One night in Pa Tong.

One day I woke up sticky and dehydrated on the largest island in Thailand. Another day hungover in a place called Patong as she sits on the shore of the island facing the soft tender Andaman Sea. The large tropical Island is covered with glistening waterfall mountains from the north to the south. The nightlife is vibrant and overwhelming; It is a land full of adventures under the hot sun and under the bright moonlight. I struggled to keep my blurred eyes open as I searched for a bottle of water beside the bed. I drank the water down fast but my thirst was not satisfied. The room began to shake as the other guest in the dormitory prepare their day; la douche, s’habiller, sac à dos et décollage. I waited patiently until all four of them had left the room. The peaceful rhythm of silence in harmony only lasted for a short amount of time. A young American entered into the room, hitting everything along the way with his oversized backpack towards his assigned bunk. He sounded breathless from all that weight on his back. The bag dropped to the ground with a loud thud directly in front of me as I sat on edge of the bed, suffering from a beating headache.

The rays of the midday sun strike down hard on the sandy beach as my mind slowly reached to the level of sobriety. I dipped into the ocean for a split second to cool my body down but I kept my head above the water. The plastic bags and debris floated across the edge of the horizon. Humanity detests me at certain moments in life. Humanity was born to destroy itself and everything around it. My depression ruins a vision of hope. Sitting alone on the beach, I read the Australian news on my phone and learned that Jakarta is the fastest city sinking into the ocean compared to anywhere in the world. The only solution to resolve the problem is to rebuild a new capital city. I believe it is too far late for them to save ten million people. I poured some bourbon into my coke bottle and lit up a cigarette as I stared out to the open ocean. I remind myself that I drink and smoke too much, but I am convinced that my life will be short considering that the Earth is dying faster than scientists had originally predicted. A drink in the hand always makes me feel very enlightened and sociable and yesterday's troubles fade away.

Someone had approached me from my left side and asked if was staying at the hostel. It was hard to get a good look at his face as the sun obscured my vision. I shifted my body sideways and recognised him. I confirmed that I was staying there and explained how rudely he had dropped his huge bag right in front of my face. He had apologised for his abrupt entry and laid his towel beside mine. He introduced himself with a thick Texas accent, Trevor. The sound from his voice had given me imagery of Forrest Gump. He was well built and a good looking Caucasian male. His arms and upper body were covered in a collage of coloured ink. The backside of his body had large eagle wings with his last name in thick black letter fonts across his shoulders, Jones. He openly shared his travel experience from the last two months trotting around Asia. Thailand was his last stop before returning to San Antonio to see his girl, Jenny. There was no need for me to say much to him as he seemed to like to talk, although it was nice to have company on the brown soft sand. I passed him the coke bottle and he refused the offer until I told him that I had slid some bourbon inside. He changed his mind and took a good swing without touching the tip of the rim.

No words can perfectly describe Bangla Road. It is energetic, lively and the sex capital of Phuket, whether you’re single or not. I never carried my wallet on Bangla Road to avoid thief and stashed the cash in my shoes, in my socks, and in my front pocket. The trust in people in Phuket grinds on a very thin line, especially when tourists are drunk, the advantage will be taken upon them. The locals will do whatever needs to be done to feed their families. Trevor had the urge to experience the Thai nightlife before he departed the country and I decided to tag along with him, after all, my relationships with the Yanks have always been on good terms. We sat at a bar on the main strip and drank drink after drink. A young waitress approached us and struck up a flirty conversation. She was very attractive. Her breast was fairly small but firm and pointed; she had a neat rounded thighs of a cat. She touched me on the arm and asked if I wanted to party with her. No matter how hard she tried to persuade me, I declined the invitation with a smile. She brushed me off and to turn onto Trevor. I turned my head the opposite direction to ignore them and spoke to a couple in their forties from Australia until Trevor interrupted me, "Why did you sweep her off? She is smokin hot." I took a good mouthful of my beer and said, "In this country, far too many girls are born as a man and I’m sure she has had a lot of lovers up her ally." He was silent for a few seconds, "Well, we just made an agreement and I have never had any action with a girl from Thailand, " he said nervously. I told him to be careful and just because the willy has a helmet, it does not mean it is protected.

Shortly after, a Thai man came over to the bar where we were sitting and asked Trevor to pay the sum of three thousand baht. Trevor looked at me confused and I explained that he had to pay the bar fine if he wanted to take his new lover for the night. "That’s not the agreement! " He exclaimed and stood up, looking directly into the man’s face and began to argue with him violently, drawing attention on themselves as the people nearby turned their heads. Trevor wouldn’t let it go. He cursed and became ignorant. "I'm American and I won't put up with this shit! " They warned Trevor to calm down or the police would arrive. "Y’ALL CALL THE DAMN POLICE! " He said aggressively and pushed the man so hard that he ended up knocking the surrounding people down to the ground. Trevor stood his ground and had refused to move as the crowd began to withdraw from the scene and the bar staff came to aid their boss. I felt someone’s hand under my left armpit with a firm grip and turned my head in fright. It was the Australian man I had met earlier, "Mate! We gotta run, right NOW! " He pulled me like a dog on a leash as the security stormed passed us. We marched at a rapid speed on Bangla Road until we entered into a Swedish bar in an alleyway. We took up a table and ordered a drink. "Ya mate is seriously screwed. The police are going to hold him down and make him empty his bank account if he wants to kip jail. Cops here work with bar owners," the Aussie explained to me. I told them that I am a solo traveller and had nothing to do with the hardcore cowboy. However, the couple suggested for me to stay away from that bar for a while just because I was with the Texan. At four in the morning, the Australian couple and I departed our separate ways and thank them graciously for saving my life before I had made my way back to the hostel.

The next day I woke up in the early afternoon without a hangover for the first time in Patong and everyone in the room was still sound asleep. The aircon was blasting cold and it gave me shivers. I searched for my lighter and cigarettes. After the smoke I returned to the room, Trevor's belongings were still there, next to his still made bed.

#Hostellife #Nightlife #Lifeexperience #Travel #Thailand