Koh Tao to Chumphon

Right now we are taking the ferry back to the the mainland. Our stop will be Chumphon sometimes spelled Chumporn which we find hysterical. I just got done with some minor video editing on the iPad. The few videos that I made just got slammed into an impromptu project. Supposedly, tomorrow we will have a great Internet connection in Bangkok and I will get the video up on YouTube. It will not be an editing project as you all have seen in the past, but a quick thrown together pile of the shots that I have taken in between the still shots. A real fully edited video will be made with stills and video in the future.

I have to go ahead and say that it was a bittersweet end to the time on Koh Tao. We had to go into the dive shop to fill up water, get some shirts, and leave some much earned tips for the staff. I would love to come back, but there are so many places to get to with so little time. We had no complaints and the staff made us feel at home. Hopefully, we will be back again soon. It is half way around the world. This might make it difficult.

It was Election Day in Thailand today. There is some rule about not having alcohol in the restaurants on this day until a certain time. We found this out when the server at the restaurant looked around when we ordered our drinks and whispered something at us while pointing under the table. I guess there might be cops or inspectors coming by on motorbikes looking for violators. At 1pm the drinks suddenly appeared on top of the tables. It just seemed like a game the locals were playing. Surely, there would be a hefty fine if you got caught. Not cool.

This time we are on the super fast ferry back to the mainland, not the slow hippy ferry. I mean there are still hippies on here, but they are probably the ones not looking for the cheapest fares. One dude even busted out his guitar. The people on here all have very expensive cameras and the class difference is huge compared to the way out. It's amazing what a few Baht will get you.

Tonight will take us to Bangkok via night train out of Chumphon. We splurged for the first class sleeper car ($35) and I am interested to see what that will be like. The train station is small and we plan to hit up the Salsa Hostel for a shower. The plan is to get a quick bight to eat right before the train and then hop on. Arrival in Bangkok will be in the early AM and we will be looking for our new hostel to drop our bags. Going from little island to big city surely will be a change. We will be in the shopping district so I am sure that the blog will get interesting.