Regardless of these spoiled first-world complaints, I cannot say that I am charmed by the islands. It could be the weather dampening my mood (forgive the pun) but I am not really sure what all the fuss is about. From the way people talked about the islands I envisioned crystal blue waters, golden soft sands, and beautiful rock faces and while there might be elements of these things, they are not exactly predominant. Especially with the weather being unfavorable, there is little else to do but eat and drink and wait to do it all over again. To say the least, that can get old pretty fast so one thing we did do was go to the gym a few times which felt really great! Traveling for three months is definitely not the way to stay in shape or eat healthy (I can't remember the last time I ate a salad!).
Traveling to Koh Phangan today was not the most pleasant experience I have ever had. To start, we had met some really great people the night before and had stayed up way to late as Josh was enjoying singing ACDC at the bar and we both were interested in hearing more about Dubai where they live. We woke up to the worst rains that we had seen yet; we weren't even sure that the boats would be leaving the winds were so bad! Being that I am also prone to motion sickness, it did not seem wise to be venturing out in a rocky boat either! Nonetheless, the boats were running and a taxi driver made way too much money off us driving us to the pier and sending us on our way. The boat was laughable it was so small but the price was right and it was leaving right away so who were we to complain? It was mostly packed with beer slogging tourists of the teenage affliction and we took the only available seats left which afforded us to be dripped on so heavily that we were soaked upon arrival. With the waves throwing us this way and that, I had to concentrate very hard with the mantra in my head, "I will not get sick, I will not get sick...". Honestly the old, groaning boat was a bit of a nightmare for me as I was wet, cold, nauseous, and more than a little fearful as it seems I may have a slight fear of capsizing in the middle of the ocean (oh the things you learn about yourself whilst traveling)! The only remaining question is how shall we return?
We are cursing ourselves slightly for making this decision. The reason we initially came was for the infamous full moon party of which we have heard nothing but horror stories since and hardly have an interest in going anymore. Looking around on the ferry today we could bear witness to all the party hopefuls and I'm not entirely sure we will be up for it. Of course we are game for a good party but the idea of 5000 people on the beach obliterated by drugs and alcohol, throwing up on themselves, and pissing in the ocean does not sound like a good time! Nor does being drugged and robbed or having your hotel room ransacked, all normal occurrences we are told. Unfortunately we also had to book our hotel for four nights for the privilege of joining the debauchery so we loathe to leave early and lose the money but fortunately we booked outside of the full moon party area which allows us to leave the teeny bopper scene behind for awhile. Actually, I will take that comment back because as I wrote it I can hear the person next door vomiting. Lovely. We will keep you posted on what we decide.
Part of the problem too is a feeling of weariness. Especially with the rain and the lack of adventure, sometimes a part of me craves a home again. This is not to say that I would give up the rest of our trip but after three months of traveling, I am wishing for the comforts of home and especially that of a white fluffy guy named Diego! Living out of a backpack can feel very freeing but also stifling in the same regard; I am sure never to wear these backpacking clothes again I will be so sick of them! Sometimes when we are so busy with planning things and seeing sights or activities, it is easier to forget about any ounce of homesickness but being idle allows all those feelings to pop up.
Lately we have been missing the challenge of India and I am so regretful that we couldn't make a trip to Cambodia work. The flights were insanely expensive and the one affordable flight was impossible to book with a foreign credit card (you could not pay cash) even through a travel agency! At the time we didn't think traveling by land would be worth it but now I'm not sure. That has been a major disappointment especially now as we sit on these drenched islands trying to figure out what to do with ourselves. One thing we have learned is to plan better for Bali and that we may not want to spend much time on beaches at all or certainly not in touristy areas! We are thinking about going to Lombok and Java as well and we are getting excited about that as we have a lot of spare time to research them! Thailand has been very interesting and offered some unique experiences and highlights like the tigers but I think we will be ready to go on December 4th and looking forward to some new adventure!
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