the hours and the minutes

6:00 am.  I wake up to prepare for what is to be a long day of travel.

7:00 am.  A taxi takes me to Chiang Mai airport.

8:20 am.  My flight takes off.

9:30 am.  The plane lands in Bangkok.

10:30 am.  My second flight takes off.

11:45 am.  I land at Krabi Airport.

12:30 pm.  The minivan driver who is supposed to pick me up enters the airport, asks three random people if they are Alex Lin, then leaves without me.  In the meantime, I search in vain for someone holding my my name card.

12:45 pm.  I contact the guest house, inquiring the whereabouts of the driver.  They tell me he is just delayed.

12:50 pm.  The information desk receptionist comes toward me, who is the only traveler left in the small airport.  "Telephone," she says.  I point at myself, questioning if she has made a mistake, as she certainly doesn't know me.  "Yes, you!"  I answer the phone, and the guest house gives me the above information regarding the minivan driver and rebooks for 1:30 pm.  In desperation due to hunger, I order a chocolate milk shake at Dairy Queen, the only food vendor in the airport.  God forgive me for consuming American food on foreign soil, the most despicable act against the order of nature.

1:35 pm.  A driver enters the airport, hurriedly looking for "Alex."  I dash forward, lest I be left behind again.

1:40 pm.  I enter a minivan with 11 seats, all but one is occupied.  My luggage is stacked on top of several others, and I squeeze into the corner seat in the very back.  Luckily, no one smells bad.  Hopefully, I don't.

2:25 pm.  The minivan enters a line of automobiles waiting for the car ferry.  The German and French passengers exit to have a smoke.  The locals and I sit quietly in the van.  I catch up on some reading, wishing I were anywhere else.

a car and elephant ferry

2:40 pm.  The car ferry arrives, taking us from Krabi to the island of Koh Lanta in 20 minutes.
 
3:10 pm.  We board a second car ferry to cross a bay.

3:30 pm.  We drop off a French couple, who requested to be taken to the center of town in order to rent a motorbike.

3:45 pm.  I arrive at my guest house, nearly nine hours after my first car ride of the day.

3:56 pm.  I relieve myself, enjoying the most satisfying pee in recent memory.

My long day of travel is rewarded with a stunning sunset at a sparsely populated beach lined with huts and bungalows instead of highrises and luxurious resorts.

Life is good.