My last night in Kanchanaburi was a great end to my trip. I went out with everyone from the Jolly Frog and ended up back our trusty bar, playing Jenga and rounds of pool. I know how to play the game and I sometimes surprise myself at how good I am, although it was tonight was not the case. After failing miserably I went on to recover some dignity by being a master at Jenga. Leaving at closing time, we walked back towards the hostel. Across the road, in the dark of the night, we were summoned by a group of locals sat on plastic stools. We decided to check it out. The owner of the Sugar Lounge, appropriately named Sugar, was sat on the roadside with her staff, three of which were international: two American girls and one British. 6 local guys sat either side and a guy with an eye-patch sat next to Sugar. The one-eyed man was in fact the owner of the Jolly Frog and was a great character. Everyone spoke really good English even though they were all half-cut. Sugar opened up her bar and brought us all shots and beer. We proceeded to drink the bar dry, playing drinking games till 5am. Characters kept appearing from the nearby bars, including a blurry eyed Rasta. He was on hippy crack and was pretty incomprehensible, making for some interesting viewing. We all stumbled back as dawn was breaking. A well deserved sleep lay ahead.
I surfaced just before noon and made my way to the garden where everyone else was hanging out beneath the palm trees. We all made our goodbyes and I headed on out. I took an hour long bus drive to a nearby town and managed to catch the last minibus to Ayutthaya. Arriving in the evening I checked into a guest house called Nick's place. Realising I had run out of cash, I went to the cash point to withdraw some money. To my horror, my card had disappeared! Where could it have gone? Did I leave it in Kanchanaburi? Had it been stolen? I ran back to the guest house and they went out of their way to help me. They phoned the Jolly Frog first thing, but the card was nowhere to be seen. I brought another card with me, but it was back in Bangkok!! I panicked and became withdrawn and anxious. My flight was in 24 hours!
Will came to my rescue! I managed to borrow some baht to use the internet and managed to Skype him. It has always been difficult for us to coordinate times to speak, but he happened to be on the exact same time I was. Thank God. I asked him what to do, and he said he would transfer some money to Western Union. I was there the next day when the bank opened and rushed to the counter to collect my money. It was such a relief, but the whole ordeal had dampened my spirits. I no longer wanted to explore the former kingdom of Siam and its many temples so back I went, onto another minibus and back to Bangkok.
I had been travelling non-stop for 31 days. I had been in 4 countries, stayed in over 15 hostels, been to over 30 destinations and used almost every mode of transport to get there. I had hiked up mountains, traversed through wilderness, visited close to 100 temples and met over 100 new and exciting people. I walked, ran, cycled, jogged, fell, got up, scrambled, clambered and hiked. I learnt how to wake board, kayaked, swam and white water rafted. I was bitten, bruised, blistered and achy. I had been living on very little sleep and drank copious amounts of coffee. I had thrown up, passed out and had recurring travelers diarrhea. And you know what, it was worth every second! I ate great food, experienced some of the worlds wonders of nature and met people have inspired and transformed me. I am grateful to everyone and everything I encountered on my journey, good and bad!
Leaving was bitter-sweet, but I managed to 'pass the torch' as I left the mainland behind. I met Larkin in the airport. An American from Georgia, he was just starting his journey. I recounted my tails and ripped out my section on Thailand from the lonely planet to give to him. He bought me a beer. He made my 6 hour wait for check in seem like mere minutes. I know you have probably returned home now Larkin, but I hope Thailand was everything you had wished for.
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