and then stood on the side of the building in front of our bus with the British guy.  We talked some more as he had a cigarette and watched the dish washing operation for the restaurant on the side of the building.  I took a picture of it as we waited to depart.

As I was in a very uncomfortable situation in the rear of this bus, and just wanted to sleep to pass the time, I took an allergy pill that has a wonderful drowsy effect.  I fell asleep listening to music shortly after departing the rest area and slept peacefully.  About 5 hours later it was daylight and I woke up sweating and uncomfortable.  For some reason, the driver turned off the air conditioning on the bus and it got really hot especially where I was over top of the engine.  The stuffy, hot air was making my feeling of claustrophobia quite a bit worse. I was getting really sweaty and the British guy and I were discussing the intellect of the Vietnamese people operating the bus.  After about 20 minutes, the air conditioning came back on and I was able to breath again. I took a few pictures at this time as we waited to arrive in Hue.

At around 7 or so in the morning we arrived in Hue and everyone got out of the bus.  Once I got my bag from under the bus, I met a Dutch guy who was also looking to find the Hue Backpackers Hostel where I had a reservation.  We found out that it was only a mile or so walk away, so we began to make our way there on foot.  It was then that I realized that I had lost one of my flip flops which I had kept them in the side pocket of my bag. I gave the remaining flip flop to the Dutch guy because he only had one shoe.  We easily found the hostel and there were no vacancies, so the Dutch guy went down the road to find accommodation.  I had a reservation, but I couldn't get into my room until 11 am, so I took a seat at the bar inside the hostel and ordered some breakfast and coffee.  I struck up a conversation with a guy from Turkey that was living and working at the hostel.  He had been there for about a month and wasn't sure exactly how long he would stay there.  He said they gave him a place to stay and paid him enough to be able to enjoy himself.  I thought he was truly living an adventurous life and found myself quite jealous.  I remember working out the details in my mind and wondering if I would enjoy doing something similar for a few months.  I guess that possibility still exists for me.

I had stayed at the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and this hostel in Hue was owned by the same three Australian guys.  I was very interested to talk to this Turkish guy and we discussed the Hostel's operation and what good business they do.  In Hanoi there are two Hanoi Backpackers Hostels and they are both huge and full of foreigners traveling around.  They have free breakfast and they coordinate trips.  They also have computers and amazing wifi.  Staying in their hostel in Hanoi was a great way to meet people and find out about places to go.  The Vietnamese women that work in these hostels speak English and are very helpful and friendly. As the Turkish guy and I were talking, a man of about 40 came up and joined the conversation.  After a few minutes, I realized that this man was one of the three owners of the Hanoi and Hue Backpackers Hostels.  He was a really down to Earth, nice guy and we had a nice chat.  After about 30 minutes of talking with him, he asked me what my plans were for the day.  I told him that I didn't have any plans, but I guessed I would walk around Hue a bit and see what there was to see.  He told me that there was a group going to a beach where a Frenchmen he was friends with was in the process of building a resort and asked if I'd like to join.  I asked how much it costed and he said this time it's free, so I agreed to join.  After eating, the owner told me there was a shower I could use next to the bar, so I got clean and waited until the group was leaving for the beach at 10 am.  While I was waiting I spoke with one of the Vietnamese women that worked there about a tour of the Khe Sahn air base.  I really wanted to see some of the war history and Khe Sahn, which was the site of a major siege during the Vietnam War, was only about an hour and a half away.  She made a call and booked a tour for me for the following day.

At 10 am the van to the beach was getting ready to leave, so I stood nearby and waited to see if the owner remembered that he invited me.  Sure enough, once people started to get into the van, he asked me if I still wanted to go and I eagerly jumped in the van with a smile.  Once inside the van, I exchanged names with the man who was sitting next to me.  It turned out that he was one of the other owners of the Hanoi/Hue Backpackers Hostels.  He was actually one of the original owners of the Hanoi Backpackers and he and the guy that invited me were childhood friends. In the van, were the two owners of the hostel, a driver and about 9 other traveling backpackers. I had a nice discussion with the owner sitting next to me about our trip to the beach.  I was wondering why the two owners were taking a group of backpackers to the beach.  He told me that 6 of the 9 other travelers on the bus were part of the new "Buffalo Run" tour that the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel just started. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNk-vR5va_Q  This was actually only the second time the "Buffalo Run" tour had been done and the owner was still working out the logistics.  The best way for him to figure out the most efficient way to run the tour was to actually do it himself and work out any problems.  Once he had worked out all of the kinks he would train someone who worked for the hostel to be the leader of the tour in the future.  This tour consisted of a 4 day scooter ride from Hanoi to Hue with stops at various places along the way.  While in Hue, the tour goes to the beach for the day to relax after a long ride.  After Hue the tour continues south along the coast to Hoi An.  Myself, and the other two guys who were not part of the tour, were just in the right place at the right time and got a free trip to the beach because there were open seats in the van.  Before leaving Hue for the beach, we made a quick stop at a famous temple.  It was a beautiful day, so I was able to get some nice pictures.

Inside this park was the car that the famous Buddist monk Thich Quang Duc had set himself on fire next to in a 1963 protest against the South Vietnamese government's persecution of Buddists.

Here is a picture of Thich Quang Duc on fire in Saigon. (Notice the car behind him)
                                       

Here is a picture I took.

After visiting this park and temple we made our way to the beach.  There was nothing on this beach except for a private beach bar and some small little thatched roofed huts people could lay inside.  The beach was rented by a Frenchmen of about 45 and his Vietnamese wife.  He was in the process of building a small resort of bungalows and his wife had just opened up this beach bar.  The 11 of us took seats around the bar and ordered beers, relaxed and ate steamed clams.  It was such a nice day that I immediately took some pictures.

This last picture is of the two owners of the Hanoi/Hue Backpackers as they were enjoying their beers and conversation.  The woman in this picture is the Vietnamese wife of one of one of the owners.

After a few beers and some wine, all of us went for a swim in the ocean.  It was such an amazing day and the water felt great.  In early May, a month before this, I was in Southern Thailand and believe me this beach easily rivaled those beaches. Vietnam would be a popular tropical destination if they had islands like Thailand does.  During the 10 hours we were at the beach I made friends with the other travelers.  They were from Ireland, Canada, the USA, Norway and England.  Actually one of the guys that came with us to the beach, but also wasn't part of the Buffalo Run, was an American that I hung out with the week before in Hanoi.  He and I spent a few hours hanging out with two Dutch girls outside the Hanoi Backpackers the day before I went to Sapa.  The guy from Norway, who also wasn't part of the tour,was about 19 or 20 years old and had purchased a scooter in Southern Vietnam.  He was making his was through Vietnam on the scooter alone.  I met more than a few people who were doing that same thing and they all raved about how amazing the trip was.  The beauty of traveling by scooter is that they buy the bike in either the north or the south and when they arrive on the other side of the country they can just sell the bike to another person for about the same price they originally bought it for.

In the evening, we played volleyball until we could no longer see the ball well enough to play.  I also made time to take some pictures.  These pictures are not photo-shopped at all.  The sky really had all of those colors.  It was an amazing day!

I could not have planned a day this perfect.  I arrived in Hue with no plans or expectations about what to do or see.  I just knew that I was open to experiencing life and meeting new people.  This was my plan for the whole trip and many many times it worked out wonderfully for me, but this was a magical day.  Remembering this day reminds me that the World is full of possibilities and all I have to do is put myself out there and let them happen to me.