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7 June

We were up early, first we needed to make copies of all our photos and video on DVD's to post. It had been raining the whole evening and most of the morning, but we were able to borrow an additional umbrella from our host as we walked down the street with our bags. We arrived at the post office and proceeded to weigh everything, if its just over a specific kg you pay for an additional one. We split everything into two boxes so as to minimize our losses in case it didn't reach its intended destination due to sticky hands along the way. All in all we posted 11 kg which cost us 2500 Baht!

We stopped on the way back at a quaint restaurant serving what looked like tasty shakes. We ended up buying one, but should in retrospect have bought two, so delicious was it. Back at the hotel we spent the remaining time reading and relaxing to the sound of Thai music while lounging in the deck chairs.

Just after 13h00 we headed to the market to find some food at some of the street stalls, unfortunately it starts to rain buckets and there's no one there anyway. We head across the street to the vegetarian restaurant, but unfortunately their Kow Soi is finished and we decided to try another dish, the name of which eludes us both. Nice but nothing special, unfortunately not enough to satisfy us both and we head for the Rasta restaurant. There we only come across a little girl watching TV and of course she doesn't understand a word of English...

We head over to Banana guest house, where we had a past bad experience, assuming it was a one time event we sit down and order. 20 minutes into the wait a lady shoots past us, fearing the worst, but hoping she didn't go to buy some of the ingredients we ask the manager, who always manages to look drunk. In a way he assures us the food is on its way, of course it is! We wait, she returns and we are almost about to leave when the food is placed on the table! Amazing to think that barely few years ago they were the best in town! Presumably someone built up the business and sold it to someone with no abilities, while he started another, at least thats what I would do.

Back at the guest house we wait for an opportunity when the rain stopped, before taking our bags to Jane's massage parlor where the bus will pick us up. I'm off to the internet cafe to update the blog and photos while Leanne looks for a suitable book to replace the one she had finished in 7 days. She joins me just as I finish with a new 1500 pager, "a suitable boy" that should keep her occupied for a while. Finishing off on the internet we head back to Jane waiting for the bus to arrive. Meanwhile Jane had even prepared 2 certificates in colour with a photo of us - very impressed.

A small minivan arrives and takes us and Anne to the bus station, picking up a few more travelers along the way. At the bus station we first need to fill in forms with our passport info etc. Not wanting to search through our bags we jot down our ID numbers, much to the Europeans amazement that we know our numbers off by heart. The bus was definitely not one of the better buses we had driven with. Looking more like a local bus, not a problem except when you pay for something and receive something else.

The bus wasn't that full which allowed us to sit opposite each other with a little more space as both of us had bags to big to put on top, which had to stay on our laps. A bit later though the bus started to fill up and Anne asked to sit with Leanne rather than a total stranger. They chatted happily for most of the trip. I continued with my book or admiring the view as we drove past rural villages along the way. The evening was a cold one and unlike the Champon - Bangkok trip there were no blankets handed out to keep us warm, at least the tire didn't blow! We had also packed away our warm clothes not thinking further, at least Anne could offer Leanne a top although it was also on the thin side.