On to the Islands

When the person in charge of our hotel in Bangkok asked where we were going next and didn't know where it was when we told him, it was either a sign that we did some bad research or were heading to a hidden gem.

But, that is getting ahead of myself a bit. Before we found out about that, we had to take an overnight bus, a taxi, and then a longtail boat to get there. After taking our beloved bus 40 to the station, we boarded our fashionably hot pink overnight bus, equipped with reclining chairs, pressure controls on the seat (they didn't work, but it was still cool to think about having it)meals/drinks provided, and of course the hot pink interior and curtains... oh yeah, and a ladyboy attendant decked out in hot pink high heels, hot pink tight pants and hot pink top.

In the middle of our trip, we stopped for a 20 minute break at a rest stop. Everyone disappeared into this little room and we were wondering, wtf? We decided to follow suit and were treated to rice porridge with random stuff in it, included in the ticket price. It was all quite confusing and hilarious, and of course awesome at the same time.

Rachel looking as confused as I was about our late night snack stop
Perhaps more hilarious was our ladyboy bus attendant, who was twirling around and flexing his/her butt while looking at him/herself in the mirror and making sexy faces. Great midnight entertainment. The rest of the bus trip was a bit of a blur, but every time I woke up it seamed like we were driving really fast on crazy roads. Regardless, we made it to Takua Pa bus station in one piece two hours ahead of time at 5am in the morning. From Takua Pa, we caught a songthaew to the pier, and from there took a longtail boat the 800 meters across the water to Koh Kho Khao. The transitions so seamless that we arrived on the island about 4 hours earlier than we thought we would, and thus 4 hours ahead of when we said we would check in. Because of this, we were treated to an awesome view of the sunrise. It split into thick rays coming up over the neighboring island, a gorgeous sight and great way to start our island time. Because we were so early, to do the opposite of make up for lost time, we decided to walk the couple km to our hotel. Still we got there way too early, and when we rocked up with our packs bright and early in the morning they were a bit confused. We got our room and an awesome complementary breakfast and so started our time in Koh Kho Khao.