I suppose we needed to get tickets to Koh Tao at some point. We had become isolated in our hut and stretch of island and didn’t fancy being social or venturing into town. Yet, it was fortunate for us that the owner was heading into town himself and offered us a lift. Not having the hassle of tuktuk taxi drivers was going to make it a bit more manageable. 
Dropping us off outside a ticket office and pointing to others dotted along the street, we did what we had promised not to do oh so recently ago… purchase tickets straight away without comparing prices. We did however have an idea of costs and the brochures on the desk quoted the same price as the office on the ferry terminal. So, with that sorted, Katherine made a bee line to tat and souvenirs across the road. A corner of a building formed a mish-mash maze of clothes, bric-a-brac and jewellery. The walls were occasionally adorned with the images of thieves caught in the act. We picked up (and paid for) two cute bracelets. Thus, Kat has managed to get a bracelet in every country we’ve been to and I’ve been to the cinema at least once in every country. I wonder if I can blag another cinema trip as we’re technically back in a different country to Cambodia???
We strolled around to the ferry to make sure we had the right terminal for the next day. It was fortuitous we did so, as it looked like the tickets sold at an agency needed to be exchanged for the ferry tickets and stickers at the window. So, we knew ahead of time we needed to be a bit earlier than expected to skip the massive queues. With our intel reconnaissance mission proving successful we explored more of the town we were avoiding. We found a market area that was slowly trying to get ready for the afternoon/evening trade and enjoyed a papaya salad with noodles and smoothies. 
The tuktuk drivers sent us from pillar to post, none of them wanting to miss their opportunity with newbies off a ferry who would pay ridiculous amounts. We knew how much it should cost and that as always annoys the hell out of them. But, we finally had transport back home. With a few near misses from tourists wishing to have a new Koh Phangan tattoo and a kid driving a bike, we walked down our steep hill, back to our resort and saw the devastation the high tide was doing to the beach. A mass of rubbish and weeds all gathered from the surrounding hotels and resorts, slowly gathering in front of our strip of sand was now within spitting distance. And somewhere amongst the weed and rubbish there was another rotting carcass. The smell was unmistakeable, but there was no way of finding it until the tide went out. 
With the carcass buried under the sand and the fresh sea breeze bringing instant fresh air, we enjoyed a burrito and burger for dinner. We had just finished when the electricity went. So, being generous and helpful I held up torches and phones to illuminate the kitchen so they could finish cooking others meals. We slinked away with the lights from Koh Samui twinkling across the water. We were enjoying a few episodes of Dexter when the power came back and the fan kicked in to action. Just in time for bed.
Wednesday 19th October 2016
Trans Travels 