no scuba diving and back to Bangkok

I had been hoping to head back to Ko Tao and take part in open water scuba diving certification at one of the many diving schools present on the island. I had found a school which offered free lodging if one signed up with them. Upon leaving Phuket on the way to Ko Tao I decided to spend the night on Ko Samui, two islands south of Ko Tao. This including taking a minivan from Phuket to the coastal town of Surat Thani, about 5 hrs, then hopping on a huge and slow moving barge carrying hundreds of people along with automobiles and several large carriage buses. The barge trip took about 2 hrs and I finally arrived in Ko Samui around 8pm. Hitched a ride in a old thai man's pickup truck to town and found myself a room for the evening.



Woke up the next morning and while I was packing up my few belongings and reaching for some cash, I discovering that my passport and money pouch were missing. I had most recently seen them the previous morning upon packing and leaving Phuket. I had gotten my passport back from my guest house where they had been holding it in collateral for the motor bike I was renting. I have absolutely no idea how it got missing in the one day. I had put the passport and cash in my belt pouch and put that into my small backpack. Then during the day I was on a mini van with only 3 others and had nobody sitting right next to me, only in front and back of me. My pack was next to me the entire time. On the barge trip my backpack was next to me the entire time and I don't remember anyone ever being up next to me. I had no visitors in my room during the night. Hence I have no idea how it either fell out of my backpack or someone was super sneaky in grabbing it out. All I can figure is perhaps the zipper on my backpack loosened and opened up somehow and the moneybelt fell out. I was quite shocked and devastated for a while as I figured my trip was over and a new passport was going to cost thousands of dollars. I am constantly vigilant and aware of my wallet, keys, and passport, continuously checking my pockets throughout the day and making sure everything is safe and secure. All I can figure is that it was a karmic thing and it was meant to happen, the killing off of negative karma from one of my past wrongdoings.

I sat for several minutes in disbelief and anger then finally got up and decided that I was going to have to visit the police and the immigration office which was nearby.

At the immigation office I spoke with a British guy who had had his passport and belongings stolen a month ago. He explained that he only had to pay about $200 British pounds or so to get a new one, so that helped put my mind at ease slightly. After speaking with immigration for a moment they told me to go to the police and file a report. This I did and also got a chance to speak with the US Embassy back in Bangkok. They told me that I would have to come back to Bangkok to file for a new passport and that it would only cost me $100, a hell of a lot cheaper than I was originally expecting. One hears that stolen passports on the black market can sell upwards of thousands of dollars. I figured there would be a substantial financial penalty for applying for a new one.



Upon leaving Ko Samui that afternoon and arriving back in Bangkok the next morning around 5am after being on the overnight bus, I was back on Khao San Rd. looking for a new guest house and being pestered by the everpresent ladyboy transvestites roaming the streets looking to make money. Several hrs later I visited the US Embassy to file for a new passport and was informed it would take 2 wks for the new one to arrive. This gave me 2 wks to kill and there was no way I was going to spend 2 wks in Bangkok in the middle of the hot season. The heat and humidity during the daytime is quite oppressive. Its tough to be outside during the daytime, particularly while enduring the 100 degree heat made worse by the emittance of all the exhaust and heat from the countless cars, motorbikes, and tuk tuks. However, as hot as it gets in Bangkok, it is still a joy to walk for hours throughout the city and check out the different neighborhoods, streets, and markets. There is so much life, energy, and culture on the streets of Bangkok.



After considering the possibilities I figured it would be best to head for one of the nearest beaches close to Bangkok. I chose to head southeast to Pattaya, about 2 hrs away, hoping it would be a bit cooler with coastal breeze coming off the ocean. I was also considering doing a 5 day thai kickboxing camp to punch and kick out my anger from losing my passport and money.