Tag 268 - Back in Switzerland and the story behind it Part 2/3

Then the day of departure began. We finished packing, enjoyed the last hour by the pool, and handed over the villa at 10:30 am. Shortly after, we were already on the road towards Patong. But since we were way too early, we decided to make one last stop at our favorite bar, which was conveniently located on the way. There, we had a beer (yes, it was very early for a beer, but hey, it's still vacation :)) and stayed for about 45 minutes. When it was time to leave, everything went perfectly! We returned the scooter and just as everything was settled, a free taxi drove by (a rarity at times like this). We got in and drove to the agreed meeting point, where the taxi was already waiting for us! It's unbelievable how everything worked out! We chatted for a few moments and then we were on our way. After about an hour's drive, we reached the main checkpoint. We would have been lost without our driver! We stood in a waiting line, but he organized a faster one. Supposedly, we needed the following documents for the crossing: 1. Embassy letter, 2. Exit confirmation (flight), 3. Passport, 4. Medical certificate stating that we are not COVID-19 positive. And all of that in printed form... We didn't have anything printed out or a medical certificate! Our driver intervened again and spoke to the customs officers in Thai. As mentioned before, we would have been lost without him and never made it this far...! We switched counters about five times and he patiently explained our situation each time. We went into the office of a police officer who was kind enough to print out all the documents for us! So, the only thing missing was the medical certificate. Our driver continued to argue and finally, we got it: permission to pass!

We got back into the taxi, showed our documents at a checkpoint (about 10 meters ahead) aaaand... We had to get out again. We went back to the first "counter". All the documents were photographed again and we were listed on a list of those leaving Phuket. Then we were finally allowed to continue driving.

About half an hour later, we reached the next checkpoint. There, we had to get out again, our temperatures were checked, our documents were examined, and our driver argued again for a while. Once again, we were allowed to pass and we continued towards "Surat Thani". We passed two more checkpoints, where it was enough to roll down the windows for temperature checks and show our documents. Later, our driver asked if we had a medical certificate - of course not, otherwise we would have already presented it and saved ourselves some discussions. He said we absolutely needed it for the flight and asked if we wanted to make a quick stop at a hospital (you can't get the certificate anywhere else). Gratefully, we agreed and made a stop at a hospital around 4 pm. You won't believe it, but it was already closed! So we went to the next one... Luckily, they still served us and our temperatures were checked again. The problem was that Kevin's temperature showed 37.5 degrees Celsius. The staff member (still extremely friendly) escorted us to a small room with a large glass window and a telephone. Then she brought a thermometer for Kevin. When it reached 37.5 degrees again, he pulled it out and shortly after an error message appeared. Then he got a new one and the same thing happened. Finally, she gave us two disposable thermometers and left the room for good. No idea what was going on with Kevin's body temperature at that moment - he had already passed several checks before and was always in the normal range. Anyway, this manually functioning thermometer was fortunately easier to manipulate. At 36.7 degrees, he pushed it so far back that the tip of the thermometer was sticking out on the other side of the armpit. Around ten minutes later, the phone suddenly rang and the staff member stood in front of the window. We were supposed to show her the thermometers. We did that right away and suddenly another staff member appeared in our room - in full anti-contagion gear - and asked us various questions about our health. Shortly after, we were allowed to leave the room and wait for our certificates in the "lobby". By now, it was around 5 pm and our driver seemed visibly nervous. He had to be home by 10 pm due to the curfew, and according to the GPS, it would take him 4 hours from our destination (which was about an hour's drive away). If he couldn't make it, he would have to make a stop at a hotel or similar, which would mean additional costs for him. Since he had been so helpful to us, it was clear that we wanted to give him a small tip as a thank you. It just so happened that Kevin gave him the payment for the trip plus an additional 1000 Baht (CHF 30.-), for which he thanked us several times and seemed visibly more relaxed. After receiving the certificates (about CHF 15.- for both), we finally drove directly to the hotel without any stops and arrived at our destination at 5:40 pm. Yes, he definitely drove like a madman... We don't know if he made it before the curfew, but we sincerely hope so, and that he was able to share the tip with his family instead of spending it on an overnight stay. As for us, we checked into our room. Since it was our last night in Thailand, we decided to really enjoy it and treated ourselves to the most expensive room with a bathtub and terrace (CHF 40.-). We went out for a quick bite to eat, sat on the terrace, later in the bathtub, and enjoyed the last evening. Sometimes we chatted, sometimes we sat silently and listened to our (sometimes slightly confused) thoughts. When we decided to go to bed, we were startled by the sight of the clock: it was already 2 am!!

Then we lay down and fell asleep instantly.