We haven't been down to Samui since Songkran in April after which lockdown 3 started in earnest as all the water splashing gave everyone Covid.
Now, however, with things much more relaxed and schools on a two-week break, we thought it was time to visit Khun Paw and Khun Mare and try and get some builders sorted out to get the house restarted.
Most journeys start like this, loading the old scooter up for the three-kilometre trip to Don Mueang Airport where we abandon it in a parking area reserved for staff and hope it will still be there when we get back as I'm too stingy to pay more for the parking than the bike is actually worth.
At the airport, there were lots of hoops to jump through, barcodes to scan and proof of vaccine to be shown before we finally managed to jump on this...
There used to be five flights a day down to Surat Thani, but now, just one and it was busy.
Recline your seat onto my knees and I will spend the whole hour practising double-kick bass on your seat back...just saying!
So first we went up...
... and then we came down...
Flaps set at Position 3 (flap 150) for finals. Note the neat rows of trees. These are Palm Oil plantations.
No lovely, friendly Orangutans were harmed as we don't have native Orangutans in Thailand. Only nasty, chip stealing, thieving gipsy monkey bastards.
And after being very disciplined and compliant, by leaving the aircraft three rows at a time...
... we finally disembarked, walked into the terminal and fannied around on our phones to show our vaccine certificates whilst using another app to check into Surat Thani provinces track and trace system...
...before being shoe-horned into one of these...
... for the 90-minute drive to Donsak and the Seatran ferry terminal for the 90-minute crossing to Koh Samui.
Before leaving the mainland under a leaden sky...
Upon arriving, we were ushered into tents like Lepers to again have our vaccine certificates checked, fill out another Google form about our recent travel history and departure location and download the Samui locator app.
We finally arrived home whereupon despite much 'manifesting' and 'attracting', the house had not miraculously been finished by the house fairies and was even more shagged than it was in April having lost two roofing panels in the wind...light breeze actually, although some of the concrete floor has become a rather natty shade of green...
