The Prodigal Son Returns: My THAILAND Experiece

“Nikyle, This doesn’t really fit here.”

“I know but where else to put it? It’s going on Tumblr as well.”

“Yeah but isn’t this blog about comics and fighting games?”

“There’s other stuff too. It wouldn’t hurt to branch out anyway. And actually this blog is about me. Me and my views and opinions on the things that I like in this world.”

Pretty much went over all over this mother’.

Ignoring that little schizophrenic episode; I haven’t made a single post in nearly 2 months. Well comrades, I’ve been busy travelling around the world. First, I took a 3-week holiday to my motherland that is Jamaica for my grandmother’s 70th. And then I embarked on a 4-week country tour around Thailand and, honestly, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Admittedly, I was sh***ing bricks beforehand. I’d never considered myself to be a traveller at all. For this reason, I went with a tour group of randomers and they turned out to be some pretty cool people. We travelled almost all over the country.  From the Southern city of Bangkok to the Northern outskirts of Chang Mai back to the Burmese Western Border and then to the southern islands that is Koh Tao and Koh Phangan; home to the infamous Full Moon Party.

All across the Nation

We did various activities during this time: Elephant riding, Jungle Hiking, bamboo rafting, we helped build of Volleyball Court at an orphanage, Zip-lining (something I’d already done before), mountain climbing, watched Ladyboy shows, Muay Thai fights, had a Muay Thai training session and did lots of drinking. Lots of drinking. I doubt I’ve ever drunk that much before within a month. Maybe in my early Uni days. And now my fitness has gone to s**t. More on that later.

Sagat’s Street Fighter II Stage. Ayutthaya, Thailand. This game was my childhood.

We stayed in various accommodations. From hostels, to huts by the river. The food was ok, nothing special if you ask me. Then again I’m a picky eater. Variations of Rice and Noodles can get repetitive after a while. Already did that in my uni days!  In general, Thai people are very lovely and are so welcoming. Most of them in jobs can speak English to some degree which is good because I couldn’t be asked to learn any Thai. I only picked up a single word.

The Life of a Traveller

There’s probably more stuff I did but I can’t remember right now. あんきができない。We did visit a lot of temples and monuments mainly in Ayutthaya. That place is embedded in history; I even stumbled among the famous lying Buddha ever-present in Sagat’s Street Fighter stage. I made a big deal of that. Travelling with a dedicated tour group has its pluses and minuses. The positives are spending time with types of people you normally wouldn’t back home.

Also, we did things that you wouldn’t do while travelling on your own. For example we trekked up a jungle and stayed in a wooden hut having a campfire up in the mountains in the middle of f**king nowhere for the night. But that was one of my best nights in Thailand. Experiences. Another example was visiting that orphanage. Those kids really appreciate it. To many Real Madrid fans for my liking though.

Me at Sagat’s stage. The statue is a lot rustier in reality.

A negative is that a lot of the time we were constricted to a strict itinerary. Well, at least I was. I was in Koh Tao for a week and I only made most of my friends there on my last day. Then I had to leave. That sucked. Travelling on your own removes such restrictions. While I enjoyed the tour group, travelling on my own is what I will do next time. Some people had funds to venture off on their own. I envied them a bit. Still, that is proper travelling. Not having your accommodation, activities or travel already planned for you. Just wingin’ it.

My tour group. I’m genna miss these guys.

A Life-Changing Experience. Cliche, No? 

The whole experience and the people I met has changed my views on life. I was at a crossroads before, I knew I wanted to leave London but that was pretty much it. In the latter weeks of my journey there were two occasions where I got quite homesick. Largely due lack of funds at the time. Well, I’m been back for about 4 days and f**k me I’m over it. Before I was nervous of travelling; now like it. I definitely know I’m not staying at home for long now.

Sadly, I’m fallen out of love with this place, “this place” being London. I met a lot of travellers heading for Australia; almost half of my tour group are heading there also. I may end up there too but I’m also considering China or Japan. I’m not learning Japanese for nothing. Wherever I go, I’m aiming to be there by the summer of next year.

What of Two Pence?

As for this blog, I surprised its still going strong and hopefully that will continue. I haven’t written anything in over a month but my blog is still getting a healthy amount of views. Imagine I kept writing! I still want to be a writer and but I’ve got all the time in the world for that. While I’m here I’ll keep writing. I gotta catch up on some things I’ve missed.