MAR 10 2014 BY ROBERT 

The last chapter of Bali to Bangkok (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)…

Soon I found myself showered and with a full stomach slipping into this big soft bed covered and comfy, relaxed and drifting off into a deep undisturbed sleep. It was early around 7:30 or 8:00 P.M. and I was ready to drift away till morning. Alas, Heaven turned to Hell at about 9:30 P.M. when a band fired up in the bar below me and at screaming Mack 5 decibel. The Thai’s have only one setting on their amps, all the way up. This went on until 3:00 A.M. With ear plugs and my head buried inside double pillows there was no relief. I began to feel like I was a prisoner at Guantanamo being tortured into signing a confession for having committed some heinous terrorist act.

In the morning I lay there in bed trying to recover a bit from the torture I had just endured. I sat up and without my glasses I saw on the snow-white sheet a small black bug, looking like an ant I squished it with my thumb blood the size of a dime dominated the spot where this little creature had once been, bright red blood, my blood. Then I spotted another squished to as well and again bright red blood. Bed bugs! In all my travels I have not before encountered these vile creatures.

Bali to Bangkok From Robert’s Xplorer Journal

That was it, with bloodshot eyes I staggered down the stairs to the front desk and explained to the desk manager that there was no way that I could endure such another night.  And, that regrettably as lovely as the room was, it was never going to give me a restful night, something I now desperately need. I began to feel like a refugee fleeing from a war zone as I staggered across the street to yet a third guest house to ask about far from the little bar, bed bugs and loud music. I was shown on the third floor in the back a small but seemingly adequate room and the price was within reason so I now have moved for the third time in as many nights. Home at last?

Bali to Bangkok from Robert’s Xplorer Journal

Now that I had, hopefully settled in, I could re-enter Karon Beach and have a relaxing time. But it was not to be. I soon discovered the mass of tourist crowded streets; so severe that many times it came to the point one had to step off the sidewalks and on to the street to pass. The traffic and people coagulated into a solid mass that more resembled something one may find were there to be a Karon Beach Phuket Town section in Florida’s Disney World, where Asian people are hired to tend the shops, and otherwise the streets are infested with foreigners. I had the feeling I was no longer in Thailand, but some artificial tropical island in Russia.

The longer I stayed the less I wanted to be there. I had booked a flight to Hua Hin on the 28th. I couldn’t even wait the two extra days. This was not a vacation, it felt like a paid refugee camp by the beach. I turned in my rented “Moto”, paid the extra 850 bhat and changed my flight ticket to the next day, phoned ahead to book the van from a certain hotel in Bangkok to Hua Hin, and finally phoned my hotel in Hua Hin to be sure I could arrive two days early and still have the room I wanted. All that secure, I had only to pay my tab and spend one more night. I booked an early flight and a cab to the airport to arrive in Bangkok in time to catch a taxi to get across town to the hotel by 3:00 P.M. to then catch the booked minivan to my destination at Hua Hin.

Travel Bali to Bangkok, Part 5 from Robert’s Xplorer Journal

One last night to say goodbye to the few friends I had wished to see. Then off to what I hoped would be much less hectic than these last few days. Ah, yes, a clean getaway. Or so I thought. But it was not to be so. I had one more little challenge awaiting me in the morning. That evening I stopped in to visit the few people I liked to see when in Karon, said my goodbyes. Enjoyed a good dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Packed up everything so as not to waste any time in the morning. Even though I tend to be an early riser, I always eliminate the time-consuming things the night before for when I sleep too late and find myself in a rush. I wanted to check out in time to grab a cup of coffee and a little breakfast before the cab came at 8:30 A.M. Everything packed the night before all I had left was my bathroom stuff so I could shave, shower, brush my teeth, and shampoo my hair and off I go.

Morning comes, I hop in the shower lather up and just as I am ready to rinse off. The water goes off. Just dies. Not a drip to wash off all the soap and shampoo. Zilch! So there I stand naked and covered with soap and no way to get it off, get dressed and go out the door to eat and catch the cab. I check the water in the sink. It’s on. So I have no choice but to stand there and use my hands to splash water all over myself to be able to leave the bathroom and get my clothes on. Inconvenient as it was at least it worked and soon I was down the stairs and out the door. A quick bite… a fast cup… here comes the cab and off I go to new horizons.

Travel is not always as smooth as we would prefer. In hindsight one can always think of a having made better choices. (But it was an adventure.) – Bobby