The next day we had to check out of our bungalows bright and early to catch the ferry to Koh Phangan. Conveniently, there happened to be a taxi-boat moored outside our bungalow. After speaking to the driver, we were told that it would be 150THB for the trip to the pier. We found this to be quite reasonable as a taxi would have cost us 300THB.
After loading all our belongings onto the boat, the driver asked if we could pay up-front and suddenly the price became 150THB per person. As this was not what we had agreed to and the driver refused to take us for anything less, we unloaded our things and went to find a taxi instead.
Even though the taxi ended up costing us as much as the boat would have, we refused to take the boat on principle as we were furious at the driver's blatant attempt at trying to cheat us (obviously hoping that we'd want to avoid the hassle and just pay the inflated price) and decided to rather give our money to someone more honest.
After a mad dash to the pier, only to spend 30 minutes waiting for the ferry, we were eventually on our way to Koh Phangan.
After dinner we felt like some drinks and a bit of entertainments so we headed over to The Queen's Cabaret. All the performers are ladyboys and for the price of one drink you can go in and watch the show. We were well entertained with vigorous dance routines and lip-synched covers of all the big favourites (from Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Christina Aguilera to good old Abba) delivered with so much attitude that it was hard not to have a good time.
After the show the girls came around with a tip basket and if you tipped you could take a photo with the girl(s) of your choice. The two girls in the photo with me were, in my opinion, the best performers and just so pretty! And imagine our surprise when we found out that some of the girls actually live in Rangsit and know some of our friends!
We decided to head over to Big Blue Diving Resort & Restaurant for dinner as our friend Dave was staying there and the restaurant is right on the beach. Danie and I each had a delicious pizza and I also indulged in some fresh barbecued prawns. Reasonably priced with delicious food and a lovely atmosphere, we enjoying the ocean air while being entertained by fire dancers.
We decided to stay on Sairee beach as that was where our friend was staying and it was also the biggest beach on the island. After a hot and sweaty trek across the beach I came across O'Chai Bungalows where we rented a fan bungalow right on the beach (with hot water and a double AND single bed) for only 800THB a night.
While on the ferry to Koh Phangan, we made an impromptu decision to get off at Koh Tao instead (as the ferry stopped there on the way) and spend the night there. A friend and fellow Rangsit local was holidaying there and as we hadn't been there before we decided to add Koh Tao to our island getaway.
After sitting down at one of the restaurants near the pier to have a drink, regroup and consult the map, we headed to the Safety Stop Pub for lunch. We had been told that the owner is South African and that the restaurant sold biltong (made by the owner). The biltong, unfortunately, fell short of our expectations as it was a little too pink on the inside and rather over-peppered, but the food was delicious. I had a steak pie with mash and gravy and Danie had the 500g ribs and chips. The menu had a few little things (like peri-naise) on the menu that hinted at the owner's heritage, but consisted mainly of British fare.
After spending the first week of my 2-week holiday at home waiting for Danie to finish teaching, we made a last-minute decision to head down south. After more than six months of being inland we were suffering from some serious beach-withdrawal and decided to go back to Koh Phangan. Since Danie still had class on Tuesday, we could only leave Rangsit in the late afternoon.
With everything being last-minute (as usual) and packing, and making sure the animals had enough food and water, taking up a lot more time than expected and Danie's class running overtime, we eventually got to the van stop at around 6pm. After having a hard time finding a van and standing around for more than 30mins we eventually got one and the mad dash to Khaosan commenced. Once there we started hitting up travel agencies trying to find tickets and JUST managed to make the check-in time of 8pm for the last bus. After about an hour and a half of waiting around (typical in Thailand) we were eventually on our way.
We arrived at the pier in Chumporn at around 5am and settled in for the two hour wait for our ferry to arrive. I was rather nervous about having to take the catamaran again, as the last time had been rather torturous due to seasickness, so I had stocked up on motion-sickness tablets before leaving Rangsit. Thankfully the tablets worked like a charm and I could spend my entire holiday motion-sickness free.
If you are ever in Thailand and in need of a good motion-sickness tablet, you'll be able to find them at any pharmacy or even at little home shops. They are small, round and flat and are pale yellow in colour. They come in a clear strip with Dimenhydrinate written on it in red. As you'll see from my smile in the photo, I was feeling pretty good.
One of the presentations was a representation of all the different countries that form part of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations). I, unfortunately, didn't get photos of all of the countries as some of the students weren't around at the time.
I had to take part in the High School presentation this year and play the role of one of three tourists (all foreign teachers) being shown around a recreation of the Royal Bang Pa-In Palace in Ayutthaya province. We even had some lines to learn!
Every year there is a nationwide competition where the king offers a prize to the school with the best presentation. A few different committees will come to the school to see and judge each participating school's presentation. There is a prize for Kindergarten, Primary and High School. According to one of the English department heads our school has already won the Kindergarten and Primary prize this year.
The presentation consisted of a number of different stalls displaying different parts of Thai culture. These presentations consisted of singing, dancing, fruit sculpting, flower art, and various other displays. There was even a foot massage stall where students (who were sent to train with professional masseuses) would massage your feet. I was lucky enough to receive a foot massage after the show was over.
These pictures are a bit out of date as I took them on my way home from Bangkok about a month ago. Every time it rained heavily there was some minor flooding in certain areas. As it stands, I don't think we'll be getting a major flood again this year as the rainy season is pretty much over and we are still dry.
Heritage Day (colloquially known as National Braai Day) is celebrated on the 24th of September and is also a public holiday in South Africa. We celebrated it in true South African style by having a braai with some friends. As the 24th fell on a Monday this year, being in Thailand we had to have our celebration one day early since we had to work the next day.
