My journey from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur epitomises the above. With each move day, I feel a sense of pride in managing to organise my backpack with army precision. This day was no different. I shuffled my luggage down to reception and enjoyed my breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast included in my room charge. Happily replete, I carry myself across to reception to reconfirm for the third time that my bus is coming for me at 7:30am. TAT still hadn't sent across details of the journey itself or an arrival time which was especially annoying as I was due to meet and stay with a friend I made in Bangkok. Unfortunately, I had to leave a very vague Facebook message and hope for the best. In a last ditch attempt to calculate an arrival time I casually asked how long the journey would be - "24 hours madam." Say what now? I stumbled to the nearest seat. That can't be right. TAT told me 14 hours. I googled the distance and it's only a couple of hundred kilometers further than a journey which took me 10 hours. How would it take 14 hours extra for that short a distance? I started to list all the weird and wonderful methods of transport that could be slow enough to take me to KL in that time...
As the clock neared 9:30am, I was sat at the side of the road with some equally clueless travellers. I was still in Phuket and it was during this moment that I realised the journey really was going to be 24 hours. A couple next to me only just discovered this news and were arguing and pinning the blame on each other. I was alone so the fault was purely rested at my feet. I still wasn't too fussed as it's done now. I just wanted to get on the bus and rest. A mini-bus, that had previously toured Phuket picking up more and more travellers until we were uncomfortably squished in, had departed without so much as a goodbye. We then discovered that another mini-bus was on its way to pick us up. Six hours later, we arrived in Hat Yai. Drifting in and out of sleep made me feel worse but thankfully the couple from before were really chatty. Melissa and Steffan had seen a lot more of Thailand than I had but didn't have the best of luck. They had 200GBP stolen on their first day and their luggage was searched through on a bus journey. Steffan had an eye infection too and had a reaction to a cream he purchased from one of the pharmacies. My building collection of mozzie bites certainly paled in comparison. Mel and Steff told me they will also be heading to Australia and will base themselves in Sydney. I didn't have any firm plans but had a possible job contact in Sydney. We made loose plans to meet up and possibly house share. All our spirits lifted at this point. It was one good thing to come out of this hellish bus journey.
I felt a bit sorry for Steffan as Melissa and I bonded straight away. We had a lot in common and it was nice to have female company again. We arrived in Hat Yai with a smile only for it to be broken again with the news that it was a two and half hour wait until our coach to KL arrived. Steffan and I accepted our fate but Mel didn't let go just yet. We left her to argue with the ticket assistant and took a seat indoors. Mel came over, defeated. We decided to venture out for some food but couldn't find anyway that looked appetising. In the end we had to settle for KFC. It wasn't that nice. It was on our way back to the pick up point that we discovered a beautiful bakery that sold cake, food and ice cream. I was already full from the grease bucket earlier but enjoyed the free ice cream samples and decided to order a couple of scoops. Mel and Steff had a smoothie and two rounds of ice cream. Ironically, we didn't want to leave Hat Yai just yet but our coach had arrived.
The coach journey was standard. Idiot in front slammed is chair into my knees twice. He was lucky I didn't grab his ponytail and smash his face against the window. Of course, violence is never the answer. He was a drainer. The flashiest of flashpackers brandishing his passport and it's array of stamps from each country he has visited. I zoned out and put my music on. I wish it was a straight journey to KL but, as there wasn't a toilet on board, it was a continual stop-start situation. I had no chance of getting any sleep. I became progressively grumpy as the hours ticked by. I'm pretty sure I was foaming at the mouth when I reached border control. These two ladyboys were kicking off at the officials who questioned them. It's their own damn fault. They had male passports and filled out female details on the immigration slip. What did you think was going to happen? My patience was at its lowest ebb. Get me out of here!
We arrived two and a half hours earlier than scheduled. We had no idea where we were. Taxis were lined up and the drivers swarmed round each passenger like a hungry pack of hyenas sizing up its prey. We broke away from the chaos and I decided to follow Mel and Steff to their hostel until I could figure things out. It sounds like a good thing arriving early, but it was 4:30am and I told my friend that I'd be arriving at 7am. If he was a sane person, he'd be fast asleep. I had a little while to figure out a plan of action when I arrived at the hostel. Steff had lost the address details (a common occurrence) which delayed us somewhat. We managed to get the correct directions and found the hostel to be around the corner from the pick up point. A sneaky taxi driver said he would take us there but thankfully we declined. Another backpacker wasn't so lucky and was driven around for 15 minutes until arriving at the hostel. We each made a mental note not to trust the taxi drivers in KL!
The kind hostel receptionist allowed me to call my friend Josh who I had arranged to stay with. I thought I'd leave a voicemail and just hang around at the hostel. Josh picked up. Shit. It sounded like I woke him up. I previously left Josh a garbled voicemail in Hat Yai after Mel let me borrow her phone. He said he knew I'd be arriving earlier than expected. Josh couldn't pick me up so when the call ended I decided to check into the hostel and sleep for a while, then meet Josh later in the day. I was just about to hand over my debit card when Josh called back the hostel and said he'd come and pick me up. I was extremely thankful to him for that. I hugged Mel goodbye and said I'd be in touch when I'm next back in KL Central and off I went with Josh...
Weight arriving in Thailand: 66kg
Weight departing Thailand: 67.5kg
Spend in Thailand: TBC
As the clock neared 9:30am, I was sat at the side of the road with some equally clueless travellers. I was still in Phuket and it was during this moment that I realised the journey really was going to be 24 hours. A couple next to me only just discovered this news and were arguing and pinning the blame on each other. I was alone so the fault was purely rested at my feet. I still wasn't too fussed as it's done now. I just wanted to get on the bus and rest. A mini-bus, that had previously toured Phuket picking up more and more travellers until we were uncomfortably squished in, had departed without so much as a goodbye. We then discovered that another mini-bus was on its way to pick us up. Six hours later, we arrived in Hat Yai. Drifting in and out of sleep made me feel worse but thankfully the couple from before were really chatty. Melissa and Steffan had seen a lot more of Thailand than I had but didn't have the best of luck. They had 200GBP stolen on their first day and their luggage was searched through on a bus journey. Steffan had an eye infection too and had a reaction to a cream he purchased from one of the pharmacies. My building collection of mozzie bites certainly paled in comparison. Mel and Steff told me they will also be heading to Australia and will base themselves in Sydney. I didn't have any firm plans but had a possible job contact in Sydney. We made loose plans to meet up and possibly house share. All our spirits lifted at this point. It was one good thing to come out of this hellish bus journey.
I felt a bit sorry for Steffan as Melissa and I bonded straight away. We had a lot in common and it was nice to have female company again. We arrived in Hat Yai with a smile only for it to be broken again with the news that it was a two and half hour wait until our coach to KL arrived. Steffan and I accepted our fate but Mel didn't let go just yet. We left her to argue with the ticket assistant and took a seat indoors. Mel came over, defeated. We decided to venture out for some food but couldn't find anyway that looked appetising. In the end we had to settle for KFC. It wasn't that nice. It was on our way back to the pick up point that we discovered a beautiful bakery that sold cake, food and ice cream. I was already full from the grease bucket earlier but enjoyed the free ice cream samples and decided to order a couple of scoops. Mel and Steff had a smoothie and two rounds of ice cream. Ironically, we didn't want to leave Hat Yai just yet but our coach had arrived.
The coach journey was standard. Idiot in front slammed is chair into my knees twice. He was lucky I didn't grab his ponytail and smash his face against the window. Of course, violence is never the answer. He was a drainer. The flashiest of flashpackers brandishing his passport and it's array of stamps from each country he has visited. I zoned out and put my music on. I wish it was a straight journey to KL but, as there wasn't a toilet on board, it was a continual stop-start situation. I had no chance of getting any sleep. I became progressively grumpy as the hours ticked by. I'm pretty sure I was foaming at the mouth when I reached border control. These two ladyboys were kicking off at the officials who questioned them. It's their own damn fault. They had male passports and filled out female details on the immigration slip. What did you think was going to happen? My patience was at its lowest ebb. Get me out of here!
We arrived two and a half hours earlier than scheduled. We had no idea where we were. Taxis were lined up and the drivers swarmed round each passenger like a hungry pack of hyenas sizing up its prey. We broke away from the chaos and I decided to follow Mel and Steff to their hostel until I could figure things out. It sounds like a good thing arriving early, but it was 4:30am and I told my friend that I'd be arriving at 7am. If he was a sane person, he'd be fast asleep. I had a little while to figure out a plan of action when I arrived at the hostel. Steff had lost the address details (a common occurrence) which delayed us somewhat. We managed to get the correct directions and found the hostel to be around the corner from the pick up point. A sneaky taxi driver said he would take us there but thankfully we declined. Another backpacker wasn't so lucky and was driven around for 15 minutes until arriving at the hostel. We each made a mental note not to trust the taxi drivers in KL!
The kind hostel receptionist allowed me to call my friend Josh who I had arranged to stay with. I thought I'd leave a voicemail and just hang around at the hostel. Josh picked up. Shit. It sounded like I woke him up. I previously left Josh a garbled voicemail in Hat Yai after Mel let me borrow her phone. He said he knew I'd be arriving earlier than expected. Josh couldn't pick me up so when the call ended I decided to check into the hostel and sleep for a while, then meet Josh later in the day. I was just about to hand over my debit card when Josh called back the hostel and said he'd come and pick me up. I was extremely thankful to him for that. I hugged Mel goodbye and said I'd be in touch when I'm next back in KL Central and off I went with Josh...
Weight arriving in Thailand: 66kg
Weight departing Thailand: 67.5kg
Spend in Thailand: TBC
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