Back in Bangkok.
It's been raining here quite a bit, in short determined spats. Big thick downpours that don't last more than a half hour. I assumed that rain in Bangkok would be a good thing, washing away the ubiquitous filth and sin that pervades every nook of this place. Unfortunately that assumption was based on the concept of adequate drainage. Rain here is like pouring water on a bowl of dry manure. The puddles that form on the sidewalks are noxious and inches deep, and the water that hits your head is the runoff from 5 stories up. Fat brown smelly drops, impossible to avoid.
I came in at 4am this morning on an eleven hour bus ride from Surat. I got stuck in the vortex of the islands again, for the fourth time.
This time I finally experienced the notorious full moon party of Koh-Phangnan. It was exactly what I expected, although not quite what I had hoped for. Seven thousand bodies came to this single beach to take part in pure, unadulterated debauchery for 24 hours. I knew it would be raucous, loud, unforgiving, and gross. I went anyway. Farang everywhere, drunk as hell. Locals walking around with huge pythons and eagles on their shoulders, thrusting them on partygoers for a 50 baht photograph. Mostly I remember an image from the morning: the whole beach still teeming with bodies, a cacophony of music coming from a hundred different bars, and the sand entirely covered with bottles, plastic buckets and lost sandals.
My experience that night, on a social level and a physical level convinced me to find a remote beach, a remote bungalow, and cut myself off from the world for 3 days, recovering and reflecting. I did a lot of reading, a lot of drawing, a lot of thinking. I had a nice view and every morning at 6am I watched the sun rise over the ocean, did some pull-ups from my doorway, and drank tea.
One day I walked over the mountain to the main beach. Rough hike, lots of mosquitoes. Saw some wonderful untouched views of the island, and a monkey. I spent that time alone, forced that introspection upon myself.
There is something about backpacking in this country that is profoundly different from Europe or even southern Africa. There's less distance between you and the other backpackers you meet. I don't know what it is, but you just meet people all the time, from all over. Being of "western" descent somehow automatically entitles you to immediate conversation and camaraderie, whether you want it or not.
A general rule: when you travel alone in Thailand, you're simply never alone. The full moon was an extreme manifestation of this, and after experiencing Malaysia by myself, it was just too much.
Very glad I spent that time solo. I'm sure I wouldn't of had it anywhere else.
Anyhow, I'm in Bangkok. This morning I was walking from guesthouse to guesthouse, and they were all completely booked except for the one with the bedbugs. It was rainy, dark and smelly. I'm here for a reason now; to get my Cambodian Visa, and say goodbye to Peter and Roxy. They're off to India within the next few days, and i'm going east.
It's quite difficult to play catch up when you're constantly having new adventures, and always trying to digest yesterday's sights. I have so much more to write, so don't be annoyed if you get an email from me tomorrow talking about what happened over Christmas. That was weeks ago, but I still need to get it out. It takes time for heavily-saturated experiences to percolate.
You'll hear from me very soon.
Love,
Tobias