It was such a routine and chill environment at Rob’s place that I genuinely didn’t want to leave. But the window finally came on a Sunday morning.  We all went out as a family to Sun Sea Café and enjoyed some delicious cappuccinos under a postcard-blue sky. We chatted about everything from travel to trading.  Turns out Rob’s wife trades bitcoin, and since crypto never sleeps, neither does she on weekends.

After a beautiful send-off, I kept rolling on the bike toward the ferry terminal.  I had no clue what the boat schedule was, I would wing it.  Apparently, there was a boat leaving at 2:30pm.  It was now 2:28.  I bought my ticket and the woman behind the counter looked up and said, “You go now!”  No time to argue.  I zipped through the gates on the Tern, folded it up ninja-style, and hustled aboard. The boat captain just waved me on—no time to charge for baggage, not even a glance.

The seas were eerily smooth on the speedboat crossing, but as I would soon find out, they knew something I didn’t: a storm was brewing. Turns out this was the last boat of the day. When I had asked about the next one, the woman said “5pm boat fully booked,” which in Thai ferry-speak meant: “Yeah, that boat’s not happening.” They never say cancellations directly. They never say anything clearly, really. But somehow, yet again, I got lucky. Very lucky.