Bye bye Khao San Road

Friday February 15th

I guess this could be called bye bye Bangkok, but to be honest when you are in the KSR area it does sort of feel like you are not in the other Bangkok, the one with all the tourist attractions, all the big skyscrapers, and all the girlie bars.

Anyway today is the day to head down South, to Phuket. As the bus doesn't leave til 7, there is that usual awkward period of time to kill between checking out of the hotel, and getting the bus. So today was just a day to write some postcards (for those that are not internet enabled) doing some more internet browsing (at 66 cent per hour it is also the cheapest form of air conditioning available) and eating. I'm not sure what the procedure for stopping is on the overnight trip so I decided its best to fill up first, I can always eat less at any pitstops.

Once 6 O'Clock came and it was time for the bus it was the by now expected chaos. I think the real problem is that nobody really understands what is going on, but there is a method to the madness. Basically when you buy the ticket from one of about 100 travel agents in the area you get a receipt. This is also your ticket. So you turn up at the travel agent you bought the ticket from (hint pick one closest to your hotel, they all cost about the same so there is no point in shopping around). Anyway hat happens is someone comes around at 6 to collect you and takes your ticket from you. At that point you have no confirmation left that you have a ticket. This is what panics people. It could all be simplified by two-part tickers, where you retain the stub.

Anyway thats what I think should be done (if any travel agent from KSR is reading this).

The overnight bus journey was OK. I'll explain a bit more in tomorrows post, but for the rest of this day it was sleeping on the bus, and watching some movies, some rubbish with Kevin Costner and Die Hard 4.0. We pulled into our midnight service station stop with Bruce Willis hanging in a lift shaft...

Don't you hate it when things are left 'to be continued'.