Beyond a page...: Koh Tao, Phuket with Matt, Bangkok, and Coming Home!!

The bus from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok was awful. I waited at the border for over an hour and then another three hours on the other side to catch a minibus to the city. Arriving in Bangkok was sort of surreal seeing as how this is where I began my trip in March and would be heading for home in a week. After meeting up with Aussie Tim for a few hours on Khoasan Road, I booked my ticket down south and hopped on another bus. As I arrived to board the ferry for Koh Tao I checked my bag and noticed someone had stolen $250 from me. It must have occurred when I stored my stuff in Bangkok (all locked up mind you) and was visiting with Tim. While I could have had my laptop, iPhone, passport, and credit cards stolen as well, I was pretty upset at having my privacy violated and losing a good chunk of change so close to coming home, especially with my funds being as low as they already were. Fortunately I have wonderful, loving parents who are there for me in emergencies such as that!

Koh Tao is the diving capital of Thailand. Smaller than Koh Samui and Koh Phangnan which are located to the south, the waters around Koh Tao are warm, clear, and smooth. I really do want to dive one day and have put off more opportunities the past year than I should have but I’m sure it will happen one day. I came to Koh Tao to meet up with a girl named Mary I had met two months earlier. She grew up in Shreveport (two hours from Tyler) and then lived in Denver before coming to Thailand. With an odd connection like that, it was fun to keep in touch with her and neat to see her new diving life she had on the island. Koh Tao is a fun, beautiful place that I really wish I could have stayed for weeks and weeks. Aside from the worst scooters I’ve driven in Asia, I really enjoyed exploring this little island and discovering the small hidden beaches there awaiting us. The community of people on Koh Tao is incredible and I encourage you to head there if you are an avid diver or looking to start (check out Big Blue Diving, this place is recommended by Mary and seems very legit).

No part of me really wanted to go back to Phuket if I am being perfectly honest. But the idea of staying at a 5-star resort with Matt Kirkley was not something I was going to pass on. For those of you who don’t know Matt, we grew up playing soccer together and he now works in Muscat, Oman for Halliburton. I could literally comment on our resort, Le Meridien, forever. The shower, bed, gigantic pool, breakfast buffet, private beach, and a hundred other amenities all made for such a nice place to stay. After sleeping in glorified janitor’s closets for the past couple months, staying here with Matt was amazing. We went “mandem” (two guys on one scooter) on our 135cc hog and explored Southern Phuket. Matt kept saying how appreciative he was of me showing him around, but he really has no idea how nice that hotel was for me to stay at, incredible way to end the trip.

Heading back to Bangkok meant it was time to go home. With Ryan, Kelli, and Alex staying at Lebua, the Hangover 2 Hotel, I checked in to a hostel nearby, Saphaipae, and decided to keep doing my own thing for a few days. The day before leaving I headed north to Ayutthaya and saw the floating markets and reclining Buddha. This is definitely not Angkor Wat, but is pretty nice for Thailand and close to Bangkok so if you have a day to kill you should check it out.

My time in Asia has been a journey to say the least! I am emotionally, physically (I lost 17 lbs), and mentally drained from traveling and being away from home. I was tested almost every day by something here and did a poor job handling stress from time to time. However, I am a believer that everything happens for a reason and that many times good things come out of difficult situations. I definitely have some great things to go back to and see how the end up so I am excited about that. Coming home I am ecstatic to see my friends and parents! The past 3 months, even more so than Costa Rica have given me such an appreciation for Denver and my good friends there. So, if anyone has a job or place for me to live then let me know!

Until my next adventure and the next page of the book (check the quote at the top of the page),
BP