Another little Samui joke - new bus station

[robsamui]

Had to go on another border bounce this week, and drove off to the bus station in Nation.

Oh golly gee! That excellent, centrally-placed big bus station in Nathon is now empty.

I can't imagine why - but there it is, a huge span of concrete as big as 2 football pitches with seating, waiting areas and little food shops, all deserted.

(Well - not quite, as it now seems to have become an overnight coach park for some of the big VIP buses.)

I'm in the habit of leaving my car there for the 3 days I'm away - really safe and well-lit and very open and public.

Anyway, a quick enquiry, and I was sent off to the *new* bus station over in Lipa Noi, a couple of hundred metrres past the Immigration office. Good - I get there ten minutes before the bus is due to leave to get the 8:00 am Raja ferry, and am pleased to see a huge car park next to the ticket office. It looks like there's space for at least 100 cars, and there are only about 20 spaces taken. This is really excellent - they have obviously made some allowance for people like me - or others who have to go all the way out there, but can safely leave their motorbikes.

Except I'm told to clear off by the security guard. (Cannot put car cannot put car.) I pull out onto the road to see if there is anywhere - and there isn't. (End up having to leave it in a dark and deserted carpark at the Raja Ferry port.)

So here is this big new bus station with a huge car park - that nobody is allowed to use. This is a seriously stupid. The old one in Nathon was on the songthiew route and had car parking space - it was really easy to get to, right on the main road in Nathon. Now it's out in the middle of nowhere, with no way to get to it except a 500 baht taxi there, and another 500 baht back home again afterwards.

Or could that be the whole idea perhaps?

And now I read that the taxis (nationally) are putting in to increase their fares. Up will go the taxi fares again on Samui . . . the taxis here are already charging more to get to the bus station than it costs to go all the way to Had Yai on the bus.

Things are getting *really* silly on Samui now . . .

R

[samuijimmy]

I thought there is a leaving point for Raja ferry as you drive into Nathon, fairly new...well year or perhaps two now?

(Mini or family Mart next door, on the left side, before the Seatran ferry entrance on the right) .... where you can park and they bus you to the Raja terminal ...

Edited October 22, 2014 by samuijimmy

[robsamui]

I thought there is a leaving point for Raja ferry as you drive into Nathon, fairly new...well year or perhaps two now?

(Mini or family Mart next door, on the left side, before the Seatran ferry entrance on the right) .... where you can park and they bus you to the Raja terminal ...

That's interesting - didn't know that.

I wonder if it happens to match the main departure times to BKK and down south . . . have to check it.

Ta Jim

Edited October 22, 2014 by robsamui

[ksamuiguy]

7-11 at turn to ferry port soi, no parking there, construction still going on at Raja port, parking lot still dark and deep in sand.

This is as of 2 weeks ago. Hopefully they will complete the new addition construction soon, been going on a long time.

The construction and piles of sand, rock and materials severely limit available suitable space for parking.

[Mole]

All songthiaw from Nathon to Lamai will take a detour taking a round at the new bus station.

[robsamui]

All songthiaw from Nathon to Lamai will take a detour taking a round at the new bus station.

Thanks mole - but that still means getting up at 6:00 am to get a songthiew to Nathon, and then getting another songthiew to Lipa Noi - just because someone in authority has decided all 150 spaces in the car park are for the 10 employees . . .

R

[samuijimmy]

You need to check out the Raja fery point I mentioned above Rob, because they take you to the terminal on their bus...

Next time I go by I will check more closely about the parking at that point....

Somewhere I had a picture of the place, but cannot find it!

[robsamui]

You need to check out the Raja fery point I mentioned above Rob, because they take you to the terminal on their bus...

Next time I go by I will check more closely about the parking at that point....

Somewhere I had a picture of the place, but cannot find it!

Thanks Jim.

It used to be so simple - for years I went to Nathon, left my car in the big night food market, got on a Panthip big bus and came back on one again later.

Then Panthip stopped the big bus and started to run mini buses instead.

Not enough people? Probably. The big bus I went on this time from Nathon/Lipa Noi/Raja (the HAD YAI THAI MALAY 2001 (Samui-Hat Yai-Sungai-Kolok) had exactly 6 people on it . . . (tho it did also pick up another 5 or 6 en route).

ps - not one farang to be seen in Had Yai this time, in 2 days of wandering around the markets and the shops (plus one pub). Never ever been like this before . . . there's always been a teenage teacher or two somewhere . . .

R

Edited October 23, 2014 by robsamui

[samuijimmy]

Not unusual not to see many "white" farangs in HY!

Anyway, happened by Raja's Nathon office and point, to where buses/mini vans leave to the ferry...

Looks like huge parking area at the back... I would suggest stopping by and ask about car / motorbike parking for a few days.

Perhaps you or some one could stop in and ask!

[robsamui]

Not unusual not to see many "white" farangs in HY!

Anyway, happened by Raja's Nathon office and point, to where buses/mini vans leave to the ferry...

Looks like huge parking area at the back... I would suggest stopping by and ask about car / motorbike parking for a few days.

Perhaps you or some one could stop in and ask!

That's where the Hadyai-Thai-Malay Sungai-Kolok (!) bus used to leave to get the Raja ferry, and it still does. It's the one I catch.

This is the one I used to get direct to the ferry pier for the 8:00 am ferry, leaving there at 7:40.

This is where I always used to leave my car.

But now you are required to be there at 6:00 am to get this bus.

It waits for a bit, then it heads off to the new bus station (where you are not allowed to park your car) where it waits for an hour (?) before it toddles off to get the 8:00 am Raja ferry.

Essentially it means I have to leave my house at 5.30, then sit on this bus and wait two hours until the 8:00 ferry. Sigh.

Thanks for the info, Jim. But it was actually what I was moaning about in the first place!

(ps - there never used to ever be any mini buses leaving from there, only the big public buses..Unless things have changed again, all these leave from the area around the seafront/pier at Nathon.)

R