Part 40: Pit stop Bangkok.....
I was filled with a little sadness as I bid farewell to Koh Samui and Oliver. He had been great company and a good friend.
Especially after watching the Champions league final together with a raucous group of Bayern Munich fans celebrating in the streets - I wont forget that in hurry. The island has left a lasting impression on me for lots of reasons.
There is this tendency from a lot of people to think that a place is bad if it has tourists. Does that make it any less beautiful? To me the answer is no. The majority of my time had been spent in the Philippines, which was not in the least bit touristy but Thailand was, and I still loved it nonetheless.
I felt motivated to look for the beauty in every situation and was starting to see things differently, I feel I have become more aware of the world around me now. Especially since writing and taking insane amounts of pictures. Breathing in and absorbing everything I see, immersing myself in the culture. Much of what I was seeing was a first time experience and boy if you could only see the look on my face sometimes.
Its a fascinating change in me and one I was starting to notice more and more.
Not only because of Thailand but collectively all my travels to date were beginning to have a profound effect on my life, and for once, I liked where it was heading.
My flight back to Bangkok was 6am and the tiny airport was already really busy, luckily there were no new dramas to report, unless you count being the last in line of a very long queue with gate closure fast approaching...well there was a bit of drama as yet again I almost missed my flight!
The free breakfast in the departure lounge was a welcome bonus before boarding the plane - and another meal included en route too - score!
Bangkok was ridiculously busy in rush hour, and making my way across the city back to Lub D hostel again was a challenge. No taxis this time, just busses, sky trains and a little walking thrown in, which drew on all my energy reserves, I was in full backpacker mode! No lazy expensive taxis for me.
My flight back to Manila was not till the following day so I had to arrange one nights accommodation in the city. There were worse places to spend 24 hours.
I wasted no time in dumping my bags off at the hostel, before heading of to the busy Siam Square.
It was already way to hot meandering around in the sweltering morning heat, so I decided to escape to a cool air-conditioned food court for some respite.
One of the things I like most about Bangkok is that life is on the ground. Wherever you are, something will be going on, there'll be things to see and people to watch.
And as I have mentioned many times before, Its one of my favourite pass times, just sitting somewhere, ordering a bite to eat or a drink, just waiting to see what happens next. Watching comings and goings, looking out for interesting, eccentric or colourful characters, then all the more better! and its free.
I love discretely taking pictures of people as my gallery suggests. Its easy to do with an iPhone camera and far less in peoples faces.
I was trying to capture and reflect what I saw through my eyes and felt I was getting better.
Then it suddenly hit me to get 'Pasalubong' gifts for my Filipino friends on my return to Manila.
They would certainly be expecting it, nor forgive me for breaking this age old tradition!.
Luckily Bangkok is perfect for souvenirs, trinkets and affordable mementos.
Everywhere you looked there were street stalls or gift shops, and it killed a little time too.
Then out of nowhere, three giggling girls literally pounced on me. Asking me a all sorts of simultaneous questions. What my name was, where I was from, what I was doing in Bangkok, do I like Thai girls, was I single, and would I meet up with them later for a coffee. There was lots of giggling and nervous broken English.
It seemed pretty harmless really, and they certainly weren't offering their services or anything like that, so I just went along with it for a while.
Im sure there were a few things lost in translation as apparently I agreed to meet up with them later at McDonald's!
I eventually made my escape and headed for the safety of my hostel.
Where, I kid you not within 2 minutes, a Brazilian and a tatted up English guy introduced them selves to me and before I knew we were speaking like we had known each other for years.
Then an Italian and two dutch girls joined our table.
Several hours passed, then we grabbed beers and snacks, continuing the conversation well into the evening. Had I not booked my flight to Manila the following day then I would have headed to Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand with them.
Thats how it was at hostels, and I absolutley loved it.
Suddenly remembering my good friend Lindsey's words back home.
Before I left she reassured me this would not be a problem for me travelling alone
'You will make friends so easy and get invited on trips' she said.
And of course, she was absolutely right.
The rest of my evening in Bangkok was spent just talking with these travellers, it was a blast.
Since my flight to Manila was early morning, and I rarely sleep the night before, I stayed up quite late, then got the first sky train to Suvarnabhumi airport stupidly early to avoid my now almost customary airport commotions.
I was excited at seeing my Filipino crew, who undoubtedly had several adventures in store for me. It seemed I had been away for ages.
Coming in to land, I was lucky enough to capture the perfect 'money' shot of Manila from the plane. The sky was really clear, revealing the insanely congested city to my left in all its enormity. What a sight to behold, with well over a staggering 20 million people making up its population, and I now truly felt one of them too.
Just like before my friend Cy was there to welcome me at the airport with her flash new car.
We greeted, and I wasted no time in handing her the 'pasalubong gift'
A necklace for her to add to her growing collection of trinkets.
'Boot camp this weekend' she laughed.
Great!!! and after 3 weeks in Thailand doing mostly nothing but chilling, I knew this was going to sting me hard!
Welcome back Vince....