Thursday 7th February
I checked out of the hut and took a mini-bus from Khao Sok
to the port town of Surat Thani, and from there I would get the boat to Ko Tao,
where I was headed with the intention of doing my 'Open Water' diving
certificate. I was dropped off outside a travel agents (one of the many that
you see in Thailand) and bought a ticket for the boat for 750B, a bit more than
the 500B suggested in the Lonely Planet, but I just put this down to (hyper)
inflation over the intervening years since the guidebook was published. I had
reasonably good experiences of these agency before in places like Krabi and Ko
Phi Phi, so had little reason to be suspicious here.
I had already made the mistake of leaving for Surat Thani
too early in the day, as I had missed the morning boat departure to Ko Tao,
having arrived in Surtat Thani at midday. So, I had to wait around for the
night boat at 23.00! However, I tried to remain calm and philosophical,
convincing myself that the wait wouldn't be so bad as, by this stage, I was
used to extended periods of hanging about. I got some food and plonked myself
in an internet cafe for the afternoon. Thankfully, the hourly rates were very
low compared to those charged in the main tourist hubs....and Surat Thani was
most definitely not a tourist hub!
I was told to return to the travel agents at 19.30, at
which time I would be taken to the ferry, and wait there for a few hours. When
I got there, I was approached by a guy from what seemed to me like a partner
agency, and who appeared to be rounding up other travellers to transport them
to the ferry. It all seemed fairly normal, in a cooperative sort of way, so I
picked up my bags and followed him. After stalling for about half an hour, a
taxi arrived to bring me to the pier, although my suspicions were raised when
they said they had to keep my ticket receipt in order to claim money back from
the operator I had bought my ticket from. I was reluctant to part with this,
but let it go in the end, and was told that the driver would pay for my ticket.
It was now becoming very apparent that I had involuntarily entered into some
sort of scam from the moment I had bought the ticket earlier in the day.
My fears were confirmed when I found out that to buy a
ticket to Ko Tao direct from the ferry company cost 550B, meaning that the gang
of scheisters that I had been dealing with had made 200B out of me, and for
nothing more than a lift to the pier that took no more than five minutes! I had
been duped, and not for the first time!
I was annoyed but tried to keep it in perspective. I
had been ripped off in the past and will continue to be ripped off in the
future, and it happens to everyone.
Arriving in a strange place, and dealing with seemingly pleasant people, makes
you vulnerable and therefore an easy target. I learned from my time in India
that it's better to try and not be distrustful of everyone, although this is
often easier said than done. In this instance, I had lost the equivalent of
about three quid, so it wasn't going to break the bank.
The thing that really pissed me off, however, was when
this little gang of conmen (and a couple of fat, ugly women) turned up at the
pier, looking for people who, quite literally, had just got off the boat. One
of the scumbags even walked passed me as I waited for the boat, realised that I
had been one of their victims, and just laughed at me! This made my blood boil,
but I couldn't think of any good that would have come from me responding to
this jibe, so I just let it be. I also saw these guys try and snag two
Americans who had just arrived, and were looking for somewhere to stay. I
thought about going over to them and suggesting that they look for help
elsewhere, but thought it best not to make enemies out of this little mafia,
and left them to it. I was raging at their cheek, but just tried to keep myself
calm.
We eventually boarded the boat shortly before the
departure time of 23.00. Inside the boat, there were mattresses laid out
against the walls on either side, with numbered beds assigned to each persons ticket.
My berth was on a raised pedestal in the middle of the alley, meaning that I
felt like a proper spare part with people below me on either side. In some
ways, it looked like a refugee boat. There was also some serious segregation
going on, with the Thais on one side, and the foreigners on the other. I'm not
sure where that left me and my middle bunk, and it only added to my unease, not
feeling like I belonged to either side! I'm not sure whether this segregation
was designed to ensure that the Thais didn't catch any of the 'White Man's
disease', but the only thing that I could imagine making them sick was the
verbal diarheoa coming from a corner full of Aussies and Canadians.
I knew it would be a long, uncomfortable night ahead,
so managed to try and at least shut my eyes and see what happened. In the end,
I dozed off for a couple of hours here and there, with most of those around me
– both Thai and foreigner – trying to do the same.
