So I didn’t think I was going to visit the Islands in southern Thailand because of how busy and touristy I have heard them to be. But, some relaxation and not having to move around and chilling out before I head home to the cold sounded like a good idea. I looked forward to some blue waters, palm trees and getting back on a bike and exploring the island.
I flew here and have a room across the street from one of the quieter beaches. The location is great! But my first means of business is finding a moped to rent for the week. I have been told it is harder to find one here than it was in Chiang Mai. During Covid most businesses had to sell their fleet and replenishing them has been difficult with the price gouging.
It took a lot of walking and asking around but I found one that I could pick up later in the day. Walking around gave me a feel for the island; like most islands it has a huge tourist base. Lots of shops selling sarongs, bathing suits, beach towels and toys. Bars, restaurants, massage parlors, and weed shops line the streets.
On my return trip back to the hotel I stopped in at a Vegan restaurant and ordered a spirulina smoothie bowl. I miss and love my spirulina smoothies. I paid close to $10.00 for this treasure. My whole days allowance times 2 for food. It was packed with fruits and nuts and granola; and was sooo yummy! The best part though… Is I got to sit with some new friends from Brisbane. We totally hit it off and had some great laughs; our schedules don’t coincide to hang but we will meet again. Love the Aussies.
The next day I woke up before dawn to the moon shining through the palm trees and watched the sun come up on the beach. Quiet, warm, and colorful. If I could groundhog day mornings I would. I like the clean slate and the peace. This was a perfect peaceful morning. The rest of the day I walked around town, sat under a palm tree on the beach and read, swam in the very warm blue waters and drank blended smoothie drinks. Island life.
Day two Blue ( another Yamaha ) and I ventured to the waterfalls at the center of the island. I was really looking forward to a hike and some fresh cool water. The hike was challenging and the waterfalls were so refreshing. There was pretty big swimming hole at the bottom of the falls. I ended up spending most of my day here.
When I got back I went to the beach restaurant and ordered a passion fruit smoothie and kicked back and did some writing. There was a large group of very loud people at the table nearby so I decided to relocate onto the beach. About an hour later I noticed the waiters frantically combing the beach. They asked me if I had seen which direction the large noisy group of people had gone. I did not but I remembered what they looked like.
We started walking down the beach looking for them and they showed me the bill they skipped out on. It was 1900 Baht ( about $60.00 ) more than the 5 of them make in a week. They were going to have to pay for the bill. We did not find the group and they did not come back. I felt so bad, it was sitting real heavy with me. At the end of their shift I gave the head waiter 1000 Baht as a tip. He refused it at first and I told him it was part of practicing generosity, and accumulating good karma. He understood and accepted it with respect.
The beautiful thing about these lovely people is that they were not mad, they were upset. They did not believe that the group did this on purpose. No-one communicated paying the bill, it was a simple mistake. I did not feel this way. I was angry thinking we ( tourists ) are so privileged to make such a careless harmful mistake. They were easy to let it go and showed me grace and integrity when I wanted to hang onto the anger and make up stories.
Day 3 I rode around the island in a couple hours. I visited a floating village and found some really beautiful bays. I was looking for a quiet spot to post up for the day, I wasn’t having any luck and decided my beach was the best choice. After an hour back at my beach I was antsy and bored. I know you probably think me crazy for this; but, yes bored. No surf, no boat, and no real culture to investigate. Get me out on the water surfing, snorkeling, sailing, fishing and I am happy. Stick me on a beach and I am looking for shade and fidgeting around. Tonight is my last night booked here, I was going to move to another part of the island but I made a last minute decision to return to Bangkok. What?!! Ya, I know….
I couldn’t change my flight so I was going to have to go as cheap as possible. Catch a taxi across the island to the ferry. Take a 4 hour ferry ride to catch a bus that takes 5 hours. I spent a couple hours trying to figure out how to make all these connections work and it was really confusing so I went to an agent that sells packages from point A to point B and it was really pricy.
I was feeling anxious and decided to take a break and settle up with the hotel and let them know I would be leaving. The manager asked me what time I was leaving and I told him I didn’t know and was still trying to figure it out. He proceeded to tell me that everything is probably booked for the next couple days including the hotel. He told me to go down to the beach, relax, and watch the sunset and he would check on a couple options.
I didn’t think this would add up to much and decided I needed to quickly find any place to stay for the next couple days and accept my island life. ( terrible ) The problem with this island life is that it is one big drinking, eating, spending money pit and I felt trapped. This is my perspective at the time. This place would be amazing to share with a partner. Eating out, staying in amazing resorts, watching sunrises and sunsets; but this solo traveler just came from Cambodia where I haven’t even come to understand the impact that place had on me. It was still lingering heavy with me and my perspective was reflecting this.
When I came back to the hotel office the manager had a smile on his face. He said he had a whole package set up if I wanted. It was not the speed ferry; this ferry stopped at 4 islands, and it was not the VIP bus which is always a more comfortable ride. He then proceeded to tell me he did this for me ( they normally source you out; not his job ) because I had helped his waitstaff. And the price he gave me was half of what I got quoted by the agent. He made me promise not to tell anyone what I paid. But basically I saved what I had given the waitstaff. Talk about instant Karma. I was so moved, I didn’t know he knew it was me. We all gained an experience of human kindness. Why waste time on the anger?
The next morning I was picked up at 6 AM by a van in the pouring rain. I have not seen rain in 2 months and it was coming down hard. It actually felt great. We stopped at a couple hotels picking up others and headed towards the ferry pier. At the pier we were all standing on the dock waiting for the ferry as it rained on us off and on. My lap top was in my pack and I was smart enough to have wrapped it in plastic before I left the hotel; and all important paperwork was in ziplock bags. This was going to be a soggy day.
Once we got on the ferry ( about 200 passengers ) and we started moving things got quiet. The seas were pretty rough and it looked like some people were feeling a bit green. For me, it felt so good to be on the water; instant peace. After 4 hours and four islands of loading and unloading of people we reached the final stop and the rain was heavier than ever and the ferry was holding a lot of nervous energy. You could feel the ‘every man for himself’ vibe.
At this point we all know from here we are going be loading on buses and people are in a rush to get off the boat and to the bus first to get a window seat. I had prepared myself for this by telling myself I would be okay with any seat and to just sit back and let the chaos commence. And it did! Me and a few others stayed on the ferry until the dock was not jammed with people and the ferry was almost empty.
All those people that were stampeding each other to race to the buses were jammed under a corrugated roof enclosure waiting. We ended up waiting at least an hour while the wind whipped the heavy rain into the enclosure and pounded on the metal roof. The wind was peeling up the edges of the roof panels trying to pry them off. It was quite a show. I wonder how much everyone is thinking about their window seat now? Pretty sure they just want to get on the bus, like me.
The VIP buses pulled up and got loaded as about 30 of us waited for the non VIP bus. From the outside it didn’t look too different; but the inside? She has transported quite a few people. It didn’t smell bad… check. It had A/C…. check. The rest should have been an advertisement for Duct tape; or at least a sponsorship. And they needed more. Every plastic piece on this bus has or should have a relationship with duct tape.
I was seated next to a French girl in the very last set of seats which was great because it was the wheel chair door, meaning their was a row of missing seats in front of us, giving us lots of leg room. We commented on the duct tape decoration and the skinny ass seats.
I am so grateful I have learned to pack warm cloths when traveling by bus and plane. Sometimes the A/C freezes you out, and being wet could be double trouble. And this was definitely the situation. Everything seemed like it was going to be okay until we started moving. Every time the bus sped up or slowed down the 100’s of gallons of water pooling in the ceiling streamed through all the screw holes and a/c vents onto our laps and heads. Kate and I just started laughing every time a new waterfall appeared some where else on the bus.
The couple diagonal from us had their seats fully reclined and every bump we hit it squeeeeeeeked and bounced and looked like they were going to break the seats. Enough so that the person sitting behind them moved. It would have been a horrible situation. We were definitely Not being transported like Very Important People. (:
We arrived in Bangkok at 10 PM. This was a very long day, but I know I made the right decision. Koh Samui was exactly what I needed for those few days. But I was actually quite excited to be here in Bangkok and settle in one spot for a whole week before I head back home on the 23rd.
