Our last morning spent on a Thai island unravelled, appropriately I think, on the beach! We had to check out of our guesthouse at around 10 am so unfortunately our time with sand between our toes was cut short. After a swim, we showered, packed, and had to figure out a way to kill a few hours until our ferry left for Chumphon. Luckily, we found a really cool cafe and wasted two hours warming their chairs and sipping our lassi shakes very slowly!
At 2 pm, we caught a lift to the pier with our backpacks in tow (there was no ways we were walking it again after our experience the first day!) The ferry ride had beautiful views and we found ourselves on the deck just trying to take it all in - crystal blue water, uninhabitable islands dotted on the horizon, and little fishing boats in the distance. We arrived a Chumphon on time, surprisingly, and hopped onto a bakkie to the train station. I was dreading the long night of train travel ahead. I've always harboured a very romanticised idea of train travel but I knew a 9 hour overnight train across Thailand into the capital would not be fun. It turns out, despite the lack of sleep, it was okay. We had wisely booked bunks in an air-con cabin.
We arrived in Bangkok at around 6 am. A dark, humid, and smelly city greeted us as we stepped out of the train station. All we knew was that we needed to find bus #53 to the Banglamphu area where hopefully we would stumble across Khao San road where all the backpackers are. We found a bus stop and waited. The sun was now starting the rise. Our expectations of another wonderful Asian city like Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia was increasingly retreating as the city woke up. But we hoped this was just our lack of sleep!
We found Khao San road eventually after riding the bus for a good hour or so (we probably missed the stop a couple times). We didn't book accommodation in advance and were turned away at a few places that were full (or maybe it was because we hadn't showered?) I was getting annoyed and grumpy so Phil left me at a cafe while he continued the search. After 20 minutes, success! The place wasn't great but it would be fine for 1 night until we found something else. We showered and changed. I felt human again!
We went onto the internet for a bit, grabbed a map, then headed off to find Lord's Tailor. For a long time Phil has wanted a tailored suit and Bangkok is apparently the place for this. The city is a mission to navigate and the bus routes are confusing. On top of this the roads are named in a strange way. Basically, a main street will called be Thanon So-and-so and all the side roads off it will be called the same thing just prefixed with Soi and a number; for example, Thanon Sukammvit will have multiple Soi Sukammvit streets coming off it. Lord's Tailor was between Soi Sukammvit 12 and 14. We found it! Phil picked out material and got his measurements taken. It would be ready in only 2 days!
When night falls Khao San road really comes alive. We just walked up and down taking in the scene. We enjoyed some street food for dinner. After a very full day, we called it an early night. I was thankful to be sleeping in a bed and not on a train!
Until next time,
Luisa
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