Phuket, Thailand 11-19-09

When we arrived in Phuket by boat I jumped out of my seat and threw my new Thailand North Face backpack over my shoulder. Almost immediately the straps popped and the flew open as the bag fell to the ground. Great.

I somehow managed to tie the straps back together in a knot and carried the bag towards a tuk-tuk that could take me to the hostel I had booked in advance. The tuk-tuk driver drove in the direction of my hostel and then stopped short of it. He said his car couldn’t drive any further because the roads were so small. Well, we were on a main road so I had no idea what he was talking about, I think the driver was just clueless as to where the hostel was. I told him I had the phone number and if could just call it, we would be able to find the place. He kept insisting that it was close and I should just walk there. Wasn’t much I could do so I got out and walked into the nearest 7-11 to ask for directions (7-11 stores are EVERYWHERE in Thailand, even on the islands!). Luckily for me, when I asked the checkout clerk for directions, the American-looking girl in line said she was staying there too and could show me the way.

I was carrying my 48 pound backpack on my back, wearing my small 7 pound day-back on my font, and heaving around my old Gregory backpack that was filled with some of my winter clothes I had from China and Europe and other things I was sending home- (about 10 pounds in total). Thankfully we WERE close… only 2 small streets away.

After I checked in and set my bags down I headed for the post office. A thirty minute walk through town later and I arrived. They did a phenomenal job packaging my Gregory bag... we had to put one huge box into another, then use lots of tape and zip ties, it was pretty extreme. When the lady asked me how I would like to ship the box I asked for the cheapest method... so, my package will arrive in Florida 4 months from now.

On the way back to my place, the Pineapple Guesthouse, I stopped for some local food at a little man’s cart. I bought a papaya salad, some sticky rice, a Thai coconut, and some watermelon that was yellow on the inside! I happily walked back to Pineapple holding all of my plastic to-go bags. The guesthouse owner gave me a plate, bowl, and silverware and I feasted on my $2.50 meal. There was so much food I couldn’t even finish!

Inside the guesthouse I started talking to a Kiwi backpacker who had just come from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. She is doing the exact same route as me but in reverse. We exchanged our “must-do” lists and I walked away with an itinerary for my next 2 months traveling.

My evening was pretty quiet, all of my ten roommates staggered in at different hours during the night and we all slept comfortably in our 5 sets of bunk beds, each with our own mini fan. This morning I was picked up at 7:00am and piled into a small van with 8 others who were also heading to the airport. My first flight went by smoothly; I had a layover in Bangkok where I had to pickup my bag from baggage claim and re-check my luggage. The weight limit for checked bags was 15k and I was over by 8k. I pulled off to the side of the line and rearranged everything. I took the daypack off my new red North Face bag and stuffed it with anything heavy I could find… books, shoes, shirts. I managed to knock off 5k and only had to pay 10 dollars for the extra weight.

I’m on my second flight now and only have another 30 minutes till we land in Phnom Penh (pronounced “nom pen”). Richard, my English friend I traveled around China with, will be meeting me in Phnom Penh a day from now. After China he traveled around Vietnam for a month and I traveled around Thailand for a month... our timing worked our perfectly that we’d be able to meet back up and tour Cambodia and Laos together before veering off in different directions for the second time. It will be great to travel with him again, he’s one of my best friends that I’ve made traveling so far and it will be nice to catch up on everything he’s done in the last month... seems like ages since we were in China!

Alright, we’re landing now... catch up soon