Goodbye Island Life

So that is it, another trip has ended, another group of people have left, and I most likely will not see them again. I think that is what is hard, the constant getting to know people then leaving again. I know this is what I signed up for, but I never expected it to be such a struggle; I guess as nothing is consistent, not the people, not the places and over time, it takes its toll on you especially when, like me, you are not the most outgoing.

I started my day with another of the banana and strawberry crepes and todays was even bigger than yesterdays! I wish they done crepes this large and cheap at home, although if they did, I would then be the size of a house before long. I got back to the hotel around 1pm giving me just enough time to sit by the pool before I had to leave to catch my flight to Bangkok. The journey only took 10 minutes to get to the airport even though it still cost me around £10 for a taxi which for this country and distance is crazy, just another way of getting more money from tourists. The airport had a very

strange lay out and was all open air, which meant as I was standing in the chaotic queue to check in, I was absolutely sweltering and the fans were not helping. For one though, I will never complain about any English airports again, as in comparison, they are absolute first class with efficiency. The shops were all outside and I got the same sort of feel as if I was at Freeport, Braintree from the layout. When I reached my gate, I came across Michella, Melanie and Anna who were also going to be on my flight back to Bangkok, although they only arrived on Koh Samui this morning. At the gate, there was also some complimentary food and drink which consists of little pastries, popcorn, crisps and sandwiches which was unexpected especially as you could go up as many times as you wanted. The flight went by quickly as it was only 55 minutes and just as I was about to start thinking about taking a nap, we had already started descending. The plane was a lot nicer than the long 12-hour bus and boat journey though. I waited with the other 3 at our baggage carousel before we all went our separate ways, it was nice to see them albeit, only for a little while.

The taxi drive into the city seemed to take forever in the traffic especially as it was approaching about 6pm so this is when the city begins to get busy with all the nightlife, although the driver did say it is better than during the week at this time. The driver was quite interesting though telling me about all his different jobs, his

daughter and what he would like to achieve in the future and the education system here, to this extent it was nice learning a bit about someone local and their day-to-day life.

I finally arrived at my hotel which was called Rikka Inn and was situated on Khao San Road and I was excited to just get into bed and relax; after grabbing some street food for dinner. I checked in and was shown my room; I had requested a room at the back and had received an email saying that this would be arranged so was confused when we came up the stairs and turned left towards the front of the building. My room was nowhere near the back, away from all the noise like I had been told, but instead right at the front, overlooking the busy ‘strip’. Even though it was only 8pm, the road outside was already heaving with street food, market stalls, music and lots of people already beginning their night out. The only plus was that if I put my earplugs in then I could not hear anything. It is a shame this did not last the whole night though as by 10pm, the music had been turned up and the crowds were bigger; the room was not as soundproof as I first thought. I lay awake for hours on end just wishing for a break in the noise, so I at least had a chance of getting to sleep. The break never came so I spent this night just reading my book and calling home to pass the time till eventually, at 5am, it all went silent and I was able to allow my lids to drop without the fear that I may be woken again by a sudden change in beat in the music. I am just relieved I have nothing to do tomorrow.