Today we had our first taste of the tourist trap bus network! We very carefully researched our options having heard all the terrible stories and found a ‘VIP” bus trip that guaranteed to take us door-to-door from Koh Lanta to Koh samui via the car ferries. Well we were to discover that the agents just tell you what you want to hear. The actual journey was a crammed minibus (there are no laws about this apparently) on a couple of barges into Krabi Town; a wait for two hours at one travel agent in the middle of nowhere; another crammed minibus to a bus station 300 metres away and another hour and a half wait for the ‘VIP’ bus. When it finally arrived it was the most dilapidated, filthy claptrap with broken seats that you would ever imagine. Of course it was overbooked so some unfortunate people had to board yet another crammed mini-bus for the trip to the other side of the peninsular. On arrival in Surat Thani we were deposited at the wharf to wait for the ferry with our bags. The bus was not boarding this ferry as it was NOT a car ferry! We hopped on with the realization that once on the other side we would have to find our own way across the island (Koh Samui is one of the bigger islands). On arrival we managed to avoid the pushy taxi drivers and found a tuk-tuk for 60 baht each to get us from Nathon (the port) to Chaweng and the beach at the other side of the island. The tuk-tuk dropped us into town and we wandered up and down the main street looking for accommodation. Although we had tried to book in advance the English-owned guesthouse we were told after calling back to confirm a room that they didn’t take phone bookings and just to turn up. Of course after our long trip they were fully booked on arrival. Luck was with us though, after checking out a couple of dumps we found “The Loft” a lovely hotel with a series of lofts that form their restaurant/bar area. The room was one of the best we have found – brand new – with a great separate shower (something that you rarely find in Asia), crisp clean sheets and free wifi in our room (the modem was bolted above our door so we had great reception). Nothing is far away in Chaweng and the beach is just across the road and down a little laneway. That night we even had steak for dinner and it wasn’t half bad either! We also found a tailor late that night who said he could make pants from an old pair so we agreed to meet him in the morning.
The Loft, 30/3 M3, Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui, Suratthani 84320
Ph: 66 77 413420 / 080-1437577 / 086-2768780
(1000 Baht double w breakfast, wifi & great ensuite – highly recommended!)
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