Today was a nightmare day. It started with a cold and flu that wouldn't go away, a half eight start. Believe me ut was a killer after not getting up before 12 fir the past month. The bus to the pier was a cattle like truck, but for people with wooden seats. The driver didn't understand there were people sat on wooden planks in the back that could feel everything. The cold gets worse and then the rain starts, but at least were allowed to dash for cover, by this time the waves were hitting us from the ground as they were crashing over the breakers. Perhaps a foreshadow it wasn't going to be the best day to go out to sea.
The boat was parked, but in the middle of the water, we had to wade, through the water that was becoming increasingly deep and board a wonky boat that was to become the worst journey id ever been on.
The tide was choppy, if you've ever had the experience of a long boat in Thailand you'll know they aren't the most stable wooden creations yet in a storm it was something else. They are long, hence the name but also very very narrow. By this time our tour guide, lets call him spiky because i forgot his name in the commotion was yelling to the asians about balance, do not move, stay there FOR BALANCE he yelled. The asians agreed among them ot was the best thing to listen to spiky. After about ten minutes of rocking, to ab extent i genuinely thought the boat would capsize, and everyone's earlier amusement at the rocking rollercoaster ride had turned to worry and a few oh my god im about to be sick everywhere faces, spiky appeared from his perch on the end of the boat if we were happy to cancel todays and try it again tomorrow. We wouldn't be able to land the boat on the shore anyway. I nodded eagerly, By this time id made my mind up i would do anything tk get back to land and never step foot on the boat again, i would tell my travel buddy that later, i think she wanted to di the trip more than i did anyway. The engine revved again, but in a straight line, after about five minutes spiky appeared from his perch to tell us, hong island is calm. We land. We land. So trip was commencing, the island might have been calm but the sea wasn't. It was the next ten minutes i genuinely started to fear for my well being. The boat leaned against the waves at such a high angle any more and it would have tipped. No good, no giid. Says spiky. He grabs his little Nokia again and starts yelling into it. I actually became quite fond of spiky. He was just a funny person to watch, he had a little duck waddle when he walked and being very short became even more amusing. His spiky hair got even funnier when it was wet. Just imagine in your head a short Thai punk rocker. Or google it, whatever. This time he announced the trip had to be cancelled, he was expencting q more dissapointed tone than he received i think, while everyone was like okay okay. Get me back to land. The boat journey back was as hellish as the one there. To add to the storm on the seq, it had started to rain torrentially and thus is the part where everyone just threw up.
I don't think ive ever been so glad to not be on a boat before, long tails are not my favourite and if you have the option. Take a speed boat, they're faster, and if you get caught in a storm a bit less hairy. Spiky apologised, some Europeans complained about the fact we didn't go back when he first said, because they had children waiting for then at home and we had a little laugh and a joke with some Indians who were actually very lovely.
But stop and think, if that boat had tipped, where would we be. Was i sure i could have swum from under it, in the chaos and not banged my head and knocked my self out. In general i do t really think like that, or id never do anything. But when you go on an organised tour like that, you don't expect to be put in a boat you genuinely think will capsize you.
And so begins the cattle ride of a journey back to the hotel, this is where spiky left us to deal with the other half of the group. The driver seemed to have realised his earlier mistake in driving like a maniac and it was actually quite gentle for a cattle like carrier. We got back to town. It wasn't until we were in our room i noticed the power was out, unsurprisingly. The wires here are mostly bear and at any time of day and night you can hear them sparking when you walk by them, if you're lucky you get to see the blue sparks! Hence every time in rains the power goes out, and i was starving. My stomach felt like an acid bowl, i hadn't eating for a while and the boat hadn't helped. This town turns to a ghost town when the power goes out. Everyone just stand around doing nothing, no shops, no food and no wifi, my god the horrors.
The boat was parked, but in the middle of the water, we had to wade, through the water that was becoming increasingly deep and board a wonky boat that was to become the worst journey id ever been on.
The tide was choppy, if you've ever had the experience of a long boat in Thailand you'll know they aren't the most stable wooden creations yet in a storm it was something else. They are long, hence the name but also very very narrow. By this time our tour guide, lets call him spiky because i forgot his name in the commotion was yelling to the asians about balance, do not move, stay there FOR BALANCE he yelled. The asians agreed among them ot was the best thing to listen to spiky. After about ten minutes of rocking, to ab extent i genuinely thought the boat would capsize, and everyone's earlier amusement at the rocking rollercoaster ride had turned to worry and a few oh my god im about to be sick everywhere faces, spiky appeared from his perch on the end of the boat if we were happy to cancel todays and try it again tomorrow. We wouldn't be able to land the boat on the shore anyway. I nodded eagerly, By this time id made my mind up i would do anything tk get back to land and never step foot on the boat again, i would tell my travel buddy that later, i think she wanted to di the trip more than i did anyway. The engine revved again, but in a straight line, after about five minutes spiky appeared from his perch to tell us, hong island is calm. We land. We land. So trip was commencing, the island might have been calm but the sea wasn't. It was the next ten minutes i genuinely started to fear for my well being. The boat leaned against the waves at such a high angle any more and it would have tipped. No good, no giid. Says spiky. He grabs his little Nokia again and starts yelling into it. I actually became quite fond of spiky. He was just a funny person to watch, he had a little duck waddle when he walked and being very short became even more amusing. His spiky hair got even funnier when it was wet. Just imagine in your head a short Thai punk rocker. Or google it, whatever. This time he announced the trip had to be cancelled, he was expencting q more dissapointed tone than he received i think, while everyone was like okay okay. Get me back to land. The boat journey back was as hellish as the one there. To add to the storm on the seq, it had started to rain torrentially and thus is the part where everyone just threw up.
I don't think ive ever been so glad to not be on a boat before, long tails are not my favourite and if you have the option. Take a speed boat, they're faster, and if you get caught in a storm a bit less hairy. Spiky apologised, some Europeans complained about the fact we didn't go back when he first said, because they had children waiting for then at home and we had a little laugh and a joke with some Indians who were actually very lovely.
But stop and think, if that boat had tipped, where would we be. Was i sure i could have swum from under it, in the chaos and not banged my head and knocked my self out. In general i do t really think like that, or id never do anything. But when you go on an organised tour like that, you don't expect to be put in a boat you genuinely think will capsize you.
And so begins the cattle ride of a journey back to the hotel, this is where spiky left us to deal with the other half of the group. The driver seemed to have realised his earlier mistake in driving like a maniac and it was actually quite gentle for a cattle like carrier. We got back to town. It wasn't until we were in our room i noticed the power was out, unsurprisingly. The wires here are mostly bear and at any time of day and night you can hear them sparking when you walk by them, if you're lucky you get to see the blue sparks! Hence every time in rains the power goes out, and i was starving. My stomach felt like an acid bowl, i hadn't eating for a while and the boat hadn't helped. This town turns to a ghost town when the power goes out. Everyone just stand around doing nothing, no shops, no food and no wifi, my god the horrors.
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