CATCH UP BLOG - Koh Samet May 2008

CATCH UP BLOG
We are getting really good at the travelling thing now - we boarded the bus at Bangkok (and very plush it was too) to Koh Samet. We knew that the bus couldn’t go all the way to the said destination as it is an island but we were disturbed when the bus pulled up at a roundabout in the middle of nowhere and the bus driver shouted “Samet, Samet, Samet” at us which we took to mean we had to get off the bus - now dear readers, this is where our hardened traveller experience came to the fore as the rainy season had made itself known on the motorway roundabout - I physically stopped the lady removing our bags from the bus. “What happens now?”, I asked and was informed with a vague pointing into the distance that a minibus would take us to the boat pier. However, I would not allow her to remove the bags from the bus until the said minibus arrived. I had terrible pictures of the Corcoran’s stranded in the rain at a random roundabout (and the man was getting hungry…). Needless to say, Thai efficiency ruled and we got the minibus to the boat pier at Ban Phe where we were to board our “ferry”. For ferry, read small dodgy wooden boat, packed to the gills with supplies of beer and Bacardi Breezers for the island as well as tourists and island dwellers. We use the stack of wobbly tyres to board the boat and so, to Koh Samet.

Ah, paradise white beaches, clear blue seas, happy people and delicious food - the Corcoran’s ask for no more!

We spend a week doing nothing more than soaking up the rays and cooling off in the water. We don’t even have to move to eat as a parade of beach sellers porveyed their wares of fruit and delicious papaya salad. Paul’s favourite was the wizened old lady who walked the beach with a barbecue, producing amazing splcy chicken!

We hired a scooter to check out the rest of the island. We went to the west side where we had a look at really splurging on our accommodation. While the bay and the beach were nice, the accommodation wasn’t all that great and the cheapest room available was 40 GBP a night and we got more for our money in the accommodation we had chosen which was less than half the price (we are getting good at this budgeting thing…!)

There was a nice bar on this beach which we decided to visit later that day to watch the sunset. The plan was to visit the southern tip of the island but due to the very broken roads on steep hills , the Corcoran’s decided to turn back (it wasn’t really fair on the scooter to attempt that with both of us on it!). Later that day we returned to the bar above to watch the sunset. Unfortunately the weather was a bit cloudy so it wasn’t all that spectacular but the cocktails were good!

We spent the next few days indulging in the sunbathing and sea. Paul was desperate to get some fishing in so the Corcoran’s decided to have a seafaring adventure!

We hire a 10 foot boat with outboard, rods, bait and extra fuel and are given directions to a distant rocky island where there are “many fish”. Just before we set off, a wave fills the bottom of the boat which we should have seen as a sign. The further out we go, the more the waves seem determined to fill the back of the boat. As lips tighten and eyes widen, we realise just how small our boat is. A hurried family meeting ensues and we return to shore which was almost as scary. A new record though - with 3 hours fishing completed in half an hour. Big boats only from now on.

A few more days before we take a speedboat, bus, taxi and two planes back to England…..

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