Continuing the journey to Koh Pangan

Our train to the south to Suratani only leaves in the evening, so we still have time for a short temple visit.

The Big Buddha lives up to its name, it is really big, about 30-40m. But that's about it. No comparison to the delicate and artistically valuable temples and statues of Wat Phra Koae the day before. This temple is more popular, cheaper, but still frequented by Thais. Small ceremonies take place everywhere, offerings are presented to the monks in their orange robes. In return, the givers are rewarded with small prayers from the monks. And chants are played over loudspeakers that sound strangely familiar to India, which gives me a pleasantly cozy feeling.

We could have taken the public bus back, but we wanted to take the Express Boat across the river. But first we had to find the pier. The first attempt failed. The street ended in front of the fenced area of the Bank of Thailand. A friendly old man sitting in front of his shop, where he sold mobile phone accessories, explained the way to us. The next small street was the right one. The street was lined with stands selling all kinds of flowers and plants, further on, various live fish in large water-filled tubs were offered, fighting over the scarce water. When we arrived at the pier, we unfortunately found out that no boat was going to our landing point from there - we had walked the long way for nothing. And because we didn't feel like walking the long way back to the next bus stop, we treated ourselves to a private boat taxi, which was powered by an exposed old V-8 engine and made a hell of a noise.

After one last meal and an hour of relaxation by the hotel pool, which we had once again all to ourselves, we got into the pre-booked tuk-tuk at around 6:00 pm and headed to the train station. There we were supposed to pick up our online booked tickets at the baggage counter.

At the entrance of the train station, I asked the security officer stationed there where the baggage storage was. He said there was no such thing here.

Oh no, this lousy organization and communication again. I pulled out my phone and showed him the email with the booking confirmation and the instructions for picking up the tickets. The officer pointed out to me that the email mentioned another train station. We were indeed at the train station from which we had left for Suratani two years ago, but our tickets were somewhere else.

Oh no, what a shock. We still had 1.5 hours left, but we hurried to the nearest taxi, agreed on 200 baht, and off we went.

As soon as we started driving, the driver informed us that he needed an additional 50 baht for the highway....

Of course, suddenly the driver couldn't speak English anymore, which made any discussion pointless, just like our somewhat tense situation. So we paid the money on top and finally arrived at a huge brand new train station that reminded more of an airport and was completely empty, not a single traveler could be seen.

Doubt and great unease seized us.

The security officer at the entrance explained to us that we had to cross the huge hall and then... I didn't understand more in the excitement.

First through the hall.

The train station was so new, it was certainly not in operation yet. And no signs or personnel anywhere, let alone a baggage counter.

At the other end, a few people in uniform were sitting around. They had to find someone who spoke some English first, and he explained to us that we had to go further, across the tracks outside.....

Unbelievingly, we set off. It was already dark, but we could still see in the distance beyond the railway tracks various small flat buildings that looked more like barracks than a train station.

We crossed the tracks carefully, asked several people, but none of them spoke English. Nothing on the barracks indicated a train station. Someone sent us further up the tracks, and sure enough, there was a train ticket counter and the luggage room behind it. We couldn't believe that there was actually a regular train station in this middle of nowhere, and our relief was unbelievable when the officer behind the counter opened a sealed envelope and handed us our tickets. We even had time to eat or drink something.

I held back with the food because I wanted to eat in the train restaurant, which we liked so much two years ago - a journey back in time to a long-forgotten railway history - here it was still alive.

After an hour of waiting, our train finally arrived, we found our already made sleeping berths and sat down relieved and happy.

Unfortunately, I had to realize that there was no on-board restaurant anymore. Oh no, now we had to starve until the next day.

At least I was able to get some noodles from one of the vendors who were loudly walking through the train. Glass noodles with spices and some sauce, all wrapped up in paper and held together with a rubber band, to be eaten with the provided chopsticks - and it was actually edible! But only a drop in the bucket.

I asked another tourist how he got his ticket, only to find out that he had used the same booking platform as me. However, he had picked up his ticket at a travel agency across from the train station where we had initially been.

He remembered that during the booking, he could choose between 2 pick-up locations. Apparently, I had made the wrong choice, probably due to my ignorance of the different locations.

The rest of the journey and the night went smoothly, I was able to sleep quite well. That was partly due to the wider beds. Two years ago, we had to settle for the upper beds, which were noticeably narrower.

The next morning, we waited for our destination train station Suratani, but it didn't come. When we asked, the conductor informed us that the train was 2 hours late. Uff, that was a blow. I had planned for a one-hour delay when booking our onward shuttle to the port, but two hours was shocking. How would we get to the port now? Would we even be able to catch a ferry?

When the train finally arrived, the current low number of tourists paid off again. The agents from the travel agency where I had booked the transfer and the ferry were already waiting at the exit and picking us up. We were led to a small snack bar, where there was still enough time for a quick breakfast.

Finally, we were asked to board a bus, which immediately started driving and stopped after about 20 minutes somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I think it had to refuel or something, because we were far from our destination. Darshi believed that we had already arrived and had already taken out his luggage when the driver sent us to an inconspicuous office to check in.

There, my printed booking confirmation was thoroughly checked, and finally, we received our ferry tickets. We immediately boarded the bus that the driver had opened for us and thought that we would continue right away. But no, we sat there buckled up and nothing happened. On the contrary, the driver suddenly disappeared. We couldn't believe it, we had to go to the ferry, which certainly wouldn't wait for us.

I went to look for the driver, found him comfortably lying on a bench, and because we did not understand each other, he sent me back to the office. There, too, nobody understood enough English to explain to me why we weren't continuing.

Only an unrelated Thai person informed me that the ferry would not leave at 12:00 as we had assumed, but not until 14:00. The bus would continue at 12:00 🥴.

At least now we have a piece of paper that looks like a ferry ticket. At the port, everyone stood in line at a ticket office. We also did, because there were Covid posters and QR codes everywhere, and we assumed that we had to present certain documents to board the ferry. Did we have to register? Show our vaccination certificates?

Nothing like that, everything was fine with our pieces of paper. But standing in line to find that out, no one explains anything to you. You never get the full picture of the procedure, you only see up to the next corner.

The ferry arrived with a 1.5-hour delay, but we didn't care. We had overcome so many hurdles and difficulties, even if it wasn't always easy to remain calm. I didn't always succeed in that, I have to admit. But we are by the sea now, and what else could happen, in the end, there will be taxis waiting at the destination harbor and not a bus bound by a schedule. The little delay can't spoil our mood now.

The ferry is an old rusty boat that is mainly impressive because of its black exhaust fumes. A table just below the chimneys is completely covered with large black particles of soot. No one will certainly sit there.

After 3.5 hours and already in the twilight, we reach Thongsala on Koh Pangan, where we immediately get into one of the provided shared taxis. Everyone pays 200 baht, regardless of the distance traveled. We have to go the farthest and are therefore the last ones to get off.

We know the beach and therefore know that we have to walk about 500 meters over the difficult-to-walk sand beach to get to our guesthouse, with all our luggage. That's why we dare to take the shortcut through the Wang Sai Restaurant, which they do not approve of and have even expressly forbidden with big signs two years ago.

After politely asking for permission there, not without mentioning that we will also come to eat, we were exceptionally allowed, but only today...

To make the lady even happier, we quickly ordered a beer and then set off on the arduous last 150 meters through the sand.

In the dark and completely out of breath and sweaty, we finally reached our destination, Mae Haad Cove on Koh Pangan.

There we were greeted by a sleepy but friendly round woman who was delighted to see us. The reason for the joy became clear to us very quickly. We were the only guests for miles around. We were asked how long we wanted to stay. Strange, we had booked online for 4 days, they should have known that. Finally, we were led to our bungalows behind the beach restaurant.

After a quick look into the wooden hut, it was clear to both of us that we did not want to stay in this shanty. But since it was already late, we had no choice but to spend at least the first night here. We don't have high expectations, but the condition of this accommodation leaves too much to be desired.

The mattress is big but old. The metal springs almost push through the padding. No fan, let alone air conditioning, no hot water, no lock on the door, no wardrobe, not even a shelf. The only piece of furniture is an old wobbly table on metal legs. Everything somehow feels dirty and loveless. The hut is more of a shack than a dwelling. The disappointment is initially great, but after all the difficulties and obstacles, we will also overcome this.

Tomorrow we will look for something else.