Friday 27 January 2017

Decisions........Today is going to be another dot day but a day of decisions. With just over two weeks to go before I return to the UK, I had intended to be on my third and final major tour of the winter by now but that would be an achievement in itself. The delay is caused by a vehicle not being available. It has to be remembered that a friend of Katoon has generously offered to help over the last few years but if a vehicle is not available due to business or family reasons then I’m not in a position to demand one given that it’s cost me a just fraction of the commercial rate to hire a car. While there are options in the future to address the problem of independent travel, right now I have to make a decision.
Alternative plan........If I assume for the moment that I cannot get use of a car then there is the option of using public transport. After all that’s what I just did in Singapore and Malaysia but for those who followed that tour you will know that is was a struggle but it normally gives a good margin of flexibility. As the day progresses, we consider the logistics and determine that a single holiday location is the best option and to keep in tune with what I originally planned, that means islands or at least coastlines. One of the options, which is not much more than four hours from Bangkok is Trat, or actually the islands off Trat. With Koh Chang already covered on this site that means the lesser islands of Koh Mak and Koh Krood. We set to work on finding suitable accommodation online but the experience of Booking.yuk on my last tour has left me cautious to say the least. When Katoon adds her own specifications my task is even more difficult. On Trat’s islands it is still high season and obviously leaving things to the last minute isn’t going to help. After what seems hours, we are no further forward and start considering resorts on the mainland. Forced to follow well-trodden ground, there is a hefty premium on accommodation. There is nothing cheap on Thailand’s exotic islands and beaches anymore. By late afternoon things are no clearer and I need to take a break. Perhaps tomorrow I will find some inspiration but just then the phone rings: I can pick up a car and that changes everything. At 5pm we drop everything and head for Bang Phli by motorbike taxi and passenger van. There the owner is waiting with the older Nissan Hilux but it will do fine. He still needs to return home by taxi and that proves he continues to go out of his way to be accommodating. It’s just a question now of returning along the Kanchanapisek Motorway and pick up something for dinner.
Cautious........With a car now available, I can return to my original plan but that has been in doubt for another reason. Intending to head south for the beaches I mentioned, some of the provinces have grabbed the headlines due to vicious storms and flooding. I noticed that as I returned from Kuala Lumpur which was mainly dry, the area in north Malaysia and south Thailand had a weather system right up to cruising altitude (38,000 feet) but higher up the gulf it was clear. As the present time transport links have been restored and all but the deep southern provinces still affected. As I don’t intend to go that far I happy to proceed as planned while still putting some distance from Bangkok and hopefully find a track that isn’t trodden on to much which will lead to something more sensibly priced. Next Page.