Save Will

Hoi An, Vietnam

After Dalat and the six-day Easy Rider motorbike ride with Hien, I went to Hoi An. Hien dropped me off at one side of Hoi An and we parted ways. Stayed in a cheap hotel for $9 per night for several days.

Browsed several shops and bought five paper lanterns in assorted colors, a dirty metal gong, a couple dirty coins, a few small paintings on scraps of paper, a marble tea box, and a marble candle box. I shipped them home the long way.

Found a really nice, good, and cheap restaurant on the edge of town. Ate at a couple restaurants along the river.

Did a tour of the My Son ruins an hour outside of town.

Wanted to rent a motorbike and ride to the nearby Marble Mountains, but the timing didn’t work out.

Hoi An’s shops, streets, and riversides are decorated with lit lanterns at night, and at night people buy lit candles in paper boats and set them afloat on the river. People go to the riversides at night and stroll and shop and snack and listen to Vietnamese music. It was the most pleasant place I experienced in Vietnam.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Decided to stay in Ko Phuket one more day to see a beach or two and get a feel for the place.

Got up at 9 a.m., ate toast for breakfast, got ready, and was out the door by 11 a.m. Walked twenty minutes to the bus spot in Phuket Town and rode a bus to Hat Kata. Got off and followed a woman to the beach.

Beheld the beach, took some snaps, then walked along the surf for a little ways. Decided to go for a dip and left my bag on an empty chair. Locked my camera and stuff in the big pouch with a luggage lock. Kicked myself for not thinking of bringing my luggage cable to tie the bag to the chair. Waded into the surf, submerged my head, and floated for a few minutes. Took in the scenery. Hat Kata felt crowded, but the sand and water were nice. Too many chairs and umbrellas, too close together. Saw several topless women by the end of the day. Kept an eye on my bag.

Got out, dried off, and continued walking south along the beach. Ate pork fried rice at a restaurant at the far end and cooled off with a Coke. Ordered seconds for both.

Walked to the road and then walked to the southern half of Hat Kata and continued my stroll along the surf. Got to the southern end and walked all the way back to the north end of Hat Kata where I started, then continued north to see Hat Karon.

I liked Hat Karon more than Hat Kata. It was bigger, so things were more spread out, and the sand was nicer; it was so finely grained that it kind of squeaked when I walked on it.

Looked for a bus back to Phuket Town at 4 p.m. because they stop running early and the cost of taking a taxi is exorbitant. Had trouble spotting the buses in time to flag them down. Got one, rode it back, walked to my hostel, showered, went out again for some quick Thai food nearby, then returned to my hostel again.

Bought a ticket for Ko Phi Phi. Settled in for the evening.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Woke up and felt much better.

Went on a boat and kayak tour of the Phang Nga islands to the north of Ko Phuket. A minibus picked me up around 8 a.m. and took me to Ao Por Pier in the northern part of the island. The boat was large and had two stories. There were about forty to fifty customers on board.

Visited the famous island that was in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun.

Ate a buffet lunch on the boat. The food was just okay.

Went to Hong Island. Rode a kayak and went through a dark tunnel with a low ceiling and entered a secluded lagoon in the interior of the island. We went under yet another low ceiling and entered a second interior lagoon. Then we backtracked. Entered another cave that opened into a cavern with the ceiling missing, with sunlight streaming down into the water. Very beautiful.

Went to Panak Island. Rode a kayak through a tunnel to an interior lagoon with sheer cliffs on either side covered in lush foliage. Again, very beautiful.

Went to another island and rode a kayak by myself and explored some interesting rock formations and a deep sandy cave.

Returned to Ko Phuket and rode a minibus back to my hostel.

Chatted with a couple Germans in my room, one of them the one from the night before. We went out for food and ate on the street. Was still hungry, so bought some meat on a stick and some ice cream at a Swenson’s.

Returned to my hostel and relaxed. Decided to stay on Ko Phuket one more day to see the beach area. Planning to take a bus to Hat Kata tomorrow, and then maybe I will walk to some other beaches nearby.

Movies from my journey

When I travel to places that remind me of movies that I’ve seen, I feel an urge to watch them again, like George Costanza was with food. So far, I’ve only watched Lost in Translation. But being in the south of Thailand among the tropical islands, I now plan to also watch again The Beach and The Man with the Golden Gun. Watch along with me!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Woke up still sick. Went downstairs for a breakfast of cereal and toast. Took a while getting ready. Called Tess. Wanted to talk to the hostel staff about getting a map of Ko Phuket, where to get lunch, and where to rent a scooter, but I couldn’t find anyone. It was already past 1 p.m., so I left on my own.

Found a small place for lunch and had pork fried rice. Kept going and found a couple places that rented scooters, but neither had a helmet that fit me, and one shop didn’t even have an automatic shift scooter. Walked up and down the streets of Phuket Town looking for a rental shop with a helmet that fit me, but never found one. Returned to my hostel to ask where I could buy my own helmet, then went there, but the helmets were much too expensive for a one-time use. It was late in the afternoon by then and the light was waning. Resigned to losing the day.

Returned to my hostel and arranged through the front desk to do a boat and kayak tour of the nearby Phang Nga islands (as seen in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun) the next day. Researched where to stay on Ko Phi Phi. Caught up on my blog. Chatted with a German in my room. Prepared for bed, then went to sleep.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Woke up still sick. Decided to skip the dive class so I wouldn’t miss the west coast. Packed my gear and bought a ticket for Phuket. Quickly reserved a bed at a hostel before I left the hostel. Walked to the ferry pier and bought some snacks at the 7-11 along the way. Arrived at the boat just in time, sweat pouring down my face.

Fortunately, the boat had air con. Read my guidebook about Ko Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, and the Krabi area, and listened to a podcast. The ferry stopped at Ko Samui, then continued on to Surat Thani. I got off there and transferred to a bus. It was only me and a girl my age named Dean on this huge bus. We chatted the whole time. The bus unexpectedly stopped in Surat Thani and we were told we would transfer to a minibus when six others arrived. We waited for over two hours. We bought ice cream, chips, and instant soup to eat for dinner while waiting. Fortunately, the minibus had air con too. I listened to podcasts and watched a thunderstorm brew on the horizon the whole way. The driver offered to drive us beyond Phuket Town for outrageous prices, but fortunately I was going to Phuket Town.

Got off the bus, said goodbye to the other backpackers, then took a motorbike taxi two blocks to my hostel. Checked in, unpacked, and found that my pack had been rifled through despite the lock I had on it. Fortunately, my laptop/precious was still there. They must not have been able to get it out through the zippers and the lock. I couldn’t figure out when they had had time to do it. Dismayed, I repacked it all neatly and went to bed as soon as possible, feeling exhausted.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Woke up still sick. Had planned to take a dive class on the nearby island Ko Tao, but didn’t want to do it while sick. Decided to wait here an extra day to see if I felt better the next day.

Took a while getting ready. Ate a delicious lunch again at the small restaurant nearby. Chose a spicy and delicious green curry to open my sinuses. Returned my beloved scooter.

Grabbed my Treasure Island book and went again to the nearby Baan Tai beach. Found a shaded patch of soft sand closer than before to the beachside resort partnered with my hostel. Read all afternoon, pausing occasionally to enjoy the incredible view of the beach and Ko Samui across the water. A dog dug a seat next to me and joined me for a while.

Had a huge bottle of water with me to keep hydrated. Used the resort bathroom a few times. Turned down a scuba instructor offering a class, and he looked disappointed. The beach and most of the resorts were devoid of activity. Where is everyone? It’s high season, and I had the entire beach to myself. Maybe it’s the bad economy. I felt bad for the resort owners and scuba instructors.

I returned to my hostel just before sunset and met a Malaysian guy named Chow in my dorm room. We walked to the night market for dinner. Bumped into a German I had met on a river boat in Bangkok, and we chatted about Ko Tao, where he’d just been.

Returned to the hostel, watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica, then went to sleep.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Woke up sick with a cold. No sore throat, but my nose was really runny. Took a long time getting ready. Rented a scooter from a nearby shop and rode to the 7-11 to buy lots of water and orange juice. Ate lunch at the same small restaurant nearby. Rode to a pharmacy to buy some medicine to alleviate my symptoms and bought a nose spray.

Feeling more composed, I set out to see Ko Ma at the northwest corner of the island and some other beaches on the west coast. I stopped along the way at a table on the side of the road to buy a couple tall bottles of golden gasoline (40 baht each). Saw Ko Ma, Haad Salad, Haad Yao, Haad Son, and a couple other beaches. I would park my scooter and walk a little up and down each one to get a feel for the place. Some of them were much nicer than Baan Tai beach. My nose was running like crazy the whole time.

Learning to drive a scooter was fun and easy, although a little nerve wracking at first, given the crazy ways the locals drive. Now I want to get a scooter or motorcycle when I return home.

No one else was staying in my dorm room that night, so I went to the night market alone on my scooter. I quickly ate and then returned to my hostel to rest. Watched a couple Battlestar Galactica episodes online and then went to bed.