Day 38 - Tuesday, March 22 - travel to Pak Bara / Malaysia border run

Songthaew - the official name of the pick-up trucks that act as taxi's in parts of Thailand. The word Songthaew means two rows which refers to the two wooden benches that run down each side of this colorful wooden-body public transport vehicle.

I've been riding in these vehicles since I got to Thailand.

TODAY I ACTAULLY DROVE A SONGTHAEW. It was my first rite of passage as I continue my quest to become Thai.

Woke at 6:30A and packed my final things. Got the the breakfast area and ordered some corn flakes as the lady who has been making my daily apple shakes was not in yet. The milk for the cereal came in a glass mug beside the cereal. I don't know if the milk had been sitting out all night or it just came right from the cow. Being that I haven't seen a single cow on this island, my guess is that it was milked this morning from one of the many island cats who has recently given birth to what was probably their 14th litter this year. All in all, it was quite tasty!

Soon thereafter, the whole gang joined me for breakfast including Kim and Gail who came to see us off. Kim was sad to see us go as he now had noone to talk to aside from Gail and that isn't one of his favorite pasttimes.

At 9:30, we walked out to the beach, said goodbye to Kim and Gail, and hopped on a long tail boat that took us to the Ferry that was out in the middle of the ocean. Almost 2 hours later, we landed at Pak Bara and we said our goodbyes......for a day. We were going to be reunited tomorrow at Miami.

I found the office where I arranged my Malaysia border run with just before leaving last week for Ko Tarutao. Within minutes, I was whisked in a mini-bus and was on my way to Malaysia. 10 minutes later, I arived at a school and was switched over to a Songthaew. I was standing in the middle of a school "parking lot" and there were classrooms of kids standing in their doorways staring at me. I had no idea what was going on but I knew I was in good hands. From one of the doorways, Orawan appeared. She was the woman who I actually booked this day-trip with. "Welcome back from Tarutao", she said. She waved me over cause her students (apparently, she's also a teacher) wanted to meet me. I walked in her classroom and in unison, they said hello in Thai. I took some photos and we got in the truck and headed to the Malaysia border.

I was in the front seat with her and her 3 year old nephew, Tam, was sitting on one of the benches in the back, sipping a bottle of milk, no seatbelt, and nothing from preventing him from falling out. We drove the entire way to the border with him in the back. Midway there, he fell asleep on one of the benches and could have very easily just rolled out the back. She seemed not to care as this was normal.

Did my border run without any hassles and I'm now good to be in Thailand until April 20. I think this will be my last extension. On the way to the border, I was telling Orawan that I was in need of a new digital camera as mine took a fall in Lipe as I was taking a self portrait using the self timer a few days ago. The camera works but there is a defect in the lens and the photos have a big black smudge on them which don't make Thailand, or me, look as good as it should.

She offered to take me to Hat Yai, a big city about 1.5 hours from where we were. She said I should be able to find a new one there. So, off to Hat Yai we went but she was tired. She asked me if I wanted to drive and although hesitant, I quickly said ok. We stopped at a great park along the way and walked around. I took some photos and Tam and I bonded. I drove the songthaew for about an hour until we got close to the city as I didn't want to drive in a busy Thai city. It was a lot of fun and I may have found my calling if I end up moving here and becoming a Thai citizen. Either that or I can make mobiles and sell them at a night market. I found an electronics "shop" and found a very similar model to the one I had recently bought in LA. The memory cards are the same, the price was ok, and I was back in business.

Back on the road, it was now dark, and the 3 of us sat on the bench seat for the 2 hours back to Pak Bara. We arrived back at her office / house by the pier at 9:30P. I had planned on staying at a "guesthouse" in Pak Bara being that I wasn't going to be able to get to Lanta until tomorrow so as long as she had a room available in hers, it was perfect. She took me upstairs and at the top of the landing there were 2 mattresses on the floor. She opened a door at the top of the stairs and I then realized her guesthouse was actualy her "house" and I was sleeping in the one bedroom that seemed to be her and her husbands room. From what I could tell, she slept in that room with some kids and an aunt and uncle and some more kids slept on the mattresses outside that room.

I was so tired and in need of a shower so badly and for the first time since being in Thailand, I wasn't happy about my accomodations. The shower was downstairs basically in the back of the storefront and the floor of the store, now that it was nighttime, had blankets and kids strewn about watching TV. I told Orawan I was going to take a walk and I found "The Best Guest House" just down the block. Kim had told me to stay at this place but when Orawan said she had her own guesthouse, I figured I would just stay there.

I got back to the store / house / guesthouse and told Orawan I wasn't going to stay there and although she seemed slightly disappointed, she was fine, "made me" sit and eat dinner with her on her front stoop, and told me to be back at 8AM for my ride to Lanta. She was so great this whole day but I had to do what I had to do.

I took my bags down the road, checked into my little bungalow and showered. I was filthy and it felt great. This guesthouse is great if you ever find yourself stranded in Pak Bara for a night. Tomorrow I can finally get back to Lanta.