Bag packing

About a year and half ago, not many circle of my friend and family knew what bag packing was. Some didn’t even understand the need to travel, what more travelling on budget and solo. All they ever know was book tour from home, travel in style, see what everybody oblige to see in nick of time, spend tones on money on unnecessary thing and come back to say that they have seen enough of that country.

However, in today’s lifestyle, thanks to AirAsia, people buy cheap ticket, book tour locally, travel abroad in style, see what everybody oblige to see in nick of time, spend tones on money on unnecessary thing and come back to say that they have seen enough of the country.

So where lay all the differences? The answer is on the bag pack. The theory today is that as long as you go holiday and carry a bag pack, you graduate as the bagpacker. Thus I told my mom, who frequently travel abroad that, from now onwards, I am calling you trolley packer, because she carry’s her trolley bag.

Furthermore, many people in that group claims that bag packing is easy. And all I do is give them the ‘whateva' look!

It took me almost 5 years to actually understand what bag packing and how is done, yet I struggle on every journey. Each time I go abroad, I learn something new and change my travelling pattern in order to move with confidence. Yet at times, luck is never on my side and all plans leads to failure.

So after travelling for quite sometimes now, I frequently ask myself these questions. Do I see bag packing as fun; my answer is yes. Do I like to travel alone; my answer would definitely be yes and yes. Do I see bag packing as easy; my answer is definitely big NO. But, if I get a sign from god before I depart, it’s a joyride all the way.

Bag packing is one thing, but going solo is another thing. Even though I have heard about it for a long time, I ought to stay my courage came from my sister’s friend, Charis. So what started as trying, leads me to Sabah, Sarawak, Loa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.

In each journey I do lots of mistakes, and I learn from my mistakes. I learned to find the right destination, to booking the tickets and hotels, to carry my cash and even to pack a bag. Lots and lots of research are done before I step of my house, just to proof to my father that I will come back home safe. Yet at times, things are beyond my control.

In my resent trip to Thailand, despite being one of the easiest places in South East Asia to travel, I learned how to be a real bag packer. I was so unprepared and didn’t have my lonely planet as guideline.

When I first arrived in Chang Mai, the place I have booked online which should assure me a place for one day was full. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Luckily, the guesthouse owner was awesome and manages to find me a room. Then there was an incident in Ayutthaya where I went to the place based on lonely planet and it was fully booked. In place where people hardly spoke English, without a map or clue about the city, I searched for the guesthouse just by its name. Then, there was the Koa Phagan, where I knew nothing about the place. All I said to the driver was, “I want some where quiet” and she pointed a faraway place called Had Yao. She dropped me in the middle of no way and said, “Here is Had Yao”. With my bagpack I walked and searched and somehow manage to find a shack for 300 bhat when everything else was 500 baht.

As for transport, Thailand is the best. It all organized and no thinking at all. One can move any corner of the land without sweat. In Thailand, there is something called joint ticket. The tickets will consist of bus ride or train ride, ferry ride and minivan to all destinations including airport. For example, if I am in Ko Phagan, I can go to Ko Tao, Ko Samui, Surat Thani, Champoon, Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket, Ko Lanta and even to Had Yai. All this is done without going to Bangkok. But sometimes even the easiest transport like train can be disaster as the signboards are all not in English. So it’s better to stick to busses.

Nevertheless, many times I just needed up on bike taxi. Hop on and it will take you to any corner of the town on minimum charges. My first bike taxi encounter was in Vietnam. I not only jump on a bike with my huge bag pack clinging on my back but also went on a 10 hour journey ride. Then there was Indonesia, where I went bag packing on bike. Even the steep, 45 degree Mt Penanjakan was done on bike.

But when everything fails, I always have my feet to depend on. On the 10th April 2010, I was supposed to head to Ko Samui form Kanchanaburi but stopping first at Bangkok. Unfortunately, that’s the day the red shirt army decided to capture the bridge to Koa San road, where my bus to ko Samui was. The mini van driver, stopped at the middle of the riot as said the journey ends there. All but me was heading to Ko Samui and there was no address of the bus stop where I should go. After arguing so long with the minivan driver and with the help of another guy, I manage to walk across the bridge and find the guesthouse that operates the bus service. I after 17 hours later I arrived in Ko Samui.

There also times when the traveling pattern need changes at the last minutes. When I could not depart to Yangoon because I didn’t have a visa, I didn’t even give my brains to think and be sorry for my stupidity. I just went with the flow. I headed straight to town and took the train to Kanchanaburi and from there continued my journey to Ko Samui and Ko Phagan, and would have headed to Ko Tao, Krabi and Ko Lanta if not for the red shirt protest.

As for food, being vegetarian, I never had any problem at all. Its more difficult to travel in my own country. If I actually starve or skip a meal it’s not because there are no food, but because the food is expensive. A place where many whites travels, you can always find one page of the menu full of vegetarian dishes even if it’s not vegetarian shop. But one must always keep in mind that, tell them NO EGG.

As for me I am still learning the art of bag packing. One of the first thing I need to learn is pack less and shop less. Above all dont plan anything.

So, if you still ask me if bag packing is as easy as carrying a bag pack, I can only give the ‘whateva’ look. Go ahead a try, you will experience things beyond words can say. The ultimate happiness I can get after god ofcourse.