thailand day 1 ...

so i'm sitting here in some random coffee shop place in suratthani with internet at 2Bhat a minute and beers for 50 bhat, waiting to a 11pm night ferry tokoh samui (its 730 now, been here since 530. and yes, i said koh samui)...ok lets start from the beginning

mom came in this morning saying yelling that its almost 6am get the hell up you're gonna be late .. sat around for about 10 minutes wondering what the big deal is and trying to figure out if i could get 10 more minutes of winks before 6am. then it suddenly hit me that i hate to be at KLIA in 30 mins to check in for my 730am flight (takes 40 minsto get to KLIA). and i havent even showered!

so after going back once for my camera and stopping for gas and me taking over from mom cuz i drive thehell a lot faster, got to KLIA at 645, thinking to myself while running to the check-in counter what myoptions are for getting on another flight, only to bump into a 2 mile long line in front of the alor setar counter (mind you the flight is supposed toleave in 45 mins. 45 mins is the lastest check in time for domestic flights mind you)

thank heavens for malaysian timing.

so get on my flight, (cute stewardess there btw buttoo sleepy to care), tried to take a nap but nextthing i know we're landing in alor setar. btw coming into alor setar i was amazed to find paddy fields.acres and acres of paddy. anywa alor setar airport is .. well .. small. its one little terminal that doesnt even have jetways (orwhatever you call those things), you just walk off theplane and walk into the building. and i thoughtkuching airport was bad. got on the shuttle to hadyai, which was a about 2 to 3 hr ride .. keep nodding off and banging my head against the window. hadyai is an interesting looking town, it has the feel of the older, more cramp parts of KL, clogged with traffic and tuk-tuks, little stalls and shops andeateries. except on occasion you find nice little ads for sex shows. so tried to get my van/ferry to phangan, first is informed that its too late, i should stay over and leave tomorrow. and then she tells me theres one leaving at 12pm (and supposed to arrive at3am at phangan but i didnt believe her).

5 hr uneventful ride to suratthani. except when the driver got pissed at the caucasian tourists for muking with his TV heh. obvious communications breakdown there. one guy kept saying "Maaf! Maaf!" and spewing random malay words from his little guide book .. even after being told the driver isnt malay. anyway finally arrive at surat thani, to be informed that me missed the last day ferry to phangan and theysuggest to stay overnight and catch the morning one.the other option is to take the night ferry to samui and catch a morning ferry to phangan.

now that sounds more like it. lets be adventurous. so here i am at 745 pm waiting for a 11pm ferry.

i'm all sweaty and icky and in need of shower. but its a good kind of ickiness, ya know? havent been thisunrooted in a while. shana at the blue lotus resort has been really nice, at first when we couldnt figure out what time i was arriving at phangan she was like, we were hoping togive you a ride from thong sala. thats ok, i said, youcan send me back there heh.then when i told her i'd be there tomorrow she saidthey'd hold my room for me. so thats my first day in thailand. lets see what happens tomorrow. btw i think their number plates are so cute.