We could have payed the 500 baht/day overstay fee, but we needed new visas to see the rest of Thailand anyway, so we booked a visa run to the Thailand-Myanmar(aka Burma) border. The taxi would pick us up at 8pm at our accomodation, and take us to the Night Boat.
Which it did, speeding away as soon as we were at the pier, back over the treacherous road to Haad Rin at insane speeds. We walked up to the boat only to find that the night boat had been cancelled that evening. Arg... left in a different bay with no forward transport!
We called up the travel shop (Thailand is great, shops are open till 10pm at least) and after a bit of language juggling they finally understood and dispatched the same crazed driver to rally-drive us back to our accomodation. In a van.
Luckily we had left an extra day to go snorkelling afterwards (which got cancelled) and so we could go on the visa run the next night. Our rally/taxi driver dropped us off again the next night, and thankfully it was all go.
The night boat was a flat deck inside a long narrow boat - enough for a row of sleepers on each side sleeping across (i.e. port to starboard) and walking space along the middle. there were basic matresses and pillows, along with oscillating fans and open-able windows. It was actually surprisingly confortable with no sea sickness; we both got some sleep.
5am we are woken up and carted off in the back of a ute to the travelshop where the connecting minivan will pick us up. A dozen of us were all sitting around half asleep in the shop, sipping coffees and water, dreading the next part.
The minibus arrived, and we all clambered in. Its part luck, part skill to avoid the 2 front seats next to the driver. Aside from being uncomfortable, the Thai style of driving can be terrifying to witness, so we have learned that it is better to sit where you can't see the road ahead. Toolman is reminded of a pearl of wisdom from Princess, taught to her by her Kirsten:
Don't look, it makes you a witness...
We managed to get the back seats, so we settled in with our iPods and books for a 6 hour drive to the Thailand immagration office in Ranong, where we technically leave the country. We finally got to the office and went through the normal paper work - filling out departure forms etc.
After we had signed out, we hopped on a longtail boat and buzzed across to Myanmar. This isn't a great photo, but you get the idea. These boats are long wooden boats, with ex-car engines bolted on the back with a propellor at the end of a long shaft. They are very noisey, partly as they have little or no muffler!
We get to Myanmar, headache from the noise, and disembark. Our sole purpose here is to get a stamped passport that proves we were in Myanmar, even if only for 5 minutes. Myanmar charge a US$10 fee for the stamp. No problem, Toolman had a US$50 note.
Or so he thought. Apparently they weren't in to giving change, and on top of that he had an old issue (but still legal tender) note. Luckily the charge is for exiting Myanmar, so he headed in to the township to try and (quickly) rustle a US$10 note.
Princess was left at the border office, and as soon as Toolman left, Princess had a group of Myanmar men surrounding her! Thankfully they were really sweet and spoke good English, so they had a good chat.
As soon as Toolman stepped past those barriers, there was a group of boys keen to help in any way. "Mister, do you want cigarettes, booze or Viagra?" came from a 14 year old boy - quite surprising! They led Toolman to a place that sold postcards and did cash exchange on the side. It cost a bit to trade, but at least a US$10 was procured. Running back, Toolman made it back last, but with a good story at least.
We buzzed back across the water, and headed back to the same immigration office we had been in 2 hours earlier, re-entered, and got back in the minivan for another gruelling drive back to the ferry.
The lack of sleep and comfort was not great, but we managed OK. We got to the ferry for a conventional 4 hour boat ride back to Ko Phangan. We had done this before, and it is not bad at all. This time we got an awesome sunset followed by a massive lightning storm. The forks of lightning were amazing! Thankfully though it was in the distance, and we didn't even get rained on.
At last, a full 24 hours later, we were back in our modest bungalow, sleeping the discomfort away. Next stop - party city!
We met up with Justin (a friend of Toolmans) and his gang of travel buddies the day of the party, and had a big lunch together. After an afternoon siesta, we all met back up ready to make a go of the night.
One of the FMPs most noteable items is the bucket . It is, as you might expect, a bucket about the size of a (xmas) cookie time tub, and has 1 hip-flask of liquor, 1 can of soda, one bottle Red Bull syrup and ice in it. We headed down for a meal (yes, sensible drinkers we are) and started our night of drunkeness.
These are far too easy to drink, and by the time we had finished the first (shared) bucket we were well ready to party on the beach. Everyone finished their meals and drinks, and we headed on in to the festivities.
The party consists of one beach, cut up into about 6 zones, each playing a diffeent style of dance music. The beach is backed by a road boasting cafe/bar/restaraunts and on the night of the FMP, the whole areas is swamped with farangs - some estimates put it around 15,000 people.
We danced into the night, drinking responsibly, until fatiuge/hangovers started looming. Exact details on most of the tail end of the party are speculative, but everyone had a good time, although Tiara (middle of pic above) got thrown into the sea by some humanitarian, killing her digital camera in the process.
With the party over and done with, we took a rest day doing nothing at all, and then headed back to the ferry to head north to Bangkok. This was done on an overnight bus. The bus was VIP but the seats are never comfortable enough to get proper sleep, and so we got to Bangkok tired and scratchy. Not an ideal condition for haggling with taxi drivers over fares to accomodation that was an unknown distance from the bus stop. Thankfully Toolman bargained a reasonable deal, considering it was 6am and we'd had no sleep, and partied the night before...
1 comment:
I guess, with partying all night made you guys looks so tired but together with this bus ride, you also have experienced wild ride. Surely you won't forget that place.
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