We leave Koh Phangang with heavy hearts because its been really lovely to have a gang of people to hang out with, and the atmosphere was so chilled it seems a shame to break it and return to more ferry-train-bus hopping. With only Bali left on our Asian itinerary, it also feels like we are coming to the end of our travels- when realistically it is just the beginning and we should be a little more excited about the prospect of arriving in New Zealand!
We also leave Koh Phangang as fugitives, with our visas expired for several days now. We could have gone to an embassy to get them renewed- but we didn't and seeing as we are leaving for Bali in just a few days we decide to take the risk of just waiting and paying the fine at the airport. This is apparently no problem, as long as you voluntarily let the immigration control know your visa is up. However if you are in Thailand on an expired visa and you get in trouble with the police for any reason e.g. crashing a moped(!) or they ask you to produce your visa, they are obliged to put you in a detention cell, which Amnesty International have described as "cruel and degrading".Gulp!
We are both a little nervous about our new role as lawbreakers. We are picturing the impending bright lights being shone in our face in a dark questioning room, while people shout at us in Thai and then manhandle us into a dingy, rat filled cell that smells like a porta-loo. As for playing it cool I don't think Ellie will be getting recruited by any Mafia bosses anytime soon! She is guiltier looking than a puppy that's just weed on the new carpet! We wait for our train from Chumporn to Bangkok and she practically breaks into a sweat every time a police-man or pretty much anyone in official looking attire walks down the platform. Amazingly we manage to make it to Bangkok by night train without being arrested by the police, train-porters, milk men or anyone else with a uniform!
The political situation in Bangkok has worsened since we left for the islands and there are whispered rumours of a civil war. We get to our hotel at about 7am and go to bed for a couple of hours, I have a broken sleep that is punctuated by the rumbling sounds of what I'm sure are bombs and Molotov cocktails, but when I eventually wake to go outside it transpires that thunder are lightening were the sounds that I had heard! OK so maybe I have an overactive imagination but a few streets away it's a harsh reality .
The military presence on thee streets is more evident than the last time we were here, and the red-shirts have now barricaded themselves into their camps. I didn't think I'd ever have to say this but luckily for us we aren't staying in a 5 star hotel, and are nowhere near the central business district, so again we don't actually see any violence and the only way we are affected is that there is slightly less hustle and bustle around Bangkok because tourists have been warned off coming here. It's a bit of an over-cautious approach as the majority of the city is fine and we feel quite safe despite the fact that every time we come to Bangkok one or both of us is absent mindedly wearing a red t-shirt or top! We are also hoping that the ongoing situation means the police will be far too concerned with looters and arsonists etc to worry about little ol' visa-dodgers like myself and Ellie!
Due to the trouble we again stay in the same 3/4 street zone around Koh Sahn road that (even with my appalling sense of direction) I now know like the back of my hand. I spend the afternoon skyping my parents and trying my best to show them that I really do have a tan, but they just laugh and my sallow mother tries to make up for being greedy with her genes by telling me I have a lovely delicate complexion! What a consolation!
In the evening we go for cocktails and befriend a very drunk Bostonian who's bloodline is more Irish than mine. Perhaps that's also because his blood alcohol levels are a lot more Irish than mine. We play pool,sip at our delicious mojitos and mostly laugh at him because he is very drunk.We have this exchange with The Bostonian at least 6 or 7 times :
"hey, are you girls drinking mimosas?"
"Mojitos"
"ohhh mo- heeee -tows" "right right"
5 mins later....
"Hey is that a mimosa?"
Then he starts speaking American, talking about "throwing game" and telling us 'his girl' is probably going to "beat his ass". In between his drunken memory lapses and Americanisms we have a good chat and he recommends some places to go in Bali. We say goodnight and leave him to go home and "get his ass beat" by his girlfriend when she find out he was out talking to 2 Irish girls all night.
We get to the airport at 5 am and proceed to immigration to potentially get our asses beat. It all goes quite smoothly, we pay a fine for our overstay and everything is hunky-dory. We never get to find out if The Bostonian got off quite as lightly when he stumbled back to his hotel room at 5 or 6am.
Men in Brown
We also leave Koh Phangang as fugitives, with our visas expired for several days now. We could have gone to an embassy to get them renewed- but we didn't and seeing as we are leaving for Bali in just a few days we decide to take the risk of just waiting and paying the fine at the airport. This is apparently no problem, as long as you voluntarily let the immigration control know your visa is up. However if you are in Thailand on an expired visa and you get in trouble with the police for any reason e.g. crashing a moped(!) or they ask you to produce your visa, they are obliged to put you in a detention cell, which Amnesty International have described as "cruel and degrading".Gulp!
We are both a little nervous about our new role as lawbreakers. We are picturing the impending bright lights being shone in our face in a dark questioning room, while people shout at us in Thai and then manhandle us into a dingy, rat filled cell that smells like a porta-loo. As for playing it cool I don't think Ellie will be getting recruited by any Mafia bosses anytime soon! She is guiltier looking than a puppy that's just weed on the new carpet! We wait for our train from Chumporn to Bangkok and she practically breaks into a sweat every time a police-man or pretty much anyone in official looking attire walks down the platform. Amazingly we manage to make it to Bangkok by night train without being arrested by the police, train-porters, milk men or anyone else with a uniform!
The political situation in Bangkok has worsened since we left for the islands and there are whispered rumours of a civil war. We get to our hotel at about 7am and go to bed for a couple of hours, I have a broken sleep that is punctuated by the rumbling sounds of what I'm sure are bombs and Molotov cocktails, but when I eventually wake to go outside it transpires that thunder are lightening were the sounds that I had heard! OK so maybe I have an overactive imagination but a few streets away it's a harsh reality .
The military presence on thee streets is more evident than the last time we were here, and the red-shirts have now barricaded themselves into their camps. I didn't think I'd ever have to say this but luckily for us we aren't staying in a 5 star hotel, and are nowhere near the central business district, so again we don't actually see any violence and the only way we are affected is that there is slightly less hustle and bustle around Bangkok because tourists have been warned off coming here. It's a bit of an over-cautious approach as the majority of the city is fine and we feel quite safe despite the fact that every time we come to Bangkok one or both of us is absent mindedly wearing a red t-shirt or top! We are also hoping that the ongoing situation means the police will be far too concerned with looters and arsonists etc to worry about little ol' visa-dodgers like myself and Ellie!
Due to the trouble we again stay in the same 3/4 street zone around Koh Sahn road that (even with my appalling sense of direction) I now know like the back of my hand. I spend the afternoon skyping my parents and trying my best to show them that I really do have a tan, but they just laugh and my sallow mother tries to make up for being greedy with her genes by telling me I have a lovely delicate complexion! What a consolation!
In the evening we go for cocktails and befriend a very drunk Bostonian who's bloodline is more Irish than mine. Perhaps that's also because his blood alcohol levels are a lot more Irish than mine. We play pool,sip at our delicious mojitos and mostly laugh at him because he is very drunk.We have this exchange with The Bostonian at least 6 or 7 times :
"hey, are you girls drinking mimosas?"
"Mojitos"
"ohhh mo- heeee -tows" "right right"
5 mins later....
"Hey is that a mimosa?"
Then he starts speaking American, talking about "throwing game" and telling us 'his girl' is probably going to "beat his ass". In between his drunken memory lapses and Americanisms we have a good chat and he recommends some places to go in Bali. We say goodnight and leave him to go home and "get his ass beat" by his girlfriend when she find out he was out talking to 2 Irish girls all night.
We get to the airport at 5 am and proceed to immigration to potentially get our asses beat. It all goes quite smoothly, we pay a fine for our overstay and everything is hunky-dory. We never get to find out if The Bostonian got off quite as lightly when he stumbled back to his hotel room at 5 or 6am.
Men in Brown
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| From Koh Tao and Koh Pha Ngang |
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