The ferry docked at Surat Thani at 5:30 a.m. just as the sky was beginning to grow light revealing a sluggish tidal river with pole houses lining its banks. We had some breakfast at a little cafe next door to the bus stop and then stuffed our gear, along with that of 8 others into a little Isuzu minibus for the four-hour trip down to Hat Yai on the Thai/Malaysian border. The minibus was air-conditioned and had a good stereo on which we played some great, great tunes: OMD, Oils, Van etc.

When we reached Hat Yai the three of us boarded a crowded bus bound for Singapore loaded with Thais and Malaysians. It was aircon but still bloody hot. The border was straightforward but interesting. The entry card had a warning on it that read “Death to Drug Traffickers in Malaysia” and several of the passengers had warned us that if we had any drugs left we had to get rid of them. Of course we didn’t, but we made sure there was nothing left in our bags by emptying them completely on the side of the road and repacking just to make sure. A drug dog came onto the bus as we left the Malaysian side then w south all day and all night arriving at the border with Singapore at 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning.