Tear jerking journeys - sorry, experiences!

One of the most horrific journeys I've had to endure to date (aside from a 6 hour train journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai turned into an 18 hour endurance test with me in a reclining chair scared shitless as the the train rolled backwards down the track for about three hours!) was part of my journey from Ko Samet to Ko Chang.

Thankfully Brooke and Brett where with me - to be honest if they hadn't had been I would've thrown my rucksack on the floor, stomped my feet on the ground and cried like a baby as I saw the stomach wrenching task ahead of me. In fact I'd go so far as to say I would've slid down the nearest wall sobbing uncontrollably.

To the untrained or untraveled eye you'd be forgiven for thinking booking a ferry and a bus ticket means just that. Well it does in essence. And that's exactly how my journey panned out. Except when I booked my ticket the smiley little Thai man didn't tell me I'd had to face two of my biggest fears - the sea and height....at the same time.

I suffer massively from vertigo. In fact I've yet to meet anyone who has the fear as much as I do. I feel dizzy when I step up onto a chair. It hinders me in many, many ways. For example, changing a light bulb (admittedly not a regular past time of mine) is a huge undertaking. Looking out of windows from a great height makes me wince. Even stepping down or even jumping down puts the fear of God in me. You get the picture.

The sea is another fear of mine. I have to be able to see the bottom at all times. Can't bear its anywhere near my face. Jumping into the sea is a big no no as is putting my head under the water. You have no hope in hell of me jumping from a pier into the sea. I'd rather stab my hand.

So you can imagine how I felt when faced with the reality that if I wanted to catch the ferry to the mainland, I would have to face two of my biggest fears.

I would have to leap between five boats, bobbing around in the dock, with my rucksack on my back. Once I arrived at the mainland I would then have to leap and I mean leap, from the boat to the pier in order to board the awaiting bus.

Whatever happened to a sturdy steel plank which you could walk easily across (with handle bars) and without being on the verge of tears? What ever happened to mooring the damn boat right next to the pier to ensure a woman from London with all manner of various (some might say verging on the neurotic - admittedly none have lived to tell the tale) fears boards in a relaxed manner? Let me tell you, these considerations don't exist on the piers of Ko Samet and Lung Lang. You have been warned!

To say I was scared was an understatement. We were already late for the boat. Thankfully we were travelling with Jack - local to the island - so he was yelling at the skipper in Thai to wait for us. I was running, rather waddling with my rucksack on my back. Yep, it now feels like I have one dead person in my rucksack rather than two.

As soon as it became apparent I'd have to leap across five boats to get the boat taking us to Lung Lang I began to panic. In fact I think I whimpered. Jack nibbley leapt in between the boats. Brett (Snowy) was right behind him. Thankfully Brooke knew of my fears and hung back with me....she also grabbed Snowy so he could lend some muscle to the problem.

I seem to remember (raw fear distorts your memory) Snowy grabbed my rucksack and lugged it to the ferry. That meant my initial fear of falling in between two boats, knocking my head as I fell into the murky sea, sinking to the bottom and drowning due to the dead weight on my back, which would ultimately mean I would have to live on the 'other side' with the knowledge I'd been murdered by my rucksack, was erased.

That just left me with the slightly adapted fear of falling in between two boats, smacking my head on one as I fell and drowning was left for me to replay over and over again in my mind.

Brooke, the true friend, took pity on me and held out her hand as I blinked back my tears and gingerly stepped between the boats. I did it. I consoled myself that I was alive. It was fine. It was over.

Or so I thought.

As we arrived at the pier at Lung Lang my heart sank. I passed a few torret-esq comments to the guys as it became apparent we'd have to climb up a ladder and leap from the boat to the pier.

My chin wobbled. I blinked back more tears and recited my travelling mantra ' please don't let me die today, I promise I'll be nice to everyone I meet, I promise I'll have kind thoughts from this day forward, please don't let me die today - not leaping from a ferry to a pier at least'....

Again my rucksack was grabbed from me. Brooke advised the guys I would need a hand. Thankfully Snowy showed no fear and as I leapt forward over the 2 ft gap he grabbed my hand. I arrived safely on dry land, very close to tears.