Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if future travel could also include a time component to it. For instance being able to experience the Ketucky Derby from fifty years ago or seeing an jungle before tourists made it popular. Imagine being able to tell someone about how you went to a place in time rather than just the place as it exists now. Of course every time we visit a place that's how it will exist for us until we return. If we return. Sometimes it's better to keep the memory than to see how things have changed. Thailand has been an interesting experience. One full of weird interactions with people who have become accustomed to tourists as their main source of income. I'm not saying it's bad, but it's certainly altered the way I will see this place.
Our final stop in the country is a small island that was supposedly a well kept secret up until about ten years ago. Since then it's become mostly a beach resort community, with a focus on diving and tours to nearby islands. The first night on the island we found a bungalow just off the beach for relatively cheap. Bungalow being a little cabin made of bamboo with a mattress in the middle of the room, protected by a mosquito net. That was a hard night, as both of us had a difficult time sleeping with the sounds of the jungle right outside. Much like with camping, a lot of the noises you hear turn out to be benign things. In this case, it was a goat that was tied to a stump clomping and chomping away at the surrounding jungle. It was a relief to know that, however, it would have been nice to know at 3:27 AM when we thought it was either a monkey, the most aggressive scorpion monster, or the Thai version of the Blair Witch coming to steal our souls while we desperately tried to sleep.
After the first night we decided that it was time to upgrade a bit. As we were packing that's when I realized my left ear was hurting more than usual. Considering all the bumps and scrapes we've both encountered in our short holiday, I took it as normal road wear. Walking next door and paying five times more than we did the first night, we booked a couple nights at what may be considered the nicest accommodations this whole trip. Two pillows?! For each of us?! It's funny the things you consider to be a luxury as you spend more time traveling in remote areas. Spending our time in a room, even a nice room wasn't how we wanted to spend our last bit of time in Thailand, but considering the night we had, which has been preceeded by twelve hours of travel, we decided we needed to reset back to zero. After a nice nap, or you know, just falling asleep in the middle of the day for six hours, we managed to pull ourselves out of the room, which is when I realized my ear wasn't any better, in fact it now felt like someone had stuffed wet cotton as far as they could and was pressing on it with a sharp stick.
They say don't get sick or injured while you're in a developing nation. This is true, but if you're going to get sick or injured, then do it on the resort island. The medical clinic was nice and fast and cool. Although I had explained to the nurse and again to the doctor that yes my left ear hurts quite a lot, the doctor needed to confirm this by sticking something in there and jamming it around while I did my best to not cry or punch. Confirmed with a true ear infection, it was a bit conforting to know that we did the right thing coming to the clinic rather than trying to just push through it. The size and number of the pills prescribed show me that it's nothing something you could just get over, unless you're cool with quite a bit of unmanaged pain.
With my ear being a limiting factor we decided to treat our last few days on the island like you would if you went to a resort and spent a lot of money. We stayed in the resort and took advantage of the room and its extra soft pillows, which meant ordering pizza and watching a movie. I know it may have seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity considering where we are, but with several more weeks still to go on this trip, it's safer to heal up in luxury rather than push to the point of breaking.
Our last night in Thailand was a quiet one. Walking down the street mall, seeing all the vendors and wondering if that Asian tourist is aiming for you as you step into a ditch to avoid them. Lightning on the beach and dogs coming up with wagging tails, hoping you're one of the nice people who maybe drops more food than you eat. When the sun came up the next day we stepped onto the boat, which was playing a pirated copy of the latest Fast and Furious movie, that I had to actively avoid watching (spoilers!) and headed to our next destination: Malaysia.
