Yesterday was a hellacious day. When I booked my ticket from Ko Tao to Phuket, the agency said I would arrive around 5pm. That was not at all the case. I left Ko Tao about 10am and arrived at the bus station in Phuket after ten. The drive was brutal. We basically were on curvy roads the entire time and the ac was pumping on me for over 7 hours, so you can imagine how I felt, half car sick, half ac sick. Uggh. It was the King’s birthday yesterday, so everywhere in Thailand there were massive festivals and celebrations. Every hour or so, we would come out of the darkness into a town so brightly lit you would have thought you were in Vegas. Every town had a carnival atmosphere and a big stage with performers on it. Usually there were massive parades too. Tons of Thai people waving flags. Everyone was also dressed in pink and I saw a commercial for a pink wristband (livestrong style) and I think it was something for the kings birthday as well.
I arrived so late that there were no taxis and I needed to get to Kata beach. After the taxi driver gave me a horrible rate, I decided to take a motorbike. After driving for 30 minutes on a motorbike, in the dark, with my backpack stuffed between the driver and the handlebars, I vowed never to do that again. A few hundred baht isn’t worth risking my life. Lesson learned.
It took us forever to find my hotel (the motorbike driver didn’t speak any english), but the hotel was nice…especially for the 5 hours I was in it. Uggh.
I had to leave this morning at 5am, and again, because it was so early and there were no taxis, I basically had to agree to give up my first born to get a taxi (so expensive).
I just landed in Jakarta and have a couple of hours til my flight to Bali. I will likely stay in Kuta tonight and then make my way to the Gili Islands tomorrow (again, another long journey), but for some reason I just know it will be worth it.
Good Times & Tan Lines 