After spending nearly a week on Koh Tao I was happy to move on, though not very hopeful about the weather forecast.
- Having an entire hotel to myself
🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴
- Swimming in my private swimming pool
🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴
- First motorbike experience
🔴🔴🔴⭕️⭕️
- Public transport service on Koh Samui
😡😡😡😡😡
The ferry boat from Koh Tao to Koh Samui was pleasant enough. It was raining heavily and I was lucky enough not to be seated anywhere near the railing and so didn’t get wet. However, sitting at the back of the decently sized boat was very loud and when the cute doggie off at Koh Pha Ngan, I decided to move to an inside seat. It was comfortable and spacious but filled with TV screens playing adds, which had a very slight dystopian feel to it. By the time I arrived at Koh Samui it was quite dark. They had a very convenient shared-taxi service from the ferryport to the hotel. They had a fixed rate and I was in luck because my hotel was really far and so I felt like I beat the system. Suck it, people staying close to the ferryport! Haha!
The hotel/hostel I had booked was fully decked out with Christmas decorations in October, which was actually nice and felt homely. The enthusiastic girl behind the counter explained there was only one other girl in the whole building and if I wanted to share a room with her instead of having an entire dorm to myself for 5$ a night. I politely declined and revered in my lucky streak. There was a pretty fancy and famous fish restaurant nearby that I walked to. I’m a little bit embarrassed to say that I had a tuna steak and chips, BUT it was a darn good tuna steak and chips. I walked past a wall of tanks filled with all sorts of lobster, shrimp and crab on my way in, even though the restaurant was renowned for cooking these animals- I just can’t do it. I walked down to the local 7-eleven (I’m writing this in Cambodia and I MISS 7-eleven so much) wondered at their choice and selection of products, bought some water and soya milk and returned home to have some wonderful sleep…. Only to realise that I had no pyjamas to wear…. Because I left them in the shower of my previous hostel 😔. My pyjamas consist of some shorts and a T-shirt Bas gave me for the occasion. (I know, super adorbzz!) Seeing as the -shirt wasn’t mine to lose and also carried important sentimental value for me, I decided I had to go back to get them. (R.I.P. to my lucky streak, nice while it lasted.)
The next day I slept in a bit because it was raining anyway. Such a shame really, because the location I was at was absolutely gorgeous! But I accepted my fate, did some washing and strolling along the beach when it was dry and used the private pool (the other girl had checked out so it really was just me now). It was a pretty nice and relaxed day and I planned to go back and forth to Koh Tao the next day.
Because I didn’t have a huge backpack and the taxi’s were so expensive on the island, especially going as far as the ferry port, I went on my first motorbike ride. Quite an exhilarating experience going up and down steep hills, I had my eyes closed for some parts even though the driver was kind and cautious and I had a helmet on. The sun was shining and I was able to board a better ferry than last time with a sun lounge deck. I made sure to get nice and burnt of course, this being the first sun I’d seen in over a week… Sigh. (Haha, I know Bas is annoyed reading this because how dare I complain, I am in paradise, I know I know ❤️)
It was nice returning to Koh Tao because I knew my way around, I felt like a bit of a pro. Also it was nice to return to the friendly hostel. I had given them a heads up about my things and told them where I had left them, they had sent me a picture of clothes that were definitely not mine and so I was a bit worried that my clothes would be gone somehow. After looking through their lost and found I asked if I could check the showers, my clothes were still there after 3 days… Lol. But good news. I took my time walking back to the ferry port and had time for a coffee and a stroll. I bought some cute souvenirs which was nice and then headed back to Koh Samui. It was getting dark again so I sat inside and the ride went by without any trouble, again I felt like a pro and very cool because I didn’t have a big backpack like all the other tourists. My style was slightly pimped when I slipped on the boardwalk and nearly broke my ankle and/or fell into the water. Luckily I was the first person to exit the boat so only everyone saw my little blunder.
I had another lovely meal at this local roadside Thai place and had a final stop at my beloved 7-eleven for some snacks as I was leaving the next day. Then tried to get a good night’s sleep.
Instead of paying for a super expensive taxi, I decided to take public transport to the ferry port the next day. This meant standing at the roadside and waiting for a bus to pass that I was assured passed every 15 minutes. So after 17 minutes one passed and I got in. The hotel staff had helped me hail it and told the driver where I was going, this made me break rule number one of travel anywhere really: Always establish a price BEFORE getting in… At first there were two other German men in the bus with me, after we dropped them off the driver double checked where I was going and said “private” with a big smile on his face. And oh what a fool I was, thinking he was making a joke about the fact it was just me now so I laughed and repeated it back to him. After a 5 minute drive he stopped to cross the road and buy himself some food from the bbq, I figured this was what you got for a cheap transportation service and so I was amused. But when we got to the port he demanded I paid a ridiculously high price… Because, “private”!! 🤬 I got pretty angry with him but felt outnumbered as there were more busses at the port and I had a ferry to catch. In the end I paid half of what he initially asked while I got called all kinds of horrible things in Thai. Because I still paid way too much and the interaction was so aggressive, my memory of the island has become tainted. But I refuse to negative people affect my positive nature and so quickly moved on… To Krabi
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