Saturday I spent the day in Khaosan Road, just pottering around the markets and seeing the sights. Khaosan is a very interesting place, just imagine Southmead Market but hot and humid and a lot cheaper. Got myself a few bargains so all is good :) its a funny place, Thai people are quite friendly but once you've looked at something on a stall, even if as you're passing by, they're onto you like Ruch at a G Star Raw sale. They don't let you go without a fight, which works out in your favour really as you end up getting a good price if you're willing to be a tight fisted git, which I can be at times ;)
I met. Group of Manc girls in the hostel who invited me out with them that night and a couple of Brummie lads, who might as well have been speaking Thai, I could not understand their accent whatsoever. We watched the football then headed to Prince Palace, where there is a rooftop bar which looked over Bangkok - absolutely Stunning, with all the lights on and stars out. They also had Karaoke, so u gave it a go - when in Rome and all that ;)
The next day I pretty. Much just chilled, I was knackered....plus Lucy Arrived! :) I got to the airport as she landed (at about 3.15 then proceeded to wait unit about 4.45 when she actually made it through customs....thank god for my iPod!
I was told the cheapest way to get back to Khaosan was by train, although it involved a transfer but supposedly simple. That's what I was told anyway.
The ticket cost 40Baht each, which was cheap, but then at the end of the line were were still at least 15 mins from Khaosan. No worries, we'll just get a taxi right? There's millions here....wrong. 5 or more taxis turned us down, a mixture of not wanting to take us and not knowing what we were saying. In the end we flagged down a tuk-tuk - not really something you wanna do with a 15 minute journey ahead of you, as thats 15 minutes to give the driver as much chance to kill you or someone else as possible.
We were supposed to be picked up from my hostel at 7.30 to be taken to the bus which left at 9....but 7.30 came and gone, no pickup. We started to get a little worried. I asked every travel "agent" in Khaosan where the bus left from so we could run after it, but no one knew...how could no one know! It's the only bus! Everyone sells it!
All we got was a hint that we walked down an alley to the next road...which turned out was too small for bus!
So we devised a scheme....ask ANYONE with a backpack if they were getting the bus and we'd find it. Foolproof! Apparently it was, cos the first person we asked was getting the bus! The office was in the road, the bus was on the roundabout down the road - that made much more sense!
Anyway 8 hours later we arrived in Chumphon...then after a 2 hour wait the boat ride from hell to Koh Tao. I'm not normally seasick, but I was really struggling, head down all the way, though not actually Sick. Poor Lucy was a lot worse.
We gathered it wasnt going to be a great journey as 5 mins in the wall of bags the staff had made which must have been 8 ft tall across the front of the boat started moving and eventually collapsed, despite great efforts of the front row to stop the collapse...rescue teams are still searching for survivors in the rubble...
We arrived in Koh Tao around 9.30 and after a pause to thank god for land we got a taxi to our hotel, which turned out to be absolutely stunning. Beautiful. So peaceful and amazing with great service and views out into the bay...not bad for £20 a night!
Then we slept.....
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