Blogs from Ko Samet, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 16

Yesterday was our last day in Bangkok and we really couldn't motivate ourselves to do anything spectacular aside from a dip in the hostel's tiny pool (it only takes about 4 strokes to reach the other end!) and lounge around in the bar, beerless for the most part. It's nice to have some down time every now and again, espeically when the hostel you're staying in feels so comfortable. Today it was time for our big trip to the beach, something we've not managed to do so far on this trip. We lugged our packs over to the east bus station and got ourselves a ticket on an air conditioned bus to Banphe on the coast for a mere 134 Baht each, which is about ฃ2. The journey took 3 hours and was very comfy and ... read more

Arrived Baan Pae in the morning... so deadddddd... but seeing green water.. local markets.. made me excited.. nice.. Spending around 30 mins to reach Koh Samet... wow.. it's nice to be back here again.. Life at beach always fun.. Holly and I spent our day renting a motobike to explore island.. taking photos.. then dinner and party.. ... read more

Alas, looks like it's time for me to drag my wandering ass back to reality. It's mindboggling how quickly 3 months of your life can fly by in a blur right before your face, and at the end of it all you find yourself sitting there thinking, "What the hell have I really done or accomplished in all that time?" It's not much of an answer, really, but I've met so many amazing people, seen far too many cool places to list and experienced cultures I never fathomed I would, so I'm fairly satisfied with the time I spent in SE Asia this summer. Almost expectedly, it wasn't nearly long enough, but I'm more than ready to head home and catch up with all the people I ditched (again) for months at a time. The last ... read more

Well things have settled down slightly...! We've checked into a bungalow on Ko Samet for the next week in the hope that our card will arrive before we have to depart. The owner of the hostel seemed very grateful for the lump sum of baht they recveived and after some red hot bartering gave us 'good price' on bungalow. Down from 800B ($28) to 500B ($16) but now they seem to clean our room daily as well - it needs it. Since our last posting we met another lovely English couple Smudger and 'elen, who kept us thoroughly entertained the other night with stories of their adventures from visiting Thailand over the past 10 or so years. We gleaned some valuable advice on the workings of the police and culture which will no doubt come in ... read more

Aloha everyone. Just got back from my first island experience in Thailand! What better way to end a week of workin at the clinic then to skip off to an island for the weekend?! We all got off for the day on Friday and left early to make the three hour drive and half hour boat trip to Ko Samet Island. The nine of us (me, my roommates, our friend Sukaman, and three people from KEI) took this awesome little boat ride that felt more like a roller coaster. Then we got to the island, had to wade through the ocean with our bags, and then stumbled onto the sand. Samet is a pretty big island on the Gulf of Thailand, dedicated to tourism, mostly foreigners. It was crazy walking down the beach, almost all Western ... read more