20A Trekking to Chiang Mai

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After the debauch of New Year's, we decided to partake in some worthwhile and wholesome activities. Chiang Mai seemed as far away as we could get from the islands and here we could, at the very least, go jungle trekking. Unfortunately, due to our last minute planning, getting there would be a trek in itself. The earliest flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok was on the 6th and we did not want to hang around here for that long. Especially with it raining constantly. The only option was ferry to Surat Thani on the mainland and then a bus to Bangkok where we could catch a flight.

We set off from the hotel at about 12 in a mini van to get to the port where we had to wait for the boat at 13.30. The boat filled up so we had to wait for the next one. '15 minutes' the woman kept saying every 5 minutes. I've learnt over my travels that in these situations there's no point getting worked up. Things usually work out one way or another and ultimately getting worked up won't hasten/change anything. About 45 mins later we jumped onto an already packed ferry and I carried on reading my copy of Alan Partridge's biography (which is hilarious by the way). From the port we are ushered onto possibly the worst bus I've been on this trip. Everyone on it seemed to be going to Bangkok too so panic set in that this would be our chariot for he next 12 hours. Thankfully it wasn't as we were dropped to Surat Thani bus station. These bus stations are generally run down buildings in the middle of nowhere, where hundreds of travellers, on the same route are gathered where they reconfirm a bus ticket and get assigned a new bus number. This assignment is first come first serve so missing the first boat has already dented our arrival time by a few hours.

We're assigned to number 9 and have to endure 8 coach loads of people slowly boarding and taking off before we can get onto ours. It finally arrives and we set off about 20.45. (Note to those booking buses, those who paid double for the VIP bus were put on the same bus as us)

I had a quick nap and awoke as the Expendables was starting on the communal screen. Nothing like a bit of mindless action to help pass the time. An hour in though, we notice that we have only advanced about 10 metres and seem to the in the longest traffic jam ever. We look down the side of the bus and realise why. The heavy rain had caused a local river to burst and the bus was essentially trawling through foot deep water. Locals had packed up shops and stalls, and valuables such as mopeds had been moved to raised platforms. This was no way near as bad as the flooding that devastated Thailand last year, but you couldn't help wonder if we'd get stuck and just float around in our coach. I decided the best course of action was to fall asleep immediately.

We were awoken for a quick toilet & food stop, then when I woke again, we had arrived in Bangkok. Khao San road to be precise. With the fear of my last visit here in my mind, we hurriedly printed out our flight details and got in a taxi to the airport.

On arrival the 4 immodiums I'd dropped during the trip to counteract my stomach problems began to wear off so I had a mad dash to the loo.

After my (massive dis)comfort break, Ben and I sat down for breakfast and by process of elimination settled on chicken spaghetti bolognese. It wasn't all that bad to be fair even at 9.30 a.m. These overnight trips mess with your body clock so it is understandable to want dinner or even a beer in the morning.

We both slept the entire plane journey (all one hour of it) and finally landed in Chiang Mai at 13.55. Almost 26 hours after leaving our hotel in Koh Samui. My teeth needed brushing and my pits needed scrubbing. Big time.

My first impressions of Chiang Mai are great. It's completely chilled out for one. From the aerial view you can see it is surrounded by forestry. Plus, it is cheap. Our twin room with A/C costs just over £3 each for the night...

We booked onto a 2 day jungle trek leaving the following day, then hit China Town's Market to get some footwear for Ben. Apparently trekking in flip flops is ill advised. I know these package tours are probably quite tame, but with us two about this could escalate into some Predator/Jumanji situation so havin appropriate footwear seems like the very least we can do.

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