Decisions Decisions

I eventually wanted to make my way to Thailand, but had a couple of ideas in mind on how to get there. The first was by land, but crossing the Myanmar border proved to be expensive as the only way was via tour company buses because of the strict government restrictions on the roads.

The other option I was thinking about was going to the Andaman Islands and then to Thailand. I heard from other travelers that the Andaman Islands had the nicest beaches and diving of ALL of SE Asia. You could take a three day boat to the island or fly, but there was no way to head to Thailand from there. You had to return to India (obviously the past fighting with Thailand over the Andaman Islands has led to it’s limited access). In the end, the cheapest way was to fly directly to Bangkok.

At the airport I bumped into the German couple, Sina and Matthias, again who were also headed towards Bangkok. Having a feeling I would see them again I exchanged emails. As my plane took off I was thinking about one of the great quotes in the book, Shantaram. The quote said that India was the heart, the Italy, of SE Asia. The people are romantics and will do anything in the name of love.