Day 34 - Train to Chumphon - Time to reflect!

We left Bangkok and our modern apartment this morning to board the 8:05 train bound for Chumphon, which is scheduled to arrival at 14:40, however the trains here tend to run slow and late. From Chumphon we will rest overnight before boarding a ferry to Koh Tao our first Island.

The trip is now unplanned and we only need to accomplish two things; get out of Thailand before the 10^th November, when our visa runs out; and then get to Singapore for the 23^rd November when our ship leaves for Australia.

These two factors should push us slowly 1,150 miles south through Thailand and Malaysia. We have ideas about areas, islands, and cities we would like to get to, but we are trying not to be influenced by these desires, or before you know it we will have googled, tripadvisored and booked the next 33 days to a firm programme (well I would anyway!). The idea is that each day will be taken as it comes, at lunch we will discuss whether we want to stay or leave the current location and then go from there. It could be that we spend 32 days in Koh Tao, and then get the overnight train to Singapore (I hope not!) but having now completed a very structured tour of Dubai, Vietnam and Northern Thailand, this part is about zero commitment, freedom of movement and thinking only for the moment.

As the structured section of the adventure comes to a close, I find myself sitting on a train again, reflecting back on the trip so far, and back all those months ago, when we spent so much time and effort organising each aspect of it. This organisation happened back at a time when we were still battling with the sale of the house, and we were still trying to secure our permanent residence visa for Australia.

The organistaion was great fun for me, (forever the anal administrator!) as it was excellent escapism from the realities and pains of trying to achieve our goal, but it also helped generate great expectation, enthusiasm and excitement for the wider adventure which was relocating to Oz. I think this was shared to a small degree by Steph and the Kids! So having completed the structured journey now, and in reflection on the excitement and anticipation we all felt running up to the trip, did it deliver?

Hell Yeah it did!! it has been way better than I expected, and that expectation was pretty high. I thought I may struggle to keep enthused about moving on from one place to another. I also feared that the kids would tire of the limited company and lack of friends, or people their own age to play with. I thought Steph would tire of me! I certainly felt there would be good days and bad days, a few dodgy locations and a tantrum or two from each of us. Truth is – none of the above, and I appreciate we are along way from our goal, but at this near mid point, and with the change in structure, it seems a good time to be smug, and go public with this declaration of success, as the point where it all goes wrong could quite easily be just a few hours down the track, when this 'free wheeling' idea kicks in.