Koh Tao, Surat Thani, Thailand
Monday, March 9, 2015
By Jody
I waved bye bye to Bryan at Singapore's Changi airport as he flew off to England and caught my own flight to Phuket, Thailand. I was having a de Ja vue moment as he had left me alone in Thailand for two weeks before!
But Thailand is good to be alone. It's very easy to get around, the transport links are good, it's easy to find accommodation and I know how things work here - what to avoid and what's good.
Besides, Phuket was not my ultimate destination. Just one night was planned here before getting the bus over to Surat Thani and the ferry to the beautiful island of Koh Tao.
I had an exasperating trip at Phuket though
on the bus in Phuket town
. I landed ok. Got the correct bag off the carousel this time and made my way outside. It was 1:20pm.
I told the bus company where i wanted to go and they sold me a ticket saying I would have to wait a while until they had sold enough tickets to fill a mini bus. Being in a fairly relaxed frame of mind I said OK and found a cool place to wait.
1 1/2 hours later I was still the only person waiting to go so I went and got my money back and looked for another way of getting into the city.
I saw another bus company and they said a bus would be here in 20 minutes so I waited and got on it when it came in.
An hour later the bus finally left but even then I wasn't home and dry. It did a long meander around the city centre and I finally got off at a different bus station and jumped on a local open sided wagon to get to where I needed to be. Luckily the lad on the bus who spoke just enough English was able to tell me when the best time to jump off would be - with google maps you think it would be easy but the bus did such a wiggly route that he kept saying "no not yet - bus go nearer" but then the bus would steer away before coming back in closer each time
leaving Surat Thani
. I just went with the flow in the end!
Still there was a lovely young couple on the bus who had been living in China and were making their way to Costa Rica to live. We had a laugh and enjoyed the scenery on the way.
My hotel was lovely - The Chinotel - and the staff very welcoming with a nice cold drink for me when I finally arrived at 7pm. It had taken me over 6 hours to get from the airport just a 45 minute taxi ride away but there wasn't any rush and I wasn't bothered.
The hotel organised my bus ticket for the next day - the Lomprayah service all the way to Koh Tao. It was a long old trip, about 300km altogether and I finally arrived on Koh Tao at 6:45pm on Tuesday. Funny I really felt like I was coming home when I got off that boat.
And guess who was there to meet me???
Yes the friendly faces of Per and Kiki.
Well long time - no see
near the jetty
. All of 6 days since we parted in Jakarta!
It was great to see them here and they helped me with my bags to the Jom Thong guesthouse where I was planning to stay.
The guesthouse was almost full and only had one room left which had a big chunk of ceiling missing owing to a leak in the upstairs room. Still I was too tired to search anywhere else and took it on the understanding it was cheaper and I would switch rooms the next day - which I did.
Per was diving the next day also so Kiki & I had a great day just wandering along the pedestrian beach road where I bought my first very own snorkel set. It was great to have one that fitted my face and mouth properly and no longer have to use the skanky ones you rent.
I was also on a mission this week to find somewhere to live for a few months. When Bryan returned from England in a few weeks' time with his parents, we would need somewhere for at least 2 months and an apartment seemed like the best option - somewhere we could unpack properly and call home for a while
Hacienda golf course
.
After a few days, a few leads, a few fantastic apartments with amazing views and all no thanks yous, I was eventually pointed towards a bar called the Hacienda at the Koh Tao Leisure Park. The bar maid there - Lynne, had a key to an apartment I was fairly hopeful about. The owner was away home in Sweden so she was looking after things until he got back. I rented a bike and went to the Hacienda and met with Lynne and made an appointment to view Viking Apartment the next day.
I chanced the remark that it sounded like the apartment was a good fit for us so now I just needed a job. "Oh just ask Grumpy over there" she said pointing at the landlord - "he needs staff".
After a quick chat with Grumpy who's real name turned out to be Steve, it sounded like I would have a part time job when I got back from Bangkok with Bryan and his parents. I was on a roll here!
The next day the apartment viewing went really well and Lynne seemed really nice so I felt like we would be in a nice community too. Deposit paid and I went out to celebrate with Kiki & Per
that's a big fish
.
We started with some rum Per had brought somewhere (there certainly wasn't any left over from Maratua!) and with more than a few drinks later, we went down to the jetty where there was an event being held.
Now we are still not quite sure what this event was in aid of but we joined in anyway. It was all mainly Thai & Burmese people there and there were hundreds of people there. Along with lots of fish!
Yes it was a bit smelly but everyone was having fun dancing and eating, there was a live band belting out some awful, repetitive music and there were dancers on stage too. A great atmosphere. It seemed to be a competition and prize giving event centred around the fish. There was lots of clapping and cheering going on each time someone held up a fish but we couldn't understand a word of it!
Eventually it was time for Kiki & Per to leave. They had decided to go to Koh Lipe which is still in Thailand but on the Andaman coast near Langkawi, Malaysia, where Bryan and I had been just a few months ago. They were catching the night ferry to the mainland so I went down to the jetty to wave them off.
So now I was here on Paradise all alone. What on earth was I going to do??
Problem solved - Steve text me to say he needed me to start work sooner than expected and could I work Tuesday night? Of course I can I said and it gave me something to look forward to
fun at the fish party
The Hacienda sits inside the Leisure Park which really gets it's name because it has Koh Tao's only non-diving activity here - the Mini Golf!
The staff at the Hacienda are all really nice, mainly Thai and Burmese and just one or two of us whiteys to fill in some gaps. I am struggling to learn all their names though - Dam, Tam, Gan, So, La, Laa. I'm not sure if I should sing their names! But they are all really sweet people.
So on my second night working who walks into the bar? Tony - the owner of Viking Apartments. He also seemed really nice and was happy to let me leave my big case at the apartment whilst I went to Bangkok. I really hadn't wanted to lug it on the ferry and bus all that way so I was very grateful he said I could leave it.
So on Sunday 22nd March, I left Koh Tao behind and got the ferry then the bus to Bangkok. I feel comfortable in Bangkok despite how it may be portrayed on TV documentaries. It's a great city. I was very excited about Bryan coming back and couldn't wait to see him the following day.
I arrived in Bangkok very late and made my way to Rambuttri where I knew I would find a decent cheap guesthouse for tonight and I found that at New Siam 3 on Soy Rambuttri.
My plan was to find somewhere nice for Bryan's return tomorrow night - well he would be tired from his long flight right!
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