A Crime Fighting Caper

(or how I stopped the bad guys from getting away with everyone's stuff)

Yesterday we travelled across Thailand to Koh Phagnan, in the gulf of Thailand. It was all booked at our previous hotel and we had to get a bus, then a ferry, then a bus then a ferry. Or so we thought.

The first bus/ferry combo was fine, and to be honest the second bus was also fine. However we weren't dropped off at the ferry terminal at Surat Thani to get the final ferry. We were dropped at a rough looking cafe and told we needed to get another bus to the ferry in a few hours time. This was strange and started some alarm bells ringing.

(cue catchup/flashback... after our cameras were stolen in Cambodia, we did some t'internet research to see if it was common - it's not, we were very very unlucky. However, in Thailand accorting to t'internet, dodgy bus companies will steal stuff by putting it in a large hold below the cabin and driving very slowly with loud films/music on whilst the bags are ransacked below. End of flashback)

So anyway, this very very large bus turns up, with a hold you could stand up in. It then proceeded to travel at below 30 kph for over 2 hours to a pier far far away, whilst playing a rubbish movie (Hidalgo - Hollywood tripe which they didn't even start at the beginning!) at an ear splitting level. Hmmmmmmmm. There were some others on the bus who were concerned and they even got the bus stopped to check - but there seemed nothing amiss. I was not having any of it and tried to get into the hold from the main deck, but couldn't quite see in. So as soon as the bus turned up at the port, I checked my bag. They'd picked the lock (it's a huge thing, so they were good!) and stolen two memory cards.

At this, I shouted out and ran back to the bus. Everyone else started checking their bags and found money and other things gone. Whilst some of the backpackers shouted at the driver, I got into the hold and looked around. There was a dodgy partition which I started to move, but then the bus also started driving off, so I ran back to the door and jumped out. Once the bus had been stopped again (and the police called) another guy and I went back in to find two people with all the stolen stuff...

The police were, quite frankly useless and it's only because there were some massive Americans/Canadians who managed to break the drivers window that the bus didn't drive off before we salvaged the gear. After that, we discovered they'd sold us the tickets to the wrong island... (but they'd done it to everyone, so we were able to swap)

But now we're on a stunning island in a little bay called Haad Khoan (I think the spelling is right) which is really secluded. We were the only people on the beach earlier. Apparently there's a coral reef 50 metres off the beach, so we're going to snorkel out there later on today.

Some Stats.

Number of things stolen from me - 2
Number of things got back - 2 (hurrah!)