Travel day: From Monsoon to Tropical Paradise

Poor Manda needs head rubs

It turns out drinking too much Thailand river water will make you sick. Really, drinking any kind of water in Thailand, that isn't bottled, will make you sick. That's what Manda found out the hard way. Monica and I were woken to the sounds of Manda making friends with our toilet either very late at night or very early in the morning. She attributed her ills to the massive amounts of nasty, brown river water she swallowed yesterday when tubing. (She's much too experienced a traveler to drink Thai water out of the tap)

So our second full day in Khao Sok didn't start out all that great. On top of Manda's tummy problems the heavens decided to open up. And a couple of hours after being woken up by Manda we were woken by the sound of heavy rain. Really heavy rain.

There is probably something that should be understood about Manda, Monica and I. We are from Seattle. Which is known throughout the States (maybe throughout the world) as a rain-soaked city. But what people don't understand sometimes is that Seattle rain isn't like other rain. Seattle rain is often a mist that seems to fall slowly from the sky. Sometimes it seems to be a never ending drizzle. Seattle rain starts in October and ends in May. It makes everything damp, but it doesn't often pour and it very rarely floods.

Rain! So much rain!

This Thai rain was not like rain I'd ever experience. This rain poured. It came down so heavily that just the short walk from our hut to the main lounge soaked me to the bone. And I was wearing a "waterproof" jacket. Waterproof for Seattle maybe. Thanks a lot REI.

The combination of the rain and Manda in the fetal position led Monica and I to decide against further hiking. It seemed unfair to just leave Manda in the hut while we went out and battled nature without her. Also flash flooding is a big problem this time of year and the tons of water falling from the sky made me think that maybe there was a reason for the warnings.

So instead I had a quick chat with Spider Woman about transport to Koh Samui, our next destination. Monica settled our bill. And we packed all our stuff up once again for a painfully long travel day.

Koh Samui is an island off the east coast of Thailand. It has everything you would think of when imagining a Thai beach: white sands, aqua blue surf, mind blowing sunrises. Otherwise known as tropical paradise, especially to three backpackers who have spend the last few days in a rain soaked jungle battling leeches.

But in order to get there we had to (metaphorically) run the gantlet of Thai transportation. We booked a "travel package" through our friend Spider Women. The package included transport from Khao Sok to Surat Thani, where we caught a ferry (also paid for) to Koh Samui. I felt like we may have been slightly ripped off. I'm pretty sure they jacked up the price at least 300 baht (~$9) per person from what we would have paid if we traveled on our own and booked everything independently. Under different circumstances we would have passed on a package deal. But with a sick Manda we didn't want to try to figure it out ourselves, and take the chance of messing up terribly and ending up stuck somewhere less than comfortable.

The travel was relatively drama free, aside from taking about 10 hours. From our Jungle Huts we were packed into a "Mini Bus", which is a sort of cross between a taxi and a bus. It has about 12 seats with proper belts and leg room, but they managed to squeeze a fair 18 people in. Monica, Manda and I were lucky enough to get first, so we all got proper seat belts and room for our knees. Can't say the same for the German tourists that got in at the next guest house over. They sat on little, really little, fold out seats that wouldn't have fit half my butt. The Mini Bus ride took us to a stop over location with over priced food. I have no idea where the stop over location was. Some very small, rural town. From there we waited about an hour to board a larger Gray Hound-esq bus which took us to the ferry.    

First look at Koh Samui

The travel between Khao Sok and the ferry is a bit blurry now. I spend I good deal of time rubbing Manda's head while she drooled on my shirt. And some time napping (probably drooling on Monica or the German dude). And worrying that I left my passport in our Jungle Hut (turns out it was in my bag). And dreaming about the drinks I'd order while sitting on the beach.

By the time we got to the ferry our spirits were looking up. The sun was out and we could see the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao in the distance. And all that separated us from the island paradise was one ferry ride.

Travel day: Fon-Fon isn't good people

This Monday was not kind to anyone. The lovely restaurant Sue and Jon took us to last night (Fon-Fon) did not agree with our weak american stomachs. Both Monica and I were awoken in the night by gastric distress. Consequently we spent the whole morning either laying in the fetal position on the bed or hunched over the toilet (lovely I know). And poor Manda had to deal with us. By us I mean me, because Monica is way tougher than I am when it comes to illness. Regardless, Manda was very kind. Running out to the store, before her morning coffee, to buy us ginger ale and crackers. Helping pack the rest of our things. Providing water and back rubs. Etc.

I can't decide whether or not the stomach issues were a curse or blessing. On one hand, we were bound to get sick at some point early in the trip. You don't eat that much MSG and spicy seasonings without feeling a little ill. And we won't be wasting a day that could otherwise be spent adventuring, since we are traveling today. On the other hand, feeling ill and traveling around rural Thailand on a bus for the first time is enough to make me slightly less than happy without adding sickness on top of that. 

So for better or worse we packed our things, said goodbye to Sue and Jon, and jumped on a bus headed for Khao Sok National park. 

Our travel itinerary for the day involved cab to bus station, bus ride to the entrance to Khao Sok, and a ride in the back of a truck to our guest house. The bus was one of those tall buses that tourists ride around on in the states. It also reminded me of the buses Monica and I spent a lot of time on in Ireland. Two seats on either side of the aisle, aircon that either didn't work or made you feel like you were sitting in your own personal Antarctica, baggage stored underneath the passenger area, and the ugliest damn upholstery I've ever seen. I wonder how they pick out the upholstery and for what purpose? To hide the grime of the hordes of travelers sitting on them I guess.

View of Khao Sok from the bus

The bus ride was mostly uneventful. I honestly don't think I was conscious for most of the ride. But in between awkward bouts of naps and games of scrabble on Manda's kindle I noticed we drove past a lot of beautiful scenery. Once we got off Phuket island we drove through mostly rural Thai countryside. Occasionally stopping to pick up a person on the side of the rode. How the driver knew to pick them up, I'm not sure. There certainly weren't marked bus stops.

As we got closer to Khao Sok the emptier the countryside seemed to become, the steeper the roads, and the crazier the bus driving became. We whipped around corners of cliff roads at speeds I wouldn't have dared in a car. I first I thought that my sickness induced haze was coloring my judgment but Manda was clutching the side of her seat with white knuckles, so I don't think I was too off base.

We arrived in Khao Sok after 6 hours of travel. The main road, a snake-like two-lane road was intersected by a single lane paved road. There was a small sign declaring the entrance to the National Park to be several kilometers down road. The bus stopped, dropped us and our baggage, and sped away. Waiting at the beginning of this road were a congregation of guest house owners with pictures of their digs. As soon as we stepped off the bus they were in our faces. "You have place to stay?" "My place is best!" "Air-conditioning!!!"  Being sick and hazy, I sort of just stared into the distance. Monica glared at anyone who got too close. Manda ignored all but the guy in the pink hat holding the sign for the "Jungle Huts". Apparently she had called earlier in the day and was told to look for him. Clever girl.

The Jungle Huts, view from out hut

We jumped into the back of a pickup truck, whose bed had padded benches in the back, for a ride down the road to our first guest house. The road approaching the Khao Sok entrance was full of guest houses (all had a jungle theme of some sort), tour companies (all seemed to offer similar tour packages), restaurants and mini marts. It should have felt touristy, but it had a sort of sleepy, rural ambiance. Or maybe I was still out of it.

The Jungle Huts was a compound off the main road a few hundred yards down a dirt road. They were centered around a raised main lounge area, which held the restaurant. From the main lounge a walkway lead to a series of hexagonal huts, which were raised off the ground on a series of wooden poles. A variety of local plants grew up along the walkway. The whole compound was surrounded by trees and beyond the limestone cliffs Khao Sok seem to stretch on in every direction. It gave the whole place a really wonderfully secluded feel.

Monica is checking out the digs

The huts were very simple, a single room with attached bathroom. Ours had a single and double bed right in the middle of the room. Mosquito nets hung above, tied off for the day. The bathroom was odd, the shower was a spray nozzle, that could be detached from the wall and held. There was no separate shower stall, the floor was slightly tilted towards a drain. So when you showered you had to be careful not to spray the whole bathroom and get the toilet paper wet. A lesson I learned the hard way. 

Once we were somewhat settled and showered we trouped over to the restaurant. We were greeted by our host, a very nice woman who told us to called her "Spider Lady". Since Monica and I were still feeling somewhat under the weather (although much better than we did in the morning) we decided not to hike right away. The guest house offered a selection of tour and hiking packages. We decided to try our hand at hiking without a guide but we did book a river tubing adventure for the next afternoon.

Travel day: Seattle to Seoul to Bangkok to Phuket aka The Marathon

Turns out, jet-lag is a real thing. I was unaware of this fact before the Thailand trip. But apparently taking three flights across ten time zones will, in fact, make you feel like shit.

The flights themselves were reasonable; even the eleven hour one from Seattle to Seoul, South Korea. Asian flight attendants are totally adorable in their matching suits and little hats. We got free slippers and TV with all sorts of movies and music to listen to (are I not easy to please?). I amused myself with watching movies I would normally avoid. The Hunger Games was first up. There was a lot of lead up to the games with no action! And while the whole thing was very emotionally charged it failed to impress me in the end.  Then it was What to Expect When Expecting, which was Love Actually but with pregnant people. Grease was just super annoying; the only worthwhile song was Grease Lightning. After those four I may have watched a few gems that I’ve seen before. I.e. Marvel movies.

There was plane food to avoid. Three meals of it! Monica chowed down like it was the last meal she would ever get. When I asked what the rush was she said, “If I eat fast I won’t taste the mystery meat.” Back in May, when we bought the plane tickets, I requested the vegan option so I could avoid leaving mystery meat on my plate, which I’d feel bad about wasting. Unfortunately this means that I didn’t get the delicious blueberry cheesecake for dessert. But Monica, angel that she is, let me have half of hers.

The flights may have been long, but the layovers felt a lot longer. Looking back, sitting in the Bangkok airport was a low point of the trip. Not the lowest point, but a close second or third maybe. It was heavily air conditioned and we packed pretty light; in terms of amount and type of clothing. And we were exhausted. So for 8 hours Monica and I sat, exhausted, cold and hungry in BKK. Not fun.

Arrival in Phuket was anti-climactic. I imagined Manda standing at the arrivals gate with her parents, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the 7:20 flight from Bangkok. But it was not to be, they were nowhere to be seen. Turns out they didn’t plan out enough time to getting to the airport in traffic. Surprise! Honestly I wasn’t actualy surprised, but Monica was a bit doubtful that they remembered us at all.

They did arrive, of course. Admittedly I was so jetlagged that there was no crazy, happy, joyful hugfest with Manda. There was hugging (of all Hackings) and some crying on Manda’s part, but at this point I was somewhat zombie like. Inside though, below all the layers of exhaustion, I was more excited than a child on Christmas.

In a departure from the normal Hacking protocol, the Hacking’s had rented a little four door sedan for our time in Phuket. We wouldn’t have all fit on the scooter anyways (normal mode of transport). And the sights of Phuket Island would have been very expensive to see from cab. So we departed from Phuket airport, squished into the back seat of a silver Mazda on to the first official day of Thailand adventure.