I started this journey at 6 a.m., diligently packing my bag the night before, so I could catch the Government bus to Trat, a small town on the Gulf of Thailand, not too far from Cambodia. I woke just in time to greet the Khao San road partiers coming in and trying to negotiate a room for themselves and their "ladies" (with no luck at this place, thankfully). What an entertaining mating dance, European frat boys beside themselves and pouting Thai butterflies swearing they're going to fly away, but never quite leaving.
So after a 45 minute check-out and a 45 minute cab ride in Bangkok a.m. rush hour I make it to Ekkamai* (Bangkok's bus depot for eastern destinations) by the 8 a.m. departure time (barely), only to discover the bus has been "rescheduled" to leave at 8:30, but am assured that I will have enough time to make the ferry to Koh Maak at 1:30 p.m...The extra time gives me a chance to wander among the vendors, where I find, of all things, boiled peanuts! Now I really feel like I'm going to the beach (In South Carolina, there are stands along the road to the beach that sell boiled peanuts; it's a tradition to stop along the way and get a paper bag full of them).
After a semi-air conditioned bus ride, I arrived in Trat at 2:45 with an outside chance of making the last ferry leaving Laem Ngop. So with the other falongs (Thai word for tourists), I hustled in the back of the taxi truck and was then again hustled by the driver, paying an extra 50 baht before he would consent to leave ... Zoom, we were off down the road without a seat belt, roof or helmet, trying to make the last ferry. I've got to admit it's fun riding in the back of a pickup truck--I never thought I would ride without a seat belt again.
Fortunately I made it to the pier in time to catch the speed boat. All the other falongs hopped the boat to Koh Chang, a larger, more commercial island, and I joined the locals and ex-pat crowd heading for Koh Maak, a smaller, less commercial location. While the local doctor, boat captain and others downed beers, I got a chance to talk with a couple of ex-pats who have moved to the island permanently and got insider info on where to stay. Then we were off like the guys on Miami Vice in their cigarette boat--flying over the surface to beautiful, tropical Koh Mak. I arrived just before sunset, put on my suit, and rushed into the warm, calm sea.
