The difference between my journal entries from the beginning of my trip to the end are quite the comparison. In the beginning my writing is focussed on how intrigued I am by everything I see, which don't get me wrong never really went away. But by the end of my trip, my journal entries were geared towards what I was feeling in that moment rather than what I was seeing and doing.
Regardless, I thought I'd start off the journal entry posts with one of my favourite stories from my trip. It happened on my very first night in Bangkok. It's ok to laugh at me. I was laughing at me too.
"May 31, 2016"
I've been in Bangkok for two days and a lot has happened in a short amount of time. The first day was pretty much a write off due to jet lag. After that I met a lot of people really quickly. I am surprised by how many people are also travelling alone. It seems to me that Bangkok is really just an international hub. People coming and going every which way you look. The first person I bonded with and started hanging out with a guy named Griffin, who is also Canadian. I mean he's from Regina so I guess that counts (also everyone mishears him when he says where he's from, you can guess what they hear, and it's hilarious). Anyway, we hung out all day but were both still very jet lagged so it was lights out for us by 8pm.
Now this story. This fucking story is the weirdest shit that has ever happened to me. Imagine a dorm room with 22 beds, 2 bunk beds in each "room" of the huge room, separated only by curtains. I'm sleeping on the top bunk, and Griffin is sleeping on the bottom bunk across from me, our new friend Leo is sleeping beneath me and there's a random girl across from me.
Around 6am I awoke to a feeling of sudden weight at the foot of my bed. I sit up slightly and see a girl sitting on the edge of my bed hanging her pants to dry on the curtain rod that hung above my bed. I thought it was the girl from the bed across from me but when I looked she was sleeping soundly. So I thought "Ok, weird, but she'll leave". I then noticed that she wasn't wearing ANYTHING on her bottom half. Naked as a newborn. I wasn't sure how to handle it so I decided not to. I laid back down and pretended to sleep until she left. Only she DIDN't LEAVE. All of a sudden I feel my covers getting pulled back and I look up and she's sitting right beside me trying to get into bed with me! All I'm thinking is what the fuck. I've never seen this girl before in my life. So I looked at her, she looked at me, and the conversation went a little something like this:
Me: Um, what are you doing?
Her: What?
Me: What. Are. You. DOING?
Her: Oh, I'm just trying to sleep.
Me: *WTF face* Uh, do you not have a bed?
Her: Oh...no.
Me: Yeah.... no...
And that was it. Off she went. Oh the best part? She left her pants hanging on the curtain rod! They were there for the rest of my time at the hostel. I don't know where she went or if she ever found some pants, but whoever and wherever she is, I wish her the best.
3 months of travelling and one of the craziest things that happened occurred on my very first night in a hostel. After talking with a few people we came up with a couple of reasons for why this happened. 1) She hooked up with some guy who then told her to get lost. Being drunk and probably lost, she figured a bed with a girl was probably a safe bet. Sorry, it wasn't. 2) She was staying in one of the other dorm rooms and somehow wandered into ours after a night of partying thinking my bed was hers. And 3) It's Bangkok. Anything can happen.
I still find this story ridiculous and difficult to believe but let me assure you that it is every bit true. You really never know what can happen in a hostel, especially in a crazy place like Bangkok! I've had some other strange experiences in hostels but none of them top this and in my years to come I'm not sure anything ever will.
It will forever be one of my favourite stories to tell and I'm pleased to share it here with you. I hope it gave you a laugh. Happy Friday!
Caylie Smith
Not Your Average
"Whatever is good for your soul, do that"
