That is the question. It's year 2156 and a bioweapon has been released upon the world. It has destroyed the lives of many. For me, my entire travel lifestyle has been halted for nearly two full years. Ooooops, did say it's 2156.....sorry, I'm talking about now, but when you call it a bioweapon doesn't feel like were living in some crazy futuristic sci-fi movie? Like the friggen twilight zone or something.
So, like many of us we've kinda tuned off or tuned out for a long time now. For me, this is the longest I've been in any one country in about 20 years. I've split my time up between a few places. International travel didn't make sense since I figured anywhere else I go will probably be a downgrade from this amazing and beautiful island of Koh Phangan.
So, this is where I've stayed the better part of eight months now....very very un-Travel-Pro...Bad Travel Pro! However I've ridden out the worst of the Thai government imposed lock-downs, domestic travel restrictions, and 20,000 a day infections nation wide. Even when this island was 8% sick with field hospitals full, I've been 100% fine and living very free here on the island.
At one point I was thinking, maybe I need to buy property here, make a life here, and stay here forever! The idea of that and everything going on was really stressing me out. But suddenly there were some changes in government decisions in which I go into more detail in my last article here. And the country basically opened up to free movement for the vaxed and unvaxed alike.
To Samui or Not?
That brings me to today's topic to Samui or not to Samui. Frankly, I've had it! I love this island, but the thrill of being here is long gone. It's hard to get excited about doing and seeing the same thing over and over again. There is too much certainty in my life and it's making things boring.
What I love about travel is the uncertainty. Not knowing what's around the corner while learning and trying new things all the time. Sharing those experiences on this blog is part of what pushed me to the top here, and I'm excited to do it all over again as we travel the country together.
Come January my Thai Girlfriend and I are busting out of here once and for all. Surely it will almost feel like a prison break! So a couple weeks ago we learned that you can come and go freely on and off the islands, travel on trains, planes, buses and so on. No asking for vaccine status, PCR test, nothing. When just a month ago this was not the case. In fact there was almost no public transportation running at all for a while. We even had supply line disruptions and empty shelves at the super markets for a few weeks. I lived through the Great Koh Phangan Egg Shortage!
So looking at a map, the closest and most obvious place to check out for a week is the neighboring island of Koh Samui. There are three ferry services to go to the island which is separated from here by 14kl of sea. Today we stopped by the pier and asked about the details of going to Koh Samui. Having a Thai girlfriend has it's perks. She is always the perfect translator and this is what we were told to our surprise.
All three companies were asked by the local government of Koh Samui to ask for vaccine certificate or 48hr PCR test to get on the boat; of the three companies all of them did not want to do it, citing it's bad for business. Two of the companies refuse to do it and are bringing passengers to and from both islands no questions asked. There is no government check when arriving at either island anymore. There is no law stopping them from bringing passengers...... But the local Samui Governement is trying to put pressure on companies to discriminate and segregate the vaxed from the unvaxed.
Okay, so we can just go with one of the companies that will let us onboard no questions asked. Well, it turns out that these two companies are both speedboat companies. The company that needs proof of vaccine or PCR test is the big ferry boat that takes motorbikes, cars, and trucks from pier to pier; and I'm traveling with my new PCX Motorbike!
Now you see why I first titled this series "New Norm Travel Hell". You should know that I'm not here to get into vax or don't vax. But as a main part of this series, you'll need to know that my girl and I are still in wait and see mode with the vaccines. With the way policy changes so fast these days, maybe this will soon be the only way off the island un-vaxed.
The ticket counter conversation continued. We were told it's no big deal just go to the hospital. They explained that each test cost twice the price of the boat ticket itself and we should get tested so we can travel "with" the bike. Already this doesn't make sense. But wait, what if I pay the 400 baht ($12) to get that swab jammed up into my nose, and I test positive symptomatic or not? What happens then?
If you test positive they take you to a quarantine camp, give you their crappy food, crappy living conditions, and protocol meds, in an open air field hospital with zero privacy and shared bathroom with maybe 40+ sick people and charge you $2,000 dollars too. Now it really really doesn't make sense to get tested. So no way are we getting tested to travel "with" the bike.
The conversation at the ticket counter continues. "Can we have the bike transferred and then take the other company's speed boat and then get the bike?". "Sure no problem, but the other company's pier is on the other side of the island." we are told. So, we'd have to pay for transportation to cross the entire island to be reunited with our motorbike. Maybe I should change the name of this series back to "New Norm Travel Hell"? What do you think?
So in conclusion, we can travel to Koh Samui but not together with our motorbike. Now, I'm a pretty straight shooter. Does this make any sense to you at all? Some people would be like, ok. At least we can get to Samui. And I'm teetering with the idea of being ok with that....whatever. But I can't lie, there is a part of me that is fuming mad that I've got to now navigate through a world of such dumb bullshit.
So at the moment I'm like 70/30 not go to Koh Samui. Cause we can get on the big ferry with the bike no questions asked if we are going to the main land. So that is what we will probably do. Part of this decision is that I did a day trip to Samui back like seven months ago before restrictions were implemented.
I really don't care for the island so much. It's just one big heavily trafficked road with speeding trucks going around the entire island. You can't avoid this road. I hate it. Part of the joy of Koh Phagnan is that the roads here are amazing; winding through the jungle with very little traffic.
I feel very unsafe driving around in Koh Samui. Also it's ten times the population of this island, Koh Phangan but only a little bigger in size. Samui is very built up and over developed in my opinion. Many of the beaches have become private or very hard to access. So we'll probably skip Samui and go straight to the city of Surrathani and check that place out for a few days. I'm just lucky enough to remember Koh Samui back in 2003 when it was super laid back.
So the whole bike thing is enough to tip me over the edge and say the hell with Samui. I guess the government successfully scared our business away. Just another day in the "New Norm". Thanks for reading and let us know what it's like moving around the country you are in.
From the Gulf of Thailand,
-Dan "World Travel Pro"
THANK YOU
Photo Credit: "World Travel Pro!"