Nai Yang

We were awoken by a cacophony of alarm clocks all going off at 3am. Having showered, dressed & fully packed, we noisily trundled through the sleeping resort at 3.50am to find our taxi driver waiting for us outside reception.

The taxi ride took 30 minutes back to Thong Sala, where we collected our ferry & bus tickets, then boarded the ferry. We sat outside at the back to witness our 1st sunrise of the trip. At 5am sharp, we pulled out of the port for the 36 mile 1st leg of our long journey home.

As we passed Koh Samui, the sun started to rise providing us quite a dramatic red sky with angry black clouds over the island. Apparently the weather was due to change & rain was forecast for the next few days. We were getting out just in time!

Once daylight was upon us, we decided to move inside to the comfy seats & it was then that we discovered that our luggage & feet were filthy. We had been standing in soot deposits from the funnels. Everything was black & so began a clean up operation using wet wipes.

We arrived at Don Sak Pier at 7.20am without the slightest sniff of a Pink Dolphin.
We then boarded a minibus to take us to their bus station, where we transferred to another minibus to take us the next 68 miles to Surat Thani.

This journey ended at a travel office, where we had to wait just 10 minutes for the Phuket bus to arrive. We spent the next 5 and a half hours & 142 miles on the bus before we were dropped off at a taxi rank near to Phuket International Airport.

The bus ride was a very pleasant experience. Jackie & I had a double seat each & the route on Highway 401 took us through the mountainous jungle of Khao Sok National Park to Takua Pa Bus Terminal where we stopped for a 15 minute break.

Now Takua Pa Bus Terminal was where I nearly had a toilet disaster last time, but no such problems this time. However, Jackie took it upon herself to visit the 7-11 & returned with our breakfast/lunchtime snacks. She gave me my snack which she thought was a pineapple pastry, but was in fact a corn pastry as clearly written on the wrapper. It was too late to change it so I took a bite of what was sweetcorn in custard in pastry. Disgusting & totally inedible!

Jackie had bought herself a double pocket sandwich, but she had picked up a crab stick sandwich doubled up with a pulled pork sandwich which she doesn’t like. Jackie tried to placate me her unwanted pulled pork sandwich, which when I sniffed it had a hint of crab. No thanks.

Now hungry, the bus continued down the Andaman Sea coast road via Khok Kloi to Phuket where upon entry we were stopped & two surly police officers boarded the bus & demanded to see everyone’s documents. We had to provide our passports & proof of our vaccinations. (The Anti-Vaxxers won’t be holidaying in Thailand anytime soon!) Three Thai people were also escorted off the bus & didn’t return.

At the taxi rank, a lone taxi driver agreed to take us & 2 lads to our respective destinations for just 100 Baht each. We dropped off one lad off at a shitty little hotel, the 2nd at an empty International Departures, then he dropped us off at our new hotel, Himaphan Boutique Resort.

Jackie was immediately on the lookout for things to complain about because I had overruled her & booked this hotel. It was considerably cheaper than the one she wanted to stay in that we had stayed in when we first landed in Thailand on this trip.

Here we go with her complaints :-
Firstly, the receptionist didn’t speak very good English.
Secondly, we were the last room at the back of the resort. It was a long walk, NOT how lovely & secluded it was!
Thirdly, the internet is rubbish. It was a bit, but I went back to reception & he rebooted the internet for us & it is fine now.
Fourthly, the aircon is not cold enough. FFS, give it time to do it’s job.
Fifthly, some of the other guests seem a bit scummy, which is what you get if you go too cheap. She had seen just one fat bloke with lots of tattoos. Ok that’s enough now!

The 53 metre square room is actually very very nice, well furnished, a large comfy bed & fully glazed on two sides with sliding doors & a balcony overlooking attractive gardens. We also have complimentary tea, coffee, bottles of water & a lift to the airport, all for just £29 a night. Say no more!

After ending the discussion on the pros & cons of the new hotel, we headed out for a beer & a much needed snack. We found Cafe 32120, a quirky little place where we enjoyed a couple of small Changs each & shared a plate of vegetable spring rolls. We then found a little Thai restaurant that seemed very popular with the locals, so we had another couple of beers & marvelled at how efficient & speedy their cooking methods with their woks were. We are going to be returning the following night apparently.

After popping into 7-11, we returned to our luxurious hotel room for a quick Hong Thong, a freshen up & then it was back out to Naiyang Cafe, which I had been looking forward to for nearly 8 weeks. It is a Muslim restaurant, so no alcohol so we ordered lemon & passion fruit sodas, which were a taste sensation. Jackie ordered teriyaki fried chicken on rice & I had the healthy option of glass noodles with grilled chicken & teriyaki. The attention to the detail in the presentation was excellent & it was all so so good.

A quick snifter on the balcony finished off our evening at the unbelievably late hour of 10pm.

Song of the Day: Sunrise by Pulp.
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