Goodbye Thailand
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Sun 2 Jan 2011 08:55
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Sunday 2nd January
The first day of 2011 was much the same as
any other day - there were jobs to be done! Myself and Jack went food shopping
again, this time for the fresh stuff as we were setting off for Sri
Lanka the day after. Amy cleaned the whole boat, the hull and she even
dived on her to rid the prop, rudder and keel of any barnacles or anything that
may slow us down on passage. Paul has a never ending list of jobs so he got on
with that, although when I returned he was having a beer with Pete from Fai
Tira!
By the time everything was packed away and
we were all showered it was time to go out for our last evening in Thailand.
After our fantastic meal the night before we decided to go back to the same
restaurant. It was very busy and we were warned we'd have a 20 minute wait for
our food which we accepted. 20 minutes later we received our starter but an hour
later we were still waiting for our mains. Other people had been coming in after
us and had already received their meals so we were not happy! So much so that we
got up and walked out! A bit of drama and excitement for us but I don't think
it's the sort of thing you do in a country like Thailand. Anyhow we got away
with it, found another restaurant to eat in and then spent all our cash on more
dvds and presents for people at home.
The next morning we were up
bright and early as Jack's taxi was booked for 07:30 at the end of the pier.
After last minute packing and checking that he had everything we went to
wait for the taxi. 45 minutes came and went and
there was still no sign of the taxi, although every few minutes when we
called he'd say 'soon' or 'not so long'. We gave up and rushed down the main
road to try and pick one up off the street. We were already emotional but now we
were starting to panic as it was 45 minutes to the airport and time was running
out. When you walk down the street during the day or night you are
constantly hassled by taxi drivers but when you actually need one, can you
find one, no! Eventually success, tears were shed as we said a
quick good bye and then it was straight into preparing the boat for a week
at sea. An hour later we received a call from Jack with bad news. Every man and
his dog was flying home today and the queue to get through security and into the
airport was huge and not moving. When he pleaded with the security guards to let
him in at the front of the queue they laughed in his face and so we began
checking for new flights on the internet. 15 minutes before the flight was due
to take off we Jack called to say that some very kind people had let
him in front of them and he was waiting to board at the gate. He made it by the
skin of his teeth!
We've had a fantastic time in Thailand, the
friendly people go out of their way to help, the food is always delicious and
the scenery is breathtaking at times. It's a shame that we were stuck in the
marina for 2 weeks as we feel we missed so much, being unable to spend time in
Phang Nga Bay, but then again I think we'd have only scratched the surface had
we had time anyway. We'd have loved to have made it inland but again time just
wasn't on our side. The only drawback about Thailand islands is the tourism
aspect. Day-trippers in the longtail boats somewhat spoil it all, you can't see
the beaches for boats and people and the constant noise from the loud engines
never gives you any peace. It's a shame because it is a very beautiful
country!
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