It looked like I was in a trance. The neurons in my brain kept jumping from one plan to another. I was making a list, mentally, of all that I would do on my vacation. I was pretty excited about the tour. The countdown had begun the day I booked the tickets for the entire family. And when it came down to zero we were all set.
Bags. Check!
Camera. Check!
Tickets. Check!
Passport. Check!
There's more!
Unending Immigration. Check!
Sleep Deprived. Check!
Dunking Camera Lens. Check!
Sea Sickness. Check!
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?????
Oh yes. I checked off a few things that were far off my imagination on my trip to Thailand. For starters an immigration that lasted for over four hours starting 2 a.m. Meanwhile I witnessed varied levels of patience amongst my fellow humans. It was interesting to note how different people reacted to the same situation while making the same mistakes as everyone around. Anyway, by the time we successfully crossed the bar we were beyond exhausted.
As I rested my head on the window of our cab I was relieved. The worst is over. Little did I know there's more.
We were headed to our first destination, Pattaya, and guess what? We were lost in the beautiful city. Going round and round we somehow managed to make it to our resort (thanks Google Maps). A shock awaited us.
The apartment wasn't available for another 2-3 hours. Bingo! Hungry and tired we took shelter at the reception. The nice and comfy sofas were calling on to us. Sleep took over social etiquette and my sister and I lay flat on the sofas, sleeping heartily. I wondered if this was the last straw and everything would finally be nice and vacay. And bam!
After we reached our room something did not feel right. Of course! I had booked a two bedroom apartment for four people and we were introduced to a one bedroom apartment. After much investigation it looked like it was a goof up on the app side where I made the reservation. None of us had the power to fight so we made peace with what we got. A two bedroom apartment would be available the next day so till then we really didn’t have a choice. The silver lining was we were together in one room laughing at the turn of events. By the time we settled it was around 4pm. As hungry as we were we enjoyed a few slices of bread and butter and drifted into our slumber.
It was late in the evening by the time I woke up. I saw grocery bags on the dining table. My parents had managed to find food. Given that we are vegetarians, having found food for ourselves in a land famous for sea food was a jackpot. For backup we had our two-minutes solution, Maggi! After a happy meal we sat down to make the touring plan.
Tickets were booked for Coral Islands Tour with Indian Khana the next day. Mistake, big mistake!
Next morning sleep was reluctant to leave my eyes. I managed to pull myself out of the couch and got ready quickly. We made our way to the Pattaya beach from where we would go to the Coral Islands via a boat. So far so good. While we were waiting for the boat I pulled out my camera to capture the beautiful beach. And chapak!
My kit lens fell right out of the camera bag into the salty water. My dad managed to grab it but it was too late. Sand had found a new home in the crevices around the lens. I was too scared to even test if it’s working. People around me suggested I put it in rice. But my mind was numb.
Things were happening too fast. The boat arrived. We were rushed to the boat. While the water made it hard to get on to the boat the steps on the boat kept hitting my leg. It wasn’t a smooth ride. Word of advise, if you ever visit Coral Islands travel light, super duper light. And try to keep things above your waist because waist down chances are nothing would be left dry.
Trip to Coral Islands included two activities stop over before reaching the island. At the first stop my world was swirling. I looked around, half the people seemed dizzy. Maybe it was the ride or the fact that the stop we were at wasn’t stationary. It was dancing in the water. I wanted to go back. This wasn’t the vacation I had in mind. It was turning into a nightmare.
As we were forced to the next stop via a speed boat which took my guts for a ride, a few people began throwing up. I was trying my best to not follow through. At the next stop, more than the activities people were trying to recover from the speed boat ride. Everyone was calming down for a bit. A few even slept on the benches provided. Call it sea sickness or body reacting to sleep deprivation the tour sure wasn’t pleasant.
As we finally reached the Coral Islands I couldn’t believe my eyes. People were walking on the sea waves.
I could see myself drown any second as I walked on to the path dancing to the tunes of the waves. It was unimaginably scary. We were laughing, the kind of laugh where you know death is near and you can’t do anything about it. You just pray to get through. And if not you know you’re with your family in your final moments. Exaggeration much? Well that’s how scared I was, honestly.
The Coral Islands were mesmerizing. The water was clear, the beach was clean. More than anything everything was still. Finally nothing was moving while sitting or standing. My internal system achieved peace. After the torturous journey I felt sane again. And as I was cherishing my sanity it was time to go back. Back through the same path.
The boat ride back to the starting point was a half an hour long journey. The torture began. This time over it was harder to stop myself from throwing up. I did the one thing I knew would work for me. I closed my eyes and chanted Gayatri Mantra all the way back. Superstitious much? Well it works. Try it sometime. Word of advise, never travel in the sea sleep deprived. You might end up throwing your guts out.
The tour came to end. We were taken to a restaurant for the much awaited Indian Khana. At this point I had no expectations. I just wanted to go back and sleep. And here was our silver lining. It was authentic, simple, paisa wasool Indian Khana. We wanted nothing more. We relished the food and ate to our heart’s content. I felt alive again.
Back at the resort we mulled over the chaos and laughed at the great turn of events. It’s funny how the most unexpected twists make the happiest memories.
As it was New Year’s Eve we had a hard time getting food delivered to the resort. We welcomed the New Year with my sister’s experimental Mac & Cheese.
The New Year was very kind to us. No more twisted surprises. We relaxed on the private beach of the resort soaking in the beauty of the sunset and starry night sky. Toured around the city and the floating market. Enjoyed our stay in Bangkok. Shopped in the night market. The journey had been like a sine curve, with peaks on both sides. So far it had been moving down. And now the sine curve was moving upwards.
As it was time for the vacation to end, it was time for the four of us to go our three separate ways, treasuring the memories of this twisted yet amazing vacation. The sine curve was now moving downwards, to come up again soon. Until next time!
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