bus Archives - Wanderwiles

“VIP” bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

20161102_123949 — Onboard the VIP bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

All good things must come to an end, and our time at Chiang Rai was one of those good things. We’d loved the Maryo Resort Hotel, we’d had fun at the night market, we’d had some really good and inexpensive meals, but it was time to move on. Maryo quickly booked us seats on a VIP bus leaving the next day. The nice lady at the front desk said they’d had trouble using credit cards online so she gave us a printout of our booking, loaned us a couple of bikes and sent us to a 7-11 a couple of blocks away. (It seems nearly everything can be done at a 7-11 in Asia!) We pedaled to the 7-11, showed our printout and paid our 516 baht ($14.74) for two tickets on an air conditioned motor coach. (The “tickets” were actually a cash register receipt stapled to our original printout.)

20161102_131723 — Bus “tickets” (with green luggage claim stubs for bags stored below the bus)

Note: There is a much cheaper bus with no air conditioning, no assigned seats and no designated space for luggage. We saw a few of those, crammed full of passengers, and never even considered taking them. At only $7+ apiece, the VIP bus was a no-brainer.

The next day, Maryo provided a free shuttle to the Chiang Rai bus station, which it turns out is new and still under construction, so we asked around until we were pointed to a sign under a small white umbrella. An Australian waiting for the bus with his Thai girlfriend confirmed we were in the right place and soon the bus arrived.

20161102_124000 — Temporary waiting area in Chiang Rai for the VIP bus to Chiang Mai

We stashed luggage below and settled into our assigned seats, reclining in comfort as we pulled away. The 3-hour trip went by quickly as we sped through gorgeous countryside of rice fields giving way to jungle-covered mountains. Streams wound their way along the roadside, rushing over and around scattered boulders.

20161102_145948 — From the bus window: Between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai

A lady provided cold bottled water, a large snack pack of faux “Oreos” and a cool towelette. Very civilized and comfortable. Our only complaint was the frigid a/c that could not be turned off or down. Wouldn’t you know it, for the first time in weeks, I’d stashed the scarf/shawl I usually had in my carry-on in my big suitcase.

Arriving in Chiang Mai, we dodged the inevitable private driver wanting sky-high prices as we got off the bus and headed to a taxi booth where we bought our 200 baht ($5.71) taxi coupon for the ride to our hotel in the old city.

20161102_131029 — Chiang Mai bus station with a VIP bus parked

Taking a bus from Kotor, Montenegro, to Dubrovnik, Croatia

Although we planned drive ourselves in Croatia, we opted not to keep the car we’d rented in Montenegro for that trip. My reasoning was 1) we’d avoid cross border charges; and 2) we didn’t want a car for our days in Old Dubrovnik anyway since parking is nonexistent in the old town. The best option appeared to be a motor coach. I bought tickets ahead of time on GetByBus at https://getbybus.com/en/ for 483.5 Croatian kuna ($42.5o) for 2 tickets, tax included. A print-out of the ticket is required and the drive is about 2 hours. We had only one brief stop at a town along the way.

The Kotor bus station is close to old town, but on the opposite side from our apartment. Marjana kindly offered to drive us, and would not accept payment. The bus station is relatively small and easy to navigate. There’s no need to arrive extra early, but do know there’s a station fee that has to be paid before you can board a bus. This wasn’t included in our ticket fee nor did I see any mention ahead of time. This caused a momentary panic when the driver asked to see the receipt for our local payment, but a quick dash inside (and a teller who waved me to the front of the short line) resolved the problem.

The bus itself was a comfortable tour bus/Greyhound-style motor coach. Free wi-fi was supposedly included, but we both had trouble connecting. The border crossing was easy with the driver collecting our passports for a brief stop. The bus stop in Dubrovnik is right by the cruise port. We caught a cab to the Old Dubrovnik main gaten this time because of our luggage, but there’s a bus stop just up on the main road by the newsstand where you can also buy a local bus ticket.

20160412_162711 — View from the bus of Croatian countryside and vineyards

Perast, Montenegro

20160412_115018 — View of the two small islands off of Perast

With some hours to spare before our motor coach to Dubrovnik, we took the opportunity to visit beautiful Perast which lies just a short distance north from Kotor. We’d driven past the town on our way to the Ostrog Monastery, admiring the lovely old town and the two achingly picturesque little islands just off shore. One island hosts a monastery which is closed to the public, but the church on the other island is open to visitors.

With directions from Maryjana, we caught the local bus just across the road from the modern Kamelia Shopping Centre, a mere block from our apartment. The bus ride is ridiculously cheap, about €1pp and takes only 30 minutes or so. We were let off near the spot where you can hire boats to take you out to the islands. Our boat ride cost about €5 apiece. We sailed around the islands and then were dropped off at the church island for 30 minutes. The boat continued to shuttle back and forth and we could have ridden back later, but we had plenty of time.

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The little church is a gem and the story behind it fascinating. The entire island is man-made and generations in the making. Legend has it that two brothers found a perfectly-preserved portrait of the Madonna floating in that spot and were told to build a church there. They shared the word with their fellow villagers and from then on, fishermen went out, dropping rocks until the island was formed. The miraculous painting hangs in the church today along with a collection of silver offerings to the Virgin. A docent told us about the church and then, for a small fee, we explored the collection of seafaring paintings and artifacts in a museum upstairs.

DSCF2004 — Church ceiling with silver offerings running along the lower edge

20160412_121225 — Museum above the church

Upon returning to shore, our boatman told us that we’d just missed the bus, which runs every half hour. He said we had time for a quick lunch and recommended a waterside Italian restaurant a short walk away called the Palace Jelena “caffe and pizzeria.” He also assured us that the bus would stop anywhere nearby if we just held out an arm.

We enjoyed delicious pizza, pasta and cold beer within eyesight of the boat and the spot where we’d been dropped off by the bus. We explained our time constraints to the waiter and food was on the table in no time. With the road just beside us, I figured we couldn’t miss the bus, but still couldn’t help worrying just a bit since we had to catch the motor coach to Dubrovnik. Oh well, worst case surely we could hail a taxi or…something.

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We had to walk past the boatman who’d instructed us on the hold-your-arm-out bit and got reassurance that the system would work and a promise that they’d keep an eye on us. Sure enough, the bus came along in a matter of minutes, we held our arms out, and were on our way back to Kotor. Clockwork!

April 12, 2016