On our last day in Koh Lanta, Tasha and I went for a morning swim at Long Beach. After returning to our locked bikes, we discovered that our phones (alongside Tasha’s wallet and camera) had been stolen. I don’t know what possessed me to take my phone with me to the beach that morning. I guess my perception of safety was just an illusion. It isn’t until something is lost that you truly realise how useful it is. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed our remaining time in Thailand. We definitely interacted with local people a lot more than we would have done otherwise.
The kindness of Thai locals
We relied on locals for help a lot, but this only showcased Thai people’s goodwill, patience and kindness. For example, as we stopped in Krabi on our way from Koh Lanta to Bangkok, we went back to Cube Hostel in Krabi (we had stayed there for 1 night before going to Koh Lanta). The lady who ran the hostel was really sweet to us after we explained our story. She even advised us that the next time we go to the beach, we should take Samsungs instead of iPhones, because no one would steal them!
As we were leaving to catch our night bus to Bangkok, she gave us some bananas, two elephant key rings for good luck and a massive hug. It’s at times like these where you can really appreciate that are so many people in the world with a good heart, even when there are idiot thieves running around stealing from tourists.
An interesting morning with a random Thai man
We had some unique experiences in Bangkok that likely would have been missed otherwise. During breakfast on the 30th, we met a Thai guy. He kindly allowed me to check into my flight to Bali on his phone. Apparently, he found it cool that we didn’t have phones. But we didn’t exactly enlighten him on the fact that this was not a matter of choice. If I had not borrowed that Thai guy’s phone to check into my flight, we would have never started talking. We definitely would not have had as funny an experience as we had that morning. He was sitting on the table behind us, with his friend passed out on the sofa opposite him. We could only assume they had just got back from a wild night.
He invited Tasha and I to sit and talk with him. He was bored and his friend was evidently incapacitated. He invited us to drink with him. We politely refused since it wasn’t even midday yet. He was persistent. So I suggested that if he could wake up his friend and get him to drink then we would have one drink with him. I thought this would be an impossible task. But he somehow eventually convinced his friend to sit up even though he obviously just wanted to continue sleeping. He then tried to get his friend to greet us and pretend he was ok (he was definitely not ok). His friend’s English was limited and he kept repeating the catchphrase ‘hello, I’m ok’. Tasha and I could not stop laughing, but this experience definitely brightened our day.
Staying amused
Later on, even when we ran out of ideas of places to visit, we managed to stay amused. After visiting Lumphini Park and Erawan Shrine, we went inside the Central World Shopping Mall. We walked around and decided to see a movie (The Hitman’s Bodyguard). The film was great, although before it started, everyone in the cinema had to stand whilst the King’s anthem played. In the evening, we walked down Khao San Road,. We ate dinner at Ethos (a vegetarian restaurant) and got foot massages to relax. Back at Villa Cha Cha, we put on face masks and chatted until bedtime. What a great way to end the first part of my travels with Tasha (and Neha) in SE Asia!
No phone zone
However, this post would be incomplete without talking about some of the ways we missed and/or replaced certain uses of our mobile phones:
As a point of contact
Obviously, the first thing you do when something is stolen is to report it to the police. Whilst Tasha went back to the beach to ask passers-by whether they had seen anything, I drove to the police station. Trying to complete all the paperwork was a pain. The police kept asking me for a phone number to contact me on, but I had no phone! Maybe it was down to their inability to speak English.
They didn’t understand me when I told them that this was impossible due to my phone being stolen. And since Tasha did not have her phone either, her number was not an option either. They also kept saying that I needed to call Tasha to tell her to come to the police station to file her own report. This was also impossible since she didn’t have a phone either. The only thing I could do was sit and wait for her to arrive.
As a camera
The lack of a phone meant that it was more difficult to document the places that we visited in Bangkok. I had to revert back to using pen and paper for my diary (instead of the iPhone notes app) to record my memories. Instead of taking physical photos, Tasha and I decided that we would make more of an effort to take mental pictures during our time in Bangkok. There were a few we took that stood out:
- A high-rise building, which looked like many pieces of lego stuck together
- By the lake at Lumphini Park
- Me with an ice lolly outside Erawan shrine
- A night-time selfie on a bridge walkway overlooking Bangkok traffic
- Inside our hotel room with face masks on
I guess not having a camera could potentially be a positive thing. We made more of an effort to remember what happened. We avoided walking around like those robotic tourists who do nothing but take useless and meaningless photos.
As a map
Tasha and I had one day in Bangkok to explore. It was not easy to navigate without Maps.Me on our phones. Tasha used her guidebook to sketch part of the city on a piece of paper as a makeshift map. Whilst walking between different places, we frequently stopped to ask people for directions.
As a clock
At this point in the trip, both my watch and Tasha’s had stopped working. We had no concept of time whatsoever, apart from when it was light or dark. When we arrived at our hotel and checked in, we had no method of setting an alarm for the morning. I needed to make sure that we woke up for breakfast. I also could not afford to miss my flight to Bali the next day. Luckily, we were staying in a proper hotel (Villa Cha Cha). The reception desk organised wake-up calls for us.
All in all, although not pleasant to have my phone stolen, this experience came with its own set of memories. These will always form an important part of my SE Asia travels.