Checking out of paradise
I had a nice, late lie in today. After all the exhausting work I’ve been doing over the last couple of days, it’s the least I deserve. It’s been an absolute blast, scuba diving on Koh Tao, I’d definitely recommend it. But our time was almost over, and our sights are set on Phuket. We were able to book the night ferry and bus to Phuket at our hostel. The ferry sets off at around 9pm, and considering Mat gets seasick quite easily, he’s not thrilled about the idea.
Check this out for another paradise island adventure in Cambodia!
Before noon hit, Mat and I had gathered all of our belongings, and checked out of the hostel. However, as the day was young, we decided to leave our things in reception. We met Mitch outside on the street, and went to get a proper breakfast, not just a delicious pancake. I ended up having my old favourite; muesli, yoghurt, and fresh fruit…it was divine as always! Staying on Koh Tao had been a small slice of heaven, I could definitely have stayed a bit longer. We stayed at the restaurant for an hour or so, just checking the news and talking about anything. After we’d overstayed our welcome, we cleared off, and returned to our respective hostels.
Time-wasting
Once we were back at the hostel, Mat and I had a bout of darts (no one was keeping score or counting the holes in the wall). After our darts session, we decided to get Thor: Ragnarok on the TV; this is probably my favourite Marvel film and I love it every time. As we didn’t have enough time to get fully engrossed into it, we just had to waste the remaining hours we had left on Koh Tao. Plus, it was the afternoon, which means it’s hot as hell and will drain you at the best of times.
After the movie had finished, we met up with Mitch for the final time and went out for dinner again. We were sat just in front of the beach, so we had an awesome view of the sunset, and all the colours and silhouettes that come with it. After a really relaxing dinner and chat with the lads, we made our way back to the hostel. We stopped off at a pharmacy so Mat could get some seasick tablets, god help him! After this, we dawdled back to the hostel, and said goodbye to Mitch for the final time. Once we had reached the hostel, we grabbed our stuff, said goodbye to the hostel staff, and made our way to the pier.
Sleeping with the fishes
The pier was not the same as the one we had arrived at. That pier is for the smaller ferries. The boat we were going to be sleeping on was a huge cargo ship, where passengers were secondary. There were quite a few of us waiting in the queue, mostly British it sounded like, but not the crowd I’d like to mingle with usually. As the darkness grew, so did the queue, and eventually they let us on the ship. In all honesty, my expectations were not aimed high at all. I was visualising a night laying across several seats, freezing my butt off.
However, the sleeping arrangement was pretty good. It was all on one open room, and a boat load (pun intended) of bunk beds, like some sort of military setting. It was doubly better for us as our bunk was in the corner, so it was dimly lit, and quiet. Not to mention that the beds, despite their basic appearance, were very comfy. I had resigned myself to a terrible night’s sleep, and being sleep deprived tomorrow. Hopefully I’m wrong! I got comfy, loaded my videos up, and settled in for the night.