Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

After about a week of exploration on the island of Koh Lanta and neighboring islands, we are ready to start our journey back North towards Bangkok, from where we all have different plans. (Ben is heading to London for a week of business meetings, I (PK) will take the night train to Chiang Mai and Adam will take the same train but get off sooner, at the historical city of Sukhothai, en route to Chiang Mai.)

First we take a bus ride for a few hours to the town of Krabi.

Life is interesting, the less baggage, the more so ~ We have one small backpack with each of us (Ben and I have left our 2 other bags in Bangkok.) Traveling really light feels great.  It really is interesting. I am down to 2 tshirts, 2 pairs of pants and a dress, toiletries, swim suit, sandals, my boots and a few multi use scarves. I don’t miss the stuff in my bag in Bangkok. The less we have the easier it is to be more mobile and the freer we feel. I realize how little we really need.

Life is interesting, but never more so than as a nomad ~ I have always had a yearning and a determination to travel without time restrictions. At first it can feel rather strange to have no home base. But as with anything, one gets used to it and I do enjoy this nomadic lifestyle. We are pretty good at making ourselves feel at home wherever we are. When we first started traveling I missed my cats ~ I still do, but along our travels we have had many a kitty cat snuggle up to us at night and Koh Lanta in particular has some very affectionate cats! i miss my kids too ~ so having Adam join us for a piece of our travel is a treat indeed.

Life is interesting, but not all adventures are whizz bang! ~ While reading about Krabi, I discover that there are hot springs in the area! Yay!  I (PK) love hot springs! (We had an incredible experience staying at the hot springs in Ecuador in 2009 ~ See entry http://greenglobaltrek.blogspot.com/2009/09/volcanic-hot-springs-in-andes.html ) Adam on the other hand, cannot understand how anyone would want to go into water which is even hotter than the already scorching temperature of the air outside! We rent motorcycles near our hotel and Ben and I head out to find the hot springs. Adam stays in Krabi to explore the day markets and sample more varieties of curry and other yummy Southern Thai dishes.  The hot springs are very small and not much to “write home about”, but make for a pleasant soak and lunch before returning to Krabi for our next bus trip to Surat Thani.

Life is interesting, the high road and the low road ~ From the town of Surat Thani, before continuing to Bangkok, Ben and I are going to get two days of severe pampering on Koh Samui island at a very luxurious hotel with green sustainable practices which has offered us a complimentary stay in exchange for my writing a review.  Talk about going from “rags to riches.” The interesting thing about going very rustic, is that it’s such a huge treat to stay somewhere luxurious afterwards.

Life is interesting, and sometimes a bit dangerous ~ The “bus” is a large van with four rows of seats. What they call a “mini bus.” This thing is flying it is going so fast. When it starts to rain hard and we are in the middle of a downpour, the driver speeds up instead of slowing down. At this point it is definitely scary. Without a doubt an extremely dangerous ride.  Whew! We are pretty happy to get off that bus when we arrive in Surat Thani, just as dusk is turning into night.

Life is interesting, but you gotta be flexible ~ We wake up early the next morning as we have a bus to catch to the ferry to the island of Koh Samui. (Adam has already taken the night train to Bangkok). As we are waiting for the bus to arrive, Ben is not feeling well. He has a fever and clearly there is no sense in heading out to an island, pampering and tempting as it might be, with him being suddenly sick. Ten minutes before the bus leaves we get a refund and book ourselves onto a 9 hour train ride to Bangkok, which leaves in under 2 hours time. We know we have a few more days to use at our initial home exchange apartment in BKK where we have left our bags, and we make the decision to go and “crash” there till Ben feels better. (We have  to be in Bangkok anyway a few days later for Ben’s flight to London and my train to Chiang Mai.)

On the train, Ben sleeps almost the whole way and has a high fever. Upon arrival in Bangkok we jump into a taxi, check online to see if there is a note from Adam to say he arrived safely. There is and he did, but he is sick too! By the time he got off the train in Bangkok, he had a high fever and remembering talk of Dengue fever on Koh Lanta, got himself to the nearest hospital, got a blood test and discovered that he does indeed have Dengue!

Aahh Huh, so THAT’s what Ben has! No wonder he has such a high fever. We write back to Adam telling him we are NOT being pampered in Koh Samui as Ben is sick too, and not only that, but are also in Bangkok and on our way to our comfy earlier home exchange. An hour later Adam has left the hostel and is back in the apartment with us. He has pills from the doctor and instructions for recovery: rest, rest and fluids.

OK…. change of plans here.

Life is interesting. Things work out! ~ We read up on Dengue Fever (also known as “Breakbone fever”) and realize that we need at least another week in Bangkok for Ben and Adam to rest and recover. Ben cancels his trip to London (bummer) and Adam and I obviously delay our departures… I write to and secure another home exchange in Bangkok we were offered earlier and luck being on our side, it is available and offered to us for ten days. Very lucky to have a home exchange apartment to go to for a week of rest and recovery.

So here we are… in a lovely condo with all the comforts we could wish for. Comfy beds, TV, Wifi, A.C.  (and even a pool), and feeling most grateful to our home exchange host for this timely welcome exchange. Nothing else to do but hunker down and take care of the guys with the Dengue!!!