Expect the unexpected

Apparently this has been the hottest weather in Thailand in about 20 years...

The last couple of days have been a bit of a blur. Friday, Chris and I decided that we had had enough of the city and that it was time to head down south. Also, we heard that the political unrest in Bangkok was worsening and that it would be a good idea to leave. We didn't see any of this ourselves and we felt pretty safe there for the most part. The Thai people seem pretty chill and friendly.

We grabbed a ride on a Tuk Tuk and our driver, ChaLee, drove us around Bangkok to see some of the temples in the city. As we were seeing the sights I felt like a tourist and wasn't really enjoying the experience. I thought to myself that the locals must think it's funny that people from other countries come here to admire things that are completely normal and taken for granted here. I was questioning why I am here and talking to Chris later on about it, I remembered something a Buddhist man once told me: "PLD".
"What's does that mean?" I asked him.
"It stands for Practice Looking Deeply." He replied. "In each passing day, practice looking deeply to find meaning in everything and you will discover things that you didn't realize were there."
I think I need to remind myself to do this on a regular basis.

We took another quick jaunt down Khao San Road and I bought a rayon dress and a pair of rayon thai pants, both super comfortable and will be great for traveling. I want to buy these Thai pants in every colour, length, and print as I love them so much! The clothes are relatively cheap here and bartering for a lower price is common. I got the dress and the pants for 200 baht each, which is around $7 a piece. There are tons of trendy clothes for sale and all the market vendors tend to sell similar styles, so it's easy to compare prices and choose the best deal. I'm more of a fan of buying traditional style clothing that reflects the country that I'm in, though if I wanted a silk screened t-shirt, there are tons to choose from.

We met up with Sylvia, another backpacker from Germany, and bought tickets for a bus going south to Koh Tao. We were told to wait for the bus at 5:30pm. I wondered if Thailand is on Tofino Time... sure enough the bus didn't come until around 7pm. It was a comfortable ride, with air conditioning, reclining seats, blankets, and even a movie. All the same, I couldn't fall asleep. After about 9 hours the bus stopped on the side of the highway and a scrawny man yelled out "Koh Tao". No one moved. "Koh Tao!?" he yelled again. "Koh Tao?" I repeated. Then we realized that this was our stop. Six of us got off the bus to find that we were not in Koh Tao, but that we had to wait for a smaller connecting bus. It was 3:30am and none of us knew where we were. I wondered if someone was going to pick us up or if we were just left here to fend for ourselves. It was a dusty highway with tons of big, loud transport vehicles driving by. Finally at around 6am, just as the sun was rising, a smaller bus came to pick us up. It dropped us off at another open-cocept style bus and this one took us to the boat dock. The ferry to Koh Tao left at around 8am and we arrived at the island close to 11am. I got sunburnt from sitting out on the deck of the boat. The sun is much stronger here and my base tan from Canada hasn't seemed to help all that much.
We hopped into the back of a pickup truck with some other people and a bunch of backpacks. I felt like I was going to slip off the back, along with the backpacks, as we drove up a steep incline. Chris held on to me and saved me from falling out.

Anyway, we finally wound up at a little resort on Chalok Baan Kao Bay called Sunshine. It's quiet and we're in a cottage style place with a ceiling fan. It's still hot here even though we're next to the ocean.

So today is relaxing day. Chris is starting the Open Water Dive course, which I've already done in Canada. He's going to catch up to me and then we might do the Rescue Diver course together. It would be cool to get the certifications to be able to work as Divemaster... so we're pondering that idea.

Travel tip of the day: Always bring your own toilet paper with you when you're out and about. Some countries don't stock public washrooms with toilet paper because it is a luxury and is often stolen, so bring your own! Also, some countries have different customs when it comes to bathroom practices. I.E. in India your left hand is for wiping and you right is for eating.