I knew these two things, yet I still asked the motorcycle taxi driver (decided NOT to drive my bike anywhere with all the flooding and such) to take me to the bus station. He shook his head at me, then lifted his arm to about the bottom of his rib cage, signaling to me that the water level was much too high. I immediately deflated. There was a Thai woman sitting on a bench at an outdoor table next to where the taxi driver was stationed, and she got his attention and shook her head at him. "Mai, mai," she said, "No, no." And she went on to explain something to him in Thai while I looked on. He finished his conversation with her, asked her a couple of questions, then looked at me and said, "Okay." And we were off on his bike, the rain pelting my face and my new pink poncho (to match my pink helmet, of course!), headed in the direction of the train station. Although I really had no idea what was going on, my hopes were lifted once again.
The street was only mildly flooded in this particular area of the city. It was the same area where I took pictures a few days before as we came back into town from our vacation on Koh Tao, and comparatively, it was much better. However, the sois- the little side streets off the main avenues- were still completely submerged. Under normal circumstances, this is a heavy market area filled with streetside vendors, produce stands, and the like. At this point, the street was relatively deserted of people save the auto traffic and littered with all kinds of food products. Little red and green chiles, squash, green onions, and cabbages dotted the wet pavement in the un-flooded parts and bobbed about in the watered-down areas of the road. My adept taxi driver expertly dodged these edibles while simultaneously weaving between cars, trucks and slower motorbikes AND avoiding deep pockets of water. He dropped me off at the new "bus station"- a tarp-covered area of the sidewalk just off the central region of the city.
The rain was still coming down, and the area was packed full of people who were all trying to get out of the city before the second, ominous storm we had all been hearing about became full-fledged. I waited my turn, which was made apparent when a lady pointed at me and said, “YOU! Where you go?” and was so excited when she told me the night bus left at six in the evening. “You want VIP?” she asked me, nodding her head as if it wasn’t really a question at all. She was so persuasive I also nodded my head, and upgraded to the VIP ticket.
I was just so happy to have the ticket in my hands, to know that I was actually going to be getting out of this ill-begotten, drenched city, that it was only just before boarding did I realize that this was the VIP bus- the one I’ve heard horror stories about. Friends falling asleep and waking to find they have been robbed- their bags ransacked and pillaged down below in the luggage compartment and in the cabin. And then there’s the urban legend-like tale about friends who knew friends who were gassed!! as they dozed off to ensure a heavy sleep, and things were taken off of their actual person! So now, not only was I terrified of a flash flood sweeping my big VIP bus off the road in the middle of the night while I slumbered with my travel pillow and sarong on the top deck, I was now also worried about everything I had being stolen from me (except my iPod, which to my frustration, I forgot at a friend’s house the night before.)
I thought quickly about this. I didn’t want to get to Bangkok having been robbed blind. So, once I got on the bus, I did what any other sane person would do who did not have a money belt, which I wouldn’t use anyway because clever robbers are probably experts on robbing from those anyway: I stuffed my Blackberry, my camera, my money, ID, and debit and credit cards down my pants for safekeeping. As I did so, I snickered at my cleverness, and then pulled out my pillow and hunkered down for what would end up being a very cozy, comfortable, robber-free, flash-flood-free, and all-around uneventful ride up to Bangkok.
I watched the darkening scenery out my window until I began to feel drowsy- lush greens of every hue, tall skinny trees with big leaves. It was all very reminiscent of some parts of the U.S., like the swampy areas in and around New Orleans, and it was very comforting in its own way for that reason.
The distance covered from my city to Bangkok (about the same distance as the drive from SF to LA for you Californians, but takes twice as long) was not bad at all. They passed out waters, snack boxes, coffee, and fruit juice. There was an amazing-looking Thai movie on the big flat screens located throughout the bus. All my fears were non-existent in reality. In fact, once I left Nakhon, the nightmarish rains seemed only that- a nightmare.
Once I got to the city in the very early morning, I bought myself my very first Lonely Planet guide (after 3 months in Thailand!), got some daal and naan for breakfast at a cute little restaurant, and began to brainstorm for our adventure. My goal was to find someplace beachy and beautiful that wasn’t rain soaked to spend a couple of days. I found this in researching Ko Samet- a little island southeast of Bangkok by about two and a half hours. Alina and I met up, after just a little difficulty because her phone didn't work, and our adventure together was on!
For the first couple of days, we would be in the city of Bangkok itself. I have to admit, I have never really had any desire to spend time in this city because I thought of it as being very dirty in many ways. After talking with various friends and looking through the LP guide, I changed my mind, and I am glad I did- we were able to walk around the city that is actually pretty good-looking, take the (in)famous tuk-tuk around (and we weren’t scammed, you just have to be wise about it- it was only 20 baht, he took us to many temples and monuments and NO gem/tourist shops at all), visited the Emerald Buddha and two other wats/temples (Beautiful- I loved the murals the most!), ate delicious food, shopped on Khaosan Road, and stayed cheaply at a place off the cute cobblestone street of Rombutri that had HOT WATER! AIR-CON! TV! (luxuries, let me tell you!) The only complaint I do have about Bangkok, however, is with the taxi drivers. I felt like they were constantly trying to take advantage and it was very frustrating dealing with them.
After our time in Bangkok, we took a mini-bus to Ban Phe pier and then caught the ferry to the tiny island of Samet. Of all the islands I have visited thus far, Samet is the least built-up and modern and has the whitest sand- fine and powdery. It carries its own charm, and our time there was expensive compared to other beach resort areas, but relaxing and well-spent. We happened to get there just as the clouds were clearing up, and on the day we left, the clouds began to come back in.
We arrived back in Nakhon this morning, after taking another night bus (valuables down the pants again!) By about 6am, we were just outside of Surat Thani, and I woke Alina so she could see outside the window- it was astounding. Whole roads completely washed away, many areas still flooded. While Nakhon was apparently hit the hardest, it was these less-developed areas that seemed to have suffered the most. I was glad to be home, until we finally walked into the door and I was met with that musty familiar smell- MOLD! I spent the first hours home scouring the closet, my drawers and other parts of my apartment, seeking out mold and moldy items to be cleaned.
Tomorrow I finally begin teaching again- I can’t wait! And I also get to drop off my clothes/sheets/other mold-damaged fabric items with a laundry lady. This will be my first experience with that- up until now I have been washing all my own clothes and drying them on the rack I bought (that my friend who visited last week so kindly helped tighten J)
Sigh, living here is definitely an experience. I’m starting to get little pangs of homesickness every now and again for various reasons, but 95% of the time, I am loving it. It's all part and parcel, I suppose. Now, to begin my "Week in Food"...!!!
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