It is 6 am, I wake up the receptionist, tell him that I need a taxi and my passpo.. "sit down, sit down please" Alright, alright. My taxi is here, I hop on it and head to the aiport. Upon arriving I panic, gods damnit the guy forgot to give me my passport back! I curse, how can I be so careless, I call the hostel. The guy answers, not at all sorry. He will send a trusted moto taxi to the airport against 100 000 dong, "Are you kidding me? You are in charge, and it is your job to give customers their passports back during the check out process"... I am luckily early at the airport. I wait for the taxi, I am not stressed anymore, confidant that my passport and I will be reunited soon. The driver calls me, he is outside. He hands me my passport making sure I am the right person. I explain to him that I don't have any dongs anymore but I have 5 dollars for him. He tries to get more but I let him know that the receptionist asked for 100 000 and that 5 dollars was more than enough. He agrees, kindly patting my shoulder as to give me strength.
I check in to my flight, sadly I will have to leave a few items behind as the check in assistant decides that my (tiny) bag is too heavy. I am flying to Phuket in Thailand, via Bangkok.
I haven't had breakfast, other than a few piece of jackfruit. I am starving, but it will have to wait I have to board onto the plane. I order a small but delicious meal; spicy chicken basil with rice.
We land in Bangkok, I get some cash from the ATM (I will actually have to try three ATM before I am able to get cash). I head straight to the gate. And here I see them, the wannabe backpackers, go pro, Chang muscle shirts and flashy sun glasses... yeah no doubt, I'm heading to Phuket.
After getting myself a prepaid card with unlimited internet access, I try to find a cheap option to get to Khao Lak, I want to avoid staying in Phuket tonight. There should be busses living Phuket town for Khao Lak in the afternoon. Nobodies knows nor can help. I walk away from the over expensive tourist vans and fins the bus stop, here I ask the driver of the van if he can drop me at the side of the main road in front of the police station so that I could catch the bus to Khao Lak. He agrees and I pay half the price. he drops me as agreed and I walk to the other side of the road. I wait for a few minutes, then ask the two girls sitting next to me if they know if there is a bus going to Khao Lak. They chat together for a few seconds, they dont seem to know if there is. After a while, one of the girls tells me to wait here and that the bus is coming soon. Turns out they had been looking on their phone all thins time trying to help me. An other girl joined us, the girl helping startded to chitchat with her, and tells me that she also is waiting for the Khao Lak bus. Sweet! A street vendor confirms that the bus will soon be here, as a thank you (and because I'm hungry) I buy a bag of pineapple and spicy sugar from him. So good and refreshing.
We pass a pretty violent motorbike accident, but also more cheerful stuff like Muslim markets and villages. People and children wave at me from outside the bus, making sign to come and have a taste of their produces and foods. Sorry mate I can't come out right now. Damn I am missing out so much. Next trip to Southeast Asia will be on a motorbike for sure!
I forgot to mention to the bus driver to stop me in front of my hotel, ah whatever, a few concerned passengers tell me to take a taxi back a few kilometers. I will walk. It is hot and my bag feel heavy. I check in my hotel, excusing myself for being so sweaty as I had walked all the way from the town, the girl laughs and I notice her nice sweat mustache, of course it is hot, not just for me! I have a big room with a terrace all for myself, pretty cheap but no aircon. I like this place but now I am hungry!
I walk around town, most of the restaurants are packed with lousy tourists. Hmm, I see a lot of couples, and families with children. Apparently this place is filled with Swedes during the high season. I walk back, I find an overpriced convenience store, I need shampoo and sunscreen, I will buy it anyway. Down the road, I find a fruit store, I buy a mango, the ladies are lovely. On the other side of the road, I spot a "hidden" restaurant, the owners are super friendly. I order a plate of mussels and a beer. The food is good but nothing special. I get free dessert, banana samosas nam!
Accomodation: Sunshine Inn Resort, Khao Lak
I check in to my flight, sadly I will have to leave a few items behind as the check in assistant decides that my (tiny) bag is too heavy. I am flying to Phuket in Thailand, via Bangkok.
I haven't had breakfast, other than a few piece of jackfruit. I am starving, but it will have to wait I have to board onto the plane. I order a small but delicious meal; spicy chicken basil with rice.
We land in Bangkok, I get some cash from the ATM (I will actually have to try three ATM before I am able to get cash). I head straight to the gate. And here I see them, the wannabe backpackers, go pro, Chang muscle shirts and flashy sun glasses... yeah no doubt, I'm heading to Phuket.
After getting myself a prepaid card with unlimited internet access, I try to find a cheap option to get to Khao Lak, I want to avoid staying in Phuket tonight. There should be busses living Phuket town for Khao Lak in the afternoon. Nobodies knows nor can help. I walk away from the over expensive tourist vans and fins the bus stop, here I ask the driver of the van if he can drop me at the side of the main road in front of the police station so that I could catch the bus to Khao Lak. He agrees and I pay half the price. he drops me as agreed and I walk to the other side of the road. I wait for a few minutes, then ask the two girls sitting next to me if they know if there is a bus going to Khao Lak. They chat together for a few seconds, they dont seem to know if there is. After a while, one of the girls tells me to wait here and that the bus is coming soon. Turns out they had been looking on their phone all thins time trying to help me. An other girl joined us, the girl helping startded to chitchat with her, and tells me that she also is waiting for the Khao Lak bus. Sweet! A street vendor confirms that the bus will soon be here, as a thank you (and because I'm hungry) I buy a bag of pineapple and spicy sugar from him. So good and refreshing.
We pass a pretty violent motorbike accident, but also more cheerful stuff like Muslim markets and villages. People and children wave at me from outside the bus, making sign to come and have a taste of their produces and foods. Sorry mate I can't come out right now. Damn I am missing out so much. Next trip to Southeast Asia will be on a motorbike for sure!
I forgot to mention to the bus driver to stop me in front of my hotel, ah whatever, a few concerned passengers tell me to take a taxi back a few kilometers. I will walk. It is hot and my bag feel heavy. I check in my hotel, excusing myself for being so sweaty as I had walked all the way from the town, the girl laughs and I notice her nice sweat mustache, of course it is hot, not just for me! I have a big room with a terrace all for myself, pretty cheap but no aircon. I like this place but now I am hungry!
I walk around town, most of the restaurants are packed with lousy tourists. Hmm, I see a lot of couples, and families with children. Apparently this place is filled with Swedes during the high season. I walk back, I find an overpriced convenience store, I need shampoo and sunscreen, I will buy it anyway. Down the road, I find a fruit store, I buy a mango, the ladies are lovely. On the other side of the road, I spot a "hidden" restaurant, the owners are super friendly. I order a plate of mussels and a beer. The food is good but nothing special. I get free dessert, banana samosas nam!
Time to go to sleep, tomorrow I want to head to the National park to take a hike along the sea shore.
Accomodation: Sunshine Inn Resort, Khao Lak
