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To the tropics!

The train we used wasn't nearly as bad as one might think. The seats were relatively comfortable and most of the fans in the ceiling worked. The only problem was that the trip was very long and we weren't able to fall asleep although it was getting late. Instead of sleeping we stared at the poor districts of Bangkok and saw some beautiful Buddhist temples every now and then. At some point dead mosquitoes (!) started falling on us and I still have no idea where they came from. After a while the floor was full of these tiny corpses but I didn't complain, at least they were dead and not biting us.

We arrived at Chumphon at around 3 am, nine hours after leaving from Bangkok. It seemed like there was nothing worth seeing in Chumphon and we started to search for a way to get to the island of Ko Tao. Quickly we found a few places offering transportation to the harbour and a boat to the island. The price seemed to be about the same everywhere so we just decided to pick the least suspicious one. Before leaving we needed some more money and soon I found out that my Visa Electron's were not working. I tried every ATM I could find but with no luck. Finally I put in my regular Visa and was pleased to see that at least it worked.

The truck which took us to the shore was late and for a while we were worried that it wouldn't come at all. Eventually it did, but it was packed with other travellers and their backpacks. Somehow we fit in and drove off. Our "tickets" for the boat were actually silly stickers on our shirts and it felt like we were a bunch of ten-year-olds on a field trip from school. In the boat we had to put our backpacks in a huge pile and as there were no empty seats inside, we had to stay outside. The weather was surprisingly cold but it wasn't raining. The port was ugly and I wondered if the islands would be any better. The trip lasted for about three hours and we shared the front part of the boat with some travellers from the Great Britain and Ireland.

The last quarter of the boat trip was very unpleasant since both of us became seasick. We were also worried about getting a bungalow since the officer at the travel agency in Bangkok had told us that we wouldn't find anything cheaper than 500 on the island by ourselves and another man on the boat told that almost everything's full. This was all just bullshit though: right after stepping out of the boat we were confronted with dozens of locals offering accommodation to us. And yes, we found something cheaper than 500. We ended up paying 350 bahts per night and the bungalow was pretty ok. We also had to take a taxi to the place for 100 bahts.

Pretty soon we found out some small quirks in our bungalow though. First of all the water in the shower was slightly salty! It didn't really feel so refreshing to take a shower in that one. The other somewhat annoying thing was to be found behind the mirror in our bathroom. Inna went to brush her teeth and after a while she asked me to check if there's something hiding. At first I thought it's nothing but after checking it with a flashlight I saw a big gecko there! Luckily geckos aren't dangerous and soon Inna didn't mind living with a lizard either :).

After dealing with the gecko situation we took a well-deserved nap before going to the beach to swim for the first time in Asia. The water was just as warm as it was in Jamaica over ten years ago and we enjoyed every small drop of it. We relaxed in the soft sand for a good while before getting out to find some food. We ate tasty yellow rice and chicken in a local restaurant and for dessert we bought a nice selection of fruits. Durian, mangosteen and two other species of fruits were to be consumed.

I had heard many stories about durian's awful smell and taste but I must say that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Sure, I wouldn't eat it just for its great taste every day but I didn't feel like vomiting either. On the other hand Mangosteen, the queen of fruits, was nothing short of excellent. The butt-ugly purple fruit proved to be really tasty and quickly became our favourite. The potato-looking small fruit wasn't as good but still pretty tasty and the spiky brown one was interesting with its slightly bitter flavour.

Before sleeping we went to swim once more in the ridiculously warm water and enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful landscapes of Ko Tao.

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