MP3 track of the day: Lose yourself -Eminem
Weather: Yet again blue skies, fluffy white clouds and its really quite hot.
I had a terrible nights sleep last night; I was tossing and turning … and then turning and tossing. I was on top of the covers, underneath them, air-con off, air-con on nothing seemed to help. The reason was because I had a familiar question racking my brain and it wouldn't stop. “... What should I do now?...”
If I'm honest I've had a good time here in Khao Lak however five nights on my own is probably hitting the limit. I feel as though I'll start to go mad if I don't talk to someone soon and I swear my rooms walls are closing in on me. The problem is where do I go; also if I do go I may not get my Christmas present from home. My mum, dad and sister sent me a Christmas present to this guesthouse and it still hasn't arrived. I have pestered the ladies here, and at the local post office (twice), to see if they have seen a parcel addressed to me … they haven't. I have to move on but I am really gutted that I might not get my gift.
Should I go to Ko Phan Ngan just encase the others are there? It's quite out of my way and I would be stuck in a place similar to here, without knowing where I will stay and with a load of drunk tourists … no fun at all. The only sensible option is to head to Bangkok; tomorrow I will look into purchasing a bus ticket (however I will give my friends on Ko Phan Ngan a little time to reply first). Even though I now had a plan I still couldn't get to sleep as, deep down, I wasn't sure if it was a good plan. Eventually the need for sleep switched off my brain, which I was very thank you for, and off I went to the land of nod.
...
Unsurprisingly I was up early again today; almost immediately the question from last night came rushing to my head. I switched on my PC and, as that was booting up, I went for a shower. I emailed Stef (the German girl) to tell her my plans and request a reply by 4pm today if she is, or isn't, off to Ko Phan Ngan tomorrow. I then headed out into town to ask for the times and prices for buses to Bangkok.
After thirty minutes of getting quotes I went to the local supermarket, bought a coke and a big packet of crisps, I sat down to ponder my thoughts. The ticket price to Bangkok wasn't bad (cheaper than Ko Phan Ngan); it was a big V.I.P. Bus with lovely big seats (and not a cramped old mini-van) so I could relax. The downside was that it looked like I would have to travel at night meaning I would have another whole day here, not be able to see any of the country as we traveled north and I would have to be careful of people trying to steal my things (apparently a problem on night buses; pack-safe will come in handy). However the worst prospect was that it sounds like I will be arriving in Bangkok between two and four in the morning … I didn't quite like that and a taxi to my hostel sounded like a good idea, even if it did cost the earth. Oh the plus side the bus ride includes one nights accommodation and that makes the ticket price even more of a bargain.
I slurped up the rest of my coke and headed on a long walk to another part of town. As I walked the day – for me anyway – became brighter and things didn't seem so bad, I still wanted to move on however I was getting closer to sorting it out. It took thirty minutes of walking to reach the attraction of the day, the Tsunami Memorial Museum. Due to it being still early in the day the sun wasn't at it's peak and there was a lot of shade around, this resulted in me arriving reasonably fresh … which is a first here.
It cost 100 baht to have a look around the small museum. I had walked for half an hour so I paid the amount and went in. On the 26th December 2004 the worlds biggest tsunami epicenter hit near Indonesia, in the Indian Ocean, and spread to affect thirteen countries and to kill over 350,000 people. It is one of the biggest natural disasters to date.
The ground floor, of the museum, had a lot of written information that had been translated into English perfectly; it was very sad but also interesting to find out what happened, how tsunami's are created and that the waves of a tsunami can travel 550 miles an hour (the tsunami, being close to Indonesia, only took ten hours to affect the east coast of Africa). On top of all that there was an information board devoted to the countries that helped Thailand recover. I was proud to see my nations flag on that board … and a little surprised to see North Korea's (Kim Jong-il is a big softy really). On the top floor there where three videos which, I must admit, where a tad long but they did give me further insight into what happened that terrible day.
It took me two hours to read and view everything within the museum … a perfect amount of time I thought. It was midday, and getting close to lunch, when I ventured out of the museum. I walked back into town, stopping for a drink and an ice cream as it was so hot. I had lunch at my usual restaurant before returning to the guesthouse to see if Stef had sent me any messages … none. Mike, who is in Bangkok, had done so. Going to Bangkok is starting to sound more and more appealing.
4pm came and went, still no word from Stef. I therefore went downstairs and booked my bus ticket, for tomorrow, to Bangkok. I was happy to see that they did have day journeys and I opted for the 10:30am (I would have gone for the 7:30am one so that I arrived in Bangkok at around 5:30pm, however that bus was fully booked) arriving at 8:30pm, which is far better than 2am. With that sorted I booked my accommodation, which seems nice as it has lots of positive ratings and it's in the quieter part of the city. Normally, once sorting out travel and accommodation, I feel at ease and less stressed, unfortunately I did not this time as I was still questioning the path I had decided to take. Yes I was a bit gutted that I wouldn't be meeting up with Stef on a beach (in her bikini … yep maybe wrong decision) however that was her fault. Mainly I was gutted about missing my Christmas present though I have written a note, to pass onto the owner of this guesthouse, for her to contact me, if it arrives, and I can let her know a forwarding address. My brain says the chance of getting this parcel is slim, however hope remains.
Before heading out for tea I looked around my room and packed the last of my things; as Christmas is over I was going to leave my Santa hat behind, however I couldn't part with it and next time I have to post something home in it will go. As I went out the door for my final meal in Khao Lak I looked at the room and felt no regret for moving on, I only felt regret for what the room has given me … my own space … the ability to leave things out … a nice comfortable double bed. Soon I will have to get used to dorms again.
I went to my favorite restaurant for the last time and had an okay meal; looking around the whole place was stuffed with Germans. This has become no surprise to me as it seems all of Berlin holiday here. I ate up, paid up and went to the shop to get some supplies for my ten hour bus journey tomorrow.
So this time tomorrow I'll be in Bangkok … hope I can find my accommodation. Depending on how I get on the blog tomorrow might be delayed a day.
Have I done the right thing?
Toodle Pip!
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