Day 50: The Longest Trek to Kho Phangan

Awoke at 7am to the sound of zippers fastening, plastic rustling, luggage being tossed around. A number of us in the dorm are heading off to other fun Thai destinations with departures between 6:30am and 8am, ours being 7:45. Arrive downstairs packed and ready for what I like to call the minibus lottery. We all pay the same standard amounts for the trip, but which driver and vehicle gets the call is any one's guess. Bags are being packed into a brand spanking new gray minibus, extra tall, with leather seats and proper AC ... it's not ours, it's going 45 minutes to Phuket Port. Next one arrives, not quite as new as the last, not extra tall, but leather seats, window curtains, still a recent model ... It's not ours, it's going 45 minutes to the airport. Next up, a late 90's model, clearly been in a few fender benders, torn seats, broken AC vents, no curtains, half packed with 6 people already, window seats gone, only middle and front by the gear shift available ... "Surat Toni?" ... crap, it's ours. Four plus hours lie ahead for this part of the trip, but who wants western comfort when you can have 3rd world charm ... Uh, me. It's why I call it the minibus lottery ... we lost!

The first stop is not 30 minutes after we begin, it's in the heart of Phuket, run down buildings, heavy traffic, no corner store to be found. Driver turns off the van, "10 minutes, toilet break", exits and disappears into a cold concrete building with only a door and no windows. Um, did anyone request to take a bathroom break? The response is a resounding no, but the van is getting hot, so we all exit, not seeing a toilet option anywhere. We wander the streets hoping for food and drink, but no corner markets, no restaurants, just more cold concrete buildings without windows or entrances. Closest thing we find is a little stand on the opposite side of the busy street, selling toast and jam for 10 baht. We feast on the basics, sweating buckets in the heat of the morning, then chill on a concrete stump in the shade, awaiting our drivers reappearance. 25 minutes later, he emerges from the non-descript building, finishes his cig, "let's go." Oh, are you ready now? Ok, that sounds like a fine idea, how was your Mom and Dad? Wife? Clearly this was a personal stop ...

Next stop is an hour and a half later, a side of the road concrete open air structure with corrugated metal roof, "10 minutes, toilet break." They had food here, and a version of a corner market, we plunder the ice cream bin and order up a chicken sandwich. This stop was more legit, thankfully. 30 minutes later were back in the mini, 1 more stop and then we hit the transpo station. "Take all your stuff, go in." Wait, do you mean our bags on top too? "All your stuff, go in, go in." Ok, ok, simmer down.

Do you recall my first day in Phuket where the van to my hostel made a detour at a transpo center? Same thing here. Basically 2 1/2 concrete walls, open air, thatch roof, with multiple desks, trying to figure out your exact destination, which you gave them upon entering the minibus. Once they find out your hotel, they try and upsell you to a "better" accommodation and for their special transportation on the island, always getting their cut. The girls I'm traveling with, Hannah and Taryn, are staying at Coco Hut, so I used their accommodations to keep the vultures back, and we refused to use their minibus on the island.

After an hour wait, its 2pm now, a full size double-decker bus pulls up ... air con, huge comfortable seats, lounge downstairs ... it's our next mode of transport. This one will take us to the ferry port in Surat Toni, 1 hour away. Where was this bad boy for the first 6?

We get to the ferry and in classic Thailand style, the port is empty. They kick us out of the bus and we cling to the shade around some weird empty building and the toilets. An hour later, the ferry arrives, drops off their load, then we play more of the same waiting game, I assume to clean, and 30 more minutes pass. We load it beyond a reasonable capacity, every seat is taken, people are stacked up, the outside decks are sardinish, and then we see more approach. I have my seat, I'm thankful, more pour in, sit on the floors, in the aisles, leaning against walls. Pretty sure there's no fire marshal regulations, especially considering we are trapped in the hull below with only 1 exit, and overstuffed - again, welcome to Thailand!

3 1/2 hours later, around 8pm we arrive at Kho Phangan, finally. All of our big bags were loaded on the back of the ferry when we arrived and since we were first on, ours are at the bottom of the pile, which means we wait. As you exit there are 20 or so people screaming out, "taxi, where you go, taxi?" The system for bag retrieval is a bit of a Thai mess, as expected. The ferry workers want the bags off the boat, so they can shut her down and call it a night. They form a chain and throw all the bags up on the "capital letter E" shaped concrete dock. All the bags go into a pile at the top extended part of the E, there are no lights, just the mayhem of people trying not to plummet into the ocean 15 feet below while mining for their bag among the hundreds. Brilliant system. All 4 of us finally retrieve our bag and head to the taxi, 100 baht each. And we finally arrive at Haad Rin, the beach town where Full Moon is at just past 9:30pm. The taxi attempts to drop us off at the center of town, but Hannah was having none of that, refused to get out, and they took us to Coco Hut Resort.

They check in, we ask how much extra for a 3rd ... Uh, 4500 baht - about $150 usd. Uh, to share a room with two others, I don't think so. Found Tim, our Aussie travel buddy, at his hostel, Fubar, literally 50 feet from the Full Moon Beach. They had one bed open for 3500 baht - you have to reserve 5 nights with the full moon party - and I snagged it up.

Grab some grub with the girls and Tim and time for bed ...

Nite nite, iPhone Blogger Out!