Pangandaran

When we arrived at this beach resort we discovered we were staying at a good hotel complete with it's own pool for two days, so a chance to stay well clear of the bus for a whole 24 hours. Tropical storms in the distance gave entertaining early evening lightning shows and a walk in the local national park whiled away a morning. It was complete with monkeys, deer and....thankfully none of the little creatures beginning with the letter 'L'. As we wandered along the beach on our final evening we saw the local fishermen coming but with what looked like a disappointing catch. The immediate trade in their haul was interesting to witness nonetheless and later Helen sampled some of the fresh catch from a more successful fishing outing.

Bandung

Our journey to Bandung was yet another long one. Sadly made longer as the road we were going to take to Bandung was closed, so we had to take a detour that possibly added another 2 to 3 hours to the journey. We did however go through a forest of rubber trees where we could see (from the bus) the rubber being collected in the small pots tied to the trees. The roads however seemed to be non existent in places and the axles on the bus took a couple of severe and noisy poundings along the way. We managed to arrive for the noon ferry and back behind us we could make out Krakatoa in the distance. A long journey to our destination was made longer as our route took us through Jakarta during rush hour. After such a long journey we had a couple of drinks in the bar, where David discovered the following day that he'd left his cash and cards, but the staff had kindly and honestly discovered them and handed them in to the local tour leader.

Bandar Lampung

Most of our time throughout Indonesia is spent looking at the countryside from the confines of the coach – unsurprising we know, for a trip with the title 'Bus' in it – there is a clue somewhere in that isn't there. Therefore every opportunity at the toilet break is taken to be outside the vehicle for a few minutes, although the climate is punishing outside of the air conditioning.

Palembang

We arrived at today's hotel in daylight, which was good. It gave us enough time to visit a local shopping centre complete with supermarket to stock up on supplies for another long journey tomorrow. Wandering around in the daylight it was clear that we were quite a novelty for the locals with a lot of giggling and 'Good Morning, How are you?'s, despite it being late afternoon. Having stocked up we returned to the hotel (rating unknown, but better than last nights) to prepare for an evening out. We were taken to a local floating karaoke restaurant where the food was complimentary as part of the trip. The veggie selection was limited to rice and fried rice and when the fried rice came out it was interesting how David was accused of 'hogging' it. Unfortunately, afterwards a few people went on to a concert and then a boxing match where Rick had his wallet pickpocketed.

Jambi

Our highlight of the day today was traversing The Equator. David checked the GPS on his phone and (despite allowing for error) amusingly it appeared to be a good few metres further along the road – a banana tree marks the spot, but sadly there were none for the picking – next time you're travelling through Indonesia you can confirm it for yourself and maybe grab yourself one. We finally arrive at our hotel at around 9pm – 15 hours after having got on the coach in the morning. Some of these days in Indonesia are going to seriously numb on the bum and as you might anticipate tempers are fragile upon arrival. This is not helped by the fact that we had been promised upon our arrival in Indonesia by the local guide that tonights hotel was a 5 star. The hotel complex was large, but we were not staying in the main part and clearly by the state of our room not in 5 star accommodation – in fact our hotel the night before seemed to be on a par. It obviously begged the question for most on the trip as to why to raise peoples expectations unnecessarily to say the hotel was going to be 5 star when immediately people think of that standard in their respective home countries – a tip for Oz Bus and the local operators in the future to not mention such a thing at all. Don't get us wrong, the hotel was fine, JUST NOT 5 STAR, OK! The mice or rats that were running around in the ceilings above some peoples rooms, including our own however, maybe thought they were onto something along the lines of 5 star though?

Pekanbaru

We were dropped off for the ferry with plenty of time to spare and for the most part, the journey was fine as the sea was calm. Helen stayed outside at the back of the boat. This was a good plan as David tried to sleep through a Westlife karaoke DVD and a seriously violent Sly Stallone movie. Despite all the noise (particularly the wailing from Westlife) he managed to sleep for well over an hour until the waves hitting the side of the boat managed to find their way in through the windows and onto his head. Immigration when we arrived in Indonesia was a particularly hit and miss affair with everyone needing to buy their visa first and then hand over the passports with their receipts whilst the relevant visa was stuck into the passports and validated.
Despite being almost last out of customs, on the latest Oz Bus we were surprised to find a double seat, until we actually sat in it and our legs were dangling over the edge like a fairground ride – note to selves, NOT to suffer that seat again. It was a long trip to our first overnighter (the first of many long days on the bus and boats in Indonesia) but when we arrived we became instant millionaires withdrawing money from the ATM for our stay.

Melaka

As with Penang, we have been lucky enough to visit Melaka previously and although there for only one night, we've been looking forward to it enormously. As we arrive, the guide takes the coach down to the harbour close to where we'll be catching our ferry to Indonesia tomorrow and on the way we see the highly decorated tri-shaws in the street. At night they are illuminated with flowers and fairy lights and have their own music systems to drown out everything else as you are pedaled around the streets by some seriously fit old guys, if that's what you choose. As for us? We headed down to Jonker Street for the market and although it was the end of Diwali, in addition to the street market we are 'entertained' by maybe ex tri-shaw drivers doing karaoki on the main stage – one guy in particular being seriously special. Although we were tempted to see if the 'sound and light' show was still as good as our last visit exactly five years ago, we thought there was a limit to our fun threshold with the karaoke so went to the Geographers Cafe Bar instead. Considering we had an appx 3 hour ferry ride in the morning those that came to the bar seemed to be oblivious to it on the night.

Penang

Only an hour or so down the road and we are going through Thai border control to leave the country. We do a familiar 'bus swap' with all belongings and luggage being transferred. Then a short journey to Malaysian border control where we take our luggage back off and go through immigration checks.
Penang isn't too far away but again along the way you can see in the fields the results of the recent torrential rain and resultant flooding. A couple of hours on and we are crossing the impressive road bridge into Penang and our stop is George Town. We were here a few years ago and make our way to the Edelweiss cafe for tea – a quaint bar serving quality food - this evening prepared by hand by the owner who comes out to re-introduce herself to us. Sadly, as with many stops along the way, we are only here for one night. As we leave the following morning Kenneth suffers for his art whilst attempting to take a picture of the 13.5km road bridge.

Hat Yai

On the day we leave for Hat Yai, Bev's rash has developed further and it turns out it could be a nasty reaction to some medication she has recently taken and today's journey is clearly one from hell for her.
Thankfully, after the depression that has recently hit Thailand, the sea looks like a mill pond and our journey down to the ferry is also clear of water on the roads. Back on mainland after our hot, hazy and humid crossing we board our latest bus. A super groovy Karaoke model, complete with disco lights upstairs and what seems like an old English pub snug on the lower deck – well that would be the case if the décor was a little more subtle – you certainly wouldn't want to be travelling on the bus today with a hangover. As we travel on towards Hat Yai, we are advised to stock up with supplies on the way. We see the aftermath of the recent flooding and there's still standing water on the way to the City. We arrive at the hotel to debris on the streets of peoples former belongings heaped up and awaiting removal, we can also see that the flood waters at the hotel were above head height from the marks left outside the hotel. We take a short walk around the block and see that the local 7-eleven store has been looted – 2 guys are sitting outside the smashed door trying to protect the remainder of the building now that the storm has subsided. Walking around it's clear to see that the people are already moving on with their lives. Obviously the hotel is open, but many of the staff are at home attending to their immediate clean up. It's therefore unsure whether it's too early for us to be here as tourists whilst the resources might still be best directed at the clear up operation rather than passers by. Sure, life goes on and tourism is a valuable industry but at the present time you cant help question whether this is responsible tourism?
As we are preparing to leave the following morning, Bev is worse still and a decision is made to call a doctor. An ambulance turns up and she is admitted to hospital for treatment. Lisa decides to take a noble decision to stay with her as the bus moves onto it's next destination.

Koh Samui

While David enjoyed the sights of Bangkok, Helen flew off directly to Koh Samui with some of the other Oz-Bussers. It was an odd feeling leaving the comfort of the group and initially weird to be a group of only 5! The mini-group arrived in Samui at 10pm, got picked up as organised and were soon enjoying a beer or 2 at Harrys Bungalows (now a group of only Helen, Bev and Donna as 2 went off elsewhere). For the next few days, the weather wasn't great but lunchtime cocktails, relaxing by the pool, massages and enjoying the local night life made up for that. On the 2nd night in Samui, Jaime flys up from Bangkok. The best Samui night out involved....roast dinner at the Irish bar, feet being nibbled at Dr. Fish (its meant to remove dry skin but to be honest as much as it was actually enjoyable – the feet weren't really any better!), drinks in the Oz bar (with free vodka jelly shots), a very funny ladyboy show and then more drinks and lots and lots of laughs. Being in one location for more than a couple nights on the trip is a real luxury, as is unpacking properly and having clothes in the wardrobe - a simple pleasure! So much so that even the thought of moving to the main Oz-Bussers accommodation down the road seems like too much effort, and after checking it out – Helen and the new mini-group decide to all stay where they are...

Meanwhile when the main group arrives at Koh Samui there is brief confusion over where the collection coach is, but 3 separate minibusses and a utility vehicle (ute) for luggage have been sent to collect everyone. Although the drivers know they are all going to the same resort, why oh why do they have the desire to overtake each other on the way there?
Upon arrival Helen, Jaime, Donna and Bev are there to welcome everyone. Michelle is also at the resort having returned from his separate excursion. It later transpires that Liv is stuck on another island, which becomes an issue over the next few stormy days.
As we are now staying at Harry's Bungalows we go back there for dinner with the those of us who are staying there.
During David's first night on the island we can hear rain pouring down as well as the thunder and see the lightning light up the room. The rain continues pretty much into the next day coupled with a power cut that pretty much restricts us to our room for the morning. In the afternoon we go to the shore and see how ferocious the storm is and wander inland to the main resort. After a couple of hours we wade almost up to our knees back to our resort and take a taxi ride down to Fishermans Wharf, but this ends up being a questionable thing to do as our ute has to drive through some significant flood waters on the way there. We have a quick meal and return to the resort via another taxi ute. It continues to rain overnight and when we wake up the following day, the road between the two resorts that we waded through on the previous night is now up to waist height and water is now pouring out of the Mercure resort at a significant torrent. The resort is losing it's fish and there are several staff standing in the street trying to recapture them as they flow downstream in the new 'river'. The day sees us once again stranded in our hotel but we realise that we are in a good place, as our next destination is underwater between 1 and 2 metres.
At our resort Bev has developed a nasty rash on her feet and hands, which seems to be giving her some discomfort.
The following day, our last full day on the island the rain appears to have stopped its continual downpour overnight and we are in two minds whether to hire a moped. We enquire and the guy doesn't seem to think there's a problem so we go ahead armed with two of the most fetching helmets he has. We ride through patches of flood water, but do manage to make progress and get out to see The Big Bhudda, take a look around Fishermans Wharf and have a shop for supplies at Tesco's before making our way back to hand the moped in. Although we've got a little wet from the sprinkling of rain today and the splash back from the flood waters we are relatively dry until a jeep flies past us with about a mile to go and completely soaks us with spray. That final evening we celebrate Michele's Birthday and fireworks are set off in the sky to mark the occasion.

Bangkok

...So David stayed in Bangkok, whilst Helen departed to Koh Samui with several of the group. It was odd after 3 months of spending day in, day out together to be going separate ways and waving goodbye.
At 'Arrivals' there is a new addition waiting to greet the group as our final Oz Busser Stu joins us, and he's a friend of Vicky's. The remaining group get on to a new bus as it's a new country and make our way to the City. It's a few days after the flooding but there is some residue, that we've been able to see in some of the fields from the air.
During the stay in Bangkok a few relationships formed through the Oz Bus become visibly clearer.
On the first full day David went on an informal walking tour with Matt, Allen and Laura visiting some of the sights. Chinatown, going to the rivers edge to see the burst banks of the recent flooding and visiting parks with public exercise machines, that unlike the ones at home in Northampton, hadn't been vandalised. The park detour took us past a cycle hire station – a free scheme in Bangkok city and the decision is instantly made for the group to return with ID tomorrow to take a ride. The following day, the original walkers are joined by Isabelle and take the tour around the City following most of the route, some of which is on dedicated cycle lanes on and off road, but also making our own way in the city traffic – which is encouragingly accommodating of cyclists. After a day on the cycle David decides to go for an hours worth of Thai massage with Matt and Allen. What a sight to behold in their massage tops and bottoms as their limbs and bodies are pulled apart, clicked and clapped. Afterwards, the trio leave the site in a bit of a daze, but manage to recover enough to spend the evening celebrating Janets Birthday with the oddest cake ever! A trip to the MBK centre the following day is, of course, taken on bikes and the cycling group has expanded even further! The longer journey is rewarded by free secure parking at the MBK and supplies are brought for the long day on the bus the following day.
It is a long one, but we are lucky enough to get there an hour before schedule meaning that we catch the 4pm ferry instead of the 5pm one. As it's stormy the group are informed that it will likely be 2 hours instead of the usual and hour and a half. David gets talking to a guy who has a Thai wife and child, who informs him that there's a storm coming in and this will probably be the last ferry of the evening and asks...'why are you going to Koh Samui in the rainy season?' This turns out to be a significant question.