I picked up my passport with a shiny new Non Immigrant B visa attached, and boarded another minibus, this one to Hat Yai, Thailand. These things are the worst way to travel: just big vans, with three row of three seats, and three in the front, so twelve passengers crammed in. There is no legroom, the AC never works, and the curtains don’t stop the sun from heating up the interior. Plus, they’re often full of stinky hippies.

I got to Hat Yai at 7 pm, and asked a travel agent about planes. Not surprisingly, they are full today and tomorrow. So I took a motorbike to the train station, but it was closed. By this time I just wanted to go home as soon as possible, and not have to spent a night in Hat Yai. So I took a motorbike back to the bus station, and bought a ticket for the 8:00 bus to krungthep (Bangkok). It only cost 600 baht ($15). I can read enough Thai to see that on my ticket for “name” they wrote farang.

I was prepared for a 24 hour journey, so I was pleasantly surprised after I was awoken by lights and music at 5:30 am (after the anger wore off) to see Bangkok all around me. I don’t understand how this worked out. Bangkok to Phuket took 12 hours. Phuket to Hat Yai took 8 hours. Granted, Phuket was a bit out of the way, but Hat Yai to Bangkok only took 10. Busses are pretty uncomfortable, but I can handle them for up to 12 hours. Given the savings over flying, they are a good way to get around Thailand. Sure, I would have had a sleeper on the train, but it would have taken twice as long.

My forced holiday has rekindled my interest in travel, and now that I have a Lonely Planet, I hope to see more of meuang thai (Thailand). First up is Songkran, Thai new years next month. It’s a three-day public holiday, but I think I get the week off. What it is is a puble water fight. This may sound like fun, but imagine being repeatedly doused with water every time you went outside for three days. The plan is to leave Bangkok, and go somewhere smaller, where it won’t be as chaotic. Unfortunately, that’s a lot of Thais’ plans too, so that eliminates islands and beaches. I’m guessing the national parks will be a less popular destination, so this may be an opportunity to get back to nature.