With only about 4 hours of sleep, I was amazed I woke up pretty refreshed. Whenever I have to travel early in the AM, I never sleep entirely the night before, freaked out I’m going to wake up late and miss my flight or something I guess. It was overcast today, and will probably rain a bit, but hopefully up north will be a little different. I was sad to say bye to Mike, but definitely had a good time in the week I was with him. Now it was time to be a big girl, be on my own, and head to Chiang Mai for a few days. I was getting used to Thailand a bit so I didn’t think I would have any problems, although a part of me was nervous, anxious, scared, yet proud to be adventurous for the next 7 days! I also wasn’t feeling as sick as the few days before – could’ve been the coning, or all the Benadryl, Motrin, and Cipro I was taking too!I got to the Kho Samui airport to take off from the island and couldn’t help but just go in the bathroom and cry for about 10min in the stall. I was so scared. But I managed to look myself in the mirror and tell myself to shut the fuck up and suck it up, I’m a big girl and I could do this! When I arrived at Bangkok airport though I was still a little teary eyed now and then – what can I say, I’m a very emotional person! I cry when I’m happy, sad, scared, etc. But for some reason, it just kept coming. I could feel a bit of a panic attack coming just from my shortness of breath, I guess i was mainly just scared – scared of being alone. And alone in so many other ways too…
At the airport in Bangkok, it was pretty confusing. Long lines of people, one agent saying the flight was delayed, one saying it wasn’t. The departure board saying one gate, another board showing another gate. It was a little hectic. Sure enough, the flight was definitely delayed AND there was a gate change! Two hours to kill so I headed over to the Bangkok Airlines lounge, knowing they had free Internet access, goodies to eat and drinks to consume. I must say, Bangkok Airlines rules! Not just because of their lounge, but even on the way from the island to Bangkok, it’s only a 50min flight and they served a full lunch and everything!
Finally time to catch the flight to Chiang Mai, I had to laugh going through the metal detector as the security guy saw my backpack and said “Yahoooo!” – an International icon… I felt proud! Haha… Flight was good – arrived in Chiang Mai with no problems. And I didn’t have to hassle the taxi fare to the hotel either, it’s a flat price from the airport to downtown. Got to the hotel (ride was a little freaky but at least he knew where he was going!) and as big as the room and bed was, the amenities were less to speak of. No towels, no toilet paper for the potty, and I was on the 3rd floor so had to lug all my stuff up by myself. I had read in my travel there was a night bizarre nearby so decided I’d go check it out. I needed a watch of some sort since I had lost my cell phone and had to have a way of knowing what time it was. And the guy at the hotel said to meet him at 8:00am the next morning to go over all the items I would need for the trekk. I had to make sure I woke up in time! The night bizarre was insane! Pretty much a big ‘ol swap meet of vendors selling all the same stuff, and bargaining like crazy to get you to buy their goods. I eyed a few things I would come back for and kept an ear out on prices so I knew not to get ripped off when I did came back. I also wandered around looking at everything, to see who had junk and who had quality (as best quality as possible I guess!). I bought a watch for $5, some cough medicine since I could feel a little dry throat (probably from all the exhaust in Thailand), and some strawberries and green tea for dinner. Then headed back to the hotel for a long overdue shower, with only my sarong to dry me off (thanks for the great tip Mike!) I finished off another chapter in my book and said goodnight.
