So the two flights out - one to Dubai, then from Dubai to Singapore - actually went pretty quick, this was a result of our connecting flight being late, leading to a sprint across the airport (interrupted briefly by Jess needing a cigarette = us spending a tense few minutes in the most bizarre smoking lounge which was full of men, leading to my paranoia that we had breached some sexist Dubai law) the journey was not helped however by the kind man in front of me who proceeded to recline his seat all the way and then thrash about as if he was enduring an exorcism. I don't know what it is about me on planes but I always get THE most oblivious seat-reclining, frequent-farting person in front of me.
Enough with the plane glamour, we arrived in Singapore somewhat delirious but totally excited and were greeted by Jess' cousin, Nat, who whipped us into a taxi and made us right at home in her beautiful apartment in Keppel Bay. (which just happened to be one of the nicest places to live in Singapore) We spent the day walking around Singapore which I'll admit is a bit of a blur due to jet lag - that night we were both given a melatonin and slept for a straight 14 hours.
The following night is up there as one of the most bizarre nights of my life. One of Nat's neighbours was celebrating her birthday and invited us along, so we met them at a Mexican bar called Lucha Loco on Duxton Hill, Singapore. After numerous tequila shots and some nachos, the congregation were up in front of us doing the conga out of there - we had no choice but to join the back and wonder what the hell was happening. Getting into a minibus - which turned out to actually be a party bus blasting out Michael Jackson with laser lights that made it look like pyrotechnics were going off - we took a trip through town. We disembarked outside a closed shopping mall. Feeling slightly tipsy and hazy from the jet lag, we followed the party into the empty shopping mall and got into a lift - we then went through a door into the craziest place ever. It held about 60 rooms all of which you could hire out for kareoke.
60 rooms.
Available to hire
For kareoke.
ka-re-oke.
Isn't that the most brilliant idea you have ever heard of?
Needless to say, it was a crazy night fueled by drinking and screaming to the likes of wonderwall and dancing in the moonlight with people I'd met about 4 hours earlier.
The following day, we attended a boozy brunch at the Grand Hyatt hotel which had free flow champagne and selected cocktails as well as a buffet featuring food from all over the world for 3 hours. There we got chatting to a New Zealand businessman and his friends - everyone in Singapore seems to either own, direct, or manage a company. This chat went on to take a spiritual level thanks to the free flow of alcohol and Jess and I somehow found ourselves discussing our supernatural experiences with Bernice, one of the businessmen's beautiful Asian girlfriend - yet again in a bizarre smoking room.
We spent the next day sweating out our hangovers by walking around Singapore and introducing ourselves to the MRT - the Singapore equivalent of the subway or tube. That night Jess and I walked over from Nat's apartment to a bar on the harbour and talked under the lit up sky scrapers that showered the sea in tiny flickering jewels. There was something about Singapore that made me feel completely at home, it is the most lush, tropical city that I have ever experienced and you almost feel like you are a VIP wherever you walk.
The next morning, we were off to Phuket. I had these images embedded in my brain of Thailand, a remote paradise, completely serene and chilled out. Let me tell you all of this was shattered into thousands of pieces upon our arrival in Patong. Scooters and motorbikes - everywhere. Telegraph poles with wires overlapping, dangling all tangled up like a ball of wool gone wrong, letting out the occasional spark as a massive 'SCREW YOU' to the health and safety laws that us Brits are so accustomed to. A friendly Aussie on our minibus told us all about the infamous Bangla Road which is essentially a long strip of bars and clubs with a dash of ladyboys, he also told us that everyone beeps their horn at the top of the hill going into the city in respect of some belief or god. We found our hotel, Patong Heritage, which was suprisingly luxe despite our surroundings and then immediately made our way out for food. All in all Patong is a crazy blur of excessive drinking, heavy warm tropical rain, Thai people trying and trying again to lure you into their shops,bars or taxis, Australians, and finally a smidge of culture, the temple of Wat Chalong.
Then we were off again, in a taxi to Phuket Rassada Pier, to catch the ferry to Phi Phi. And that is where it happened. Jess and I grabbed seats right at the front on the deck, Jess suffered with sickness and I looked out to the horizon, feeling completely content and amazed at life, amazed that I was here, on the other side of the world, on a ferry to paradise. The crossing was slightly bumpy and so we kept getting sprayed which admittedly I quite enjoyed in the intense heat. Someone behind me let out an expletive and I completely stiffened. I knew that voice. It couldn't be. I turned my head slightly and knew. Sitting back down next to Jess, I said as calmly and as casual as could be "Jess, don't freak out, my ex is behind us."
Yes.
My ex-boyfriend.
Who I hadn't seen in 2 years.
After I basically stamped all over his heart by ending the relationship.
You just couldn't write this.
If I wasn't feeling sea sick before I most definitely was now, I asked myself why the hell had this happened? What were the odds? I tried to think of a reason and failed, settling with the resolution that it must be pure coincidence. Jess on the other hand found the entire situation hysterical.
We walked to our hotel off the ferry, a short walk along the beach, I was trying to take in the pure paradise in front of me but my head was a complete blur, and the past was doing laps in my brain. Mama Beach Residence, our hotel, turned out to be the most awful wi-fi spot on planet earth and so we went for a walk and ended up trekking up to the viewpoint in flip-flops. As expected, the viewpoint was amazing, but it showed me just how small the island was, which caused me once again to question why fate had landed me there with my ex boyfriend. That night I had the opportunity to answer those questions myself. We happened (by chance, right?) to be in the same bar and he luckily had the nerve to tap me on the shoulder and we ended up chatting and making amends, which got a lot off my conscience and allowed me to ask how his family was, something that I had actually wondered for the last 2 years. That night we also met a girl called Anna, originally from Estonia who had been travelling mainly alone for the last 2 and a half years, she immediately inspired me and I also recognized her from our ferry trip over, we partied with her in Loh Dalam Bay on the beach and got slightly too intoxicated which led to me and Jess getting matching traditional bamboo tattoos, a crescent moon on our right ankles. (Looking back at the pictures our tattoo artist looked like a complete psycho and like he had possibly killed a few people.)
While in PhiPhi we went on the Shangri La boat party which I added to my most bizarre experience list. Owned by a man aged approximately 64 called Dennis, who called me Blue Eyes and offered me a job, it was the craziest boat trip off Phi Phi. There was unlimited alcohol and shots flying about and a 'sea jacuzzi' which I imagined to be an actual jacuzzi on board but I was so wrong. The sea jacuzzi was a net suspended from an arm on the side of the boat that you jumped into, supervised by a Swedish guy with the looks of Bradley Cooper called Jimmy who was working his last shift, returning home to his girlfriend much to the disappointment of many girls on board. This news immediately struck me right where it hurt, and I realized how much I missed Kai, and how I knew for definite that he was the one I wanted by my side for the rest of my life, to explore and adventure. Despite this sudden home sickness I was feeling, when we moored up just inside Maya Bay I threw myself into the water, enjoying the feeling of the warm sea and the numbness from the alcohol, we took a longtail over to shore and paid 200 baht each to visit the site of 'The Beach', here we had a sandfight in the shore leading to Jess getting sand in her eyes, don't ask. We ended our short stay on Phi Phi by watching an amazing fireshow at a bar called Carlitos, if you ever visit - that is the fireshow to watch.
Our final stop in Thailand was at a hotel called the Tubkaak Boutique Resort, Krabi. This was a ferry trip away from Phi Phi and then a short taxi drive. It was the real Thailand I had imagined, the hotel was like a retreat, it was in a secluded area with its own private beach and the room had an outdoor shower and sunken bath. It was pure paradise and bliss. We spent our two days here relaxing around the pool or on the beach, looking out to the horizon which was an endless expanse of blue, with the shadow of faraway islands just visible.
Then we returned to the urban jungle (both words applicable) of Singapore, reunited with Nat and her husband and their adorable 18 month year old Freya, Upon our return I think both me and Jess realized how much we were going to miss all of them, not to mention the amazing places we had visited. We ended our stay on a high, with a visit to Universal Studios on the island of Sentosa, and an amazing meal at P.S Cafe in Singapore, followed by a drink at Potato Headed Folk, a quirky bar with four floors, unfortunately we couldn't sit on any roof terraces because of a dangerous PSI reading, meaning the air was too polluted for us to breathe. This was, and is caused every year by private companies in Indonesia burning down parts of rainforest to make way for factories, and also sometimes by farmers so that the crops grow back better. Despite the Singapore government being in uproar and trying to reach an agreement, nothing seems to be able to put a stop to it.
The journey home was met with mixed feelings. I obviously didn't want to leave because of the delights of studying for a law degree waiting for me but I longed to see Kai, my family and his family again. And now, sat at home, having been reunited with everyone and brought back to reality, I miss it so much, despite the sleeping on Dubai airport floor and the seemingly endless travelling, I just want to carry on, to see the next place, which actually, is Budapest on Sunday morning!
Currently, I'm living my own personal dream of travelling from place to place, but I know this is going to come to an abrupt end so that I can finish my last year at university. But this trip has shown me that if you want to go, you just have to get out there, we met so many people that had just been travelling for years, completely alone, and what's more, it is so easy to get a job in paradise, if anyone reading this has plans to go but is too scared, please go, just do it, you will never actually be alone because it is impossible not to get talking to people who are on the same wavelength as you, just trying to break out of the rat race and enjoy being young.
Some of the pictures are on my instagram and i'm planning on uploading a video compilation to youtube. Thanks for reading, stick with me for more travelling and waffle about this little life i'm living.
No comments:
Post a Comment