Thailand 2008 – First couple days

“And as for traveling alone? Fuck it. If that’s the way it has to be then thats the way it is”
-The Beach (movie)

2/18 – journal entry

My trip began at LAX then Hong Kong Airport and now here at Thailands International Airport. Here I met another backpacker from SF. She was on her way to Koh San Road. I’m the only one crazy enough (or so I thought) to stay out all night just to catch the first plane to Samui.

Actually it’s not that bad save the fact that I’m in the strange existance where time means nothing. Hours go by and i’m neither anxious or bord – probably since i’m just really excided to arrive at my destination.

In Hong Kong I had two beers at a surreal sports bar. previous to that on the flight I managed to watch 3 movies plus various games and videos I downloade on my ipod. Watching the movie In To The Wild kinda set the tone for my trip. That movie effected me profoundly because in essence I am doing somthing similar though I have no intenion of spending days surviving in the jungles of thailand – thats probably not a good idea. but more the fact that this guy touched everone he came in contact with on his journey. he caused people to take check on thier lives to see if they were living it to the fullest.

2/19

The ferry ride was fun and exciting. Chatted with two women from sweeden who had been traveling all around asia and india since december. I would run into them again the next day. they will actually be in LA next month for nine days so I might try and show them around. once the boat landed and I departed I looked for my shuttle but umong all the trucks and taxi’s there were none that said cocohut so I decided to walk it since they sait it was only ten minutes. My first impression getting off the boat was of that this was the city of lost children or the place pinoccio goes to where they all turn into donkeys. just massive amounts of young backpackers spilling from all directions on scooters on foot in the back of taxi trucks. the streets were lined up with travel agencies internet cafes bars tatoo parlors and tourists shops.

I found the sign that pointed me towards cocohut which ended up being on the other side of a small hill. Checking in was painless and once inside my room I was truly stoked. First thing I did was go down and get a beer, take my ipod speakers to the balcony and kick back to enjoy the view. It just felt so good to finally be here after so many days of planning and hours of traveling.

Where I’m staying is called Leela Beach or Sunset Beach on the Southeastern tip of the island. That part of the island is very narrow so you can walk from oneside to the other in about 5 minutes. The other side is where the offical full moon party is while the side that I’m staying is quieter – more laid back. Well thats how loney planet described it. So I though I’d have a look for my self and headed over there.

Ok first off all lonley planet mentioned noghing to my memorey about it being clothing optional. There were young topless girls everywhere with breasts that defy gravity. Maybe I’m exagerating but as I walked down the packed beach everywhere I looked there were pretty topless girls.

I picked one of many beachside bar cafes and ordered a burger and a beer and tried to soak in the atmosphere. This side definitly has more of a spring break vibe. After that I took a beer to go and headed back to my beach to watch the sunset.

Stayed up last night till 9pm and that was really tough pecause all I wanted to do all day was sleep. woke up at the crack of dawn and headed down for breakfast but I was too early so I wandered around the beach. came back and ordered standard breakfast with fruit. I should add that the fruit here is beyond anything I’ve ever tasted in my life. mangos paypaya, stuff I don’t even know what it is all taste amazing. Then I just ready on the beach. they have these benches that are burried in the sand so you can sit on there while the water passses through it.

Was pretty faded all day. Decided to head into town to get some beer and water and deet for my mosquito bitten ankles. Hand Rin town is a buzz with scooters passing by people and waking everywhere. the whole place is alive with activity. on the way back I decided to get a traditional thai massage. while waiting someone else came in for one too – a german girl who had been there a week already. she lost her voice partying the night before and had all kinds of scrapes and bruises that she doesnt remember how she got them. she was funny. So the massage was excatly what my jet lagged body needed. afterward they gave us both tea and we visited for a while. the whole experience was really nice. Natalie and I parted ways but would be sure to run into her again becaue everyone I meet, I end up seeing them again the next day. It’s kind of funny actually.

That night I was just going to have a few drinks at mellow mountian bar but thats not what ended up happening. Once there I was invited to join with a large group of various people that had meet there. One guy was a canadian here working for halburton. There was also a married couple that are full time teachers here and this crazy guy from bristol and these two girls from oxford.

At some point I headed out of there because I saw some flyers around about a drum and base party. So I went walking through town to find it. I had the flyer in my hand and showed it to taxi driver. he noded that I was going in the right direction so I kept walking up the road. the road soon turned to dirt and then became a walkway that headed into a quiet very rustic village resort. then the path headed through these large bolders to the beach. from there I could hear the music. To my delight it was house music playing in the distance. this was certianly not the drum and bass party but I was not complaining. the guy was spinning some really good deep funky house. people were on the beach lounging around a few people were dancing. I would end up hanging our the djs who were all british expats living on samui. I also met these friendly students from austrailia. the whole vibe was really laid back. I danced until 3am and then went back to the sunset side where the kids were getting silly on the thai buckets. lots of drunk people. There is an intersection called chicken corner where you can get a roased chicken sandwhich. was pretty tastey.

2/20

Today my jet lagged state has been replaced with simply being hungover. I had another one of those nice breakfast at the cocohut. Have just been naping and reading all day. Not a bad existance. So tonight I will keep it mellow. Maybe watch whatever movies are playing in the cocohut resteraunt. Soon I will need to start planing for the next leg of my trip.

San Francisco on a whim

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Samovar Tea Lounge,
originally uploaded by brinsonferguson.

Due to a very difficult work week and some need for a change of scenery I decided on Thursday to go to San Francisco – actually I made the decision without knowing for sure if it could happen because of work demands. I winged it and it paid off. What makes traveling from my work so great is that it’s only a mile or so from the Burbank Airport.

San Francisco is a truly magical city in my opinion. I was somewhat concerned how the city would receive a lone adult traveler. After encountering so many friendly people I have come to realize that SF welcomes people traveling alone perhaps more than any city I’ve traveled to. It’s a loner’s paradise.

Yet while experiencing the city alone you meet people along the way. And when you walk down a busy street the eyes staring in your direction are kind friendly eyes or sometimes-lusty eyes (from both the men and the women haha).

Another interesting observation I made is that you can leave your hotel with no itinerary and still have an amazing day just discovering the city as it comes to you.

What I got out of this trip was a coming to terms with my own aloneness – a contentment in my singledom and though I’ve been to SF many times before I saw the city with different eyes.

Here are highlights with links:

Samovar Tea Lounge

Great Tea House in the Yerba Buena Gardins

The Down Beat Lounge

Place where I saw a great jazz roots country folk jam band

SF MOMA including an amazing video installation by Artist Phil Colins

“His video installation dünya dinlemiyor (Turkish for “the world won’t listen”) features young people in Istanbul performing karaoke versions of songs by the 1980s band The Smiths.”

The Redwood Room

A great bar down the street from my hotel.

My SF Set on Flickr

This island was amazing

Day 9

 took the ferry from moorea back to papeete, tahiti and just stayed in the same run down hotel i stayed the first night i arrived

i mainly went shopping and walked around. papeete is a stark contrast to moorea. its like french polynesias los angeles with loads of traffic. after shopping i decided to check out the near by french brewery

i hung out there for a while and the happened to be situated right in front of a band that came on later that evening. the band was brother and sister combo and they did mostly classic rock covers kind of cheesy but it works here somehow. first song they played way the doobie brothers “listen to the music” love that song and the brother had the guitar part down. i brought along my lonely planet french phrase book so that helped a little. id say about 1 in 5 people here speak english. the people here are supper friendly and all smiles. soon there was a lively crowd dancing. A very drunk lady wouldnt leave me alone. she kept draging me on the dance floor. she kept telling me you know i live in san juan capistrano! i love san clemente! over and over. then she kept accusing me that i did not believe her. she was drunk. so i kind of snuck out of there and headed to the next bar that was playing reggae dance hall. there i just people watched and made friends and watched surf video on the tv. i was going to head over to a large discotheque but i had shorts on so i ducked into another bar that had dancing and kind of reminded me of some of the tiny dance clubs in paris with it so hot the windows were misted up. you could really feel the energy. at two am i had enough and headed home to bed.

Day 7 (my birthday)

My birthday was epic. I rented a car and drove around the island (it’s only 40 or miles around). Somehow I managed to make that last 8 hours! There was this one stop called the Lagooarium where you go on this tiny island (motu) and swim with rays, sea turtles, sharks and an amazing assortment of fishes. it was by far the highlight of my trip. it was also nice to get a feel of the local culture when stopping through tiny villages. I took this one unpaved coral road and found all these really colorful fisherman huts. There is also a great look out called Le Belvedere which looks out over Opunahu and Cooks Bay. Opunahu is where they filmed the Bounty. Did finally meet some people at camp. a couple from France here on Holliday and Natalie, a young woman from Germany who is going to study Geology. She wants to learn French and is living in French Polynesia for six months

Day 6 Moorea

Today I got up really early and watched the sun rise. The colors were an amazing combination of pinks and blues. I had cereal for breakfast and I got to do general upkeep. Washed my clothes by hand and hung them up to dry. Swept the sand off my hut and the porch and requested a clean change of sheets. Ok so in many ways this has been one of those solitary ‘soul searching’ type trips which is what I wanted.   It’s noon.   So what should I do for the rest of the day?

Day 5 Moorea

On Monday night I treated myself to a fancy resort all-you-can-eat dinner with show. After eating french begets and ham everyday, it was a nice treat, though the music I heard the night before was more natural. On Tuesday I got up early and made breakfast. Then went out for more snorkeling but this time I really explored the area right in front of the hut. I was able to take some really cool underwater photos. Then I headed in and made lunch and took a nap. Later I went for a nice walk on the beach and made dinner and just read all night.  I  must say this has been a very solitary trip for me. I’m the only one here who is American and have yet to hear any conversations in English aside from me talking to bartenders, and shop & inn keepers. Nearly all of the other campers are French, aside from friendly smiles and hellos, I don’t really initiate conversations.

Day 4 Moorea

Today I rented a bike and
rode to the Sheritan Moorea to see how the other half
lives. The snorkeling was out of this world and the
over water bungalows were really nice. I had a $15
lunch at the bar and crashed out on a hammock on the
beach. The ride over there was a killer because the
bike i rented is too small. At this point I have only
seen about a third of the island. I’m taking my time…

Day 3 Moorea

This cat is awsome. She just chiills on my porch all day. Of course I’ve got those prawn chips haha! Enjoying a Hinano, the local beer at a cafe down the beach. Every sunday they have a jam session of local musicans. The musicians were amazing! all locals in the audiance too singing along as the sun set.