The Boat from Chumphon was cramped and
dirty, with only inside seating, and none of us got to sit together!
So a bit of a let down from the image we all had of skipping across
the Thailand gulf, wind in our hair, on the speedy catamaran like the
picture on the ticket suggested!
We were met in Koh Tao by a hoard of
taxi drivers eager to take us to our destinations, we were bundled
into the back of a pick up and swiftly taken to what we thought was
our bungalow for the night, only to be told it was not, and so back
into another taxi and off to the correct location! The main
difference we have found between the Thais and the Vietnamese has
been their capacity to hustle and fiddle you out of your money, The
vietnamese were cunning and enterprising in making money from us
tourists, and were always polite and straight with it, whilst the
Thai's are just looking to scam you, however base and immoral the
method. I wonder whether this difference has something to do with the
advanced state of westernisation the Thais have, or that the scale
and length of time that tourism has been ripe in Thailand has lead
them to see the tourist as prey rather than economic opportunity.
Anyway we got to our bungalow, which
was every piece the beach-side remote hut we were hoping for, however
the service and welcome from the staff was so rude and awkward, that
it only took about half an hour before we agreed that we needed to
find a different place for our second night. We grabbed a taxi to the
next bay and we were offered a great deal on another bungalow by the
sea.
This first stop also quickly changed
our perception of what we need, and remote idyllic hide away is nice,
but reliable and friendly hosts, with a few local amenities is also a
necessity for us. So we will likely make another jump tomorrow to a
bigger island with more on offer.
Imogen and Felix now swim freely in the
sea without hesitation, and we look forward to getting some
snorkelling gear as it is likely to become one of our main past times
over the next few weeks.
Hi Guys,
ReplyDeleteUncle Pip here, just reading the latest updates on your trip which all sounds really fantastic. I am sitting in a boring old hotel here in Vienna- big trade show. Keep up the blogging it's making good bed time reading.
All the best
Uncle Pip Cole
Loving the one blue toe nail Stephy!!!!
ReplyDeleteBeen really busy our side of the world. Looking forward to a week off for half term. Ryan is away for 5 days with his school at an outdoor activity center in Kent. Hoping to catch some waves this weekend although they won't be as warm as the ones you're catching at the moment.!!!
Love to all. Xxxxx