Blogs from Ko Samet, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 18

Well, this is my last full day in Thailand for this trip. I left Koh Samet this morning, took a ferry to the mainland and a minibus back to Bangkok. About 4 hours total to Bangkok. Tonight I am having dinner with Will. I am meeting her in about 30 minutes so this will be short. I will add my pics when I get back home. Took several nice shots of the Kai Saew, the beach where I stayed. The Kai Saew Villas were very nice, but a new place called Samed Villa looks good too. Back at the Asia Hotel again. This is my third time staying here. I have a 7:15 am flight tomorrow morning and I need to leave for the airport at 5 am. I am going to try to stay up ... read more

I arrived this afternoon from Pattaya. This place is the antithesis of Pattaya. Beautiful beaches, soft white sand, and very peaceful. This is a place to relax. There are a limited number of bars and restaurants, not like the bar girl places in Pattaya at all. A Thai woman who worked at the Asia Hotel recommended this place to me. This is where she goes for vacation. I will only be here for 3 days. Then back to Bangkok for my flight home. I will take some pics tomorrow. Today I just unpacked and did a nice walk along the beach. Had a nice lunch near the beach. Very laid back. I won't be writing too much since internet access costs $1.50/hour compared to $0.50 in Chiang Mai and a $1.00 in Bangkok. I did find ... read more

next day we woke bright and early to take advantage of another day and another beach. We had ended up on one of the more remote beaches so getting to where the majority of the action was entailed a trek through the jungle. I kinda like ko samet, lots of thai tourists, enough bankpackers, not too rowdy, not too quiet. We had a boring day, swimming, listening to Jack Johnson (again!), eating banana pancakes, drinking shakes. We had a great afternoon jamming away on the guitars too, until some random thai woman opened our door and yelled "excuse me!" I think she didn't like the sweet music we were playing, Bandy thought she'd just got the wrong room. She looked pissed off to me! That night we went out in search of action, but there wasn't ... read more

What can I say about Ko Samet? It's a small island just 200k from Bangkok and can be reached in 15 mins from the mainland, but it's so far removed from the hustle and bustle of mainland Thailand. Considering the journey down to Pattaya which I mentioned last time, the next leg to get here was relatively painless. We got a cab (which was a squeeze) to take us to Ban Phe pier and then hired a speedboat to take us across to the island. It's so simple here, the speedboad literally just backed up to the beach we wanted and we had to get off into the water and carry our bags ashore. Glad I had my sandals on! The beaches are fab, all dazzling white sand which is really unlike anywhere else I've been ... read more

Contrast Thailand seems to entertain a sort of dualism. On the one hand, it is a tropical paradise, teeming with exotic fruits, friendly people, and more beauty than one thought possible. On the other, it contains one of the world’s most populous cities, chalked full of smog, traffic jams, and scam artists. Despite being polar opposites, Thailand is both options. On our last journey Thailand was really only the first description. We stayed in the city only one night and were mesmerized by the newness of everything. We left early the next morning and never had a chance to acquaint ourselves with this metropolis. Instead we stayed on white sandy beaches with warm turquoise water and locals who had smiles permanently affixed to their faces. The only indication that there was another side to Thailand came ... read more