After the 14 hour train ride, passing through immigration, and hopping off at Hat Yai, I'd come to the conclusion that I wasn't going to make it to the island today. I would just plan to meet my parents in Surat Thani and we would head out to Ko Samui together. In Hat Yai, I bought another train ticket, without doing much research, and ended up on a 7 hour ride to Surat Thani (the busses and minivans are both much faster). The woman at information told me it was only 4-5 hours, and I believed her.
My bad! The train ride was cheap and it was public transport and we all herded on the cars like cattle, battling for a seat. I scored myself a slab of hard, wooden bench and the A/C consisted of a large open window behind my head that not only kept the wind blowing through my hair, but also let the water spray in during the few rain showers we had on the travels north. It was a lovely ride though - the scenery out the large open windows was beautiful, hilly and green. Besides a slightly sore butt, I couldn't much complain about the travels so far.
My bad! The train ride was cheap and it was public transport and we all herded on the cars like cattle, battling for a seat. I scored myself a slab of hard, wooden bench and the A/C consisted of a large open window behind my head that not only kept the wind blowing through my hair, but also let the water spray in during the few rain showers we had on the travels north. It was a lovely ride though - the scenery out the large open windows was beautiful, hilly and green. Besides a slightly sore butt, I couldn't much complain about the travels so far.Once landed in Surat Thani train station, turns out I was not yet in Surat Thani. So I was headed for yet another mode of transport and took a 30 min. bus ride into town. Finally arriving at my destination at 7:30 pm, after taking off the night before at 8:40 pm. I was well traveled, ready for a shower and hungry for a decent meal. Scoped out a place to stay (where my bed that night actually felt as though I was sleeping on a cement floor), found some dinner at the local food stalls and then went and talked to my buddy, Lek, who I'd arranged to pickup my parents at the airport. I was supposed to be in Ko Samui, so I told him I wanted to be a surprise for my parents in the morning. And sure enough,when he picked them up and brought them back to the office, he had played right along and they were quite surprised! It was a joyful reunion with my parents and I was happy to see them. They had traveled safely and we were looking forward to some beach time together. Unfortunately, heading out to the island by ferry that day, we were only greeted with rain showers.
1 comment:
That is awesome. You are having way to much fun. I think had I not gotten married I would have loved to do something like you are doing. My be when my kids are grown Adam and I will leave for a few months. Keep having fun. I love reading about everything even though I cant say half of the words. Ashlee Olsen Phelps
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