Today was an awful day full of travel and wasting time. I'm still frustrated so if you don't want to read a rant, skip to tomorrow. Mainly, all today did was strengthen our resolve to never come back to Krabi.
So we were leaving from Phuket, since we booked a round trip ticket there. Online, we had seen that minibuses run frequently between Krabi and Phuket, so we weren't concerned about getting there. Our flight was to leave at night, giving us the day to spend on the beach or exploring town. We didn't know that for some dumb reason, minibuses and tuk tuks in Krabi raise their fares in the afternoon and evening. So in order to save money, we had to take a morning minibus out from Ao Nang. This took us to the bus station outside Krabi Town at 12:30, where we waited for our 4 o'clock bus to the airport.
We killed time by playing two player games on the iPad and wandering around trying to find a bank that would exchange baht for dollars (we need USD for our Cambodian Visas), but no luck. Krabi. *shakes head*
Our bus still wasn't there at 4pm. Luckily our flight didn't leave until 9:40, and it's only 2.5 hours to the airport, so we had time. I asked the lady and she said 4:30 now, so we continued to wait. 4:30 came and went and the lady told me, "coming soon." Still not there at 4:45, we'd been waiting for over 4 hours in the middle of nothing with nothing to do - definitely no internet - and we were tired, frustrated, and mildly concerned. I made her call the driver, who said he'd be there in one minute. This just doesn't happen. We've taken numerous buses throughout Thailand and they are ALWAYS on time. Krabi.
We finally got on the minibus at 4:50 and set off for the airport. We sat in the way back, crowded with our bags (and everyone else's), in seats that couldn't recline at all, on a very bumpy ride. We were mildly concerned again because the minibus said Phuket Town (not the airport), but we didn't want to yell over everyone so we just sat silently and hoped for the best.
Thankfully, it did bring us to the airport, where we gladly got off and checked in after waiting forever for Chinese tour groups and Chinese tourists who apparently don't understand how to fly. For anyone reading this, please buy your tickets before you get to the airport, ok? And for tour guides, have the members of your group check in by themselves, don't hand the agent 25 passports all at once, especially when your guests are all checking bags. It creates a lot of unnecessary chaos.
Finally, after paying more than a footlong costs in America, the best part of our day was this six inch sweet onion chicken teriyaki sandwich from Subway.
We got back to Bangkok around 11pm and caught the last bus to Mo Chit and then walked 5 minutes to our hotel. We love the familiarity we have now of Bangkok and getting around. No more getting ripped off by tuk tuks and minibuses in Southern Thailand.
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