At 8 we are woken by the miserly bus lady, shooed of the bus at a petrol station, bags are dumped on the ground and despite protests it leaves us, no idea where we are, no sign of the connecting bus to take us to the boat, basically fucked. Through tiredness and being preyed upon by tuk tuk drivers, they take us to a travel agency which is the same as the company we arranged our transport through, it’s not and they don’t want anything to do with us so they then take us to the bus station where after a bit of phone work they say everything will be sorted. A tuk tuk arrives to take us to another bus station after a couple of breakdowns, where they pile us onto a songthaew. I think it was a new level for me in terms of transport, it had the standard 2 benches either side with an additional plank going through the middle, in total there were 36 adults, 6 children, a goose, two chicken plus all our luggage, bags of rice, potatoes, watermelons, limes, and numerous other bits and pieces. It was fucking ridiculous, you couldn’t move as we were so crammed in, the roof was physically shaking due to the load plus the 3 people sat on the roof, and there were people hanging out the back of it. We sat there as vans and other vehicles came and dropped off more people or goods, sweltering in the heat. Finally after an hour we started moving, I had just put my ipod in when a huge bang erupts, the fucking tyre blew out… everyone out, they set to work, 10mins later back on the road. 25 minutes later, BANG, the tyre blows out, this time 40mins wait, they have to drive somewhere for another tyre…
finally back on the bus, this time with even less leg room somehow, trying not to get cramp listening to music, another 3 hours later, after a couple of food stops and them unloading every other person or edible goods we are finally at the ferry port. Of course our tickets which say we have a ferry ticket aren’t valid, though the place is fucking amazing. We arrive at Dondet, the smaller of the main islands of the 4000 islands and it is ridiculously beautiful, idyllic and paradise are two words which come to mind, no cars, little sand paths, palm trees, livestock running free, wooden bungalows overlooking the river, 20 hours later just so glad to arrive. We wonder on down and find a good place to stay near the main bit of town but quiet, have a much needed shower and some water, then head into town for the first bit of real food all day. While toasting the beginning of the new year Irish dave, Joel, Becca, and Grant come through so join us, we catch up on the last few days and order food. Myself, M, Graeme, Miya and andy share 5 dishes plus some spring rolls and the food is demolished. We move onwards looking for a good place, we find a tepee place which has music and fire pits, really cool, get beers in plus tequila and had a fantastic evening. Had a bit of a dance though were fucking melting, so go off to a side field with Miya, Andy and Dave and just look up at the stars which were incredible. Approaching midnight drag ourselves back to the party, have a shuffle and see in the new year before heading back to the field. Walk home in the moonlight stopping on the way for a quick dip in the river on the beach section then sitting round a fire to dry up, the stresses of the day completely forgotten, exhausted and in a merry state, with friends in an incredible place, can’t think of a better way to see in the new year.
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| the view from our bungalow |
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