Disaster Strikes!
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
1
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Phuket, Thailand
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
So I arrived in Kata Beach this morning (in Phuket, Thailand). I took an overnight bus from BAngkok that should have taken 12 hours and for whatever reason it took about 17 hours. The first guesthouse I visited was full but the people there suggested another one close by. When I went over, a sketchy guy showed me a bungalow. The price was a bitmore than I wanted to pay and the guy seemed a bit seedy. I questioned taking the bungalow but I just didnt have it in me to keep looking for another place so I took it. About 5 minutes after I checked in I left my bungalow and noticed that my Scandinavian neighbor was doing cocaine on her front balcony. Of course I had to see tthis 5 minutes AFTER I decided to take the room. Seeing this didnt make me feel any better about staying at this place.
So I spent the day at the beach. It's a beautiful beach. One of the nicer ones I've seen. I actually had a good day. I ended up meeting an American lady who has been living here for 2 years and we chatted all afternoon on the beach. I am convinced she is some sort of escort for rich men. I could sense it. She told me all about her problems with men. I had to be Dr. Phil for the afternoon but it didnt bother me. It beat the regular traveler talks I've been having for the last 10 months (i.e. where have you been, where are you going next, etc). Our day together ended when she asked if I would join her for a late lunch but I refused. My radar said that although she was very beautiful, she seemed a bit shady. Im sure she was super surprised when I said I wasnt going to join her. Im sure she thinks I am gay. God I hope my radar didnt let me down! Anyhow, I am getting away from the point of my entry.
After leaving the beach, I spent a few hours walking around Kata and Karon Beach. I was checking out some other guesthouses that I could move into tomorrow. I returned to my guesthouse at about 7 pm. I had to walk past 2 bungalows to get to mine. The first bungalow had 2 pretty scandinavian girls. They were sitting on the balcony. I said hello. They said hello back. Then I walked past the second bungalow and saw another Scandinavian girl (the one I saw snorting cocaine earlier in the afternoon). I said hello. She said hello back. As I walked to my bungalow, I could see that my lock was unlocked. Shit! I could have sworn I locked the door before I left. I said a short prayer to God before I walked into the room and asked that my stuff still be in my room. I opened the door and struggled to finnd the light switch. It didnt matter. There was enough light for me to see that EVERYTHING was gone! My backpack was gone! The stash of souvenirs I bought that I hid in a corner of the room was all gone too. I let out the loudest "F&^KKKKKKKKKKK!" you could hear. I left my bungalow and the Scandinavian girls are like "What's wrong?". I was so angry and told them that all my stuff was gone. EVERYTHING! Then I started yelling out the name of the guesthouse owner. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!" I must have yelled out his name about 10 times. No one was coming. SO I walked down towards the reception area continuing to yell out his name. I was so pissed. I was already thinking aboiut calling my sister and having her wire me money through Western Union. Some lady was at reception and I was yelling "EVERYTHING IS GONE! MY PASSPORT! MY MONEY! MY CREDIT CARDS! MY CLOTHES! EVERYTHING!" The lady didnt know how to react. She pointed me to Eed's house. SO I walked towards his house and continued yelling out his name "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!" SOme people came out of their bungalows. One Thai guy came out and he asked me what happened. I told him "EVERYTHING IS GONE! MY PASSPORT! MY MONEY! MY CREDIT CARDS! MY CLOTHES! EVERYTHING!" He didnt know what to do either. He also pointed me to Eed's house. I walk into his house and see only his elderly mom and dad and I start telling them about what happened. I told them "EVERYTHING IS GONE! MY PASSPORT! MY MONEY! MY CREDIT CARDS! MY CLOTHES! EVERYTHING!" They both whip out their cell phones and start making calls. I told the elderly mom to come back to the bungalow with me. I walked back to my bungalow. Mom was far behind. I was walking too fast for her. As I looked at my bungalow from a distance, something occured to me. I had a thought that was worse than finding out that everything I had was stolen. Only one thing could have made me feel any worse than I was currently feeling. I stood there frozen looking at the bungalow I had walked into. The Scandinavian girls were just staring at me wondering why I just stopped walking and stared at my bungalow like a zombie. I really didnt know how to react as I was still thinking things over. I saw something that made me realize that DISASTER did in fact hit me and it was worse than getting my things stolen. To the right of my bungalow, there was something that would explain everything. It was.......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ANOTHER BUNGALOW!!!!!
Could it be? Did I walk into the wrong bungalow and just make a complete fool of myself? I was happy and also embarrased like never before. I walked slowly to the other bungalow. I still wasnt 100% that it was my bungalow. I have to admit that a part of me really wishes it wasnt. The lock was still there. It was locked. I put my key inside. I turned the key. The lock unlocked.
I was happy.
I was embarrassed.
I opened the door. My backpack was there.
I was happy.
I was embarrassed.
My bag of souvenirs was stored safely in the corner of the room.
I was happy.
I was embarrassed.
I am such a DUMBASS!
I know what story to tell when people ask me about my most embarrassing moment. I walked outside. The elderly mom was there. I told her what happened. She said something in Thai to her elderly friend. They laughed their heads off. I could also hear the Scandinavian girls laughing. DISASTER!
I stayed in my bungalow for a while. I was too embarrassed to walk back outside. I should check out really early tomorrow morning. I am so embarrassed.
Hey, it's good that I can laugh at myself though.
Dino Vagabond
