Chiang Mai March 2013
Day 1
To get to Chiang Mai which is in the North of Thailand from Koh Tao is a long process, made even longer by the fact I'm in Thailand where 'Thai time' not GMT prevails.
To get to Chiang Mai from Koh Tao usually consists of a boat, coach then train. I am getting a boat and a bus to Bangkok then flying to Chaing Mai due to time constraints and general convenience. I purchased a boat and coach to take me to Bangkok for 850 baht/£19/$28, this is the slow version. You can get a faster boat for 1000 baht/£22/$33. My boat is scheduled to leave at 2:30pm and arrive in Bangkok at 5am the following day. From then I will get a taxi to the airport and catch my 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai.
From my understanding I would be getting a boat from Koh Tao to somewhere on the mainland then get a bus directly to Bangkok. Apparently I was being optimistic, this is what actually happened.
My taxi dropped me to the pier and I showed my ticket to the ticket attendant who told me I was at the wrong office and had to walk 5 minutes down the road to another one. After doing so I checked in and waited 20 minutes in the waiting area until the boat came at 2:30pm. We got on the boat at 2:50pm as we were waiting for those who had arrived in Koh Tao to get off. We took off at 3pm. The boat had an upper deck and there was no air conditioning, only a fan. But this is to be expected. There's a man selling sandwiches and snacks for the journey also.
The boat ride was 3 hours and I slept for about 1.5 hours of that time. After we arrived at another port we were told to check in where I was informed that the bus to Bangkok wasn't leaving for a further 3 hours and I could put my bag in the bus station as there were restaurants around the corner.
Not thrilled with the prospect of a 3 hour waiting time that I wasn't expecting by myself and with certainly not enough battery life on either of my devices to entertain myself I ventured out to see what these restaurants had to offer. I was surprised to find several street vendors selling everything from meat on a stick, noodle soup, drinks and pad Thai for maximum 50 baht/£1.12/$1.69 a portion, this made me feel slightly better. Also wish Etta had been here for this part as she loves street food more than I do and has been craving it a lot since Bangkok. Street food is the one thing I have missed the most from Bangkok as its so cheap and so tasty. There isn't that much street food in the more touristy places of Koh Lanta, Ao Nang and Koh Tao which is the point I guess but I've missed it nonetheless.
After catching up on my blogging and dinner it was 8pm so hopefully only one ore hour until the bus to Bangkok arrived as the flies and mosquitos swarming me was not any fun. All I could hope for was the same sort of coach I got from Bangkok to Krabi with a lot of leg room, air conditioning, film and a blanket but as 9pm approached I was thinking this could be a tall order.
At 9pm no such bus appeared, it wasn't until 11pm until a rickety old tin can of a bus appeared. With simply a fan and leather non reclinable seats I knew it was going to be a long night. But with the prospect of missing my 10:30am flight to Chiang Mai I was relieved to see any form of transport that would get me to Bangkok. After about 2.5 hours on the bus we stopped for what I assumed was a bathroom break but as I used the bathroom I found all the luggage had been taken out of the bus and was on the ground. There was another double decker bus currently parked in front of our bus. I came to the realisation that we were changing buses as its the Thai way that they don't like to inform you of anything and keep you guessing.
After boarding the next bus which was way more comfortable, a little bit more legroom, reclinable seats and air conditioning I was feeling better but still had the prospect of missing my Chiang Mai flight in the back of my head. At this rate I'll be in Bangkok at 8am and have a chance of getting my flight but still hit and miss at this point.
We arrived at Bangkok at 6am so the journey only took 7 hours in the end. I got a taxi to Don Mueang airport and got some food in me before check in. After check in I still had about 2 hours before boarding so I slept and read a bit before boarding. After boarding I slept pretty much the whole way to Chiang Mai.
After I got off the plane I collected my bag and got a taxi to my hostel. I was greeted with open arms and a lot of questions from the owner which I wasn't really ready for after a 22 hour journey from Koh Tao. After I checked in I wandered to get some food and stumbled upon a little shack selling beef noodle soup for 30 baht/£0.68/$1 which was huge, yummy and very filling. I didn't want this to be wasted day so I walked around and got my bearings. I stumbled across a food market and several tour offices.
I bought my bus ticket back to Bangkok then a cycling tour of the city and a cooking course for the next few days to entertain myself. At about 5pm I decided to take a well needed nap then a massage and getting ready for my bike tour at 8am the next day. Until tomorrow folks.
To get to Chiang Mai which is in the North of Thailand from Koh Tao is a long process, made even longer by the fact I'm in Thailand where 'Thai time' not GMT prevails.
To get to Chiang Mai from Koh Tao usually consists of a boat, coach then train. I am getting a boat and a bus to Bangkok then flying to Chaing Mai due to time constraints and general convenience. I purchased a boat and coach to take me to Bangkok for 850 baht/£19/$28, this is the slow version. You can get a faster boat for 1000 baht/£22/$33. My boat is scheduled to leave at 2:30pm and arrive in Bangkok at 5am the following day. From then I will get a taxi to the airport and catch my 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai.
From my understanding I would be getting a boat from Koh Tao to somewhere on the mainland then get a bus directly to Bangkok. Apparently I was being optimistic, this is what actually happened.
My taxi dropped me to the pier and I showed my ticket to the ticket attendant who told me I was at the wrong office and had to walk 5 minutes down the road to another one. After doing so I checked in and waited 20 minutes in the waiting area until the boat came at 2:30pm. We got on the boat at 2:50pm as we were waiting for those who had arrived in Koh Tao to get off. We took off at 3pm. The boat had an upper deck and there was no air conditioning, only a fan. But this is to be expected. There's a man selling sandwiches and snacks for the journey also.
The boat ride was 3 hours and I slept for about 1.5 hours of that time. After we arrived at another port we were told to check in where I was informed that the bus to Bangkok wasn't leaving for a further 3 hours and I could put my bag in the bus station as there were restaurants around the corner.
Not thrilled with the prospect of a 3 hour waiting time that I wasn't expecting by myself and with certainly not enough battery life on either of my devices to entertain myself I ventured out to see what these restaurants had to offer. I was surprised to find several street vendors selling everything from meat on a stick, noodle soup, drinks and pad Thai for maximum 50 baht/£1.12/$1.69 a portion, this made me feel slightly better. Also wish Etta had been here for this part as she loves street food more than I do and has been craving it a lot since Bangkok. Street food is the one thing I have missed the most from Bangkok as its so cheap and so tasty. There isn't that much street food in the more touristy places of Koh Lanta, Ao Nang and Koh Tao which is the point I guess but I've missed it nonetheless.
After catching up on my blogging and dinner it was 8pm so hopefully only one ore hour until the bus to Bangkok arrived as the flies and mosquitos swarming me was not any fun. All I could hope for was the same sort of coach I got from Bangkok to Krabi with a lot of leg room, air conditioning, film and a blanket but as 9pm approached I was thinking this could be a tall order.
At 9pm no such bus appeared, it wasn't until 11pm until a rickety old tin can of a bus appeared. With simply a fan and leather non reclinable seats I knew it was going to be a long night. But with the prospect of missing my 10:30am flight to Chiang Mai I was relieved to see any form of transport that would get me to Bangkok. After about 2.5 hours on the bus we stopped for what I assumed was a bathroom break but as I used the bathroom I found all the luggage had been taken out of the bus and was on the ground. There was another double decker bus currently parked in front of our bus. I came to the realisation that we were changing buses as its the Thai way that they don't like to inform you of anything and keep you guessing.
After boarding the next bus which was way more comfortable, a little bit more legroom, reclinable seats and air conditioning I was feeling better but still had the prospect of missing my Chiang Mai flight in the back of my head. At this rate I'll be in Bangkok at 8am and have a chance of getting my flight but still hit and miss at this point.
We arrived at Bangkok at 6am so the journey only took 7 hours in the end. I got a taxi to Don Mueang airport and got some food in me before check in. After check in I still had about 2 hours before boarding so I slept and read a bit before boarding. After boarding I slept pretty much the whole way to Chiang Mai.
After I got off the plane I collected my bag and got a taxi to my hostel. I was greeted with open arms and a lot of questions from the owner which I wasn't really ready for after a 22 hour journey from Koh Tao. After I checked in I wandered to get some food and stumbled upon a little shack selling beef noodle soup for 30 baht/£0.68/$1 which was huge, yummy and very filling. I didn't want this to be wasted day so I walked around and got my bearings. I stumbled across a food market and several tour offices.
I bought my bus ticket back to Bangkok then a cycling tour of the city and a cooking course for the next few days to entertain myself. At about 5pm I decided to take a well needed nap then a massage and getting ready for my bike tour at 8am the next day. Until tomorrow folks.
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