I reckon views like these were what Jay-Z had in mind in his line “If we couldn’t see the sun rising off the shore of Thailand” in the “Can I Get a … ” jam. After getting a new 90-day visa in Penang, I crossed back into Thailand* and shot up to Surat Thani en route to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party. This pier to the northeast of Surat Thani was where I witnessed an incredible sunrise while awaiting my boat to the island.
I had a backpack full of stuff with me since this was a five-day trip in all, and Full Moon Parties are not conducive to luggage of any kind. I asked the lady with the beautiful smile in the pier’s ticket booth if she would hold my bag while I went and partied my balls off, and of course she was nothing short of happy to help me out. I returned the next day to find my bag safe and nothing missing inside, and it is hospitality like this that is so common in Thailand that makes the following story so difficult to swallow. I guess I would break it down like this: Thai people generally will not steal private property, but many of those who often find themselves doing business with foreigners will change prices on the fly if they think they can fleece a tourist for more money.
*The border crossing was not without drama. A common mode of medium-distance transport in both Thailand and Malaysia is the “mini-bus,” which in actuality is nothing more than a van or minivan. Several other travelers and I loaded into one of these for the short international trek. Upon being readmitted into the kingdom, we were then supposed to load into another mini-bus chauffeured by a Thai national, as the Malay citizen would have to return from whence he came. My American passport and I got through the checkpoint without the slightest hassle, and about fifteen minutes later our initial driver decided that he had waited long enough and communicated (in what could only be described as “worse-than-broken English”) that anyone who hadn’t unloaded their bags yet better do so or else lose them. The only problem was that one member of our newly formed traveling team was held up for some reason at the immigration window. In these situations travelers have to look out for each other so one chick and I chased down the driver as we realized this and unloaded the guy’s bags for him before the driver managed to escape. Anyway, what was the hold up? This guy was Somalian, and the border agent had demanded a bribe in exchange for entry. We were all in the Thai mini-bus at this point as he was relaying what had happened, and at first some of us didn’t really believe his story, but he explained that this is actually not a rare occurrence for him. Although he had all his paperwork in order, his country’s support systems are relatively weak and the immigration agents know this. If, for example, they had pulled this on me and I had reported them, they would have been running the risk of incurring some repercussions because of the pull the U.S. has with the Thai government. If Somalia dials up a complaint? Let’s just say the investigation might leave a little to be desired. Nonetheless, I applaud this guy’s steadfast refusal to cave to the man in the uniform’s demands, and his patience won out in the end.