Relaxation on Koh Jum Island, last stop in SE Asia
Trip Start
Nov 16, 2010
1
15
17
Trip End
Jun 02, 2011
Koh Jum, Thailand
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
I travelled in total for 21 hours overland to get from Bangkok to Koh Jum island off Krabi. Choice of transport can only be put down to a mix of madness for wanting to travel overland throughout SE Asia and not liking the entire flying part so I opted for the bus to Krabi from Bangkok. Needless to say I was mightily impressed with myself I got there in one piece, after the hostel in Bangkok looked strangely at me when I said I wanted to do the travel in one day. So my journey began in rush hour in Bangkok city, with a taxi to the South bus terminal pronounced as ‘sai bai main’ to the taxi driver. Traffic was horrendous and at one point I did think I might miss my overnight bus to Krabi but luckily the taxi driver sensed I was in a hurry and so I made it to the terminal in time.
I travelled on the 7pm Lignite VIP 24 seater bus. It was the most modern and luxurious bus I’ve ever seen! Each seat was like you were sitting on a long haul flight, because you had your own TV screen with movies, plus bus crew who came round with drinks and food! I even had the seat right at the front of the double decker bus and no one sitting next to me. It was amazing and admittedly in shock when they told me it was the bus I was getting. It even had pot purée in the toilet and it was a thrown toilet!
I arrived at Krabi bus station at 5am in the morning and found a guy selling boat tickets to the islands, at which point I bought one for the 11am ferry to koh Jum island. There is only one ferry a day that goes to it. So, I waited at the bus terminal for a it before getting a taxi to town for breakfast. I then got a sawnthorn to the ferry port. Now, technically speaking the ferry doesn’t actually go to Koh Jum island instead it stops mid sea, whilst long tail boats from the island come out to join the ferry and then you transfer to the long tail mid sea. At this point I was thanking my stars I had decided to leave my main rucksack in the hostel in Bangkok because it would have been interesting carrying the weight whilst balancing on planks of wood to get to the correct long tail boat.
So, my adventure began as I got into the boat for the Season Bungalows which I had booked at for 5 nights where I had a bungalow to myself for 350 baht a night. Definitely a bargain compared to the other touristy islands of Koh Phi Phi or Koh Lanta! Well, what can I say, Koh Jum island is wonderful, amazing people, natural and raw in it’s own way. The island was just having it’s first sealed road laid down to connect the north with the south of the island and just had electricity put in. I spent my days on the beach, soaking up the sun and going for walks round the south tip which was deserted until you get to a small fishing village right on the edge of the island. I ran in the mornings along the beach to wake up and every night I sat on the beach with a Chang beer and watched the beautiful sunset. The sun was so red and big when it set that I can still remember the feeling it gives you when you see something of sheer beauty- a contentedness that you are witnessing a magical moment.
Sadly my time came to an end on Koh Jum and leaving it was difficult as I had got to know the owner and staff of the bungalows so it was a sad farewell and a place I hope that doesn’t become a Koh Lanta in the future.
After Koh Jum island I spent one night in Krabi and then headed back on the bus up to Bangkok in time to catch my flight out of SE Asia and onwards to a new adventures down under.
And so it is, I left Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam behind me. I bided farewell to the beautiful countries, friendly people, the sunshine, the culture, the toilets (!), and the cold showers! I thank the people I met along the way, the one I travelled with for opening my eyes to new experiences and helping me not to be such a ‘scaddy cat’ all the time. I also hope that I go back one day especially to Laos, where I think I left a bit of my heart behind in Luang Prabang so I must pick it up one day soon.
One final note on SE Asia, is that along my travels I’ve been repeated asked, ‘……which country was your favourite?’ My answer is simple, all of them, because they are so different and unique in their own way and yet at the same time the countries become one big family. I remember Vietnam, for it’s great coffee, for Dalat wine, for the tailoring in Hoi An and the magnificent landscape views of Sappa valley and Halong Bay. For Cambodia, I think of Angkor Watts, the amazing fish amok dish and the pepper plantations in Kampot. For Laos, I count the number of scarves I bought because the textiles are amazing and the elephants- I love elephants! But also, for discovering banana rotti’s. Whilst Thailand, equally so different, I think of Thai ice tea (yum), amazing food (pad thai!) friendly people, flower festival in Chang Mai and Koh Jum, a beautiful island that still remains relatively tarnished free of tourism.
But now onwards to NZ to experience new things and to finish what I didn’t get to complete the last time I travelled 7 years ago. I only managed to travel round the North island of New Zealand and this time the focus was on the South island.
P.S I’ll add more photos when I’m on a better faster connection. I warn you now this will continue to be a reoccurring theme!
