Through the monsoon... (hopefully) towards the sun...

Who hasn't... Who wants a ma!?! .. On to the 7th round... Here we gooooo...

Today is January 8th and we are in the so-called VIP bus, which is supposed to take us non-stop to Bangkok... VIP because there are only 24 seats, these seats are almost completely foldable to a real 'bed' and you travel accordingly comfortably.

Snacks & drinks are included, as well as a toilet on the lower deck.

The journey takes about 16 hours (probably more)... 😑

We have been sitting here for almost 90 minutes now, ... but we haven't gotten very far yet...

We just experienced firsthand what nature is capable of. 😵

A lot has happened since my last blog entry.

Basically from the minute I uploaded it, floods!!

Mega storm.

The sky turned black.

Wind from almost all directions.

Rain that lashed onto the ocean and our skin...

We just made it to our bungalow before we were completely soaked.

We threw ourselves on the bed and watched outside with the door wide open.

Loud thunder.

Lightning.

Suddenly power outage.

We couldn't see our hand in front of our face.

We knew the bad weather from the past days, but THIS was a different level.

We preferred to close the door and fell asleep shortly afterwards...

Since we unexpectedly and unusually said goodbye to the night early, we were of course awake very early.

I think it was before half past 5.

We decided to go to the beach.

(First, of course, we (Jule) removed the obligatory toad from the house...)

It was windy, but not raining.

But the wind was relatively strong and the sea was very rough.

But due to the early hour, we had the beach to ourselves.

A few crabs were awake and probably annoyed that I was disrupting their attempts to dig holes.

I really wanted to photograph them and they were rather camera-shy...

The rest of the island was still asleep.

The sand was very warm. 

So was the water.

The thick clouds clung to the surrounding mountains and rocks.

Thick fog surrounded them.

It was actually really beautiful...

Since we felt (and of course saw) that the weather was not done yet, we decided to quickly get back on the scooter to drive to the nearby 7eleven... (this supermarket chain is everywhere in Thailand)... We had to stock up on food. 🍉🍌🍞🍱🍭🍫 Because our resort restaurant has comparatively high prices... 💰

The roads were slippery and I had to dodge many branches.

But luckily it wasn't far.

So we bought junk food for a fortune and went back to the resort.

Perfect timing.

Because when I parked the scooter, the rain started again.

Rain, storm, gray-black sky.

Everything wet and disgusting.

And it stayed that way.

All day long.

All night long.

Until now.

Yesterday we were practically stuck.

Nothing was moving.

The rain got stronger.

It got weaker.

But it just didn't want to give up.

We sat on the restaurant terrace all day and watched the waves and the rain, which just didn't stop...

We also had a nice chat with a German couple whose little daughter was sooo adorable...

Someone apparently lost their boat due to the storm.

The unmanned vehicle was washed up and fished out by locals on our beach.

It was floating upside down in the sea and of course, we hope the owner is okay...

The rain stopped briefly around 6 p.m. and we took advantage of the opportunity.

We really wanted to experience the rough sea up close.

We had never seen waves this high before.

At least on this trip it was the first time....

So we put on our swimwear and jumped into the surf! 🌊

It was funny and the current was really strong. 😎

We were careful and stayed close to the shore. 😇

The water temperature was very pleasant and due to the twilight and the fog around us, the light was really unique.

Afterwards, we went to bed.

Again. :)

But what else can you do during the monsoon and its effects, right!?

This morning we were awake before the rooster. 💪

And speaking of rooster: 🐓

Let me tell you.

It doesn't crow like German roosters.

(And they can be really annoying).

No, the roosters here crow in Thai!! 🙄

It sounds terribly strange.

As if they were going through puberty.

Really disjointed.

And tonally extremely off.

Anyway, we won today and were already up before it started crowing again.

Well... now that I think about it, I haven't heard it this morning? 🤔

Well maybe it was struck by lightning or carried away crowing by the flood.

God forbid.

Poor rooster. 😏

_________________________________

Good. Anyway, today we had to pack our backpacks, which we were too lazy to do yesterday, and mentally prepare ourselves to leave the island.

Right on time for our departure, there was a power outage.

The manager of the resort told us that due to the storm in the afternoon, nothing would work anymore...

Well. The mini van was supposed to take us to the ferry at 10:30 and then continue to Krabi on the mainland where we would change to the big bus...

With a slight delay, we headed towards the ferry.

We had to cross the island diagonally and could see the devastation that the weather had left behind.

Large uprooted trees.

Debris on the road.

Destroyed or fallen signs everywhere.

Toppled structures.

Exposed roofs.

Rushing streams where there used to be nothing.

... We knew it had to be bad... But like THIS!?

We had to wait in traffic for a long time before we were finally allowed to board the ferry.

And from there we went straight from one storm to an even bigger one.....

...Although it was early afternoon, it was almost like night around us.

The rain that had already accompanied us got stronger again.

The roads had turned into rivers.

Aquaplaning. Poor visibility. Waterfall-like curbstones. And according to Jule, there were even water fountains shooting out of drains...

On the one hand, I was glad not to be the driver.

On the other hand, the fully packed van was 'thrown' around like a toy car in the storm and braking didn't work as well in the 'river' as it did on dry roads.

So you really don't want to give up control.... There were really creepy moments today...

But that's nothing compared to what happened next!! 😱

...People!... Friends!... Family!... Boys!... Girls!... Strangers!... Acquaintances!..

Ladies and Gentlemen...

The following is being described from the perspective of a surviving eyewitness and to the best of her knowledge and belief:

So at some point we arrived at the bus station after over 4 hours.

The rain was just as strong as before.

Avoiding storm surges (coming from the roofs), we made our way to the dry area...

We soon found out where our bus would depart from.

So we quickly got some snacks and sat in the only dry hall to wait there.

You could see outside from there... and of course, curiosity drove me there.

Even here, the path had turned into a river.

All sorts of things were floating on the brown water.

Plastic, glass bottles, branches, entire trash bags... Remember the river in Bangkok that I mentioned?? That's exactly what you should imagine ;)

It was really interesting to see.

Because I have never seen water rise so fast.

A moment ago there was a marker in the middle of the street, suddenly there was nothing left of it.

The cockroaches crawled up the walls in mortal fear.

And where you could still walk a moment ago, suddenly everything was ankle-deep in water...

But that wasn't all.

Because that was all happening outside and you felt relatively safe.

Wrong.

We didn't see it coming... How can I explain it... I'm sure all of you can imagine what it looks like when the ebb tide turns into flood tide!?

At first, you might think you can estimate where the water is coming from and react early,... until you're surrounded by water...

And that's exactly how it roughly went... We were surrounded by the muddy water!!

In the blink of an eye, the entire bus station was under water!!!

It came from all sides.

Everyone rescued themselves and their luggage onto tables and chairs.

People waded through the brown flowing mass cautiously.

The water outside kept rising. 

Spiders and large cockroaches that couldn't save themselves in time fought with death in the flood, and we paid close attention to where we stepped. :)

We constantly felt something unidentifiable touching our feet, and we were actually quite relieved that we couldn't see what it was due to the dark water...

Everyone was somehow shocked by the extent.

We heard some tourists excitedly reporting it on the phone.

No one was wearing shoes anymore... And those who did had to wring them out afterwards.

I have never experienced something like this.

This violence that lies behind it.

There was no dry spot left anywhere.

It was so surreal.

And still is!

We heard that other buses weren't running due to the weather conditions, and people had to figure out how to kill time until tomorrow... but we were lucky.

Our bus is running.

Or crawling.

We have been sitting here for 4 hours now and still haven't gotten very far.

State of emergency on the roads of southern Thailand.

These are no longer puddles.

Honestly.

These are large lakes.

Rivers.

Streams.

This morning, a local told us that someone said these are the worst storms in over 30 years.

And I can really imagine it.

It was even worse on the neighboring island.

The water in the bungalows was reportedly up to the roof in some places.

There were deaths and millions in damages in the entire region up to Bangkok.

Everything came to a halt.

No flights.

No ferries.

No buses.

The weather is going crazy.

(And actually, around this time, there is hardly 1 rainy day per month...)

I am really amazed by all of this.

...and I'm glad that we are now (hopefully) heading towards the sun and that we are safe...

☀🔙🙏

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Update.

After being on buses for over 22 hours, we finally reached the capital.

Unfortunately, the rain accompanied us the entire journey.

I can't even stand the sound anymore.

And I forgot what the sun feels like.

It's been so long...

......................................

Arriving in Bangkok, we grabbed an overpriced TukTuk and let it drive us to Khao San Road in the rain.

We rented a cheap room and have been browsing the internet ever since to find out where the sun is hiding in Southeast Asia, so we can chase after it.

The weather really makes it hard to stay in a good mood.

So... wherever we end up in the next few days... You will be the first to know! ✌

The end.