The longest day of my travels

I thought getting down to Khuala Lumpur would be as simple as tying one's shoes...boy was I mistaken.

It all started the day I left Koh Phangan. A perfect day for travel because the skies opened up and brought a massive down pour. The unfortunate part was...it had been raining in the south of Thailand for numerous days before...therefore...roads were flooded. Lucky for me...my mini bus driver didn't seem to mind as he plowed along the watered streets...almost spinning out once.



No harm no foul I guess, never really had that driving experience before...and I hope to never have it again. Luckily I arrived at all my stops and caught all my buses, even though I hate waiting for buses the Thai way. Would you like to know the Thai way? Alright Ill explain.

You arrive at the counter, give them your ticket and they either tell you which bus number or say...just sit over there, and I'll motion when it's here. Oh ok. Personally I hate not knowing what I'm waiting for. But lucky enough...I was the only white person...so not too hard to miss. I get called...hop on the bus and away we go to my last stop of the day...the most southern tip of Thailand...Satun.



Pretty cool little town, extremely cheap, very nice people, not too many white folk, so I was pretty much a rock star there. Everyone wanted to say hi to me, give me a high five or just smile. Pretty neat experience. Unfortunately, not much english. So when I was trying to find info about my ferry the next day...got all different answers. Therefore, I chose to arrive the next day somewhere in the middle.

Turns out, super early, but oh well, got some postcards done.

Finally arrived in Langkawi after a late ferry and was about to head to the beach for some fun in the sun, but just thought. Maybe I should check about getting to Kuala Lumpur for my flight. Walked over to the ticket desk, asked about the trains and buses for the next days...FULLY BOOKED. WHAAAAAAT. That can't be possible...I kept asking if there was anything. Nope, nothing. I even called the train station myself, because I didn't believe the people at the desk. Yup all sold out. Only thing available...bus that night.

Well...looks like its out of my hands...so I go and book it. Walking away, the lady yells back at me...you need to get a ferry to the bus station. So I wait in a 45 minute line for my ferry and take the last one of the day...Phew...good thing I got that or I would've missed my bus.

Now I've got a good 7 hours until my ferry leaves to kill time. So I begin to lug my bag around the small area surrounding the port. Turns out, I end up accomplishing one of the goals I had set out for this trip. Sitting in a park and just watching the wildlife, people, blowing wind, the clouds just to pass time and enjoy life.



I also do a little exploring and find a cheap little local eatery where they serve me a big Indian meal for under five dollars. Next it was off to watch the glorious sunset over the nearby marina.



Ahhh life was beautiful. Sitting, the wind gently blowing at my back, the golden descending sun mirroring over the ocean water, peaceful, relaxing, not a care in the world....oh...wait...what time is it?

6:04pm...phew...still have an hour.

But a mind in the back of my head says...Hey...did you change your clock?

Yipes...I quickly turn around. Excuse me, what time is it? The man replies 7:04 of course.

NOOOOOOOOO...I grab my bag...and begin sprinting like Forest Gump losing his leg braces.

I hop over carts, dodge small children and slide into the finish line...before seeing a ferry pulling away.

I hand my ticket over. Sorry the ticket guy replies...that's the ferry leaving right there.

For a moment I balance the idea of doing a James Bond style run and jump to see if I could miraculously land on the ferry, but that idea soon passes.



GREAT JUMPING JIMINY...the only thing I've taken in all of South East Asia that actually leaves on time...nice. Now I'm not catching my bus to Kuala Lumpur, I'm not going to make it there, I'm not going to make my flight to Bali, I'm going to be stuck here...FOR EVER.

I'm about to do the whole, Tom Cruise, I'm not gonna freak out bit, but before I'm able to...the ticket guy says...you can check down on the dock, I think there might be one more ferry to leave. So that's what I do, and I'm able to catch one lucky break...they have two seats remaining, and I get one.

I get on the ferry and collapse in the seat. A sweaty, high blood pressure, heart pumping kid. I'm extremely lucky that I caught this, as it was smooth sailing from then on.

Well...sort of.

The bus I take, ends up being two hours late, but once on...it was probably the best sleep I've had in a vehicule for a long time. The seats were ginormous. I could sleep on my side, that's how big they were.

Then...I arrive in Kuala Lumpur...try getting directions...nobody knows...I'm in the middle of the city somewhere, looking for a room...and...it starts to rain.

Hmmm...just my luck.

Turns out...I get to trudge through the rain for a good two hours before I'm finally able to, one...find the right street, and two find a reasonably priced room where I can immediately lie down and sleep.

But...I finally found something at 8:10am, got into the room which was litterally as quiet as a crip(just as dark as one too) and fell fast asleep...finally