Backpacker’s Worst Nightmare

One of my worst nightmares about traveling alone is turning up in a new city late at night with no place to stay. Thus far, I’ve been able to avoid this by making sure that my transportation (be it plane, train, bus, van or tuk-tuk) arrives during daylight. Unfortunately, sometimes fate takes the matter out of your hands and you end up living a backpacker’s worst nightmare.

I booked my transportation from Ko Lipe to Ko Samui through my accommodation like I’ve done many times before. The journey would be long, but the all-inclusive ticket would take me literally from one side of Thailand to the other via long-tail boat, ferry and minivan, several times over. It seemed understandable that the length of my trip would be upwards of 8 hours, especially when so many modes of transport had to link up.

If all went well I’d meet up on Ko Samui with Franzi for dinner. Too bad the travel gods saw it fit for me to experience the backpacker’s worst nightmare. Midway through the journey, the minivan broke down. This left us stranded at a roadside shop for hours in the heat. I’m thankful that we even made it to the small store so food, water and toilets were available. It would’ve been much worse if we had to pull over on the dirt shoulder and pee in the bushes.

After what seemed like ages (the heat really messed with your mind) of watching other minivans come and go, our relief transportation finally arrived. We piled into the new minivan and sped off trying to make up for lost time. As we drove, the afternoon’s setting sun greeted us with brilliant colors.

In the end, it was no use. When we reached Surat Thani, it was nearly 9 p.m., and they dropped me off near the ferries stands for the islands. Unfortunately, no ferries leaving from this dock went to Ko Samui, and the next boat for Ko Tao didn’t leave till after midnight.

After wandering aimlessly looking for someone who spoke English (who didn’t want to sell me a ferry ticket), some guys finally pointed me in the direction of a hotel. I was beat after such a long day and just wanted a shower. According to the locals, there was a hotel a few blocks away from the water’s edge, so I headed off into the dark night in search of shelter.

I don’t mean to make this sound so dramatic, but after the day I had, I was really on edge. Normally, I’m not so suspicious of the locals, but I was obviously not from around here. Maybe they were leading me astray? Maybe someone would jump me once I hit the darkened streets leading to the “hotel?”

It was a scary three-block trek during which time I constantly looked around. My eyes and ears were hyper aware of everything around me. After all, a single girl arriving in the middle of the night in a strange town is an easy target, eh? Finally, I reached what seemed like a major street. I couldn’t really tell which way I was supposed to go. All the signs were in Thai, of course, and totally undecipherable. I approached two women leaving an ATM and asked if they knew where I could find a hotel. They pointed down the street, and I hoped they were right.

Eventually I found a very Western-looking hotel lit up in bright lights. I fumbled through check in as the front desk staff didn’t speak much English. I assume the hotel was used for local business travelers and didn’t see many backpackers. When I got to my room, it was like I was in heaven. The hotel offered modern amenities and everything was sleek. It could easily have fit in any major U.S. city but probably cost only 20 percent of the price.

After such a long day, I had a hot shower to wash off the day’s dirt and grime. The air conditioner blew hard and cold and quickly relieved me from the effects of Thailand’s humidity. I plopped on the bed with Thai TV softly playing in the background and happily rewarded myself with a small tub of ice cream. Not such a nightmare after all!

Happy Days at Happy Day Hostel and Guest House

After a splendid two nights surrounded by rice fields, Reena and I returned to the heart of Bali’s tourist area. We avoided Kuta and opted for a place in Seminyak called Happy Day Hostel and Guest House.

We were expecting to book into a dorm room, but the hostel staff suggested we stay in a one-bedroom apartment instead. The price per person for the apartment wasn’t too much more than the dorm room, and after seeing the place, how could we say no?

The one-bedroom apartment was huge, especially since there were only two of us. It had a full kitchen, living and dining area and patio. Located to the right of the entryway was a full bath. Best of all, the air conditioner blew cold! It felt like we were staying at an expensive vacation home and not at a hostel.

The staff at Happy Day Hostel and Guest House were really nice and very friendly. When they saw us, they asked how our day had gone or suggested things for us to do.

After Reena left, I stayed there for another week but moved into the dorms. The dorms were clean and spacious and the air conditioner ran all the time (unlike at some other hostels). I was able to do a load of laundry (by hand as they don’t have a machine) and the staff even shared their lunch with me one day. I had a nice time at Happy Day Hostel and Guest House and would stay there again.

My First Couchsurfing Experience

I have been a member of Couchsurfing for a long time, but I’ve never been active in the community. Most of the time I end up staying at hostels or with friends so I’ve never tried it out. However, when my friend Reena told me she’d meet me in Ubud and asked if I wanted to stay with a local, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to fully engage with the Balinese culture. So, through Couchsurfing, Reena arranged for us to stay with Sana in Ubud. This was my first Couchsurfing experience and I didn’t know what to expect.

When Reena and I arrived at Sana’s house, he showed us where we would be staying. The room looked like it was his storage room and was really dirty. There was a mattress on the floor (which in all fairness probably wasn’t out of the norm for the area) with a fitted sheet that didn’t fit and two pillows that looked extremely old and dirty. The walls of the room were supposed to be light blue but there was so much dirt and grime stuck to them that everything was darker. Above us, there was no ceiling and we clearly saw the beams of wood holding up the roof. I sincerely hoped there were no heavy rains while we were at Sana’s place as I was afraid there might be leaks in the roof.

But, when I saw the state of the bathroom, my concerns over the bedroom vanished and were quickly replaced. A squat toilet and two ceramic tiled tubs were in the bathroom. The tubs could be filled with water, but only the smaller one was in use. This tub was next to the squat toilet, and you used the plastic bowl floating inside tub as a ladle to flush the toilet as well as wash yourself clean. You also used the same tub and bowl for water when you showered or brushed your teeth!

Well, I’ve been traveling for a while now but I have not been confronted with anything like this before. Over time I’ve learned to adapt to new situations, but this one just floored me. On one hand, I know living as a local is an amazing way to truly experience the culture and society in which you visit. But this experience really went beyond my comfort zone. I was ill at ease with how unsanitary things were but not sure how to react to it. In the end, Reena and I decide to continue staying with Sana for the rest of the days because we felt it would be rude to leave.

While we were at Sana’s home, we met Caroline, a French Couchsurfer who was traveling through Asia. I didn’t see what type of accommodation she had, but I’m sure her room was cleaner and she had a proper bed to sleep in. Caroline even asked to extend her stay with Sana while Reena and I couldn’t wait to leave.

All in all, my first Couchsurfing host really created some unforgettable experiences for me. I wouldn’t say they were pleasant experiences but they were definitely memorable. I’m not sure if I’ll try Couchsurfing again any time soon though as I really think I need a bit of time to recover from the shock of it all.