The Sky is Smiling Sunshine in Samui

When I last left you, I was about to begin the second half of my journey to Phnom Penh. Which went off basically without a hitch.

Upon my arrival in Phnom Penh, I exited the bus with the little ticket that one of the bus boys had given to me back in Siem Reap in order to collect my bag. I looked at the table stacked with bags belonging to passengers and noticed that I didn't see mine anywhere. He was pointing to a bunch of different bags, none of which were mine. I started to get a little bit nervous, thinking that it would serve me right if my bag was missing, for not double checking and watching it get put on the bus. And just when I was beginning to feel despondent, the boy came back with my bag, and a big smile lit up my face.

And just like that, the tuk-tuk drivers descended. They were all calling out to me, asking if I needed a ride (which I did) and I just looked at one and nodded my head, mumbled the name of the hotel I was staying at, and he pulled out his permit/license thing to show me and grabbed my bag and started heading toward his tuk-tuk at fast clip. While I had been collecting my bag, a harsh wind had picked up and the sky looked like it was going to storm quite heavily, so the driver put my bag inside the cabin and started to "batten down the hatches" (is that how you spell that phrase???) by pulling down these little shade things on all sides of the cabin. Then he put on several layers of (presumably) waterproof clothing and got on his little bike and drove me away.

We made it to my hotel with little trouble (it didn't get too stormy, though the wind was blowing up a lot of dust), and I paid the driver after he told me that I could decide what the fare was (how weird is that?) and then he asked if I wanted a tuk-tuk driver for the next day, to see the sights of Phnom Penh. I told him that I didn't have any plans, but he could give me his number and name and I would call him if I decided to venture out in the few hours before my flight the next day. Unfortunately, I didn't end up calling him because I only went to a spa that provided free transport, and then to the airport via taxi.

I ate dinner in the hotel's restaurant that night and called the front desk to schedule a taxi to the airport the next day. I ended up going to a local spa that had connections with the hotel and free transportation because I thought that a hot stone massage would be good for my sciatica that was acting up, presumably from the very hard beds. The spa was very nice and the people were very friendly, but the massage was just not up to the quality standards that my Massage Therapist in CA has established...I had told them that I had lower back pain, thinking that they would focus on that area with the stones, but to no avail (though one of the girls, because yes, there were two--it was a "four hands" massage--was really sweetly trying to talk to me in English, but knew like 4 phrases and used them up and then tried to say that she wanted to talk to me, but had no English and asked if I spoke Khmer...which I obviously do not, unfortunately). So I left with the same lower back pain that I had entered with. What a waste. :(

I was then driven to the airport (after stopping back at the hotel to grab my luggage...the people at the hotel thought that I was living in Thailand, despite my American passport, and told the taxi driver this and he was fascinated by it, but it was really weird because I never said that I was living in Thailand, but they assumed that I was for some reason...) and checked in for my flight to BKK, after which I would be flying to Samui. I was impressed with the Phnom Penh airport. It looked very new and was clean and bright and spacious, despite its small size. They had a dairy queen, which i thought was HILARIOUS. And required photo documentation.

The plane that I took from PNH to BKK was not nearly as nice as the one from KUL to REP. It was probably 20 years older and very...multi-lingual. Why on earth would I describe a plane as multi-lingual, you may ask? I am not referring to the attendants (though they spoke in both Thai and English), I am referring to the plane itself. The tray table told me about my life jacket in both Thai and English. The bathroom thanked me for wiping off the basin in Bahasa Melayu and English. And the overhead sign informed me whether or not the lavatories were occupied in SPANISH and English. Why on earth this plane had Spanish translation, I will never understand...But it did at least lead me to chuckle. And I once again got an entire row to myself after my seat kept reclining of its own accord, and I moved to a different row.

The Bangkok airport is amazing. I think, anyway. There are plenty of restaurants, shops (including pharmacies and a medical clinic that does not merely specialize in quarantining people), and it's very bright, open, and spacious (apparently i'm a fan of bright, open, and spacious), and easily navigable. I was concerned about the timing of getting my bag from the Cambodia flight and making my way to the departures area of the airport from the international arrivals area. I needn't have worried.

It took a bit to get my bag, but customs was a breeze and getting to the departures floor was a snap--there were escalators and elevators all over the place and signs in english indicating where I needed to be. There was no line for the check in, and the lady at the counter asked me where I wanted to be seated. I was even able to go buy a SIM card and chapstick and eat dinner, all with 1.5 hours remaining. Then I was able to visit the little lounge, from which I last wrote to you all.

The flight was delayed by about 20 minutes, but no worries. The plane was so nice (go Bangkok Airways)! Another really new one, bright and airy (again, my favorite things). And I managed to be seated in the one row of the entire plane that had an empty middle seat. Quite the fortunate situation. And that flight was rapid. We arrived in Samui after 45 minutes (take off, land--basically) and there were these cute little trolleys that took us from the plane to the terminal. Bags were already circling the baggage claim and my came out right away. I walked to the taxi area, and discovered that my hotel was an hour from the airport. I had anticipated something of the sort, but it was already 10.30 at night and I was ready for my bed.

The drive was long and dark and winding...and the driver was asking why I was alone, which made me a little bit nervous. I had been thinking on previous (particularly late night) taxi rides how you're totally trusting a random stranger to get you to a destination that you are likely not even familiar with yourself, so you can't even tell if you're being taken in the wrong direction--that's certainly the case for me in all these countries!! (I actually watched a movie last night that dealt with a crazy taxi driver that was kidnapping people in his taxi and killing them...not so inspiring since I'm sure I have many more taxi rides to go...) So I was getting a little nervous, and I think maybe he could tell, because he kept asking me if I was ok (which was pretty sweet--he might have also been concerned because the road was a bit bumpy and the shocks in the car weren't so great so he was concerned that i might be getting car sick, but either way, concern is always good).

Eventually we got here, and I paid him an exorbitant amount, and checked into my room (read:villa). The room is great. There's a fabulous king sized bed and a TV and a desk and the bathroom has a separate shower and jacuzzi bathtub. There are robes and slippers and pool/beach towels. And the hotel has two pools and a swim up bar, a spa, a restaurant, and a private beach with access only for hotel guests. The price you pay for all these goodies at an affordable price is being in the middle of nowhere on the South Coast of Samui. Of course, Samui is not so huge so it's hard to be seriously in the middle of nowhere, but this resort is close.

Yesterday, I did absolutely nothing. I took out DVDs from the front desk, swam in the 65m pool in the shade, ate at the restaurant, and that was about it. I've been having serious back issues (sciatica...YUCK) which have made it painful to walk, sit, or lie down. Yesterday was pretty terrible on the pain scale, but today has been better. I've moved around some more and I took the shuttle to Lamai Beach and walked through some shops and had dinner there. For some reason, all these random guys kept asking me if I was British or Canadian when I would respond to their greetings with a "hello" and a smile. There were at least 5 guys who asked me this--they never thought I was American. Do I have some kind of anti-American accent that I didn't know about? I also discovered that the trains on Sunday are booked, so I am going to have to fly back to Bangkok rather than take the train. Which is unfortunate because the train would have been way more adventurous, and means that I will have completed 14 take offs and landings since I set off on this adventure, almost a month ago (personally, i think that is just absolutely ridiculous).

It was nice to see a little more than my secluded resort paradise, paradise though it is. The people here are so sweet. One of the waitresses at the restaurant seems to really like me, and is always waving at me when I walk by. There's also a dog that wanders around the property that has taken to me. She'll come and lay by my table when I'm eating. She doesn't beg--she just sleeps--and then when I get up, she follows me around the property. When I went back to my room after lunch today, she tried to come right inside my villa! I felt bad closing the door on her, but she got over the rejection pretty quickly, haha. ;)

Tomorrow, I am scheduled to go elephant trekking to a waterfall. God-willing, I will not be stopped by back pain (I actually bought some muscle relaxants and pain meds at a Thai pharmacy, so that should help...)--I am insistent that I will RIDE AN ELEPHANT on this trip (though my mom recently informed me that I have already ridden an elephant. I have no memory of this, but she insists that it occurred, many moons ago).

I'll try to catch up again tomorrow evening, but if not, when I get to my hotel in Bangkok, I'll have wi-fi in my room, which will facilitate my communication.

Welcome to the Land of...Smiles (again?!?!)

So I've departed the Kingdom of Cambodia. And I have arrived in the Land of Thai. Or Thailand, at it is more commonly (and accurately) known. There's probably a bunch of stuff to catch you all up on, but since I'm sitting in the airline lounge (I've NEVER been able to wait in an airline lounge--but this place is crazy! Free wi-fi, snacks--like good ones--drinks, and comfy chairs and soothing music. Just what I need after my hour long flight from Cambodia, haha) waiting to board my flight to Koh Samui, which will commence in approximately 15 minutes, there isn't a lot of hope for me to properly update you at this junction. But I guess I'll get started...?

Monday (? my days are getting so confused. I'm pretty sure it's Wednesday today but i was convinced that it was Wednesday on Monday which was obviously not accurate, so who really knows) night I DID make it to the cultural dinner/dance that Choeum (the proper spelling of my tuk-tuk driver's name) promised me. We were supposed to meet in the lobby at 7pm, so I was downstairs at 6.45 in order to pick up my bus ticket (I was leaving Siem Reap for Phnom Penh by bus the next day, around noon) and then waited to see Choeum's smiling face. And waited. And waited. At 7.15, I had given up hope and decided that he had forgotten or something (I wasn't going to stress about it because it wasn't like I had given him tons of money to do this errand for me), when I saw him waving frantically at me from the front door. It turns out that the hotel doesn't let tuk-tuk drivers into the lobby, so he had been waiting for me since 6.45 but never saw me come down (I wasn't sitting directly in front of the lobby door) and at 7.15, got worried about me so decided to brave the lobby staff! I climbed into the tuk-tuk, resigned that I was going to miss dinner, but oh well, and off we went to this place that Choeum had chosen for me. We made it in plenty of time, as it turned out, and I ate a lot of fruit for dinner (I am getting to be so DONE with south east asian cuisine--I jump at the chance to eat sushi, even!).

The show itself was quite good. Some of the costumes were exquisite, and the simplicity and yet specificity of the dances was lovely. I took many pictures, though they aren't fantastic shots. There was a little bit of confusion when I arrived because I had not purchased my own ticket (I'd never even heard of the place), but Choeum had done it for me, at a special rate and in a special seat (he told me that he told them I was a very special guest so that I could be closer to the front, isn't that cute?). So, as I was saying, the show was good. It lasted about an hour, and I enjoyed the music that accompanied the routines as well. It reminded me of a luau that my mom and I had gone to in Kauai, except it was...Khmer. Lol.

I went outside the building when the show was over and Choeum was waiting faithfully for me as well. He asked if I had had my picture taken with the dancers, but I told him no because I felt too silly. The truth was that I wasn't sure who I could get to take my picture because there were so many hordes of people around trying to get their own photos taken. He said I should have done it and that then I might have been discovered and they would train me to do the dances and the shows. AS IF. But it was a pretty entertaining thought.

He offered to take me to a market or around Siem Reap, but it was about 9pm and I was ready to go back to the hotel. I don't feel safe alone at night in Siem Reap--not because of the adults, but because of the children. How sad is that! The kids that inevitably surround me as soon as I exit the tuk-tuk make me too nervous, so I opted to go back to the hotel, which was fine because I had been really ill in the afternoon. Actually, I had been so ill that I was considering whether or not I needed to go to hospital--I was really dizzy and couldn't focus enough to read a book...the letters didn't make sense to me. Upon reflection, it seems likely that I was simply responding to the fact that it was 3pm and I hadn't eaten all day long...whoops. But yeah, I went back to the hotel.

Choeum asked what time I was leaving the next day and I told him I needed to leave the hotel around 11.45. He looked really disappointed and he told me that he had a client that he was picking up to show around the temples from another hotel at 8am. I told him not to worry, and that I was glad that he had a customer, but he kept trying to come up with ways that he could come back and take me to the bus: could I leave earlier? could I leave later? I told him not to stress, and he asked if he could send someone that he knew, that he didn't want me to go with just one of the guys who waited for tourists. I told him I would go through the concierge and that all would be well. I gave him money for the ticket for the show and for the ride, and he tried to refuse it, saying that what I had given the previous day was more than enough to cover it. I refused his refusal, and he was very grateful. Such an awesome guy--he had told me how he sent money home to his family in the rural areas, and he was such a polite and courteous and helpful and respectful man that it felt good to be able to do something nice for him.

I got in touch with my mom again, and told her my plans to leave for Phnom Penh the next day. I was a little bit worried because my back had gotten messed up from the beds (at least, I think it's because the bed was hard as a rock--worse than the mattresses in Papua--can you believe how I am constantly just falling apart on this trip?!? It's UNREAL!) and I would be spending 5 hours of my afternoon on a bus of questionable quality. But the decision was made, and I would just have to tough it out.

I got up for breakfast and scheduled with the front desk a tuk-tuk to take me to the bus station. After breakfast, I went back upstairs and packed the rest of my things in preparation for departure (I also ordered a salad because my mom had given me a lecture about failing to eat at proper intervals, and I knew there would soon be a five or six hour interval in which I would not be eating). When I went downstairs with my luggage, the driver was waiting for me. He was friendly and kind, but not as awesome as Choeum. We got to the "bus station" (a strip of dirt that had several buses to various locations all lined up in various positions, surrounded by peddlers of various sundry items), and I paid him, with a fairly generous tip. He was apparently then ingratiated to me and waited to make sure that the bus people had received my baggage properly and allowed me to board the bus before wishing me luck on my journey and bidding me farewell.

I waited for about half an hour for everyone to board the bus and get their bags put underneath (I never actually saw my bag get put on the bus, which was INCREDIBLY foolish of me) and we were off at exactly 12.30pm. I settled in for a long ride, but then the bus attendant came on and said that we would be arriving in Phnom Penh in 3 hours and the bus would make one stop. I was overjoyed. That had cut my anticipated travel time in half.

Unfortunately, we made it to our 15 minute stop in 3 hours, not Phnom Penh. Oh the trouble with translation! I opted to stay on the bus, for fear (again) of being hounded and then cursed by the children. Then we were off again...

Well--looks like my flight to Koh Samui is now boarding--so I best sign off for now, and then hopefully I'll continue my update either late tonight (though that's not so likely) or tomorrow.

talk to you soon!