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Finally the day when we had to leave Ko Phangan had come.
On the way to the pier we had the opportunity to again feast our eyes on the local landscapes
cheering us every time we looked at them, as we traveled already known and fancied roads.
The Bangkok where we went especially to visit the ashtanga yoga seminar by Kino MacGregor
waited us ahead.
On the pier we boarded a huge ferry carrying people, cars, trucks and even the bus that
would drive us to the Bangkok.
The ticket we had already bought in Ko Pha Ngan. It included the ferry and VIP bus to
Bangkok and cost 50$ per head.
The ferry had several decks including one closed deck with air conditioner and the shop.
Travel from Koh Phangan to the Surattani took 2,5 hours.
During the whole journey we had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful view, so the time slid unnoticed.
The weather in Thailand between April and October is hot and rainy, unlike Bali, where
the weather in this season is very nice and even a bit cool.
10 minutes after arrival our bus was already on the pier, so we could move on.
The bus was really great with wide lie-flat seats. A small food ration was prepared for
every passenger. Such VIP buses have half as much places as regular transport, so it
was quite amply inside. It also had a toilet.
After a few hours we get to the restaurant, where we could eat for free just showing our
bus ticket. The dinner was included in the price.
The bus trip from Surat Thani to Bangkok took 11 hours. We traveled at night, so the time
passed quickly.
Early morning we were already in Bangkok. As long as the time was too early, we decided
to watch the station and then take a taxi to the Indonesia Embassy to submit the papers
for visa.
Our driver decided not to waste the time and started to learn English just behind the wheel
to communicate with us.
After 50 minutes we were in front of the Embassy, but it was still closed, so we went to have
a snack.
Still in Ko Pha Ngan we had found a visa agency, transferred them 500 dollars for two visas
and received a guarantee email being an invitation to the Bali from our sponsor. We printed the
letter and submitted it with other documents to get a social visa that would allow us to
stay on Bali for 6 months without leaving the country.
The link to the agency site, list of the required documents and description of the document
submission procedure you can find in our article.
The Embassy door opened at 9 o’clock. We were the first visitors. At first there were
not so many people willing to submit the documents. But in half an hour more people started to
arrive and the Embassy hall was crowded.
Document submission procedure appeared to be quite fast nd everything went smoothly.
Satisfied with the results we caught a tuk-tuk end went to the hotel. Our passports
with visas we received on the second day, so we could leave on the Bali for 6 months
without worry.