April 1 (Fools’ Day)….Part I
We wake up and the reality of having to get ourselves
together and check out is upon us.
Paulie and I sneak out for coffee.
The kids opted to sleep in and we returned to our hotel with treats for
the kids. We put off until the last
possible moment the departure from our lovely hotel room….in part because we
don’t like the reception people and in part because our bus only leaves at 4pm
and we are without a home until then.
Once packed and back at the reception area, the depressed and morose
receptionist reluctantly agrees to allow us to store our bags in the lobby of
the hotel while we go eat lunch. We
decide to go along the beach road, back to the end cove where we ate lunch a
couple of days ago. We make our way past
all of the massage offers and food stands and arrive at “The Last Café” where
we find a large table. We seat ourselves
and enjoy watching the monkeys and the beautiful surf while we have our
meal. Afterward, we debate the possibility
of going for a swim and how we might get cleaned up before our long, arduous
bus trip to Bangkok. Sam and Hudson
re-find the cute puppies and play with them for a good long while until we
decide to go back to the hotel. Sam,
Annie and I decide that we would like to spend our remaining time by swimming
and return to the lobby to change into our bathing suits. Paulie and Hudson opt to spend the time in
the AC of the hotel lobby and enjoy the free Wifi that goes along with it. The three of us head off to the beach, find a
nice sandy spot about half-way down the beach and get into the tepid
waters. We stay in the water, floating
and enjoying ourselves for a couple of hours.
The water is strangely warm…almost the same temperature as the outside
air and is quite condusive to remaining for hours on end. We
realize we have to get out eventually, and then we have the debate about
getting our clothes wet and having to store them on our travels. We opt to walk back to the hotel in our
swimming suits after we sate our hunger with a fruit shake. We have all three decided to try to secretly
shower in the lobby bathroom without the crotchety old receptionist noticing or
getting mad at us. I am the first to
attempt the sneaky clean up……all goes well, but I have to intermittently shut
off the shower to avoid them hearing me in the reception area. I emerge and then pass the baton to
Annie. As she is showering, Hudson says
quite loudly “Is she taking a shower” to which I try to shush him up….unsuccessfully. I try to turn the conversation by ignoring
his questions and talking about what to do back in Bangkok. After Annie comes out, Sam is last to try out
the quickie shower. At this point, I am
sure the receptionist is one to us, but perhaps too jaded to care anymore. Oh well, we all get clean and ready for our
long trip north. Shortly, the bus
arrives and we board an open air truck for the short trip to Krabi where we
will get onto a larger bus for Surat Thani and then switch again for the
overnight trip to Bangkok. We arrive as
planned at a remote bus stop in Krabi and get our passes for Bangkok, grab an
ice cream and meet a nice guy from Koln, Germany. Soon, our bus allows us onto it and we end up
on the second story….not really where we wanted to be, but what the heck. Our trip is uneventful and we arrive in Surat
Thani about 8pm. We have just enough
time to use the facilities and get some cold water before being herded onto a
new bus heading for Bangkok. We prefer
to ride downstairs as these large two story busses tend to sway on the open
road, but the downstairs cabin is about half full of Japanese guys who yell at
us that they are all full when Hudson approaches……I storm into the cabin and
let them know I am not having any of it.
We find the very front row is completely empty and we procure four seats
together. Paulie soon enters and asks
for a seat beside one of these fine gentlemen.
We are soon underway…..the beginning of the second worst bus trip of my
life (A shout out to my brother Mark who shared the most worstest bus ride of
all time with me)…….end of part I
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