Well, today was my last full day in Thailand! Tomorrow I’ll be leaving for Seoul, South Korea, then a quick layover, and then heading back to the US! This trip has been absolutely amazing and has shaped me in many ways… but enough of the sappiness, we still have a day left in this wonderful country!

Today started off on the earlier side with packing up my belongings and saying goodbye to my hostel!

I decided to grab a quick breakfast as I was checking out and got a chicken Gra Pao. It was a little on the pricy side but it was an insanely filling meal!

After eating I left my hostel around 10am. When I got my moped I was told to call the number on the bike when I was returning it… buttttt of course just like most of the bikes futures, it didn’t work. So I ventured to where I vaguely remembered the bike “shop” was to return the bike.

After a lovely and scenic 20 min drive I made it to the home where I rented the bike. I was actually surprised I remembered which random dirt road to take to it, but glad I did! When I arrived I was welcomed by a very upset dog that tried to bite me, but I guess I yelled loud enough at it to back off 🙃. Then the next door neighbor came over and yelled at it some more (poor pup).

Now the bike “shop” owners I think were at the pier but the neighbor called them for me and they ended up showing up in a matter of minutes!

I for my full deposit back on the bike but it was a sad goodbye as it’ll be my last moped ride for a while! I’m honestly very proud of myself for getting over this fear. I wasn’t really sure if I would have been able to without the help of Lola and the wonderful roads in Pai! It was so amazing cruising down the scenic roads and as much as I loved being Lola’s passenger, having full control over the bike was exhilarating! Next time I’m back in Thailand I’ll conquer the streets of Bangkok and Chiangmai!

I then walked to the 7-11 Aaron and I went to the night before and grabbed a large water for the just under 5 hour journey to the Surat Thani airport!

I ended up getting to my pier 15 min before the boat arrived, so I parked it on the ground and waited!

The boat, thankfully, arrived right on time! Aaron had told me that these boats were notorious for being late and I was slightly concerned I wouldn’t make it to the airport in time for my flight to Bangkok (this is one of the reasons why I left Koh Phangan a day early, you’ll see one of the other reasons why later in this post).

I got a nice window seat for my ride and of course the views were so lovely! I also ended up wandering around the boat a bit too!

I also ended up FaceTiming Lola for a bit too, which made the boat ride fly by! She was wandering through a jungle in Malaysia and wanted to show me the views!

We arrived at the lovely pier of Surat Thani where I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going to find my bus to take me to the airport. Luckily I asked a random traveler who was also getting on the same bus and had done this before so he helped me make sure I got to the right spot!

The bus ride was smooth sailing! Lola and I finished up our chat and then I dove into planning some future travels for when I get back in the US 👀

We ended up having one stop along the way to the airport. And this stop was the nicest I had been to in Thailand! It was also the first one to have real paper towels, so I of course had to document this rare siting 😂

I also got a snack at the stop. One of my favorites, wasabi peas 😋

We then continued on through Surat Thani and made our way to the airport. We ended up stopping a few times to drop off people in Surat Thani Town and also the train station.

But even with these stops we made it to the airport with plenty of time!

I had to check my backpack unfortunately. Thai domestic flights limit you to 7kg and my bag was 11.74kg. On top of that it was too big for the overhead compartment.

Surat Thani Airport is very small and I got to my gate with over an hour to wait for my flight! I also ran into someone I met in Mad Monkey at Chiang Mai. It’s always crazy running into people from along the trip!

To board the plane we needed to take a bus to where the plane was at! They packed us all in and we were off!

I can’t tell you the last time I boarded a plane from the run way, but whenever it happens it’s always a fun experience!

I boarded the plane and found my seat! I actually had to buy the flight without the seat (it was the cheapest option) and they ended up giving me a window seat in the emergency exit!

It was a lovely plane ride with beautiful views! I’m starting to like window seats more than aisle seats now… easier to sleep, actually more leg room if your bag is overhead (asile seats tend to be squished for some reason). And for someone with long legs, space is important!

The scratches on the windows messed with my pictures but still got some cool shots of Bangkok as we came in!

After a quick hour flight, we arrived in Bangkok!

I ordered a bolt into the city which ended up costing 270 Baht. It was pretty surreal being back in the city that this trip all began in. And I had big intentions to make it full circle!

To make this trip come a complete full circle I decided to stay at the hostel where it all began! Where I met all my amazing friends that traveled north together. The place that showed me how amazing this trip was going to be and how much fun traveling solo is! That you truly can meet the most amazing people and connect in just a matter of minutes…

The staff was excited to see me again and they were actually kind enough to upgrade me to the 6 person room for no extra charge!

I was insanely hungry as I hadn’t really had a meal since this morning. So I hit the streets to continue down memory lane!

I started my night at the VERY good pad Thai stand down the street!

I then did something I hadn’t done yet in Thailand and I hopped on a scooter taxi! Whichhhh in Bangkok is a bit sketchy, especially because there’s no helmet which I don’t like at all. But it’s super cheap and fast to get around.

Funnily enough on this ride my hat flew off and after a block of trying to get the bike to stop he finally did and luckily it was untouched!

I then arrived at a suggestion of Aaron’s, the Patong Night Market! This night market is one of the oldest in Bangkok and full of every knock off item you could think of! Also some fun rings and pants which I ended up getting.

On top of shopping there’s some fun food options too! Some are a bit overpriced in comparison to other places in Bangkok. But some are good, and that’s what I got!

After walking around the entire market it was time to head to my next stop (one we’ve seen before). But I hopped on another bike taxi and holy moly… this was probably one of the scariest rides of my life!

I took my hat off this time… and thank goodness I did because this driver was flying through the streets and using stop lights as suggestions. We we’re even squeezing through car gaps I didn’t know was possible. But we made it to my destination in one piece (and a new hairdo)!

I arrived at another crazy street, Khao San Road! Lots of fun memories here but I was ally alone this time! It was fun seeing the craziness ensuing that I was a part of a month ago!

I ended up stumbling into a cheap roti stand so I thought it’d be a fun way to end off the night of snacking!

I then wandered back to my hostel where two guys from Germany were hanging out so I cracked open a Chiang and joined them.

I then went to my room and crashed for the night! It was such a lovely last night in Thailand and it was so fun going down memory lane! Such a fun way to end this month of traveling!

See you tomorrow for the last day of the Thailand blog!

– Elie