bendejo

"What was the ghost doing?" "She was trying to get ahead." Or maybe she was looking for her husband The headless lion tamer from the movie 13 Ghosts, 1960. I saw it when I was a kid.

It wasn't just for Thailand, I saw the same among the young travelers in Latin America: follow the crowd, and if there is no one to follow at the moment fall back on the LP guidebook (do those even exist anymore?). I was in my 20s in the 1970s when I started traveling (back when you could go overland from Europe to East Asia without much visa hassle -- there was a 5-year window when peace broke out). Getting away from tourist destinations/getting off the beaten path was a priority for me, I would say it was for about half the travelers, the other half sought a cool scene and never went beyond Goa or K-du. Memories of people getting off the Magic Bus in Delhi, still wearing their London fashions, asking where is a cool place to go. Among the backpacker types in Thailand in the past 25 or so years it was rare to find people striking out on their own. Incurious would be an apt adjective.

Maybe if she did things like pre-trip research, considered contingencies etc her travel tales wouldn't get much attention in Social Media Land. But maybe that's part of the entitlement of the younger generation: we don't need planning, the world should have these things laid out for us. Once was in Hat Yai waiting at a mini-bus office to get to Penang, chatting with the lad who runs the desk. Two girls from somewhere in northern Europe appear, they looked younger than 18. I asked if they had any Malaysian money, I'd buy if off them. They wouldn't even look at me. They tell the lad they want a minivan to Bangkok. The lad doesn't understand them. It's the minivan that's the problem, I have to translate to minibus for him several times. The girl who is doing all the talking (in English) keeps confusing him by saying minivan. As he's writing out their tickets I ask him how long it takes to get to Bkk, he says "11 hours." The two respond in unison "11 hours !?!???" Didn't sound right, since from Chumphon it takes 8 hours, so my guess would be at least 15. Maybe at a suicidal speed... They wandered off, probably to find another kiosk who would promise them a shorter time span. Ever think to look at a map, girls?

In general, this sounds like being busted for weed on Koh Phangan. They lock the kid up, scare them shirtless for a few days, take them to court and make them sweat, and then told all will be well, just hand over ~$3,000 US.