The day I was evacuated from Koh Tao by the Thai Navy was probably the most epic part of the trip that I didn’t have to pay for. I can now say that I’ve ridden in a military helicopter and aircraft carrier. Hopefully an experience that I won’t be repeating any time soon.
Molly had a Thai friend, Prai, on Koh Phangan that was keeping us updated with all the latest news about when we might actually be able to get off Koh Tao. We had originally planned on leaving on Sunday, March 27th (the day of the flood), and it was already Wednesday the 30th. Molly and I both had flights scheduled to leave Bangkok on Friday, April 1st. It looked like we weren’t going to make it back in time. We booked tickets for a ferry to Koh Phangan leaving Koh Tao on the 31st, since it was a bigger island and we thought we might be able to make it back to the mainland easier.
Prai called Molly and told her that the Navy were evacuating people, but we had to sign up on some list to get out of Koh Tao. Molly jumped on that information and checked with the staff at the resort (who also did all travel bookings) and they confirmed it, but said we had to go to the pier to sign up.
We decided to go for it, so we headed up to our room for a hasty pack. Both our bags were completely empty since we had washed them out from the flood, so we had to repack absolutely everything.
At around 12pm we caught a taxi to the main pier. The weather was dismal and rainy. We got in the line for destination Bangkok, and just happened to meet a really kind man who told us we were at the wrong side of the island for the navy boats, but that he could take us there. About 15 minutes later we ended up at some resort, signed up for the evacuation, got purple stickers indicating we were Bangkok bound, and sat and waited. We expected to board the boat in a few hours.
After about an hour the staff announced there would be helicopters for the old, sick, pregnant women and families with children. Half an hour later they announced that women could go to, so we got loaded up in another taxi and taken to the helicopter launch pad, to wait in another line. Luckily we were fairly close to the front of the line, and only had to wait about 45 minutes for our turn. We had to crouch on the ground and cover our faces when the helicopter landed, because the force from the blades sprayed us with gravel. They had us run into the helicopter to get us loaded as quickly as possible.
During our short helicopter ride everyone was taking pictures and smiling, just enjoying the experience. It was fun and exciting because we didn’t feel like we were in any serious danger.
Disembarking on the aircraft carrier was awesome. There was a line of Navy men waiting leading the way to the entrance to the ship, all in matching blue sweatshirts. They had us jump out and run to the entrance, and as I passed each officer he patted my shoulder. They passed our backpacks down the line and into the ship. All the bags were loaded into an elevator and we were sent down some narrow, steep stairs. We ended up in what looked like a giant cargo bay, it reminded me of a school gym.
The whole process was very organized and efficient. Once on the boat we had to register our names, nationality and destination, and drop off our big bags in a holding area. There was an area with beds designated for the sick and older people, with an attached medical centre. I think some rooms were actually provided to families with babies. Molly and I were given pieces of cardboard to sleep on, and picked a spot on the ground and make ourselves comfortable. It was about 3:30pm.
A food station served food for most of the afternoon and evening (basic rice with some meat/veg/egg) and bottled water was readily available. There was even a snack bar where we could purchase chips and candy.
We slept for a few hours in the afternoon, and were woken up and instructed to move because they needed the space to store two helicopters. It was neat watching them bring the helicopters in. We had to find another spot to sleep which was a bit tougher with more people, but we moved some mats together and squeezed in. As far as I know, there were about 1200 people evacuated on the boat.
We didn’t leave Koh Tao until about 8pm, scheduled to arrive at about 7am. We headed north all along the coast, to dock somewhere a couple hours from Bangkok. They couldn’t take us to the nearer Chumpon or Surat Thani because the mainland was too flooded.
I read and slept. Around 9:30pm they turned off the main lights, and turned on these red bedtime lights. I woke up around 6:00am. Sometime during the night someone had made a PowerPoint presentation, and it was playing on the wall. Slides pointed out where the bathroom and smoking areas were, what time we could expect breakfast (6:30am), and when we should arrive (7:30am). There was even one apologising for the inconvenience and reminding everyone to “KEEP SMILING J”. In the bathroom, I saw a girl putting on makeup. Maybe to look good for the cameras?
There were14 buses heading to Bangkok/the airport. Everyone was surprisingly relaxed and orderly when it came time to get off. Outside, there were cameramen filming us as we walked out. There were some stands set up, selling Navy baseball hats (of course)! The officers on the boat waved down at us. All the Thai Navy officers were so nice. The whole time smiling and trying to be helpful. Even they were taking pictures throughout. They seemed excited to be part of the evacuation.
The bus ride seemed long. They dropped us at Khao San Road. There were some booths with water and snacks, and when we took some we had about 5 people take our picture. I’d like to know what happened to all these photos.
Overall, my evacuation experience was more an exciting adventure than a disastrous hassle. Apparently it wasn't so easy for everyone. I heard stories about people waiting all day and unable to get on the boat. We were actually pretty lucky.
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