Thailand - Blogabond

From the Cameron Highlands, I take the local the bus to the west coast, to the town of Ipor and then another bus into the city centre. With glee the driver, the passenger in front of me and a passenger to my left give me a guided tour from the bus window pointing out the old shopping mall, the new shopping mall and McDonalds as places I might visit. I spend the entire day in the new shopping mall - a fascinating (air conditioned) voyage through shops selling homeware, candles, lanterns, stationary, tins, bags, toiletries, shoes. With a large food hall on the top floor, coffee shops at ground level, a computer game shop (from where I send a few emails) and all the shops in between, it is a perfect day.

The overnight train from Malaysia - Thailand

To Thailand, I take the overnight train from Ipor to Hat Yai in very southern Thailand, crossing at the border town of Pedang Besar. Here, at 7 am we walk around different sides of a counter to be stamped out of Malaysia and into Thailand. At Hat Yai, a guy wearing an orange waitcoast with a number 18 on it asks me where I am going and I say, Krabi. He points me in the direction of a travel agent opposite the station and an hour later a minibus picks up me up from just in front of the travel agent. An hour on the minibus and we have picked up 10 other people (from their hotels), four boxes of raisons (for what?), nine unknown other food boxes, two single manilla envelopes handed to the driver with some Thai Baht on top and a pair of glasses from the Opticians. All the backpacks are moved out of the boot and onto the roof rack, (secured with rope and tarpaulin) and the food boxes are crammed under our feet(perhaps to benefit from the air con?). After all the deliveries and the dropping off of each passenger direct to their hotel, what should take five hours ends up taking eight. A grand total of 16 hours travelling - way too big a journey for one day; I end up spending two days in Krabi town - recovering. From the hotel, I make it as far as the cafe next door-but-one and the restaurant opposite. I do Laundry, send some emails and read my books. I take ridiculous delight in ham and cheese sandwiches made with brown bread, perfectly cooked soft boiled eggs and filtered coffee.

From Krabi I plan to visit each of the west coast islands beginning with Koh Lanta, the furthest one south. Again, I am picked up by the minibus (this time direct from my hotel) and similar food packages are again collected and delivered along the way. Two hours on the minibus and two ferries later (the minibus just drives onto the ferry) and I am dropped off at my chosen destination, The Sanctuary Resort. My beautiful bamboo bungalow has an outdoor bathroom set in a little garden, a big balcony with high benches either side, a hammock and cool silk sheets and it costs six pounds per night. But I share this with a huge noisy gecko and a mouse. Turning on my headtorch everytime I hear them move and having to keep moving my Lush soap out of the mouse's reach (impossible), I have the worst night's sleep yet. In the morning I do a sea facing Yoga class, I go for lunch in town, I take long beach walks late afternoon, a couple of hours sleep in the hammock after and in the evenings I dine out at tasty restuarants.

My room at Sanctuary

Ko Lanta cafe

From Koh Lanta, I head back to Krabi town from where I can further island hop. But with a bad weather forecast for the West coast, I decide to head north to BANGKOK!!! and return to the islands at a later date when the weather is better and the season offers more of the snorkelling and a boating trips I have my eyes set on.

For the trip to Bangkok, I book an overnight VIP bus (double decker coach) from a travel agent on Krabi pier. So it seems strange that I am picked up by a minibus that takes me to: another travel agent, who takes my ticket, puts a sticker on my T'shirt and gives me a new ticket. Thirty minutes later, another minibus picks me up and takes me to another travel agent where I hand in my ticket and get a VIP sticker for my T'shirt. Two beers, three hours and a new friend (Constanze from Austria) later and the most amazing VIP bus turns up. Big purple draping curtains with tassles, reclining velvet red chairs, pink fleecy blankets and a huge flat screen TV showing movies in English - it is a moving cinema! And as the bus is half full we all get two seats each in which to experiment with various sleeping positions. And just as you find the best position for sleeping, the lights come up and the driver shouts, "Morning, morning. Wake up, wake up. Bangkok, Bangkok, Kao San Road" "Morning, morning, Wake up, wake up, BangKok, Bangkok, Kao San Road. " So at 5.30 a.m. we trundle off the bus, our bags are thrown at our feet and we are surrounded by taxi drivers showing us maps, offering to take us to MBK Shopping Centre, to visit a Tailors and have suits and dresses made, to go to the Temple and the Grand Palace. No one takes takes a Taxi.

In Bangkok, I room share with Constanze. In the day we go for coffee and lunch, followed by shopping, followed by Chang beers and dinner and more shopping and another beer. Then Contanze goes north to Chang Mai and I spend my days on the internet searching and applying for jobs in Malaysia, and after one week, Bangkok is all way too much. The constant "Tuk Tuk?", "Taxi?", "Where are you going?" calls, the task of negoiating for the Tuk Tuk not to take you via a tailors or a gem factory, negoiating that the taxi meter be turned on (I never managed this), saying politely that I don't want a wooden frog for the 20th time, it is all too much. So, I head east to the island of Koh Chang for a four day break.

As it's just for 4 days, I take a small rucksack and leave my heavy backpack in my hotel's lock up room (Yipee!). I turn up at the travel agents at 8 am and five minutes later a Thai guy turns up on a motorbike to drop me off at the Koh Chang VIP bus pick up point. The idea of travelling through BANGKOK!!! on a motorbike does not please me but nor does the task of negoiating a reasonable fair from a taxi. So I jump on the back and hope for the best. My driver dreams of visiting England and driving along he turns to look at me and tell me that specifically his dream is to visit Big Ben and see Manchester United play. I tell him to watch the road and slow down.

Again the VIP bus to Koh Chang is a colourful, comfortable and straighforward journey. When I first came to Thailand eight years earlier I took a VIP bus from Bangkok to Koh Phang Ngan and within five hours it had broken down. The clutch had gone and at 1a.m we were in the middle of nowhere waiting for a new clutch to be driven from Bangkok. But this time it all seems to run like clockwork. We are dropped at the Ferry Pier bang on time, we are directed to exchange our tickets for stickers and then we are pointed in the direction of the ferry. An hour on the ferry and lots of photos later and on a mountain in the distance the words "Welcome to Koh Chang" come into focus.

At the pier, waiting for us are Songthaew (pick up truck) taxis which I give my resort name to and which we are all grouped into (according to our destination). I am heading to Sunset Resort on Lonely beach at the recommendation of Kim, who owns the Koreon restaurant attached to my hotel in Bangkok.

Sunset Resort's rooms overlook the water (Nice choice Kim) and the restaurant is just paces from my room. And the moment I head there it is perfect timing. The sun is actually setting over the water, I take a cushion and a mat (already arranged on the restuarant's wooden floor), have a beer at my tiny table and watch it go down. The background music is lovely and so is my spicy noodle supper. At 10.55 I allow myself to call it a day. I fall asleep to and wake up to, the sound of waves.

Sunset Resort view

An early morning swim, breakfast at a 'Nature' beachside cafe, coffee time, another swim, a watermelon shake, finish a book, start a new one, another watermelon shake, check the emails, coffee at Mr A's cafe and oh, it's time for dinner, meet a friend, a friend of the friend's and friends of the friends. I have Thai friends, Dutch friends, German friends and English friends and before I know it I'm eating spicy frogs (cooked on a pot on the road side) with sticky rice and banana flower fruits (whatever these are). We are sat ON the table by the roadside and sharing food with my friends' family, my friends' friends and anyone passing by who fancies some. Unknowingly (it was dark) I've ingested raw fish & ants, noodles with cartlidge and intestine soup. Given that I've always been quite a prude for those Chinese dishes of chicken's feet, tongue, pig's ears/feet, this is incredible progress for me.

In only a week, I have a large network of friends and each day a few appointments (breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, a walk). Just as I'm thinking this is sooooo easy, on my eigth day on Koh Chang, I use the cash machine and it retains my card. Do not panic, do not panic, do not panic. By the time I get back to my room I am really panicing. This is the one account with all my travelling funds and, surprisingly for me, I have never lost my cashcard before. So I climb in the hammock (to help me calm down) and I am about to cancel the card and before I get through I get a phone message from my mum about spending on my credit card - something in India, something skype accounts, something monsterjobs (I haven't used my credit card since August - it is my back-up emergency fund). I phone home, agree that this is not my spending and then drop in that I also have no cashcard. But we shouldn't panic. I will cancel them both and replacements can be here within perhaps a week. Sitting in my hammock, I decide to cancel my credit card first (prioritising the stolen card over the retained card). This takes a horriffc amount of time as Barclaycard keep me on hold for so long, I run out of phone credit and have get out of the hammock in order to get more phone top ups and then start the whole process all over again. I confirm that the thing for India, the skype accounts, the monsterjobs thing are all not mine and a further list of purchases is read back to me. Time to get another phone top up for dealing with the Nationwide card and again I'm on hold for so painfully long working through press 1 if..., press 2 if..., press 7... We're sorry, all our.... Finally I get the thing cancelled. The replacement cards are to be sent to my home address first and then fowarded to a local shop address. They should be with me in 15 days.

Remember, I am meant to be on Koh Chang for four days - time for the weather to improve in the south and a relaxing break from the unsuccessful Malaysian jobhunt. As my passport is with a travel agent in Bangkok (arranging a Visa for Laos for me), and my big pack is locked up in my Bangkok Guesthouse, I feel the need to go and collect my things, to hold onto whatever I can that is mine and important. So, I head back to Bangkok. I pick up my passport and book a ticket back to Koh Chang for the next morning. Bearing in mind I will be carrying my very heavy pack this time, I ask the travel agent if the transfer to the pick up point will be on the back of a motorbike this time as I don't think I can sit on the back and carry my pack (I mime lifting a very heavy pack). The agent sympathises and makes three phonecalls after each of which he shakes his head. He gives it one last try and comes off the phone pleased and showing me a photograph of the minibus that will do the transfer.

8am the next morning, I turn up at the Travel Agents for my pick up and a small Thai woman walks towards me with 10 Farang (foreigners) walking slowly behind her, lugging their packs, their surfboards, guitars and 1 child. The lady has my name on her list and tells me to follow her. No minibus? I say. No, she says and she begins to walk really slowly so that the people carrying heavy things don't lose the will to walk. We stop at various guesthouses along the way and we pick up more people and I decide there is a minibus but it's waiting for us at the end of the road and then we get to the end of the road I think it must be at the end of the next road, or we'll see it when we've crossed the main road because my pack is really really heavy and Bangkok is very hot and I am dripping. But no, this was a walking transfer.

In very little time, considering (10 days), I have a new Nationwide card. I am so happy I cry when it is handed to me. I put the card in the machine and I look to the screen for cues and it says, CARD RETAINED. CONTACT YOUR BANK. I take a deep breath, pick up some phone top up cards and climb in the hammock to call the Nationwide. They inform me that for security reasons they have put a block on my card. They wanted to check that it was me that was using it and now that they know it is, they can remove the block! I need to try and get the card back. By now I have a team of peope trying to help me. We find a phone number on the Cash Machine screen saver and we call the bank. The bank agree to open the machine at 9.am the next morning.

8.45 the next morning, I'm there ready to get my card. I give them a call and they say they will have to call me back when they know what time they can open it. A couple of hours later, we phone them again and they say they can't open the machine today; we need to go to the main branch on the island to find out when the machine can be opened. I get a lift to the main branch (a coupla beaches down the island) and they say they only open the machine on Wednesdays (they'd opened it just before I had my card retained), but I can get it in 8 days.

It is strange to be in a beautiful place with so little demanded of you and yet at the same tme feel paralysed by the memory of a cashcard/funds you once had access to but no longer do. While people are really trying to help me (cafes giving me my meals on credit, restaurant owners offering to loan me money, friends letting me use their skype accounts and everyone is buying me drinks), I never shut up about my cards. People just have to ask how I am and they get the full story. People leave Koh Chang for two weeks in Laos and still come back to me saying the same thing. "Well, I got my replacement card, and I put it in the machine and... so now I'm waiting for a new one." I am there for three birthday parties and four leaving Do's. People come to Koh Chang for a Bamboo tattoo, spend a week thinking about it, have it done, think about another one for a week, have that done and I am still there in the same cafe saying the same thing. People joke about how they imagine themselves returning in a couple of years to me, still here, still waiting for a card with some other ridiculous reason why it didn't work out. Suspecting my whining might be bad for business I attempt to limit the number of times I tell my story. And in between my winge(s) I do manage to visit some lovely beaches, eat some great food (Nature's Burger with freedom fries) and make it to a couple of Parties.

As my visa for thailand is due to expire before my cashcard is released from the machine, and my morale is still a little low, a local friend offers to drive me to the Cambodian border to sort this out. Here, I am stamped out of Thailand. I walk 200 yards across the border, buy a Cambodian visa which I am not going to use and walk back to Thailand to get stamped back in for another 30 days. We are allowed to do this three times and this is called a visa run!

So that I don't feel too stranded on Koh Chang (by the card business), I head with some friends across the water to the island of Koh Mak. Turqoise waters, desserted white sand beaches, a gorgeous bungalow with secret swing door leading to outdoor bathroom, bar you help yourself to drinks from and pop your money in the biscuit tin, cool sea breeze, live music, a pharmacy that sells second hand clothes (!). Koh Mak wins my award for the best island. It is peaceful, stunning and sooooo clean.

the Koh Mak bungalow

When the '8th' day arrives I leave Koh Mak to go to the bank in Koh Chang. I show my passport, sign my name and they hand me back my card. I receive it as though it is a winning lottery ticket. I put it into a different cash machine to the one I used last time (as instructed by the Nationwide) and then it is gone. CARD RETAINED. CONTACT YOUR BANK. Four phonecards down and they can only tell me that I must have used the wrong pin number. I definately did not use the wrong pin number. So, we order another card and this one I am having sent to Bangkok because I need to move on, to continue with my trip rather than spend the rest of my life card chasing on Koh Chang. I decide I am going to Laos (on a tight budget because I am now forced to call on the Bank of Mum and Dad).

The last weekend in Koh Chang there is a festival on at the Temple in Bang Bao (up the road). I cadge a lift there with some Thai friends who have a pick up truck. The inside of the truck is full and it looks like it's women and children inside and men hanging off the back. We're about half way there, travelling in the dark and we go over a pot hole and the seat panels all collapse and next thing we're all on the floor. There's a six month old and a four year old who I visualise being crushed. I reach out in the dark and grab the arm of a child - must be the four year old and I'm trying to stand her up incase she's trapped and then the inside of the pick up is lit up as we pass the lights of a resort on the right and I see that everyone is happily sat on the floor of the pick up truck. Everyone is fine and they are smiling at what the little bump did. Something happened. They adjusted and they got on with it. And there I was, seeing the worst, trying to stand up, trying to save people, ready to bang on the Pick up and scream for it to stop if I couldn't get the girl up.

written by

Yee Ling Tang on November 2, 2008 from Bangkok, Thailand

from the travel blog: the break

Send a Compliment

Well Tangster....what an adventure you seem to be having!!! It was VERY entertaining to read, and I laughed a lot at your horrible cash card ordeal..... I'm sure you will too... one day!!!
Anna xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

written by anna on January 8, 2009

Hey don't you look gorgeous! The noodles, beer and swimming seems to be suiting you, you look fab x

The truck story made my laugh out loud, I could visualise the horror on your face as the calm, smiling acceptance of your fellow travellers came to light. Good job you were the only neurotic on the bus, imagine a few of us do-gooding ... could have been carnage as we manhandled people to safety!

Much love,

Carol x

written by Carol Braniff on January 12, 2009

Koh Chang: paradise island with great beaches and beautiful sunsets!

written by Koh Chang on April 11, 2010

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