Return journey to Bangkok

I had to start thinking about the return journey, even though it was difficult for me, but the 60-day visa was coming to an end. I had decided to take the night train again, just like on the way there, as I couldn't see any real benefit of a much more expensive flight, and taking the bus was not an option for me anyway. Since I couldn't find a travel agency in Thongsala that sells train tickets, I did it online again, but had a hard time finding the right timing for the ferry, bus transfer, and train. Something never matched, so I kept postponing the booking. I also still hoped for approval from my boss for an extension, but it never came. Finally, I couldn't postpone the booking any longer and had to realize that I had waited too long. The 2nd class was fully booked and I reluctantly had to book the 1st class. 1st class meant a locked, private sleeping cabin with a sink just for myself. It was more expensive, of course, but looking back, the extra 30 euros were worth it as the journey became much more comfortable and, above all, quieter. Just a few hours later, my neighbor Jenny told me that she had booked the exact same train in 2nd class. At that moment, I was really annoyed.

My flight is on the night of March 5th to March 6th, Saturday to Sunday, at 0:30 am. The plan is to leave on Thursday afternoon with the ferry to Surathani, take a bus shuttle to the station, and then board the train to Bangkok at 9:15 pm.

Since Jenny took the same train, we could travel together.

On Wednesday, my last day, I went to Mae Haad again and said goodbye to Shantaram, who of course didn't understand what I was telling him, he was just happy to see me. Saying goodbye was difficult because I had really grown attached to the dog - I would miss him.

In the evening, we all went out to dinner together, Darshi, Mahan, and Jenny. The evening passed without much fuss, and at some point, I just lay in bed and knew that the next morning I had to leave for Germany irrevocably. I felt a slight melancholy, but it didn't turn into a big drama. It was just as it was, and I accepted it.

The next morning, I went swimming once more, enjoying the water for as long as possible, closing my eyes and surrendering to the gentle ebb and flow of the waves - I would miss that too.

A staff member of the resort then drove me to Thongsala, which made me very happy because I didn't have to look for a taxi. Jenny was driving with the scooter she had rented in Thongsala and now had to return it there, we met at the port. There were hardly any travelers there, almost exclusively Thai people. No one who didn't absolutely have to was leaving the island. The ferry even arrived on time, which reassured us because sometimes you can wait for an hour and we had to catch the bus and train. The ship was almost empty, and we could choose our seats. But most of the time we sat outside in the fresh air, looking back together at Koh Pangan, which was now getting further and further away. I wonder if I will ever set foot on the island again....?

After 3.5 hours, the ferry docked in Surathani, and we were immediately loaded into a small bus with about 12-15 seats, which started right away. The bus was full. I sat in the back next to a Thai person, Jenny had secured a single seat at the front. Everyone was wearing masks, but the distances were naturally quite close, but that was how it would be on the plane too, so I didn't think much about it. Besides, there was no other option.

When we finally arrived at the train station after about 3 hours of driving through the rush hour of Surathani, I first looked for the luggage storage because that's where I was supposed to pick up my online ordered train ticket. That was quickly done, but as soon as I had the ticket in my hand, I realized that I had booked a different train than Jenny. Hers was leaving an hour later. Since I preferred to travel in 2nd class anyway, we quickly discussed it and went to the ticket counter to ask if I could switch the ticket to the later train and to 2nd class. The clerk confirmed that, but also told me that there would be no refund and, more importantly, that the later train was 1.5 hours delayed. Uff, that was not at all what I or Jenny wanted. We didn't have to think long and so it happened that I didn't switch trains, but Jenny did, luckily without any problems. Jenny was understandably very happy that she didn't have to wait for the train at the station for half the night. However, we still had enough time to grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant and get some essentials for the night at the supermarket.

On the platform, we separated for a short time because we were of course accommodated in different carriages. 1st class really makes a difference, the conductor even escorted me to my compartment and carried my suitcase, just as it should be. When I looked into the compartment assigned to me, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bed, which had already been prepared and made up, was luckily just as wide as in 2nd class. It had looked much narrower in the photos when I booked online. So, for the next 10-12 hours, this was my own kingdom, and I didn't regret the extra expense, that much was already clear. After I had settled in a bit, I walked through the train in search of Jenny. I knew her carriage number, but not her sleeping place. However, I got confused already with the carriages because they were not marked inside, and since all the curtains were drawn in front of the beds, I couldn't find Jenny. So, I went back to my private suite and wrote her a WhatsApp message telling her where she could find me. I left the door open so she could find me easier, and a short time later, she appeared and we made ourselves comfortable on the upper free bed. That's how you can travel, only the champagne was missing, but we still had a good time. Until the conductor came by and looked through the still open door. He pointed out to us that it was not allowed for two people to sit on the upper bed for safety reasons. Too bad, but nothing could be done about it. Jenny went back to her bed in 2nd class, and I enjoyed my 1st class compartment all to myself.

After a really pleasant night in which I could actually sleep almost normally, we arrived in Bangkok. We took a taxi and drove to our hotels which were close to each other in Soi Rambruttri. I had booked again at Rambuttri Village and when checking in, I was looked at quite strangely, I was expected one day earlier. I had actually made a mistake, not once but twice. First, I had chosen the wrong date, one day too early. But that didn't matter because - and that was the second mistake - unnecessarily, I had booked for 2 nights. I had noticed the 2 nights before, but had thought that I had booked for Friday and Saturday, but now I had to realize that it was actually Thursday and Friday. Saturday would have been great because then I could have spent the day relaxed in the room, but now I had to check out at 12:00 and store my luggage in the hotel. Stupid, but not the end of the world - just paid for one night too many. I'll get over it.