Helsinki, like any city of even moderate proportions, is filled with people who don’t need any more friends. The lack of influx of new people into your life kind of twists you into thinking that you canonly become truly good friends with a very specific niche group. On the road, however, you come face to face with people from all walks of life, and realize that actually there is a wealth of fascinating friends out there if you just take ten minutes to get to know them. Still, a lot of people used to taking trips in groups or pairs seem to abhor the idea of solo-travelling. Even though most of the time they acknowledge the fact that “it’s so easy to meet people here”, they seem to picture solo-trips pretty much as months spent in complete solitude. The truth is, if anything, you end up spending so much time with other people that you find yourself longing for a few moments of quality ”me”- time. Seriously, if you want to be lonely here, it takes a lot of effort!
Travelling alone does take a bit of getting used to though, and the first week or so becomes a sort of weird transitional phase. You slowly distance yourself from the feeling of constantly being in a hurry somewhere, and one by one begin to drop your defences against casual conversation. Before you know it, something clicks and you feel right at home in the ever shifting social environment that comes from being constantly on the move. Mark my words: once that happens, to travel alone will become at least an intermittent desire for the rest of your life.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, after spending almost a week on Koh Phangan, I finally made the move to Koh Tao today. This puts me back in solo-travelling mode, as the British lads I was hanging around with stayed behind for the full-moon fest. At first glance, Koh Tao seems pretty shitty: prices are high, touts hassle you to no end and there are Westerners (especiallyFinns) everywhere. It’s as bad as Phi Phi, but without the redeeming qualities of sublime beauty or a good St. Patrick’s Day party. Also, maybe swaying my opinion slightly is the fact that the resort I’m staying at is a complete shithole, with all the charm of the Bates motel and the decor of a concentration camp gas-chamber. Seriously, I have been to some rat and cockroach infested sties before, but this takes the cake. I mean, look at the picture I took of the bathroom! If it weren’t so cheap, I would be out in a second. Also, the electricity on the island has been on and off all day thanks to some recent storms, so at the moment it’s pitch black here and absolutely mind-bogglingly hot because the fans don’t work.
Oh well, they say Koh Tao is all about the diving, so maybe my views will change after I get a few fun-dives in tomorrow.
The floor is just diarrhoea-coloured, not actually covered in diarrhoea
P. S. This song rocks, although domestic violence as a lyrical theme could be seen as a bit iffy by some.
Florence and the Machine – Kiss with a fist
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