A Quick Guide to Southeast Asia on the Cheap

Traveling to Southeast Asia can be a life-changing experience. It can also seem very daunting and scary for a backpacker unfamiliar with Asia. For a lot of people, Southeast Asia is the next step for a backpacker, with Europe being the first, or a stopover on the ever-popular round-the-world trips. For those accustom to getting around Europe, booking hotels or hostel and riding trains from city to city, country to country, Southeast Asia can be quite confusing as to where to start, where to go and what to do, where to stay and how to get around. Worry no more. This short guide to traveling Southeast Asia on the cheep will answer the questions that many have about one of the greatest travel destinations on the planet.

Where to Start
This of course can all depend on where you want to go and what you want to see. There are three major air travel hubs into Southeast Asia: Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. For those looking to traverse the six countries that make up the area most commonly referred to as Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) each travel hub has it’s positives and negatives.

Singapore – Flying into Singapore is probably the most convenient place of entry. Requiring no visa for American citizens, Singapore offers mainland Southeast Asia to the north and Indonesia and ever-popular Bali to the south. Although Indonesia may be only a few miles from Singapore and accessible as some ports by ferry, the majority of travel Indonesia must be reached by flights. Singapore is good hub for flying to the south. If it’s peninsular Southeast Asia you strive for, Singapore is a great place to start. Comfortable buses, some even with WIFI, connect Singapore with Malaysia and ultimately to what lays ahead in the north. Singapore is also a great starting point to get acclimated. Being a first world country, with a national language of English (among others), Singapore can be the stream in which to wet your feet as it is a microcosm of Asia with it’s melting pot of cultures.

Kuala Lumpur – North of Singapore approximately 10 hours by bus is the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, known simply by travelers as ‘KL’. If you want to dive right into the culture shock Southeast Asia can bring, KL is the place to start. It is also Air Asia, the greatest budget airline on the planet’s, hub. From KL, one can connect to every country in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia via a cheep and comfortable flight, some for as little as 50 $US to Thailand or even further if you book ahead.

Bangkok – Rated one of the best cities to travel in the entire world, Bangkok can be a great starting point to explore Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam if Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia aren’t on your itinerary. From Bangkok one can hop a bus, flight or even the train to many places throughout the subcontinent.

Your budget may also be a deciding factor in where you start. Going from the south to the north one will find the prices getting smaller and smaller. Where the cheapest rooms in Singapore and Malaysia can be five or six dollars, one can seek out rooms costing a little more than two dollars in Laos, Cambodia and even some places in Thailand. This allows for you to get the most expensive part of your journey out of the way first.

How to Get Around?
Getting around Southeast Asia is a piece of cake. It can be sketchy from time to time, but the best advice is just go with it. In the cities your feet are the best means of transportation. Walk until you get lost, pull out your map, locate yourself, and continue on. In major cities like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the subway can be quite nice, but in other cities the tuk-tuk will be your friend. Offering dirt cheap rides (again, don’t hesitate to haggle), tuk-tuks or little motorized carts, will be able to take you anywhere you want to go. In some cases you can rent tuk-tuks out for the day. This is especially recommended in Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, as $10US will get you your own private tuk-tuk for the day.

When it comes to city-to-city or international travel, the buses are the way to go. Many are quite comfortable and nice with air conditioning and even a meal, but some overnight buses can be like sleeping on a bookshelf with a stranger. Still, for $10-$16US, it’s hard to beat the price. Most, if not all, guesthouses will offer transportation. Their all included tickets usually include pickup from the guesthouse and the transportation to get you to the next city. This however, could be in the form of a bus, van, boat or pickup bed—you’ll get there and the adventure is half the fun. You may look at the ticket they give you and wonder, how the hell is this all I need? But you’ll soon realize that you’ll be broken up by destination once you reach various travel hubs. In most cases you’ll be given a sticker that denotes where your final destination is. Don’t lose the sticker! Also try to talk the guesthouse down for the transportation ticket. In many cases you can get the price down at least a couple bucks and if not, don’t feel bad about ducking into the adjacent guesthouse and trying to secure transportation that way.

If you think you’re paying too much for a bus from a guesthouse, get yourself to the bus station, as prices will always be cheaper there for the same trip. Though these wont include all the other sort trips from guesthouse to bus station or from the bus station into town, but it’s worth it for a cheaper price.

In some cases you can also go to travel agencies. Unlike the travel agencies we think of the in the US, these specialize in travel around the country or the surround countries. They can also help with booking boats to islands, elephant treks, or other excursions. Some travel agencies also book private vans to the next city. This can be cost effective only if you’ve banded together with a group of travelers all headed to the same place.

In Thailand the train is also an option. Although it may cost a little more, the ride is very comfortable and is a great way to go from Bangkok to Chang Mai overnight. Just go to the train station and book your trip that way for the cheapest price.

For the more adventurous, the renting of a motobike can be done with nothing more than a deposit. One of the best ways to see Vietnam is to take a motorbike from Hanoi to Saigon or vice versa. They’re also nice for getting around islands like Koh Pangang.

Wanna fly? You’re in luck as Air Asia services all of Southeast Asia. The flights can be very cheap and are very comfortable. You’ll have to pay for baggage and every other luxury, but in most cases the flights aren’t much longer than two or three hours.

Do I Need a Visa?
In most cases no, but there are some countries that require them.
Singapore – No visa required for US
Malaysia – a visa can be acquired at the border and don’t cost anything
Thailand – 15 days if you enter by land and 30 if you enter by air.
Laos – 30 days for about $35US depending on how much the border guard wants.
Cambodia – 30 days for $25-30US. Easily obtained that the border.
Vietnam – visas ARE required and should be obtained at a travel agency for $45US
Burma – visa ARE required but used to offer visa on arrive at Yangon International.
Hong Kong – no visa required for US
China – a heft visa process including an in-depth itinerary and a $150US fee.

Where to Stay?
The most popular backpacker accommodation are guesthouses. Guesthouses are essentially hostels but in most cases you get a little more comfort. Although there are dorm rooms, many of the guesthouses offer dirt cheep single rooms. If you meet fellow travelers along with way, make friends and split the cost of a double room with two beds, as it’ll nearly cut your room cost in half. The rooms aren’t the cleanest and don’t have nearly the amenities (a room I had in Bangkok didn’t even have a wall outlet) but if you want to save money you wont mind. Rooms are usually split into three categories: dorm, fan or air con. It can be an unspeakable relief to have an air conditioner in your room, but it almost doubles the cost of your room. The best advice I can give is to get used to sleeping without an air conditioner and let the fan keep you cool. Also some rooms advertise en suite, which simply means you have a bathroom in your room. Many guesthouses have communal bathrooms and it’s suggested to avoid en suite if you’re looking to save that hard earned cash.

Unlike Europe and the US, the best way to book an accommodation is not on the Internet, as most of the cheaper guesthouses do not have online booking. The ones that do have more expensive prices for the same thing you can find elsewhere. Word of mouth is the best way to discover guesthouses. Talk to other travelers as to where they stayed. Some of then will even admit to staying in a bad place and give you solid advice as to what to avoid. The best way to find a room for the night is to wing it. A Lonely Planet: Southeast Asia on a Shoestring is a vital resource, although you probably wont want to take them up on any guesthouse suggestions as those places hike prices up once they’ve been discovered by LP. When you arrive in a city, flip to the map section of the city you’re in and find where the majority of the guesthouses are. It never fails that the ones listed are only the tip of the guesthouse iceberg. Go from guesthouse to guesthouse until you find the price you want to pay. Don’t think twice about haggling for a cheaper price. Even if you think you’ve got the cheapest price possible, you’ll probably meet a fellow traveler who is staying there for less. Be weary of touts trying to get you back to their guesthouse, as they tend to go back on the original price they offered (especially at Pakbeng where the slowboat stops for the night). This isn’t to say that some of these guesthouse employees are worthy of your time, but rather just be sure you get what you want. If they change their price, always remember that just down the street is another guesthouse that is cheaper than what they offered. Also be weary of tuk-tuk drivers claiming they have a centrally located guesthouse they can take you too. Most are just trying to help out a friend or relative with their guesthouse and you’ll end up miles from the city center.

Banding with other travelers is the best way to get even cheaper rooms. If you have a group of four or more you are likely to get a discount at a guesthouse if you play your bargaining cards right.

Where to Go?
When I was 19 I spend two months backpacking Europe by myself. Before I left I had lists and lists of places I wanted to go and things to see in those places. For example, when I thought of Paris I thought of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame, rock legend Jim Morrison’s grave and Versailles just to name a few. Before I left for Southeast Asia I was asked what it was I wanted to see. I had all these things I wanted to see in Europe and for some places, Cambodia specifically, I only had one thing in particular I wanted to see—Angkor Wat. To some it may seem like there isn’t much to see in Southeast Asia, but that’s far from reality. I’ve broken down there most popular countries and provided a short list of things to see and do in each one. The most important thing is that see what you want to see. Do a little research before you go and find what interests you.

Singapore
-Food; Singapore is a foodie’s wet dream. With cheep eats all around, you’ll never want to miss a meal!
-Little India; a district of central Singapore that can make you ask yourself, ‘this is Singapore right?’
-The Arab Quarter; another district that is uniquely different than any other.
-The Merlion; Singapore most iconic structure may not be much, but the surrounding area, views of the world’s craziest skyscrapers meshed with historic colonial landings is a must.
-Museums; not everyone’s cup of tea, but Singapore offers some great one. Try the Singapore Art Museum, known as SAM.
-Sentosa Island; for the traveler with more cash to spend, it’s home to Universal Studios and other amusement parks.
-The Singapore Flyer; the largest Ferris wheel-like structure in Asia. The views of the city from night are awe-inspiring.

Malaysia
-Kuala Lumpur; home to the world’s third and fourth tallest buildings (for now), a bustling city atmosphere, and a glimpse of what Southeast Asia will look like in the future, with the old ways surrounding.
-Batu Caves; outside of KL are a popular tourist destination, although the statue outside the caves may be more impressive than the caves themselves.
­-The Cameron Highlands; popular with nature lovers, this area south of KL is one of pure beauty and plenty of outdoor activities.
-Melaka; once a Portuguese settlement, Melaka is home to peaceful afternoons, spectacular meals and a bustling night market, all within walking distance.

Thailand
-Bangkok; the city with the most tourist attractions in Southeast Asia you can marvel at the giant reclining gold Buddha at Wat Pho, witness the grandioso palaces, buy any knockoff your heart can imagine on Khao San Road, eat like a king for two dollars and spend a day zipping around on a tuk-tuk for thirty cents.
-Koh Phi Phi; where they filmed the movie The Beach, these two islands could be the most beautiful place on the entire planet.
-Chang Mai; the hub for jungle treks, riding elephants or exploring temples.
-Koh Pangang; where the infamous Full Moon Party takes place. (Not to be missed, backpackers!)

Laos­
-Slowboating down the Mekong; this two day boat ride will make you want to put The Doors on your iPod and lose yourself staring off into the muddy waters.
-Luang Prabang; one of my favorite cities in Southeast Asia, you can explore the surrounding waterfalls, shop at the night market day after day and always find something new, or enjoy the great nightlife (up until 11:30 that is.)
-Vang Vieng; a backpacker must. Tube your life away as you float from bar to bar sipping snake whiskey and bailing off of trapeze swings into the water!
-Si Pan Don (The 4000 Islands); one of the most serene places on the planet where women work in rice patties, little kids bathe in the Mekong river, water buffalo block the dirt paths (as there are no roads on most of the islands), all while smoking four dollar bags of ganja lounging in a bungalow overlooking the river that costs less than $2.50US a night!

Cambodia
-Phnom Phen; a place to shock all your senses, you can baffle yourself looking at palaces, cry your eyes out at The Killing Fields and S-21, eat a tarantula on the street, find anything you ever wanted in the Russian Market, and if you make friends with a tuk-tuk driver you maybe invited to their house for dinner or go clubbing into the wee hours of the night.
-Angkor Wat; the most famous temple in all of Southeast Asia is worth the $20 a day entry fee, though you don’t need to spend much more than a day there.
-Siem Reap; eat your heart out on Pub Street with international cuisine and good drinks, or shop the knockoffs at the market.
-Shinouckville; known by many names, this backpacker taken over beach community on the Gulf of Thailand can be like heaven on earth as you lounge on the beach, eat dollar lobster, get wacky with a pizza from Happy Herb’s, watch a movie in the black market movie theatre, or just party the night away and the numerous beach bars.

Vietnam
-Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon); dodge motorbikes as you eat amazing food, and see relics from the Vietnam War
-Ha Long Bay; one of the most beautiful places on earth.
-Hanoi; rent a motorbike of your own and risk you life on the busy streets as you stop into amazing restaurants, haggle at the market or eat street food that you’ll never forget!

Other Places
-Burma; not an easy place to get into, but well worth the effort if you don’t mind a little paranoia. The nicest people in the entire world and a society void of most Western commodities (even Coke-a-Cola and atms!) and not to mention the amazing temples of Bagon, city of Mandalay and the floating gardens on Inlay Lake. Keep in mind that you do have to fly in and fly out and that a visa may be required.
-Hong Kong; a beautiful modern city with the best skyline view in the world. Not requiring a visa, Hong Kong can be a little taste of China, the food, the people and the endless options for a fun night out! Fly in from Bangkok for the cheapest flight.

Wrap Up
Southeast Asia is full of backpackers and you will inevitably meet someone who is doing the exact same trip you are. Sometimes these people are worth traveling with. As they say, two minds are better than one. Have no fears, Southeast Asia is quite accessible to an English monolingual. Learn a few phrases to make your trip easier, but if not don’t fret, you’ll be fine. Yes many of the countries are third world, but that doesn’t for an instant mean they are dangerous. Have fun. Try new things. Sweat your pores out. You’ll never forget your trip to Southeast Asia and after reading this your fears or concerns should be lessened if not non existent. It’s alright to be a little nervous, as my mother once told me, “If you’re weren't a little scared, you wouldn’t be human.”

Milk

I long not for this world but for the next
I spend my money only on the things I am certain will kill me
I am tired but my heart races and sleep is nothing more than a fantasy
I feel as bloated as the cow my friend overfed while his father vacationed in Hawaii
It ate and ate until the insides burst and became the outsides
But milk is the only thing that eases my mind anymore
I’m more addicted to it than I am you

Eric & Lia

We found the joint they rolled, the one that fell down between their bed. They scored some from a guy in Koh Tao and brought it with them to Phi Phi. We get stoned and they tell me about how they met in China at a language submersion school. For the first three months they only spoke Mandarin to each other. A week from now he'll be back in Berkley and she'll be back in Jersey.

I tell them a story about a man who was sent to space to live on a space station for twenty years free of earth contact. The space program created him an android that looked identical to his wife—a women he loved dearly. The android was programmed with an advanced artificial intelligence. It had all the qualities he loved in his wife and none of the one he hated. Several years they lived together before the man realized it wasn’t his wife he had been in love with but the android. In desperation he lit the space station afire, triggering the release of the escape pod that would take him back to his wife. When the pod entered earth’s atmosphere and crashed into the ocean a retrieval team took little time getting him to safety. Once debriefed and let free he went to see his wife. When she told him that she wasn’t in love with him anymore but rather in love with the android the space program had provided her upon his absence he told her about the people he killed to see her and how it was only a matter of time before they found out what he had done. She says she never wants to see him again, that she’s happy with what she’s got. The story ends with the man being escorted from his own house by an android that look and sounds identical to him.


She wipes a tear from her eye before excusing herself. I can hear her crying in the bathroom over the wiz of the fan. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do without the girl,” he says.

At the Sunshine Guesthouse

In Phuket there stayed a deaf backpacker in my guesthouse. He was German I think. It was hard to tell. When he first arrived I saw him arguing with a tuk-tuk driver over the fare. He tossed his hands about and threw a tantrum, his eyes watering in frustration. Though he would smile when we passed in lobby, he never made an attempt to communicate. In the human evenings he shuffled through images of great Thai and Chinese temples, replaying video after video, each one of him and a group of deaf children, all with smiles and the hand sign for ‘I love you.” But one night, the man didn’t come back. Someone from the consulate collected his belongings the next morning. In broken, English the proprietor told me, “sneaker wave.” I imagine he was squaring up a photo, back to the ocean when it took him. The next night two English girls checked into the dorms; one slept in the same bed he did. I told her the story but I don’t know how she took it. She didn’t know him like I did.

Holiday in Cambodia

In Phnom Phen a women on the street offered me an hour with her infant daughter. The day before a man handed her a hundred dollar bill. I told myself he was doing it so she wouldn’t be out her today. I don’t see anything wrong with lying to myself.

JJ's

One night she couldn’t take the noise anymore. When she was a girl, before the backpackers found it, before it was Sihanoukville it was quite. It wasn’t full of techno and beach bars. Six years ago an English guy raped her daughter and left the country before they could catch him. It was the only time she was thankful the Khmer Rouge took her husband. She didn’t know what he would have done.

I was there the night she showed up at JJ’s. It was twenty-five cent beer night. The September crowds of budget travelers started fights, spilled drinks and danced topless on the bar. She sat near the door, putting all her weight on the balls of her feet. At one point an American asked her for a dance on a dare. When she didn’t respond he told her to fuck herself.

She sat quietly for nearly an hour until she caught herself tapping her toe to the beat. Only early mornings, when the passed out are sound asleep and the dubstep is no more she sleeps. It was often she looked in to the blue eyes of her grandson and cursed his existence.

The Boy Who Had Become King

Every night at three in the morning a boat arrives at Ton Sai Bay from Krabi carrying anywhere from six to twelve, 500 gallon drums of cooking oil. The drums are off-loaded and distributed to the dozens of restaurants and guesthouses throughout Kho Phi Phi while the empty ones are returned to the boat where they are taken to Krabi and refilled. The livelihoods of the Kho Phi Phi people depend on the arrival of this oil. At around four in the morning the boat, then full of empty drums, would disembark for the Thai mainland. Tyler checked his watch. It was nearly three. In an hour’s time, he thought, both him and Karl would leave Kho Phi Phi forever on that boat.
Tyler, lying in a cot, holds his knockoff Casio watch above his face. The Casio, a staple of the knockoff accessories found in Tyler’s current part of the world was already beginning to rust in the humid wet-season air. His eyes squint, pressing the button in the top left corner he makes the watch’s illuminating color change rapidly from red to blue to green to yellow and back again. He presses the button again watching the lights, paying no attention to the time. The watch’s novelty wears off after a few light cycles and Tyler slowly returns his arm to his side.
A fan, that at one point appeared to osculate, stares Tyler in the face. Without the fan the small one cot room would be unbearably hot. The humidity makes sleep impossible and the sound of the wall fan on full blast is defining. Throwing his legs over the bed Tyler stands and walks to the fan. Spreading his fingers wide in front of the exposed blade brings back memories shared with Caroline. The mental image of Caroline’s hand rhythmically raising and lowering in the wind brings a smile to his face but, nearly as fast as it was conjured up, the image changes to Caroline’s face pressed to the sand by a hand as she struggles to keep her underwear on. The image makes his hand return instantly to his side.
There’s a soft knock at the open door and a Thai boy, no more than eight or nine, stands in the open doorframe. The look in the boy’s eyes was one Tyler had never seen—sympathetic and scared. Mok appeared behind the boy who could easily be his son, resting his arms around the boy’s neck. A small cut on Mok’s chin appears as if it were recently bleeding.
“We find him,” Mok informs.
“Where was he?”
“Like you say.”
“At the dock?”
“Waiting for boat, yes.”
A warm smile comes to Tyler’s face. Extending his hand to pat the boy on the head recalls a voice in Tyler’s head reminding him of Southeast Asian etiquette. The head is what connects the soul to the heavens; he remembers reading verbatim in Lonely Planet as he moves his hand to the boy’s shoulder.
“Get him ready. I’ll be out soon.”
Mok nods submissively before nudging the boy along away from the door. Mok pulls the door closed, still nodding, as he remains avoiding eye contact.
Sitting on the edge of the cot, elbows on his knees, Tyler breathes deeply. The humid air is heavy. Reaching into his pocket, Tyler removes a pack of L&M cigarettes and a book of matches and a digital camera. Pocketing one, lighting the last cigarette and tossing the empty pack in the corner of the room he turns on the camera, inhaling the tobacco deep into his lungs. Flipping through pictures of the elephant trek, the slow boat and the Full Moon Party, all of which spotlighting the beautiful Caroline brings a tear to his eye. Any sense of time is lost and Tyler extinguishes the burning cigarette filter on the metal bed frame.
“Oi! Ty? Ya in der?” the unique accent could only be that of Stephan’s. Without a response the door cracks. Stephan’s vibrant blue eyes peer in through the opening. “Can I come in?” his eyes seem to ask. A nod is enough of an answer and the door opens more reveling a short tan Aussie with long curly blonde hair.
Stephan was as local as a Westerner could be on Phi Phi. Speaking fluent Thai, Stephan acted as the middleman between the locals and the tourists. It was said Stephan could get anything one’s heart desired on the isolated island, except prostitutes that was—he made that very clear. He was Phi Phi’s vice guy of sorts. Naturally, he was the first one Tyler came to after hearing the news from Caroline. Stephan sat on the rickety table, the only other piece of furniture in the room, rolling a spliff.
A moment passed without conversing before Tyler spoke, “Do you think this is right?”
“Right?”
“Yeah, do you think what I’m doing is right?”
“That’s not fer me to decide,” Stephan spoke blankly. “He put up quite a fight.” The room now smelt of marijuana as Stephan offered up the spliff.
“Did anyone see?” Tyler asked, waving off the offer. Although he trusted Stephan, Tyler was aware of the Thai government’s attempts to crackdown on drug use by tourists. Horror stories of fellow travelers being forced to participate as undercover bait by the Phi Phi police were frequent. Smoking a joint in Thailand could land you on death row—this wasn’t anything Tyler wanted to risk. Tyler also knew that if any authorities caught word of a Westerner doing what it was Tyler had planned on doing, that every cop on the island would jump at the opportunity to apprehend him. Tyler would not pay any sort of bribery money based on the simple fact he had none to spend. Being caught also meant possible harm to not only Stephan but also Mok and his son. This was something he was willing to risk. Tyler knew if everyone did their part there would be no repercussion—at least no lawful repercussions.
“It’s hard to say. We tried to keep him quiet. He hit Mok.”
“I noticed that.”
There was again silence between the two as Stephan puffed away. “What ya got der?” he asked, motioning to the camera.
“Just pictures.” Tyler replied powering down the Cannon, tossing it on the bed next to him. “Where is he?”
“Ready when you are.”
Tyler was on his feet before Stephan could even finish speaking. Stephan took another hit and before he could exhale Tyler was at the door.
“Hey, don’t forget this,” Stephan motioned to the knife that had been sitting on the table next to him the entire time.
A group of Thai men stood around a closed door. They watched Tyler’s every movement as he joined them. The group gazed at Tyler as if he was the Angel of Death. The knife, tucked into Tyler’s belt was visible under his sweat-soaked shirt. Stephan hadn’t moved, finishing his cigarette, he had done his part for now.
A muddled voice came from behind the door. It grew louder and louder until Tyler could make out words. “Get me the fuck outta here! Hey! Ya hear me?! Get me outta this fucking chair!”
Hearing the voice from within was reassuring. They had found him before he could escape. Tyler again thought of Caroline. He wondered if she was asleep. He wondered whether or not she would be okay with what he would do. Tyler thought she would.
With a nod from Mok the group separated, forming an isle where they once stood. As Tyler walked to the door the Thai men bowed their heads, some said prayers, others, eyes up, watch Tyler like a boy who has become king—hungry with power.
Behind the door sat a man tied to a chair. The man recognized Tyler in an instant.
“You? What the fuck do you want?” the man barked.
Tyler remained silent as he circled the bound man.
“Well? Are you gonna get me outta here or what?” The man struggled in his chair to get free.
“You shouldn’t struggle,” Tyler spoke in a reassuring voice. He gathered a chair from the corner of the well-lit room and placed it in front of the man. The man tried to kick at the chair but discovered he was tied too tightly to kick any distance. Tyler scooted the chair away from the man and took a seat.
Tyler sat, peering at the man much like the men outside the door were staring at him. He took in every inch of the man’s body: the sweat running down the man’s neck, soaking into the man’s shirt collar; the broken toenails attached to toes sporting tuffs of hair running wild; the tattoo of the initials C.M.M. on the underside of his wrist; the torn armpit hole in his green tattered t-shirt that revealed darkly tanned skin just below the shoulder.
For a moment Tyler thought about the man’s life. He wondered if he had kids, maybe someone back home he cared about. Tyler wondered briefly what his favorite band was, his favorite food, the best orgasm this man ever had. He thought about all the things that could have given this man pleasure and how he was going to take all those things away.
“Karl, right?” Tyler finally spoke in a soft tone.
“You’re name’s Tyler.”
“That it is,” Tyler nodded in approval. “I assume you know why you’re here?”
“Psh, I’m standing by the dock mindin’ my own goddamn business when I’m jumped by a mob of chinks. So no, I don’t know why I’m here. Why don’t you tell me.”
The denial set Tyler back for a moment. He hadn’t assumed the man would take this course. Tyler stood, turning his back to Karl. He placed his hand over his face to collect his thoughts. He thought of punk music, about how jacked it got him. He tried not to think of Caroline and the night they shared not 48 hours ago.
“What was it like?” Tyler nearly murmured with his back to Karl.
“It’s a mob of pissed off Asians, how do you think it felt?” Karl replied.
“I’m talking about Caroline!” Tyler snapped, pounding his fist against the closed door.
“Who?” Karl sounded genuinely confused.
“The girl, the one you… ah, you know who I’m talking about, goddamn it! Don’t pull this shit with me!” There was a new ferocity in Tyler’s voice.
“Listen man, I really have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about!” The man pleaded.
Tyler stopped for a moment, breathing in the sticky tropical hair. “How was it?”
“How many times do I have to tell you man, I don’t know what the fuck you’re…”
Tyler turned abruptly and stabbed the knife through the back of Karl’s hand into the wooden frame of the chair. A scream, like a cloud of noxious gas filled the room, then at once was gone. Tyler removed the knife flicking the blood off the blade.
“What have I done? Huh? Tell me!” again the man pleaded.
Tyler removed the last cigarette from his pocket. Sliding the cigarette between his damp lips, Tyler then removed the book of matches from has pocket.
The man screamed again, this time louder than before.
“Please be quiet,” Tyler spoke, readying the cigarette for lighting.
“You’re fucked up, man! You’re a sick son of a bitch, ya know that? What’ve I done, huh? Tell me!”
Tyler, in a single fluid motion spun around, sticking the knife deep in to the man’s left leg. The man jerked from the pain as Tyler held the knife steady in place—still deep in his leg.
“Why are you doing this? Huh?” the man pleaded.
Tyler slowly removed the knife from the man’s leg, this time wiping the blood off of the man’s face, slowly caressing the knife, first on the left side, then on the right until the blade appeared clean. Holding the knife to the light Tyler examined every grove and knick in the blade, rolling the handle over in his hand.
Squatting before the man Tyler spoke clearly, “Because she would want me to.”
The man, bleeding heavily from the right hand and the left leg, began to laugh. “All this over some girl.”
“Don’t you dare say her name,” Tyler snapped.
“You really think you love this girl?” the man chuckled. “Let me tell you something boy, love? It’s all bullshit.”
“Stop.”
“You think you’re in love? You don’t know what love is. Ask yourself something, kid: is she really worth it? To kill over?”
Standing slowly, Tyler removed a match from the matchbook, struck it against the back of the book and lit the cigarette still between his lips.
Inhaling deeply, “Yes. Yes, she is.” Tyler made eye contact with the man, staring deep into the man’s brown eyes, exhaling the a thick cloud of smoke in his face. In a slow and steady motion Tyler began repeatedly stabbing the knife in to Karl’s gut. Each bend of the elbow, inserting and removing the knife from the bowels of the captive man, came in a rhythmic fashion. Tyler remained in eye contact the entire time until his elbow and bicep grew sore from piercing the man’s flesh.
The man lay motionless in the chair, blood flowing from his abdomen. His head flopped back, eyes still open, peering towards the ceiling. With his thumb and forefinger Tyler held the man’s right eyelid open. Taking one last breath from the cigarette Tyler extinguished the burning tobacco directly on the man’s pupil. The man jerked his last jerk as his feet spread out away from his body. Blowing on the tip of the cigarette to keep it lit Tyler did the same to the left eye.
“I can live with what I’ve done,” Tyler spoke, “you don’t deserve to.”
Tossing the butt at the feet of the bloody corpse, Tyler turned, opening the door and exiting the room. The crowd of people had reduced in numbers; Tyler figured that most couldn’t bear the man’s last screams. Stephan still sat in the same place, keeping his eyes to the floor. Mok stood, eyes adverted as Tyler exited the room. Tyler’s eyes scanned the faces of the on looking Thai people, all of which gazed back upon Tyler with the same look the small boy had given him before. With a single nod Tyler left the room.
While Tyler returned to his bungalow to retrieve his backpack the lifeless body of Karl was stuffed deep inside a 500-gallon drum that earlier today held cooking oil. The drum would be the last loaded on to the ship that night. When the vessel was far enough between the island and the mainland the barrel of oil and corpse inside would be dropped to the ocean floor never to be seen again. Stephan has arranged all of this, including Tyler’s safe passage to the mainland.
Collecting his North Face backpack from the bed, yet another knockoff purchased along the way, Tyler scanned the room one last time as he always did before leaving. Tyler checked his Casio once more. A single, unsmudged droplet of blood covered the last digit. Three fifty something, the watch read. Unlatching the watch from his wrist, Tyler held it in front of his face. He pressed the top left button one last time before tossing the watch into the bin. Stephan’s people would scour Tyler’s room one last time for any evidence unconsciously left behind. Stopping the fan and turning off the light to save electricity, Tyler quietly closed the door behind him. As he began to walk in the direction of the beach his eye caught the illumination of the adjacent bungalow—Caroline’s. Tyler continued to walk. He would board the boat, leave Thailand and never seen Caroline again. He had his reasons.
He would mention this incident only once more in his entire life—alluding to it only in story written for a writing class.