There are 2 ways to return to the mainland from Koh Samui – by plane or by ferry – unless, of course, you want to swim! I decided on the ferry again but this time chose to go the scenic route further up the coast to Chumphon rather than the 45 minute ‘hop’ to Donsak/Surat Thani. This was probably a mistake! We had a delayed start as the captain turned up late
but after that all went well for the first leg of the journey to Koh Phangan where we stopped to let some people off and let hordes of others on-
an interesting eclectic mix of race, colour and creed!
We even had time for some cooling ice creams
sold to us by two enterprising ladies on the dockside before setting off for our next stop, the island of Koh Tao
where more people got on and more got off.
I’ve never been here before. It looks pretty and colourful enough
although I suspect there’s not much to do other than sunbathe, swim and snorkel!
Off we went again on the last leg of our journey. All was going well until we came to a grinding halt – in the middle of nowhere! Something had jammed itself around the steering mechanism. An attempt was made to solve the problem using some sort of butcher’s cleaver
but this proved too blunt so had to be sharpened!
which with the aid of some diving gear
finally did the trick and we were off again. We arrived at Chumphon pier after just over 5 hours on the water – a delay of 1.5hrs
Of course, Chumphon pier is nowhere near Chumphon railway station, is it? So, onto a bus we climbed
which hurtled its way through the narrow country lanes as night descended. It was pitch black by the time we arrived although crowds of our feathered friends were still having a Karaoke party.
The train from Chumphon to Hua Hin is capable of quite high speeds – occasionally but as it’s only a single track, has to stop at every possible ‘passing place’ to let oncoming trains through. All very tedious! Koh Samui – Hua Hin by boat, bus and train = 13 hours. Bangkok – London by plane = 13 hours.
You do the maths!
Phileas
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