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Published: June 12th 2006
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Koh Samet
The beach... Straight after finishing my time on the ranch in Oz I returned to Brisbane (where I found a much nicer hostel than where I was put before) to spend the night before a fourteen hour commute to Bangkok. A swift internal flight between Brisbane and Sydney, then non-stop for nine hours from Sydney to Bangkok. I must be racking up some serious air miles by now, maybe when I have some time on my hands I'll work out how many!
Anyway, I wanted to see a couple of the islands (among other things, but you'll have to keep checking back to find out what these are!) and I heard the most popular islands like Koh Samui and Koh Phanagn have become completely ruined by tourism (very believeable). I decided to try Koh Samet first. Most of Koh Samet is a national park and you have to pay 200 baht to enter (or 20 if you are Thai!). Maybe this explains why it is more poular with Thai people as a holiday destination, it was refreshing to be somewhere not overrun with westerners, fucking the place up! I got a little hut with aircon near the beach, and spent an enjoyable
few days there. The water was warm and inviting, the sun was shining, and after swimming about all day I got quite badly sunburned across my shoulders! I also picked up a cool tattoo of a Chinese dragon on my left arm, a mate of the tattooist took some pictures with the camera for me, but maybe look away if you don't like needles !!
After Koh Samet, it was back to the mainland on the ferry and two hours by minibus to the pier for Koh Chang ("chang" is Thai for 'elephant', so this translates to "Elephant Island"). Koh Chang is a slightly larger island, mainly filled with mountainous jungle, but there are also some fantastic beaches (the best being Hat Tha Nam, or 'Lonely Beach'). After getting onto the island I was feeling a bit rough, and it was hotter than hell (as usual!), so I decided to crash at the first hotel I came across. I spent the afternoon nursing my increasingly painful sunburn and tried to get some sleep lying on my stomach. Unfortuneately, by morning I had developed a dodgy stomach too. I had a temperature, my shoulders were absolutely burning, I ahd chronic
dihorrea, and it was a battle to get outside my room. Thankfully there was a pharmacy almost directly opposite. In a ten minute window of not feeling like I was about to die, I staggered the twenty yards and listed my symptoms. I left with a carrier bag of anti-stomach-cramp drugs, rehydration solutions, and some hardcore antibiotics (which were thankfully available over the counter) to kill whatever it was before it killed me!
Another two days passed, with me in my room eating pills, applying lotion, and drinking gallons of water. After this I was recovered enough to try and see some of the island beyond a hotel room! The best option was to rent a vehicle to explore the island at my own pace. The cheapest option was a scooter, but I was still feeling pretty rough and wasn't sure I could handle a day on a scooter, exposed to the full force of the sun. Whatcaught my eye was the big, shiny, four door pickup truck advertised. After discovering that it was less than twenty quid to rent for the day, I figured I might give it a go...
Yes, I know I don't actually have
a driving licence for a car, and the last time I drove a car must be seven years ago, but I wasn't going to tell them that !! When the guy turned up in the pickup I realised I may have bitten off more than I could chew, the thing was a fucking monster! To make matters worse, as I headed off down the west coast, the warnings of the rental man about the "steep" roads were looking quite an understatement. Koh Chang must have the most dangerous, mountain roads I have ever seen in my life! Ludicrously steep climbs and drops, narrow, twisting roads along cliff edges with certain death if you miscalculate. Not the best arena to relearn my car driving skills, but I had already paid my twenty quid, so it was do or die (very literally!).
Anyway, I survived the journey. It was a feat of concentration, and a few rest stops along the way to both take in the sights and resettle my nerves, but I got all the way down the west coast as far as you can go to Bang Bao. Unfortuneately you can't drive all the way around the island, so
Koh Samet
Statue on the rocks... I had to go through it all again to get back to the north of the island before driving the east coast. On my return to the north, I encountered victims of the dangerous roads, reconfirming my fears. A couple from Singapore who had rented a scooter were writhing in the road covered in blood. After helping them to the pickup and moving the bike off the road, luckily some locals happened across us and knew where the clinic was. They seemed to know what they were doing (I suppose this is not a rare sight to them), and took the couple in their van. I could really have done without this as my nerves were frayed enough already, but made it back to the hotel alright and relaxed over some lunch.
The east coast road looked an easier drive, at least by the map in the tourist booklet. Mercifully it was. I had a lot more relaxed drive and enjoyed some great scenery along the way. So now, back to Bangkok onthe bus for six hours. Still stuff in Bangkok I want to see before heading off on another little adventure...
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