This picture is the stuff of my nightmares. It was this satellite photo of the wicked monsoon that swamped southern Thailand early this week that was plastered all over Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok since many flights were cancelled throughout the week with flood disasters in many areas. But I get ahead of myself. The nightmare started much earlier on along C5.
We left the Ortigas area at 7pm, our car being coding, but we thought we’re okay since we had to be there before 8:50pm, which was a good almost 2 hours to go. But with the Magallanes flyover thingy, C5 was flooded. Seriously, the traffic was so bad I really thought we were going to miss the flight. We were considering leaving the car at McDo near Resorts World and walking to T3. But eventually, we crawled into some good luck and got to the Cebu Pacific counter at 8:45pm, just 5 minutes before missing the flight.
As we were boarding, there was this hulk of a foreigner who reeked of alcohol and rotten bayabas, and was a bit rowdy, and he was engaging anyone who’d pay his rants any attention. The flight attendants were already checking him out if he’d be causing any trouble. I distinctly remember thinking, “Please God, let my seatmate be anyone BUT him!” When I got to my seat, who should be my seatmate? HIM.
Finally, we get to Bangkok at 12 midnight, and we had 4 hours to wait until our connecting flight to Koh Samui. Then the lady says flights have been canceled all week because of the monster monsoons that have been submerging southern Thailand in many flood crises the past days. Seriously. I’ve waited for this vacation all year, and our plans sink in monsoon floods. The good news was, the rains stopped late yesterday, so there were chances of flights resuming today.
So for 4 excruciating hours, we waited to find out if we were going to Koh Samui or if we were to look for a cheap hotel in Bangkok to spend the night in. While waiting, we decided to eat in one of the restaurants in the airport, and had one of the best meals of my life at 2 in the morning. Maybe it was the stress, maybe it was the hunger, maybe it was the fatigue, but the 2 items I ordered tasted like orgasms on a plate! I got the green papaya salad and the tom yum goong:
It was deliriously delicious. It reminded me of why Thailand is a favorite destination of foodies. I couldn’t feel my mouth after, because of the spicy chilies, but it melted away all the emotional toxins I had in my system. I felt like I needed a cigarette after that quasi-sexual encounter with Thai food.
By then I had a massive headache, like ten demons pounding away at my head with stone mallets. I slept for an hour on the airport benches until finally, 4am came, and we went to Bangkok Air to see if they’re flying to Koh Samui. And like a beacon of light from the heavens, the news came: We’re cleared and flying on schedule!!! Relieved, we ran straight to check in, only to find out that our friend’s credit card was not accepted and we had to repay the airline ticket or else we forfeit the booking. When will this punishment end? We paid again, with a different card, then we were off finally. This was the view of the clouds over Koh Samui as we descended:
It was cloudy in Koh Samui, but the clouds broke about lunchtime and we experienced some sun. Tranny luck was smiling at us through all the road blocks to this coveted pit stop. But seeing the resort was worth all the trouble. Seriously, the best room I’ve ever been to, EVER. Our resort rocks. I’ll post photos when we get back, but here’s a sneak peek. Our luxurious room opens out to a veranda that has access to the pool. So cool:
I spent most of the day sleeping, since my headache was killing me and my eyes were red because I’ve been wearing my contacts for more than 24 hours now. Woke up at 5pm then walked along Chaweng beach looking for a nice place for dinner. All the entertainers were Pinoy. In our restaurant, an older chanteuse was crooning older heartbreak tearjerkers like “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” and “It Takes Too Long To Learn To Live Alone”. Her accent was odd, so we couldn’t figure out if she were Thai or Pinay. Then, while bantering with a foreign couple she goes: “From Australia? Oh, England po?” Then we knew she was Pinay. At many points during the dinner she was trying to outsing the younger Pinay performing in the adjacent resort belting out angrier, angstier songs like “Torn”. It was like a movie, “The Dueling Divas”.
Walked back to the resort, passed by a convenience store and bought a big bagload of snacks, and we just finished pigging out on different squid and cuttlefish snacks, rice crackers with pork floss, and caramelized cashews, as we lounged at our veranda by the pool. I was barraged with a parade of new flavors, many alien to my tongue. What an experience. This is the life. It is so worth the stress. I’d go through all that all over again if the rewards are this good. I just hope the weather cooperates for the next 6 days.
And can I just say, I love free wi-fi! คุณขอบคุณ!
