Travel Log: The Jungle Lake

After several days in a large city we decided to 'get away from it all' for a little bit. We hoped on a bus headed to a remote town out near the national park. It's a little disarming when you get to a bus station and the bus is getting ready to leave as you hop on board. We kept asking if we were on the right one and people would just nod. Apparently we found the locals bus, meaning we were the only white faces on board. Even still they nearly took off without us at one of the rest stops when the twenty minute break was closer to thirteen. When we arrived at our town a taxi driver took us down to the end of a long dirt road where our lodge was. We were told about our rooms and the price, which was kind of funny because at that point we didn't have a whole lot of options. Thankfully the room was nice even if we did end up sharing our bed with a variety of different critters. Eventually you get too tired to care if that feeling on your leg is in your mind or really a bug looking for a warm place to bed down. You can tell you're in for an adventure when the person at the front desk makes a point to tell you to lock your windows and doors because the monkeys steal anything and when swimming in the river always keep moving so the puffer fish won't bite you.

It's not until you lose something that you realize what it was worth. The next day we took another taxi into the park, rode a long boat for an hour, until we came to our cabins on the shore. They were situated on floating logs like something out of  Waterworld. Knowing they were only for storing our bag and sleeping it wasn't something we really thought about too much. We came out here to experience the jungle...with a guide, fresh water, and provided meals. Before we left for the park we were told only take swimming gear, the cameras, sunscreen, a headlamp, and towels. Before we left on our first trek to the cave we were told just bring the camera and have your swimsuits on. Before we entered the cave we were told to drop everything else that we might still have. It was both thrilling and terrifying to strip down even further before walking into the darkness.

In any group activity the dynamic of the group is made up of its people. A single person can change that when you're all strangers. While everyone seemed nice enough there was this overall feeling throughout the group that this experience was some thing you had to get through rather than enjoy. The hike to the cave was done in a way that felt like passing through checkpoints. I would have preferred to enjoy the trek to the cave as much as the cave itself. Once we entered the cave that feeling didn't go away. It was almost like being on a Disney ride where you're on rails and being pulled along in a way to see everything, but not enough time could be spent experiencing it. That's not to say the cave was bad. It was my favorite part of the day, however, there were people in our group who moved through things like they were checking them off a list. Once they got a picture they moved on and you had better keep up. It was at that point when I felt like a tourist.

One of the things we hoped for on this whole trip was to make travel friends. People who share our ideas for travel and also want to make friends as they go through their adventures. We were lucky early on to meet a group that had been traveling for over a year and were incredibly nice. We even sort of traveled with them for a little bit of time. Meeting up at a few different places over the course of a week. It was nice having friends, even if for a little bit. Then thing is though in order to make friends both sides have to be open to the idea of it. Admittedly there are a lot of times where I'm content to just go along without having to be 'on' for new people, but there are times when things work out just right and you meet someone unexpected. This part of the trip was equal parts of both. Many of the people were quick to talk to us and yet there was at least one couple that seemed to keep everyone on guard. Normally I'm not concerned about the language thing. Being an American we just sort of barely get by knowing English. This time though it was hard because even in our small group of European tourists there were several times were it felt like we were being intentionally excluded from the conversation as people would suddenly start speaking in their native language while you were sitting next to them. Now I know that I shouldn't expect everyone to speak my language and some people may not feel comfortable with English as a second language. That comes with traveling abroad. This was something else. This was the equivalent of holding your hand to someone's ear and whispering while looking directly at the person you're talking about. I don't need to get to know that kind of person. We have plenty of those kinds of people back home.

Don't get me wrong. The jungle adventure was fun, even with some unfriendly people, sunburn, and a few scrapes and buises. Going on it makes one appreciate little things a lot more, which I think is another thing we wanted from this trip as a whole. A little bit of perspective. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.

School

Travel Log: Phuket

What do you get when you cross Las Vegas with Chinatown?  That's what this place has been like for the last several days.  Originally it was supposed to be a quick stop on our way to another island or jungle adventure, but finding a tailor to do a wedding dress and having a back that suddenly decided to stop working caused us to stay longer than we planned.  While it's not exactly a bad city to visit, the "charm" wears off quickly when you realize that every single place is like all the others.  They all have the same stuff and "for you a good price".  I appreciate how hard it must be to make a living here, but after the third day we've learned how to say "no thanks, don't want" and "too expensive" in Thai.

Apparently everyone is surprised by us being Americans.  It seems that we're a bit of an anomoly because Americans aren't really expected to be here at this time.  Everyone seems to think that we're Australian at first or possibly Canadian.  We're working hard to not play up to the ugly American stereotype, however, it's easy to see how these things get started.  There have been several times when someone on the street extends a hand for a handshake and I have to forcefully ignore them.  The first couple of times someone put out their hand I took it and then was being lead to a suit shop.  Now that I have a suit I shake my head no and have to seem like the asshole because I don't want to interact with some guy wearing a shimmering purple dress shirt who calls me "boss".  Sometimes they just give up, but there have been sometimes where as I'm walking away I can tell they say something derogatory, which hopefully makes them feel better because if I can't understand the insult then it really doesn't count to me.  Because of this I'm looking forward to getting out of this hyperactive sales area.

We did at least go to a couple beaches while we were here.  While it was fun to see the islands that you know from movies, it felt like I was a part of what's destrorying them as well.  The beach from the movie The Beach had hundreds of people standing around on it.  The shore looked like a parking lot for boats.  It's a little sad watching people, including myself, trample down the thing that was once beautiful so that we can get a picture of it and say we were there.  It makes me appreciate times when we go somewhere and there is no one else around.

We leave for the jungle today.  Hopefully we can do some sort of camping/hiking trip to drastically change up what we've been experiencing so far.  While we do have to come back to Phuket for the wedding dress, we will only be here for another day and then we move on to hopefully nicer places that don't feel like there totally devoid of anything real.

Travel Log: Water War

In this world there is only water and war...

Paradise View

Travel Log: Island Life

I sometimes wonder if a universal translator would be helpful or harmful to us.  I suppose the immediate benefits are obvious, everyone would be able to understand everyone else.  When I ask for noodle soup with chicken I'm not going to get a whole fried fish that's staring back at me.  Then again , just knowing what the words translates to doesn't always mean you'll get their intent.  People who speak my own language say one thing and mean an another.  I understand the words, but have to watch for the subtext.  Still it's a little strange being in a place where everyone except me speaks at least one other language.  There have been several times when people are talking near me and I being self-involved, I wonder are they talking about me.  In some cases they probably are.  In others it's like being at the grocery store when the checkers are talking amongst themselves and you're barely there.  As it is, I know enough German to know someone is speaking German.  Oh I can also say good morning, count to five, and tell them my birthday is in May, you know, if that sort of thing comes up. I know enough Spanish to ask for bottled water and tell them that they have a nice cat, may I give it some milk.  The rest of my language skills comes down to good old fashion mountain man gibberish.

We arrived on Koh Tao about four days ago and I've been sick the whole time.  It started as a little sniffle and cough and has lingered on and become an exercise is expelling grossness from my face.  Still I've been doing my best to not let that keep me down since we're right next to Paradise.  The other portion of the restort we're at is called Paradise Zone.  Granted it's a hike up about 15 flights of stone steps through some ant infested jungle, but it's really lovely once your heart starts beating at a normal pace again.  Originally we were coming to the island to learn scuba, but given my cold and the week long course, we decided against it.  Instead we'll likely snorkel, when I can breath normally again anyway.

We're leaving the island today and heading to Phuket.  That makes today a travel day, which means schedules are going to be somewhat flexible.  Hopefully we'll make it there sometime this evening.  That will give us a day to get settled because on the 13th is the Thai New Year and there is a country-wide water fight to prepare for.  It should be a good time, assuming I'm not wearing my white tuxedo out that night.  It will be a little strange heading back into a city after nearly two weeks of island life.  Living like a cat has its advantages, but I suppose it's time to mix it up a bit.

Sunrise on the 3rd Day