Wednesday, our last full day on Ko Samet, was delightful. A lot more of the same: beach, Jep's Bungalow (our favorite little restaurant on the beach), reading, napping, swimming, one final leisurely dinner at Jep's.... you know, beach life.We were beginning to prepare to tear ourselves away from this little piece of paradise as well as from Duncan and Dani (Sarah and I had flights to Sri Lanka on Thursday) but then the rumblings began: "I could really use just a FEW more days on the beach...", "You guys can change your flights for free, right?", "The Full Moon Festival is on the 21st, it's such a rare opportunity, it would really be a shame to miss it.... ". So, long story short, we changed our flights. Again. But
this is the LAST time, I swear!We had such a simple plan. All we wanted to do was to go to the Full Moon Party on the island of Koh Phangan on the 21st. That's not asking too much, is it? We had heard it was a 6-hour trip from Bangkok to get down there. No sweat, we thought.
We were on the east side of the 'split' in Thailand and, since we pretty much had to go back to Bangkok anyhow to get down to the west side (where Koh Phangan is), we planned to make a pitstop while we were there to do some laundry and drop off our big bags so we coul
d travel light. It was all SO simple. I shall spare you a lot of the gory details but, in a nutshell, here is how our "6-hour" trip turned out:Left Ko Samet at 10:30 am, pumped about our next beach destination. Took a taxi to the port, then a 45-minute ferry back to the other side. Found a bus to Bangkok and got on it JUST as it was about to pull out. Luck is definitely on our side, we think. Three hour bus ride to Bangkok then a taxi to the train station, getting there at 4:15. Things take a downturn. We find out the next train (and our only option as all the others are full) is at 5:05. Less than an hour so no laundry, no leaving our big bags behind. No biggie, we decide. The train ride is now inexplicably 11 hours. What?!? Okay, we can surv
ive that. We board, we play cards, we sleep, we wake up at 4 am. So tired. We then get our "bus", which is actually a van crammed to maximum capacity which drops us off at a hut in the middle of nowhere at 5:30 am. More cards while waiting for 2 hours and, oh yeah, the rain starts. A real bus picks us up at 7:30 and takes us to yet another port an hour and a half away. We wait for one more hour, getting our ferry to the island at 10 am. Three more hours on the boat. Our spirits are flagging. We sleep. Dark clouds and more rain. Taxi to our hotel by 1:00 pm. And THAT is how a 6-hour trip (who ever told us it was 6 hours anyhow?!) turns into 26 1/2 hours. Good times. And why are we doing th
is again anyhow? We've now left a gorgeous, sunny island to travel for a full day only to end up on a grey, rainy one. But then we get to our place, and we see our bungalow and it is darling and has a thatched roof and it faces the sea and is, in fact, only steps away from the sea. And the clouds start to part and the sun comes out. And all is suddenly right with the world again. We went for a swim and we watched the sun set over the water from the porch of our bungalow. We cheered our great fortune in being here. And we "could not deny the beauty" (that one's for Danni).
They say it's about the journey and not the destination. But I don't know. I think both are p
retty important. In this case, the people I was with made the journey as enjoyable as any unexpected 26.5 hour trip from hell can be. When you are that exhausted and yet can still find yourself laughing hysterically (and I mean hysterically) with those around you despite the circumstances, it's about the journey indeed. But when you can come out of all of that intact, still laughing and still friends, and you STILL get to end up in a seaside bungalow, the destination is pretty awesome as well.
They say it's about the journey and not the destination. But I don't know. I think both are p
retty important. In this case, the people I was with made the journey as enjoyable as any unexpected 26.5 hour trip from hell can be. When you are that exhausted and yet can still find yourself laughing hysterically (and I mean hysterically) with those around you despite the circumstances, it's about the journey indeed. But when you can come out of all of that intact, still laughing and still friends, and you STILL get to end up in a seaside bungalow, the destination is pretty awesome as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment