Day 89 Feb 24th
After a relaxed start to the day we reluctantly get up and head down for breakfast.... It's our last breakfast on our last island so we are in no rush to finish... We are sat on the edge of the decking, under the palms a stones throw from the sea and we'd both happily stay another day, but alas we have to go...
We are both pretty much packed so having finished breakfast I jump on the bike and return it to the hire shop before a slow walk back... We've asked the hotel to book us a taxi to the pier and have nothing to do for the next hour and a half so out comes the blog and diary gear for another update...
We order a couple of cup of tea and before we know it a guy from the hotel is walking us to an awaiting vehicle up on the road... It's the hotels own vehicle so in we jump... It's really nice to travel inside a pick up truck for once, specially a nice modern one like the one we are in, as opposed to being loaded into the back of a beaten up old truck like normal... We feel like royalty as we are driven into town.. Once at the pier we quickly returned to reality... We've got a "Boat & Flight" deal with Nok Air...... The first part of the journey is the high speed catamerang from Kho Pangang to the mainland port of Surat Thani
via Kho Samui where we will then transfer to a coach to an airport in Nakhon Si Thammara. The queue for the boat ticket is long and slow moving but we are here in good time so we don't need worry.... Numerous people have arrived at the port with the expectation of jumping onto a ferry and disappearing, but it would appear they'd decided against booking and today wasn't going to be there day... Because the half moon party had happened a couple of days ago there's a large number of people trying to get off the island... Thankfully we'd booked some time ago so we collect our tickets with ease and start the 5 min walk to the assembly area for catching the boat.... By the time we arrive at the assembly point a large number of other people had already filled the shaded waiting area so we are stuck out in the heat... Thankfully the boat can be seen in the distance travelling towards us so we do not have to wait long before we can take cover within the boat.... The crossing is quicker in the catamaran
than the ferry we used to get here
and the sea is choppier which must be making the sea sick amongst us feel pretty ropey, but an hour and a half later we are off the boat and onto a coach for the airport....
The coach is full of people when we leave the ferry terminal and quickly heats up... Either the air conditioning doesn't work, or it's not switched on, either way it's hot !!
We are seated behind a woman who has clearly found the boat crossing difficult so she's spread out on the seat in front trying to recover.....
The coach journey is not really very pleasant , it's just to hot, and the windows don't open, but it does give us time to reflect in our stay...
Today is pretty much the first step in our journey home and although there is an element of looking forward to going back home, staying in a holiday mode that's become normal life whilst travelling around a mass of incredibly beautiful places is not really something I'm looking forward to giving up... Given the option of doing at all over again and I'd be there like a shot... Asia, despite the occasional shortcoming is spectacular and we've been incredibly luck in being able to spend so much time here without really having to consider budget... The place is full of friendly, giving people who have nothing... It's landscape is beautiful on a scale unrivalled by anywhere else we have been making the last three months very enjoyable.... We pass banana trees, palm trees and rubber trees for miles and its easy to get yourself into a position where you don't give it the appreciation it all deserves...
There plenty of space in these counties wether it's privately owned homes or just the landscape in general there space everywhere.... Asia is a little like what I imagine England to of been like in the 60's... There no red tape... The rich get richer and the poor get poorer... Everything appears to be repaired over and over again instead of simply been thrown away and there's skilled tradesman working with natural produce from the land everywhere....
We arrive at I very small airport and have a two hour wait for the plane... We were one of the first in from the coach and quickly make our way to the only cafe there.. Which had all of about 5 seats with we sit in until we board.... The coffee is lovely as are the snacks with we thoroughly enjoy as we are both starving !
The flights good.... And I'm guessing that Nakhon Si Thammara airport has a short runway as we accelerate much quicker than normal as we go down the runway for take off... We arrive into Bangkok at a different airport than when we first arrived nearly 3 months... The airport we arrive at is Bangkok's old international airport and it has a very bumpy runway..... Either that or the plane has a flat tyre....
We grab our bags and make our way to the arrivals lounge.... We have our accommodation booked for our remaining nights in Bangkok... We are booked back into the same hotel we used when we arrived, however getting from the airport to central Bangkok we'd decided not to book in advance.... We locate the taxi queue and its massive... It's got to be an hours wait and when you finally get a cab it cost a reasonable amount so we look for other options.... In the end after chatting with the airport information desk we plumb for a local bus to the underground where we then change to a underground train for the next hour into central Bangkok where we then jump into a Tuk Tuk for the remaining leg of our rather long trip.... We've both coped very well today... There's been 1 boat, 1 plane, 1 Tuk Tuk ,1 bus, 1 coach and a pick up truck involved in today's journey and it's all gone very smoothly.... The Tuk Tuks in Bangkok are the best in Asia... They look brilliant and they make a different sound than all the others and I love them... I could be driven around Bangkok all night in one without issue at all... We agreed a good price for the Tuk Tuk ride to Kho San Road, but unfortunately get dropped off at the wrong end, and as the Kho San Road is closed to road traffic at night we have to carry our bags the lengthy of it.... It's really busy by this time of night and it's longer than either of us remember, but we make it to the other end, around a couple of corners and into our hotel.....
Shiree's knackered so pretty much goes straight to bed whilst I head out for some food in the street our hotels on before joining her....
I love Bangkok... It's got an energy that nowhere else in Asia has managed to come close to in my opinion...