Sleepover with strangers.
I must admit, I’ve been overcome with a strange feeling. As I sat in the back of my grab taxi (south East Asian equivalent of uber) on the way home from the airport. I breathed a sigh of relief and thought to myself, ‘home at last’. Chuckling to myself right afterwards as I realised that I naturally considered Thailand home. When arriving back in Bangkok, Thailand following the two hour flight from Vietnam, in fact before then; when I boarded the plane, the smiling faces of the Thai air hostesses were a complete contrast to the aggressive stares of the Vietnamese. (Who didn’t return a smile). I felt at ease again. The air in Vietnam was thick and heavy, full of pollution. This combined with with the last hostel of my stay, had completely done my lungs in. I have allergy induced asthma and the number of pollutants I have inhaled over the past five days is beyond my wildest imagination. In spite of the no smoking signs plastered all around the “Ha Noi rocks hostel”, people smoked indoors all day long, the building was filled with a visibly heavy smoke, that left your clothes and hair stinking. People spent all day drinking and doing drugs, and the night the same with a dose of partying thrown in. That being said, the dorm rooms were really nice. Though the same could not be said for the en suite. Which in the words of Cata, smelt like “rats ass”.
I’ll just take you back to where I left off. From ‘Nha Trang’, Vietnam I then continued to ‘Hue’ further northward. Niamh, Dan and I all caught the same sleeper bus, but their journey was shorter than mine as they disembarked in a place called ‘Hoi An’. We all however watched a live chicken get its feet tied together and shoved in the luggage compartment with all our suitcases. He was tied to another travellers bag without any form of consent. I said, “that chicken is not going to make it to the end of this 10 hour journey”, Niamh offered to buy the chicken so it could sit on her lap instead. But they refused, she didn’t let the bus move off until they placed it in a marginally more humane bucket first. In Hue, I stayed in a vibey place called the April hostel, where I had two male roomies, one Indian aged 24 and one Vietnamese, 22. We all went to a bar together, and I’m pretty sure I was the only person in the whole place drinking Sprite after Sprite, everyone had a beer or another alcoholic beverage. So annoying because Sprite was more expensive than all the beers. The next day, one of the hosts invited me to to lunch at his house (where his mum had cooked some vegetarian noodle dishes.)
Followed by a tour of Hue, I visited the old palaces, some pagodas (Buddhist place of worship) and took in the beautiful scenery.
I had clearly eaten something my tummy didn’t agree with and after paying my entry fee for the palaces, I spent the first half hour in the bathroom. Upon exit I was swarmed by a huge group of Vietnamese tourists, who all got their cameras our and started snapping away, which I am completely used to now (inside tourist attractions they get brave). I however, am not an attraction. As I went to walk off, one lady linked my arm. I went to pull it out and she gripped it, hard so her husband could take a picture. All the while, the tour-guide was translating, “my people they love your hair, they say it’s beautiful. Is it real?” To which I said, ‘yes.’ (None of your damn business). I kid you not I will be in at least 40 Facebook photos. Thinking about it now, I am fuming. Maybe I wouldn’t have been considered such an attraction if they’d seen me in the bathroom minutes earlier.
Later that evening I really fancied a chocolate, so I asked for directions to the “Big C” supermarket, the directions were simple; I easily found my way, it only required a left and a right turn. I wasn’t told the walk was around 25 minutes though. After arriving all I wanted was my chocolate and instead, I was going up and down escalators trying to locate it, I’d been sent to several different floors before I eventually found it. On the way back, finding my hostel wasn’t as simple as it should have been. Not realising, I had missed the turning for the road of my hostel. I’d found myself in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. I walked into a small corner shop where the owner was sleeping on a bed at the back and tried to ask if he had wifi. After he attempted to open the fridge to sell me a drink, I decided ‘Internet’ was a better word choice and he pointed me across the street. Hopefully, I crossed the dark street and knocked on the door, thinking he had sent me to an Internet cafe, it was actually a gaming store. I’d walked into a room filled with around 30 nerdy males and 1 or 2 females with big headphones, mouthpieces and microphones all wired up to the virtual reality computer games they were playing. Funnily enough these were probably the friendliest people I met in Vietnam and we didn’t even converse. (Maybe that’s why). The manager ushered one of the boys off of his game to enable me to search for my hostel and try and find my way back. Once I thought I had the way figured, I went on my journey. Previously, I had turned off one exit too late, ending up on a parallel road so I wasn’t really too far. Not as easy as it sounds though, as I walked down the adjacent back street to come out on the road of my hostel, it felt eery. Only to make it worse, I could see some things flying backwards and forwards all around me, over my head and surrounding me. I soon realised these were bats. Initially I screamed, but no one was around, so I closed my eyes (tight)and speed walked the next ten metres to the end of the alley. Note to self: don’t miss turnings.
….As I continued farther north I was headed to my final destination in Vietnam, ‘Ha Noi’, as I got off of my sleeper bus, it had not even reached 6am, all I wanted was to get to my hostel, I had got used to ensuring taxi drivers in Thailand used the metre. So when a man came running at me with his arms flailing practically screaming to get me in his cab. I simply asked him how much would cost to my hostel as I only had 80,000 Vietnamese dong (VND) with me. “Metre, metre”, he said. ‘Perfect.’ I thought. ‘I wont get ripped off’. I thought.
Vietnamese currency is poor and £1 is around 28,500 Vietnamese dong. From the moment I had sat in the taxi the metre started rolling and my driver was being awfully chatty. So I made sure to check the metre, it started on 5000d about 18p. I checked again around 30 seconds later and the metre was now on 55000d almost £2. In 30 seconds. You see Disney cartoons, when people have dollar signs rolling through their eyes at rapid speeds. This was what his metre was doing. I said, “your metre is going awfully fast, how much will the journey be to my hostel?”
He said “200,000.”
“200,000d!” I repeated in exclamation, “that’s ridiculous, I only have 80,000 anyway” he turned around to examine how much money I had in my hand and proceeded to say, “Hanoi rocks hostel is far man, it’s far man! 200k”, he even had the audacity to tell me we could stop at an ATM, so I could get enough for the fare, so I told him I didn’t have a card. When we arrived he parked across the road from the hostel and a few metres away. I told him I’m not paying him until, he parks closer to the hostel, so he did. But he remained on the other side of the road. I get out of the cab, take my belongings and hand him he 80k. I briskly walked into my hostel, turning round only to see him speed reversing away. So I went straight over to the reception desk and asked them how much my journey should have been. She said “20,000 maximum”. A tenth of what he was asking for.
I have been bumped (ripped off) the whole time Vietnam, right up to the airport back to Thailand. I had ordered my grab, as it works out way cheaper than a regular taxi and has a fixed price, I was picked up at my hostel by moped but informed that he couldn’t drive onto the airport premises without paying a fee to his company but he would be able drop me right outside. Not long after he had missed the turning he was supposed to come off at he ended up asking some random guys who were parked up, where the closest point was that he could go to drop me off. One guy, used his English to explain that “grab” bikes can’t go on to the premises but his bike could so I could get on his bike. Well I wasn’t going to take up that offer. My driver did a u turn and went down the other side of the dual carriageway. Shortly before stopping at a zebra crossing which led right to the other side…Once you’ve climbed over a fence onto the airport premises. I didn’t mind this, I love a good climb. But as I got closer I realised people have already smashed the fence down. So it would be easy to climb over. As I stood, deliberating whether I would throw my bag over first or climb up and pull it over. The familiar face of the guy, who said he could take me in on his bike emerged. Saying he could ride me in. I thought I may as well be civilised, and at least ask how much it will be before declining his offer and climbing over the fence anyway. His response surprised me and he said 5k so I accepted. 18p why not. He then rode along a footpath, into the airport before reaching a wooden bridge he couldn’t ride over. He instead pointed me in the direction which I should walk. I was now way further than when I was about to climb the fence. I was so annoyed, but thankfully it was only 18p. Or so I thought. When I was looking for the 5k note I thought I had. I couldn’t find it so I pulled out a 20k expecting him to give me change. He said, “no, no” and tried to assist me, by pulling out a 50k note. I pulled my money away and said “NO!” He mimicked in a whiny voice and said “Nooooo. 50k!” So I picked up my bag to start walking away only to hear “okay. 20k 20k”. I have been sickened to my stomach and I am elated to be back on Thai soil.
By the time I was boarding the plane back to Thailand, I was in the early stages of an asthma attack, I had a relentless itch in my throat that I couldn’t clear, combined with constant coughing in between words and discomfort whilst breathing. I wasn’t panicky, I never am, but the thought that I was going back to Thailand was a soothing one. As the plane engines fired up and they began to release the oxygen etc in to the cabin, I instantly felt my lungs free up. Thank God! Fast forwarding back to my taxi journey, my tired self has time to think about my time in Vietnam; a very interesting one, made better by familiar faces and some new ones too. But as a whole, Vietnam is not the place for me. I visited it’s various museums, art galleries and coffee shops, tried coconut latte’s and egg coffee’s. There are a few places I’d still like to see. Begrudgingly. Vietnam would not get another penny out of me so long as I live if there weren’t still places I’d like to see. People definitely help to make the experiences and, I’m so glad that Cata and Gee, (two girls I’d befriended in my dorm room in Koh Tao, Thailand) were able to spend time with me on my last five days in Vietnam. I’d heard so much from other backpackers about how in Vietnam the streets are cleaner, it’s cheaper, food is better and that I’d love it. The only thing I would say is they have nice food, this doesn’t compare to Thai street food markets. The presentation in Vietnam is not as good, the street food stalls and outdoor eating often look dirty. The roads are lined with rubbish, both visible and invisible (pollutants). Water drips from shutters above you even when it hasn’t been raining. If you’re not careful you’ll fall in drains. In general the people are rude, though I have met some amazing individuals the majority of sellers will try and take you for every penny you own and if you decline buying a motorbike from some randomer on the road as you were walking past, they will look at you in disgust, disrespect your appearance, screw up their face and physically shoo you with their hand. I’ve experienced this several times. Then again, they don’t like dark skin here so.. You may have a very different experience if your melanin doesn’t glow quite so regally. The moment I landed in Thailand, I was greeted by the beautiful smiles of the Thai people. It’s safe to say Thailand definitely has a piece of my heart, a place in my stomach and an everlasting memory in my mind until I return again. Not that I’ve left yet.
Now, I had planned to end this blogpost with the short paragraph above but as I sat on my bus from Bangkok to Sukhothai, a beautiful soul came and asked to sit next to me. She is in her first year of university (studying English) and goes by the nickname of Bua La Loy, which means lotus. Her birth name is Natchaya. (She wasn’t sure what that one meant).
Upon conversation we came to the realisation that we were both traveling in the same direction but to different locations. Natchaya was to get off at a place called “Phitsanulok”, which was an hour before my location, “Sukhothai”. For those of you have been reading the blog from the beginning, in order, or just at all for that matter. You’ll probably remember me visiting this area in Thailand before. However, Bua La Loy wanted to show me the walking street market in Phitsanulok. Initially, I didn’t want to go as I really wanted nothing more than to be back in Sukhothai, a place I love so much and if I was to go with her it would mean I’d miss the last bus to Sukhothai. After frantically rechecking the cancellation policy on my hostel and the bus time table for the following day. I weighed up my options, now some of you may think I’m a nutter for this. But whatever. Natchaya, was to be staying with her grandma and said she would ask if it was okay for me to stay over before I cancelled my accommodation. Her grandma said it was fine, but was worried that I might think the bathroom was dirty because it was old. (It was fine). When we got off the bus at Phitsanulok, her father greeted us all suited and booted. So happy to see her as it was her first time visiting since coming back from uni. Natchaya had warned me that we were going to stop by a wedding, before we went to the market (just to eat). I had asked if I could change my clothes first, and she said it would be fine as she was just going in her tracksuit bottoms and casual clothes. When we walked in, everyone was dressed to the nines! Men and women alike, but not an ounce of judgement was passed upon us. Just welcoming smiles and ‘Wai’s’ (the gesture of putting both hands together in prayer position and bowing your head towards hands is a symbol of respect toward one another). Her beautiful grandma (who reminds me exactly of my own nanny) prepaid for our taxi to the walking street market and we spent almost two hours walking round. Both buying clothes, but I also bought gifts. When we had finished her grandma came and picked us up and the two of us sat outside and ate ‘pad Thai’ (noodles) we had bought under the moonlight.
We talked about her life prospects and hopes to visit England one day over the sound of crickets chirping away in he background. I was given my own room to sleep in with the option of both fan and AC in there. (neither of which did I need). I am very proud to add this fact; I am accustomed to the heat. This morning her father came and brought us breakfast. Then once I had showered up, they drove me to the bus station so I could continue my journey hour long journey to Sukhothai. Before y’all pass judgement about talking to let alone going for a sleepover with a stranger you met ten minutes ago, let me just ease your conscience real quick. My gift of discernment is great and I am alive and well. I am a child of God. No weapon formed against me shall.. Let me stop preaching.
Back in Thailand, since arriving in my favourite city. I’ve already had a free lift to the supermarket and back so I could exchange money. (A 20 minute journey). A small insight to Thai people. Very much like Caribbeans (must be why I feel so at home). Have you ever visited a place and promised yourself you’d come back? Well that is me with Thailand. Most importantly this city I’m in right now. “Sukhothai”, I’m currently staying in the same beautiful hostel that I left exactly six weeks ago today to continue my northward journey. The hospitality, is incredible, the aura is incredible, the food.. Need I say more? They say you like a place based on your memories and I made great ones here at the “if you want hostel”. I met two phenomenal people Elodie and Maria on my first trip here; In spite of knowing, that I wouldn’t see them again here as they’ve both continued their travels elsewhere, I find myself sat in the cafe, staring at my empty plate and full belly. Grateful for all encounters and opportunities I’ve experienced for all the beautiful souls I’ve connected with, namely (in order of meeting), Elodie, Maria, Becca, Tassia, Bhavan, Sabrina, Alice, Yogita, Daniela, Crystal, Beau, Catalina, Georgia, Leighanne, Niamh, Daniel, Viet, Lovely and Natchaya. I leave here for the oh so politically tranquil shores and weekly devastation of England a week from today (ode to cousin Aidan); if I didn’t have an amazing job to go back to, I wouldn’t leave at all. This isn’t the end of me Thailand… Well of course not, I still have a week to go. What will it entail? if you enjoyed this read, please clap your little heart out. Big Hugs,
Tesni xx
Originally published at tesnithetastebudtraveller.blogspot.com
