Chumphon has beautiful beaches, but most tourists, like us, never see them. Most use it as a skipping stone to the islands. Pierre and I only happen to spend a night in Chumphon because other travel plans have fallen through: our bus from Bangkok (about 7 hours) was supposed to be followed by a 6-hour midnight boat to Ko Tao (Turtle Island). The bus we took was with a company called Chokeanan Tours who, it turns out, is awesome.
True, they said there would be a washroom on the bus when there wasn't, but there's an unexpected free meal halfway through the trip that makes up for that, and in everything else the agency rocks. When we arrive at the Chumphon Chokeanan bus station (they have their own bus station) we show the desk clerk our midnight-boat ticket and she promptly calls another agent who informs us (in excellent English) that, due to rough water, the night boat has been cancelled. However, they'll transfer our ticket to a Catamaran/fast boat trip the next day - free of charge, we just have to pay the difference which matches exactly the amount indicated by the guidebook, so we know it's legitimate. They book us into a nice yet incredibly inexpensive hotel (12CAN$ a night) and, to top it all off, all transportation involved in the process - to the agency for ticket changes, to the hotel - is free of charge.
Pierre and I are really pleased, but skeptical, and we keep waiting for hidden surcharges or an unpleasant surprise to pop up. (Pierre walks around the room saying things like "There's a body in the closet, right? Nope...I'll check the tub...")
Our skepticism isn't so much pessimism as it is realism: the goal for people in the tourist industry is to get as much as possible without cutting into their profits by giving too much. This usually means, in Thailand at least, that a company's debt to you may very well end when you arrive at your destination and/or encounter your first problem (ie. your boat is cancelled). Whichever comes first.
In the end, it turns out that Chokeanan Tour has all the details worked out for us, right down to a free taxi to the bus that goes to the 1:00 pm Catamaran to Koh Tao on the morning of Day 27. All in all, a very pleasant hitch in our plans.
photo credits: Sorry, no pics.
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2 comments:
In 1981 I lived in Chumphon (or as it was spelled back then "Chumporn") for a year as an exchange student. I fell in love with the place and have returned many times over the years. At the time I lived there there was only ONE German guy who stopped in town for a couple of days. I know, because anyone with white skin was brought by my host family's business! -- These days there are hundreds of tourists who pass through Chumphon on the way to the islands, but never take the time to see the charm of the city of Chumphon itself. I am glad to hear you got a small overnight taste at least! If you ever get the chance, go back and really explore...
I definitely will. What a great place to do a year as an exchange student - and to have a chance to do it before the tourist industry really expanded was such good luck. I had the chance to do an exchange in 92/93 to Cairo, and I wouldn't change it for anything, but if I could do a second (or third) year of student exchange, Thailand would definitely be top of the list. We've noticed that "pon" and "porn" are exchangable versions of the same word - what the heck does it mean in Thai, anyway?
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