#SwipeRightToTravel
They say that at least once in your life go for some solo trip and when you will come back you will be a totally different person. So I wanted to try this and after searching and reading many blogs I finally decided to go solo and so I decided to go to Thailand for my first solo adventure
Day 1
So here I began my first solo trip and it couldn't have been better than Thailand. My flight was from Kolkata to Bangkok and I reached Bangkok around 01:00 AM in the morning. My initial plan was to go to Pattaya the same day for sky diving but things didn't work out so I stayed in Bangkok the whole day before catching my flight to Phuket late evening. I spent most of my time at the airport itself and watched many solo travelers walking , sleeping around casually so I started getting relaxed. I spoke to few fellow travelers who were alone and they started sharing their travel stories and this gave me a lot of confidence for my journey. As the day progressed I starting getting vibes that this will surely gonna be a life changing journey for me. I visited couple of malls in bangkok say SIAM SQUARE, etc before heading towards Phuket.
On the very same day I reached Phuket and as soon as I reached my hostel from airport for the first time in my life, I experienced such sort of things called backpacker hostel. I stayed at Bodega hostel near Bangla Road, Patong beach. I met couple of girls who travelling since last couple of months and then there was this guy who arrived couple of days back in Phuket and few more. I started having conversation with them and trust me it felt so good as if we knew each other for so long. I got along with those people very well and right from there it set the tone for the rest of my journey.
I hopped at bangla road with my new friends and had lovely time partying all night, visiting go go bars, getting tempted by strip dance before we came back around 3 AM back to hostel.
Day 2
After taking a good night's sleep I packed my bag for PHI PHI Island or basically Koh PHI PHI Don. Before leaving I was quite hungry and so I had this awesome Masala Dosa at some Indian restaurant. After having a nice breakfast I hopped around those streets for some time before taking my first ferry ride. Now my first ferry ride experience in Thailand was from Phuket to Koh PHI PHI Don Island. (Pro tip : Don't sit inside ferry if you really want to enjoy your ride. Just get on the deck and enjoy the beauty of the Islands , nature, enjoy basking under the sun, best time to get tan. Just close your eyes listen to your favorite music and trust me you will experience the feeling you having longing for so long).
During this ride I met few people. There were 3 beautiful girls from Australia who were backpacking at that time and it was there 4th country to visit and it was fun interacting with them. They were only 20 and traveling and somehow that really intrigued me to start thinking about my life. I am 28 and this is the first time I am doing such stuff and they were speaking much more sense and that conversation I had with them was brilliant.
While in conversation I didn't realize that we had reached Phi Phi. I reached my hostel @Ibiza house with much more confidence and much excited than before. Again it was a dorm of 8 bed and I met people from different country again and there was this one guy from Pakistan with whom I got along really well. After couple of days I got a chance to speak in hindi and it felt so good. Nothing can beat talking in your language to the person from another country in some other country. Amazing!! And as the sun was about to go down we hit the beach bar. I met couple of guys there from Australia and they were a cricket fan just like me. For 1 hour we spoke only about cricket and nothing else while sipping Chang. I met some more people and they invited us to join them. We played beer games like "Never ever have I"and couple more. There was this performance at beach bars where the performers played with fire. There was a limbo flame bar under which we were suppose to pass dancing and with every turn it will get lower. That was amazing and this bar was even offering free shots. One bar even offered full rum bucket if a man goes nude and woman goes topless. Couple of guys went nude and by that time even I was also high enough to go nude. Yes! I did it and enjoyed the night of my life till 5 AM dancing, boozing, wandering at the streets of that island before dozing off.
Day 3
Initially I was suppose to leave PHI PHI Island by today but then I was not in a mood to leave. Maybe something was holding on and later on that night I realized what was holding me back here. Between this I spent this day doing Island hopping around Koh PHI PHI Island. I booked a seat in boat where I was accompanied by a group of girls traveling from Ireland and a couple from Morocco. So the day seemed fine.
My whole day was spent wandering around small islands near Koh PHI PHI don. At first I visited Bamboo Island. Since there were lot of bamboos around the shore hence the name bamboo island. I sat at the shore for some time under the sun enjoying my solitude for some time.
After spending some time there we headed towards monkey Island. I saw monkeys swimming for the first time in my life. I was quite surprized to see it.
On my way to MAYA bay we stop over at viking cave and did some snorkelling as well.
The only thing I missed out was Maya beach bay. I decided to spend some time alone at the boat itself and trust me the feeling of self realization occured to me for the first time. Things after which I was running after and the things which I really wanted just flashed across my eyes and I was dumbstuck. I put on my headphones and felt the cool breeze around my face and just laid down and kept gazing the sky. I kept on listening all the shayaris from the movie "Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara"on repeat mode. That was some emotional moment for me.
So after this finally when we were heading back to my hostel , in between the sea we saw a beautiful sunset. Although couldn't see the whole of it but whatever it was , it seemed absolutely serene.
So after all this I finally reached my hostel back at Koh Phi Phi Don. Again the night started and I started partying along with some old and new friends I made.
I don't exactly remember but it was around 11:30 PM I met this girl and she was from Russia, I don't remember the place but her name was Elena. She was right infront of me dancing all alone and enjoying herself to every bit. She was looking absolutely beautiful in her white short skirt. Her black eyes were so big and beautiful that it almost hypnotized me. Our eyes met and we gave smile to each other while dancing. She started crossing limbo flame bar from the other end and so without wasting this oppurtunity I did the same from my end and thus our paths crossed for the first time. Then suddenly this song started playing, "I took a Pill from Ibiza", I knew the lyrics so I started lip synching and our eyes met again and wonder o wonder she was doing the same. We stared at each other for a moment and I started approaching her and she kept on smiling in a way as if she was inviting me to join her. It was all a filmy scene I tell you. We didnt talk and I just came and held her hand and took her on dance floor and start grooving on that track. Though I am not a great dancer but this time I managed to keep it up with the lady. After dancing for some time when we started loosing our breathe we grabbed a drink and then started talking. The funny part was she was unable to speak in english so mostly we were chatting on her phone. She was having this language translation app on her phone and so we started our conversation on her phone. It was absolutely hilarious but in a certain way it was romantic. After a while we again went to dance floor and this time it was more passionate and we were more into each other. We were dancing as one unit and we were so close to each other that we could almost feel each other's breath. She grabbed my hand and took me away from that crowd and we sat near the beach away from the crowd and that's when we had our first kiss. That moment was a total bliss. Under the sky, along the beach, stars shimmering all the way and our kiss. I could't have asked for a perfect moment. After a while we finally broke our kiss and she laid down her head on my shoulder and we sat there for a while. Before I could say anything she told me that she can't go further with me and she got up. Before I could figure out anything she hugged me and was looking really sad and before I could say anything she pointed her ring finger with wedding ring on her finger. I was stunned and was in a state of shock. She left!! I sat there for some time and was still trying to overcome that state of mind. After sitting there for a while I got back to my hostel and it was around 4AM, I tried to sleep but couldn't. I was unable to forgert her face, that kiss we had, it was one of the best memories of my journey.
Day 4
Another morning and another day but only this time it was different since I was still under the hangover of Elena. Somehow I put myself together and caught my ferry to Krabi.
Again this time I got upto the deck and put on my headphones and listened to music while looking at the nature. This time though my playlist consist of romantic songs. During my journey I realized something that everything is not forever. In your life there comes a moment, a person or a thing which won't last forever so you should enjoy and cherish it for as long as you have it and when it's gone you should be able to call it a happy memory for you.
I reached Krabi around 12PM and reached my hostel @Pakup hostel. As soon as I reached hostel I enquired about places to visit and they told me the Itenary and accordingly I booked a day tour. After getting freshen up, a mini van took me to Tiger cave temple, Krabi. The place is pretty good.
Best part about that temple is the 1237 steps stairway that takes you to the summit. At the top of it there is a Golden Buddha statue. Initially I was quite nervous about climbing those stairs but then I gathered some courage and started climbing. In between I met many people who were also climbing and some were coming down. After climbing about 200 steps I lost my breath and thought of giving up. But then I don't know from where I got that courage and again started climbing. While I reached half way I almost gave up. But then some voice inside me echoed that I got to do this shit. I started singing songs and kept on moving. Few people joined me and they too started singing "Keep climbing, keep singing". After an hour or so I reached at the top and grasped some breath. I looked up and the view from the top was serene. I sat there for sometime and just felt amazing. All my worries, tiredness, pain started to wane.
I poised for a moment and sat there for a while. The feeling of achieving this feast was unimaginable. One thing I realized there that nothing is impossible, you just got to have that fighting spirit. After tiger cave temple I headed towards yet another adventure of my journey. I took a ride on ATV for 1 hour on a rough terrain. It was raining during that time of the season so that jungle area was quiet rough with patches of water and mud. My guide was an extremely nice person. He clicked my photos and really helped me out with the ride.
So the day ended very well. After this I boarded my mini van and headed towards my hostel. In mini van I met a group of people from Malaysia and they were quite versed about Indian mythology. I taught them couple of hindi words and they really enjoyed it.
Now back at the hostel, people were relxing at the common area and some were at the bar. I went to the bar and grabbed a beer. There was a pool table where a guy from Serbia was playing and I joined him and ask If I could play to which he offered me the next game on loosers to pay basis. I won straight 9 games and everybody there was cheering for me. After this I got along with them and bonded really well.
We played beer pong, cage rage, flip the glass and many other beer games. There was this girl from Zurich who was traveling from last 6 months, then there was this guy from Australia who was traveling from last 1 year. Meeting them and hearing their stories was just incredible. As the night progressed I lost track of time unless I realized it was getting late for me since I was scheduled to go to Koh Phangan next day. But Something held me back again and I extended my trip for one more day in Krabi.
I woke up late next day in the morning looking for some coffee to cure my hangover. I found a restaurant nearby and had a black coffee and booked a boat to Railay beach. The place from where I was supposed to get my boat was just a street across my hostel. While I was on my way I looked arond and find that place absolutely serene an calm and I just told to myself that this is the place to live or this is the place to get settled. I really wish to get settled in Krabi. I am in awe of that place.
So I reached Railay beach and though it was not raining at that time but still that aura of rain can be felt there and the entire vicinity was looking more beautiful. I wander there for some time, took photographs and headed towards th beach and it was lovely. That feeling when you are walking along the shore, listening to your favourite music while waves touching your bare feet is magical. The feeling is a total bliss. I talked to myself that at this particular moment the clock should stop and I shall remain in this moment forever. But nothing is forever my friend.
It was around 3 PM and I was really craving for some food. I went to a restaurant and had my tummy full. There I ordered this Kiwi shake and I had the best shake of my life. It was scrumptious.
While sipping that shake I was witnessing this serene view of that beach. I met a guy from China and he was also traveling and said that his sole purpose in life is to travel and nothing else. I was quite impressed with his views and he gave me another reason to travel more. After getting back to hostel I found same people I met another day and joined them for a beer. There were this couple from Netherlands, girls from Germany , a guy from America and few others. We started our converation around 8PM and it went on till 2AM and trust me I had the best night of my whole trip. Those conversations with them gave me some serious travel goals, it changed my way of looking things. This guy from America sold his car and traveled whole of America on his bike and now there he is traveling south east asia and many other places. I just can't forget that night and I believe that this is what you gain when you travel, you meet people and get inspired by them and that's how you remember the journey. Meeting new people and listening to their stories are the best thing and these are the things I feel which set things for you and set you on a right path. These are the things which enables you to introspect yourself and let's you search your soul and bamn! there you find your answers.
So finally night ended on a high note. I took a good night's sleep. In the morning I was really not in a mood to leave that place but eventually I left that place with a heavy heart. My next and final stoppage before going back to bangkok was Koh phangan and trust me If you want to party then this is the place to be. Although I missed full moon party by just one day but I attended Sandcastle party. I arrived at Koh pahngan around 3PM and straight went to my hostel @Nomad House. I met Nemanja the manager at Nomad and he was really a warm host. I went to my dorm and took some rest. I got down to the reception at around 7PM and by the time another manager Toma was back from beach and he was an amazing guy. I met these guys from Australia and we had a long talk about cricket, I showed them Kabaddi videos and they were amazed to see such game. I met Lacey and she was adorable. Then came Bobby with his cocktails and I made him an Indian patiala peg and he was mesmerized with it. They were such lovely people and I felt as if it is my home. Trust me they were really warm and best host for me during that whole journey. We played Beer pong, and danced like hell. Then we went for sandcastle party and that party was rocking. I danced like hell and we came back around 5 AM in the morning. Koh phangan is mad and so are the people over there. I will surely go back to that place and will attend fullmoon party this time.
So early morning I left for Surat Thani from where I was flying back to Bangkok. On my way to Surat Thani I clicked some amazing shots
I reached Bangkok around 8PM and I went to my hostel @Suneta Hostel. I was really hungry so I went straight to Khao San road, mecca of backpacker in Bangkok. Night never ends here and you will find people roaming, dancing, drinking all through the night. This street never sleeps. I felt an urgent need to eat some Indian food and I found one and went there and had a real good Parantha along with Tiger beer.
Then I wander through the street of khao san road till it was 1AM and I came back to my hostel and slept. Morning I woke up around 10 AM and after having breakfast I left for street hopping. Then I went for some shopping. As the day was about to end and so was my journey, I started getting a feel of mixed emotions.I was sad to leave this place but on the other hand I was happy to carry most memorable moments of my life and definetely the life changing one. I went back to my hostel and then to the airport. It was the same place I came 8 days back but the person that came at that time and the person who is now leaving is all together a different one. I sat at one of the chairs and all those moments started flashing across my mind which I spent during my whole journey. It was an emotional moment for me. I boarded the plane I flew back to Kolkata.
Although I am now in India with my daily routine but I left a part of myself there in Thailand. I have made a promise to myself that I will go to that place again. Not only Thaialnd now my sole aim is to explore the beauty of this world. I want to meet new people, I want my life partner to be a traveler. I don't want to spend my time working for luxurious things but rather I want to travel more and just be happy.