Thailand: Back Again
Well, I was supposed to leave Cambodia on May 18th, as that was when my visa expired. However, I was hoping to have the $60 I had paid for my month's accomodations to be reimbursed to me by my manager at Utopia. Unfortunately, she had taken a two-week holiday to Ireland, and only returned the night of the 17th, and since I did not see her, I never got the chance to ask her about it. I did not want to have to get another cash advance on my credit card (there are no ATMs in Sihanoukville), but I figured I could make it into Thailand with the $15 in my pocket.
Well, that comfortable $15 turned into only $7 when I was forced to fork over $8 to the guesthouse for breaking my bathroom mirror (long story). I still thought I could manage on $7, and I argued and argued with Cooper about the price of the boat to the border (I said it was only $6, he said $20) before driving through the rain to the ferry terminal.
Unsurprisingly, I realized upon pulling into the terminal five minutes before departure time that we were both wrong; the price of the boat to the Cambodian border was $15. So, sheepishly, I climbed back on to Cooper's bike with my bags, and we drove back into town through the rain that was steadily getting stronger.
I finally went back to Utopia to the laughs of my coworkers. The ocean was incredible that day with the largest waves I have seen outside of Hawaii. We played in the water, did some more skimboarding down the beach, and even tried real surfing atop a massive cooler lid. That evening was supposed to be another party night at Utopia, but the torrential downpours forced us to keep the doors closed, and we settled down to watch a movie.
Friday morning I awoke to the howling winds and continuing rains of the mega storm that was blasting the Cambodian coast. I walked outside and realized that there was no way I was getting on a boat today. Therefore, I spent another day lazying about Utopia, trying to hide from the folks in town that I had bid farewell to two days before. Fortunately, I finally had a chance to talk to Kate, my manager, and she paid me $60 for my accomodation. I realized that, with the $10 that I would now owe the Cambodian border officials for overstaying my visa, I was making $50 for staying those extra two days...not bad.
Finally, Saturday morning, I said my third goodbye, and Shawn took me to the port. It was still raining, but the swells had calmed down a bit and the ride was generally uneventful. The best part of the day came when I was going through the Cambodian border exit. I did my best to bat my eyelashes and smile my dazzling smile, and, Viola!, I did not have to pay the $10 overstay fees! I love being a girl!
On the minibus to Trat I met Andy, a Scottish firefighter, and we had dinner together, later meeting up with a group of rowdy travelers (one being a recent and quite memorable customer of Utopia) for a drink (or two...). Finally, I crashed into bed, not looking forward to the following day's trip to Bangkok.
This morning I hopped on the 9:30 am bus to Bangkok, and by 3:00 pm was back in Bangkok. I quickly went to the travel agent to apply for my India Visa, purchased a bus ticket down to Krabi, and right now I am almost due to board the 6:00 pm overnight bus. Whew! What a journey this has been so far...I am looking forward to settling back down in Tonsai for a bit, where I will reunite with Erin (she had to cut her trip to Nepal short), climb, and hopefully relax!
Well, that comfortable $15 turned into only $7 when I was forced to fork over $8 to the guesthouse for breaking my bathroom mirror (long story). I still thought I could manage on $7, and I argued and argued with Cooper about the price of the boat to the border (I said it was only $6, he said $20) before driving through the rain to the ferry terminal.
Unsurprisingly, I realized upon pulling into the terminal five minutes before departure time that we were both wrong; the price of the boat to the Cambodian border was $15. So, sheepishly, I climbed back on to Cooper's bike with my bags, and we drove back into town through the rain that was steadily getting stronger.
I finally went back to Utopia to the laughs of my coworkers. The ocean was incredible that day with the largest waves I have seen outside of Hawaii. We played in the water, did some more skimboarding down the beach, and even tried real surfing atop a massive cooler lid. That evening was supposed to be another party night at Utopia, but the torrential downpours forced us to keep the doors closed, and we settled down to watch a movie.
Friday morning I awoke to the howling winds and continuing rains of the mega storm that was blasting the Cambodian coast. I walked outside and realized that there was no way I was getting on a boat today. Therefore, I spent another day lazying about Utopia, trying to hide from the folks in town that I had bid farewell to two days before. Fortunately, I finally had a chance to talk to Kate, my manager, and she paid me $60 for my accomodation. I realized that, with the $10 that I would now owe the Cambodian border officials for overstaying my visa, I was making $50 for staying those extra two days...not bad.
Finally, Saturday morning, I said my third goodbye, and Shawn took me to the port. It was still raining, but the swells had calmed down a bit and the ride was generally uneventful. The best part of the day came when I was going through the Cambodian border exit. I did my best to bat my eyelashes and smile my dazzling smile, and, Viola!, I did not have to pay the $10 overstay fees! I love being a girl!
On the minibus to Trat I met Andy, a Scottish firefighter, and we had dinner together, later meeting up with a group of rowdy travelers (one being a recent and quite memorable customer of Utopia) for a drink (or two...). Finally, I crashed into bed, not looking forward to the following day's trip to Bangkok.
This morning I hopped on the 9:30 am bus to Bangkok, and by 3:00 pm was back in Bangkok. I quickly went to the travel agent to apply for my India Visa, purchased a bus ticket down to Krabi, and right now I am almost due to board the 6:00 pm overnight bus. Whew! What a journey this has been so far...I am looking forward to settling back down in Tonsai for a bit, where I will reunite with Erin (she had to cut her trip to Nepal short), climb, and hopefully relax!
posted by Tiffany Joiner at 6:35 AM
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