Today I can reveal to you how Thailand's transport system works, or in this case, how it doesn't work.
I got myself a lovely pancake breakfast and noted that Beebee was still around. I was then given a lift with my bags via motorbike to Pattaya Beach via Sunset Beach, which was exactly what I needed with a still very sunburnt back! The speedboat had me back in Pak Bara by 10:30am, then I waited for hours for a minibus to Hat Yai. Eventually I left on the back of a truck to Satun to drop some people at the pier for Langkawi Island, which they missed due to the driver having to ask for directions in town about four times. I was then on the way to Hat Yai, and I confirmed this with the driver a few times. You can imagine my surprise when I ended up back at Pak Bara again. The driver got an earful, I had no idea what was happening, but I'd missed my bus to Penang and I had no baht to stay at any guesthouse. So I was offered the room above the travel agency in Hat Yai, the Bridgwater of southern Thailand.
I didn't really want to stay there. Hat Yai is, with the greatest respect to anyone who lives in Bridgwater, a hole. But I had no choice so I accepted. And I was happy to say I was wrong; Hat Yai is actually ok. The food is good and cheap, and the room was comfortable and even had a tv, which I used to watch Stargate Universe. Bridgwater is still a hole...