Getting there. Left Ko Samui using the tourist highway, which is well-organized and convenient in Thailand. Destination: Tarutao National Park on the Andaman Sea, southwest Thailand. We bought tickets to Trang and assumed we could get from there to Pak Bara Pier where we could catch a ferry to the park.
A mini-van picked us up at out hotel at 6 a.m. and drove us to the other side of Ko Samui where we transferred to a large bus. The bus drove to the ferry pier and into the ferry. We disembarked at Don Sak, took the same bus to Surat Thani, took a tuk-tuk to the bus station and traveled by air-conditioned mini-van, arriving at Trang at 2:30 p.m., right on time.
We walked a few steps to a travel agency, bought tickets to Ko Tarutao and went next door to book a newly refubished hotel room. Trang is a pleasant spot to spend a night. In the morning, we took a mini-van to the Paka Bara pier and boarded a speed boat. By noon we were inside our Island bungalow.
Whatever 100 baht we spent was well worth it for the agency to piece it together.
Patrick Dowd has returned from Peru. Read the