Ah Ranong... just as I left you.

The bus pulls into the Ranong station at around 5am. I lug all of my shit about 200m to my friend Jai’s Guesthouse, which is basically next to the station. It appears that they have already opened, so I head into the restaurant and am greeted by a woman I haven’t met. Turns out this is Jai’s sister Lek, and she’s come from Rayong, where she has a travel agency, to help her sister in Ranong’s busy season for Nov. to May. This is the reason for the early opening. I guess she runs a pretty tight ship, and whoever the morning person was 2yrs ago, would often be closed until 7am. Thus, missing out on the many people who get off the bus from 5am on. Lek and I have some coffee and a 2hr chat until Jai gets out of bed. Once she’s up, we have our “hellos” and I tell her that I have brought her a bunch of brand new American $10 bills for her Visa service to Burma. It was like she won the lotto! When people do their Visa run to Burma, you must pay the Burmese $10US to cross into their country, so you can cross back into Thailand, get aVisa stamp to stay in Thailand another 15days. Anyway, the Burmese will only accept new series, fresh, crisp bills. My guess is so that they can rebundle them to buy various thing like… AK-47’s. Businesses that have Visa run services, have a had time getting these bills and must usually go to a bigger city and pay an extra premium to get them. Jai has asked me to bring her some on my next trip, so while in Nanaimo, my mMom and I went to the bank and I bought some for myself, and enough to trade with Jai. She’s thrilled with the loot. We do our “business” and a few of her guests start to rise. It’s noodle soup for breakfast, and Jai makes me a “fresh” coffee from her new cappuccino machine that she’s proud to show off. At 9am her guests traveling on the boats to Koh Chang or Koh Phayam, and I, hop into her truck and Lek drives us to Saphan Pla where the boats depart. I am staying at a guesthouse next door over night, so I say goodbye to Lek, and check into to the Star Crab Resort and see another family I spent a lot of time with 2yrs ago. At first, they don’t recognize me due to the short hair and 25 extra lbs I am carrying since they saw me last. As soon as I see the smile on their faces, I realize that my identity has come to them. More hellos and hugs, then I check into my room and chill out. At around 6p, I have a shower and head out to catch a truck-bus into the market which is in the main part of Ranong, to gather some supplies for my rental house on the Island. Cigarettes, coffee, and instant ramen so I can eat a few days until I get the lay of the land and know where the market is on the Island. After I’ve got everything on my list, I hire a motorcycle taxi to take me back to the guesthouse. When back, the owner of the place and I get reacquainted and then I’m greeted by a familiar face. Michael, a Danish guy I met 2 years ago, is also staying the night before heading to Kho Chang the following morning. We chat for awhile and then I say goodnight, agree to meet for breakfast, and I head to bed.

One night... well, 12 daylight hrs. in Bangkok.

I get off the plane around midnight, and get my bags from the carousel. Everything looks intact… whew. The case I bought for the computer seemed virtually bomb proof, so props to Pelican cases! I cleared customs and got my 30 day Visa for Thailand. I had thought I might fly to Ranong(the Thai city I was headed), but I couldn’t get any concrete costs on the website. I had decided to wait in the Airport until Air Asia’s ticket counter opened. I could just kill the time using the free Wi-Fi… wrong. You have got to pay to use it at the BKK Airport, so I watch a movie on the last of my battery and shuffle around. Each time I go for a smoke on the departures level, I am constantly asked by the taxi touts if I need a ride to BKK. I try to explain that I am waiting for the ticket counter to open to check on a flight to Ranong, and am answered with “Ranong doesn’t have an Airport”, and offers to drive me to Ranong via cab for $200(yeah you can get a cab to drive you anywhere in the country). I politely decline several offers and move to the mid level of the Airport where there are no taxi drivers and some food. I have an OJ and a Paton-go(Thai fritter-like thing) and wait a few more hrs. After talking to the airline, I realize that flying is not an option due to cost, and hire a taxi to take me into BKK to a hotel I have stayed at in the past, the Star Hotel. Everything goes well, until we get to the Soi(alley) that the Star Hotel is located. As we approach, my driver pulls up to a guy to ask for directions. At this pint it is about 6am, and I am tired. The guy on the street tells me that the Star Hotel is closed, something that is not totally uncommon when the person giving the information can earn a commission by sending you somewhere else. I tell the driver to go to the Star Hotel, and sure enough it has been knocked to the ground. My guess is for the valuable real estate. What to do? I decided to try the hotel next door. The driver helps me with my bags, and I ask the desk girl if she has a single room. She tells me yes, so I tell her that I will take it. I explain that I will be taking a bus to Ranong at 8pm, so I will be checking out at 7pm and heading to the Southern terminal. She tells me that the room will be 1000 baht($35can) which is more that I wanted to pay, but given the circumstances and the time, I am willing to pay. She follows up by telling me that check out is at 11am, so I will have to pay for a 2nd night considering I will be there from 11am until 7pm. So that is 2000 baht for what is now 12 hrs. I pass and walk down the Soi until I get to another guesthouse that I have eaten at in the past. I ask about the room, explain my situation to the girl and she tells me I can have a room until 7pm for 400 baht ($12can). I take it. A/C to boot! It’s at the back of the property, through a maze of halls, but it is totally acceptable. I throw my bags in, take a shower, and take a breather after 24hrs of travel without sleep. Once composed, I head to the 7-11 to grab water and smokes, and then get some food at the restaurant connected to the guesthouse. Once I am done, I ask the staff about a bus ticket to Ranong, and they point me to a travel agency down the road which opens in 2 hrs. I take the time to walk around a bit and go to MBK Mall where the A/C is nice. I hadn’t realized, but today was a Buddhist holiday. Everything was pretty dead, and the mall would be opening an hour late. I watched as some Monks and children who were setting up some sort of performance to celebrate the holiday. Today the Thais give up smoking, drinking, and other vices I imagine, so the tents and signs read “STOP smoking alcohol”. Kinda funny. I should have taken a picture, but I didn’t bring my camera out. I hung out for a while, went into the mall to kill some time, and then headed down to the travel agency. Unfortunately, due to the holiday, the agency can not sell me a ticket. I’ve got to go to the terminal and buy one before I want to go. The woman tells me that traffic on the buses should be very light, as any Thais who were traveling this weekend did so at the start of the weekend, and won’t be coming back to the city until tomorrow when the holiday is over. I trot back to my room and finally get some sleep after about 36hrs on the go. After about 5 hrs of sleep, I got up, had a shower, checked out, caught a cab, and made my way to the Southern Bus Station. This is a new one. The old one was a mad house and could be quite frustrating when arriving on an over night bus from somewhere in the early morning hrs. This one is big and new, but still has some of the crazy Thai logic built into it. When you arrive on the main level, you have to go up 3 floors to get your ticket only to come back down again to the main floor and find your bus. They have built a food court and shopping area on the 2nd floor, so I am guessing that this is the reason why. You are a captive audience and must pass by to possibly buy something when you are on the way to purchase your ticket. After getting to the Ranong wicket, I get a ticket for a bus leaving in 10 min which costs 355 baht. A far cry from the 5000 baht I was quoted to fly myself and all of my bags down. I board the bus and start off on my 9hr journey south. The bus is only ½ full and the ride is pretty uneventful. We stop about ½ way for food, and I get a favorite of mine “Kapow Moo”(minced pork w/ chilies and basil) and a side of rice. I board the bus and nibble away at my food for the 2nd 4.5 hr leg of my trip.

Departure Day.

I spent the morning cleaning the last few things in the apartment. Eventually, I realized that my cellular phone had been deactivated 24hrs earlier than planned. No goodbyes still yet unsaid. Due to this, I was unable to contact John who was taking me to the Airport, but was certain he’d show up as promised. Took Enzo for one last walk, and spent a bit of time upstairs with Linda and Woon, my landladies. John swung by about 11:30a and we were off. He dropped me off and we said good bye. Now, I am traveling with a lot of shit. The computer, the general over packing which I do, and the wardrobe I have got to have because I am too big to fit into the racks of cheap clothes everyone else brings home by the truckload from Thailand. So, in the end, I have to check an extra bag which costs me $160 for the two flights I am about to take. This is fine, as it all has to come with me. Customs screening goes well this time, with no Canadian Homeland Security shakedown like last time. I get on the plane and pop an Ativan to assist on the hellish 13.5hr trip to Hong Kong next to an Indian seatmate who doesn’t realize he didn’t pay for 1/3 of the cost of my seat/ticket. Due to the every ½ hr reminders of an elbow shot, I didn’t get a wink of sleep on the flight. We land in HK and I try to choke back 2 smokes in the smoking closets, before I get on the next plane for Bangkok. This leg is much nicer, and only 2.5 hrs. Once again, I don’t sleep, but before I know it, we are landing in BKK. For those of you thinking of traveling to Asia, I would take a pass on Cathay. My other trips to BKK were on JAL, and I found them much better. Cathay seemed even more cramped than usual airlines. Maybe it was the seat configuration. I don’t know, but the staff all seemed like they had better places to be and rushed through offering drinks and snacks etc. JAL always made you feel doted on if nothing else. Also, using Narita as a hub, gives you a 10 and 6 hr flight, versus a 13.5 and 2.5 using HK.

Good-bye Canada, Sawat Dii Khrap/Sabai Dii SE Asia!

So as many of you are more than aware, the lead up to my departure was challenging to say the least. Let me start by saying thank-you to a few people who really came through for me during the last 2 months of living in Vancouver.

Mom, Kerri , and Taylor… thanks for all that you did for me before leaving. It was really great to have the luxury of time while we visited over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the 10 days I spent in Nanaimo right before leaving. I truly appreciate the two trips to come and get my things, bringing them back to the Island, and the general good feelings of reconnecting over the past 4 months or so. It was a really great note to leave on.

Woon and Linda… you ladies are such wonderful people. I swear I would have stayed in your suite forever. I will always consider you like family, and your kindness towards me is so greatly appreciated. Your detective work got me my passport back, as well as a few cuss words and laughs along the way. I am sorry that you were without a tenant for a month, but things have a way of happening for a reason. I am sure things are better off happening the way they did. Thanks for all the meals brought downstairs and Chinese New Year dinner, it was great to be included. Take care of my little man!

Andrew… thanks for the filing sharing etc. If I had only known you shared this hobby, I would have got on it much sooner. Maybe you can keep updated your collection and I can rob you blind when I come home for a visit next Feb? Take care of the ladies, and it sounds like we’ll see each other in Laos before too long!

TB, NB, and NS Family… it was a real joy to have come to TBay for the wedding and see you all. Even though we are relatively new to one another, I still feel close to you all. Michael, thanks for all that you’ve done for me. Sorry about missing each other on the day I left, but you can blame that one on Ted Rogers… or at least his heirs! I feel like we got to know one another so much better this past year. Take care of yourself and the lads. Mitchel and Curtis, look out for the old man. Susan, I feel like I have known you forever. I want to hear from you soon and possibly even see you over here if that‘s possible. Terri-Ann and the girls, hope you are well and be sure to keep in touch. The Nurmi’s, it was great to meet the clan. You are wonderful folks and please forward me some plans for “sewer toss”, as I think it would be a huge hit here. Thais love games and could make it for themselves, and it’s much easier than building a horse shoe pitch!

Dana… thanks for everything. It started out as a “professional” relationship, but turned into a friendship. I consider you to be a good friend and I sooo glad I had the chance to meet you. Sorry that my motivation and attention strayed, but we have spoken about this. I am already using much of what you taught me, and I promise to dazzle you with my Thai once you come for your visit. I am really looking forward to seeing you here. Good luck in your studies!

Johnny Boy… thanks for the lift to the Airport. Sorry we didn’t hang as much as we could have over the last year and a half, but we were both dealing with our own bags of shit. Take care of the family, and be sure to follow up on Tania’s job leads. There’s always a bed for you over here as soon as you can get away!

Tania, Jason, Jen, and even little Timmy… I didn’t allow myself to make too many close relationships while I was back in Vancouver, but you guys slipped through the screening process. Thanks for the ears, the laughs, the dinner on the Drive, the Ritalin parties… Haha! You guys are wonderful! Timmy never change my friend. There are many people that I have met over my 40 years that have come across so genuine and original. Never change… never change.

Vera… even though we suffered a minor set back before leaving, you are a dear friend. You’ve been there for me through thick and thin, when others chose not to.

I want you all to know that you always have a home with me, wherever that may be. I hope to see you all in SE Asia soon for some laughs and some catching up.

Now, this wouldn’t be me without a few “Bronx cheers” before I sign off:

The PHS in general.
Liz, Mark, Kerstin, the project “managers”, and especially Lil’ Miss Shira
Ryan Griffiths
Rogers Communications
Craigslist flakes

I am sorry if I have omitted anyone, but due to time constraints and a bitchy computer that doesn’t seem to like humidity(I can’t get left mouse clicks to work 50% of the time), I must bid you adieu…

Now, on with the Blog.