Koh Sichang

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The power of wi-fi

Hello folks!

As we reported yesterday, we're on Ko Sichang (or Koh Sichang, or Koh Si Chang, or Ko Si Chang) now.

We came from Ko Samet

Ko Samet was really pretty. We stayed at the Ao Phai Huts. A good place to stay, not too expensive. But not all the bungalows are equally clean or well maintained. Our airco started having a life of it's own after a short while, switching on and off and beeping all the time. We actually had to cut the electricity to the machine because it just wouldn't stop. Luckily we also had a fan in our hut, otherwise we'd have to switch bungalows. We didn't pay for the airco by the way! The lady showed us our hut, noticed that there was a fan and airco in it and said "same price as fan". So of course we took it. Perhaps now we know why!

We weren't alone

During our trip we really got used to all the extra inhabitants in our rooms. Geckos, millions of ants, small spiders, beetles, centipods, mosquitos, etc. But this time we had a special guest.

While in bed (a mattras on the floor) and watching something on the laptop Lise had a good fright as she saw something running across the opposite wall. All the lights were off. So when I switched on the light we saw a big spider sitting there. It wasn't huge, just pretty big. (I caught it the next day and we'll just say it was wider than the opening of the glass.) I tried to catch it but it was super fast. I've never seen a spider move that fast before. It had fled into the bathroom. I had to look for it for a while and eventually found it in a corner, so there was no way I could catch it. I tried, but then it just fled out of reach. Much to my surprise (and delight) Lise said it was ok! She had no problem with the big spider in the bathroom. Even though the door couldn't be closed completely, and if it could, there was a huge gap underneath it so the spider could come back anytime it wanted to.

But it didn't. We watched the rest of some episode and went to sleep. The next evening Lise saw the spider again in the bathroom. To my surprise it didn't move when I tried to catch it. After admiring it for a second I set it free. Outside the hut of course.

The Beach

Ko Samet has a few very nice beaches to offer. Beaches like you see in the movies and on post cards. Beaches you think are photoshoped. But the truth is, those beaches do seem to exist. And you can find a few on Ko Samet. With fine white sand and clear blue water. And if you feel that it's not enough to sunbathe on a nice beach like that for a while, wait until it gets darker. Then all the lights come on and the tables get put on the beach.

Yes. Tables on the beach, right next to the water, with cosy romantic lights and mats and pillows to settle yourself in completely. Combine that with very good yet cheap food and cocktails. You just do the dreaming. No surpise we enjoyed every minute of it!

We spent 2 nights on Ko Samet, enjoying the beaches and beach restaurants during the days and evenings. But after that, we had to leave Ko Samet behind.

From Ko Samet to Ko Sichang

We left the same way we came, by boat. Getting on the boat was another thing. We had to get from some steps on a boat, and from that boat, over 2 railings, onto another boat. I got on first, helped Lise, and then helped a number of other people since they were struggling with their luggage.

The trip took a little longer this time as the sea was wilder. Lise didn't really thank the sea for that. But aside from a bit of an upset stomach there were no problems. We reached the mainland again after crossing three boats this time and started looking for a taxi or minibus to Pattaya or Chonburi, places where we imagined we could get on a boat to Ko Sichang. Of course we didn't have to look long.

Cheap taxi ride

People came up to us to offer us all kinds or rides. We told them we we're trying to get to Ko Sichang. No problem! For 1500 baht each they would get us there! ... that wouldn't work.

Not only did we simply not have 3000 baht, the price was just way too high. We had a total of 1600 baht I think, and we weren't spending it all on a taxi ride. It came down to bidding, but I had set a limit of 1000 baht. Not because I was bidding hard, but because I lied that it was all the money we had. They first tried 1500 for the two of us. I said we didn't have 1500. Then 1200, I replied the same. Then 1100. With a big smile on my face I replied that we really didn't have that money. So eventually they agread to drive us all the way from Ban Peh to Chonburi (Ko Sichang pier) for 1000 baht in our own private airconditioned taxi. From 3000 to 1000 baht, not that bad. In Belgium you'd have to work for a month to pay that taxi ride!

A very friendly man

As agreed we were dropped off at Ko Sichang pier in Chonburi. Although the driver (with who'm we spent more than an hour in the taxi) didn't say a word during the ride and didn't look like smiling any time soon, he was actually very nice. Getting our bags for us and walking me to the place where I could buy tickets for the boat. Of course I bought them after he was gone, because as far as he knew we just paid him all the money we had.

The taxi driver however, was not the friendly man we're talking about. After he was gone I paid 80 baht to get Lise and me from the Ko Sichang pier to Ko Sichang. While I arranged that Lise waited in the shadow with our bags. When I had left to buy the tickets a man came up to me with an urgent look on his face, pointed to his watch and stuck four fingers in the air. I assumed the boat was leaving in four minutes. But another man came up to me informing me that the boat left at 4pm, not in 4 minutes. So we had 34 minutes left. The man spole English very well. And he was the first to ask us about the economy in Belgium/Europe. We talked for the remaining half hour. It was clear to us that he worked in the financial/economy sector. He lives in Chonburi, but has never visited Ko Sichang, Ko Samet or Ko Chang. As it turns out he can't stand the mosquitos ... hehe.

Boat to Ko Sichang

At 4pm the boat left, well, almost. Thai don't really care about when the boat leaves exactly. Lise, myself and a few other people were on the boat at 4pm. A lot of others got on at about 4:10pm as a few delivery men delivered some boxes etc that had to be shipped to the island.

Eventually we left, about 20 minutes late. Thanks to the clamer sea and the heavy load the boat didn't roll from side to side. So it was an easy boat ride to Ko Sichang with no upset stomachs.

We arrived just as the tourist office, which is located on the pier, was closing. The man who was closing up opened the doors again to give us a map. A nice gesture! But the map didn't really help us since it didn't have any places to sleep on it. So we had to look for an internet café, the rest you already read in our small post yesterday.

Sri Phitsanu Bungalow

Yesterday we spent the night at Sri Phitsanu Bungalow. The view there was great, and the room was equally nice. Our room was built upon the rocks. So half of the walls were just (roughly smoothed out) rocks.

The bad part of it all was the bed. We haven't tried it, but we suspect the rocks might have been softer than the bed, and the pillows!

After paying a mere 700 baht for a view and room that nice, with airconditioning we had a short rest. It was welcome because we had done a lot of walking from the marina (we came by boat of course) to the first (available) internet café. There are a lot of hills here, so going up and down with our packs tends to wear you down.

Feeling hungry

When we were rested we went back up (a lot of steep stairs) to the little restaurant. It was very cosy, with nice lights all around, on top of the cliff. Which also made it the ideal place for a windmill park. We didn't let the wind bother us too much and ordered something from the menu. We had to wait for a while because other people (not sure if they were all guests or just living there) had ordered before us. But eventually we received our food. We were glad we could finally eat.

We weren't that glad though when we finally actually ate ... I think the food qualified as the worst we had during the entire trip (including Cambodia). My dish (and I presume Lise's one as well) seemed to have been made in a total panic. My fried rice contained fresh rice as well, so I assume it was thrown in afterwards to have enough for a full dish. The chicken was ... dead. That's about all we can say about the undercooked chicken. We have no idea which parts of chicken we ate by the way. Except for the rice we can't be sure but we assume the other ingredients weren't really as fresh as they could have been. So apart from the rice, my food wasn't really a win. Lise left her plate unfinished as well. She should receive some kind of award though for eating as much of it as she did, since her pieces of chicken smelled like amoniac.

But to our surprise

Since the prices were rather low, and we had swallod it all down and away with a coke and a sprite (which you may remember is made of 93%!s(MISSING)ugar or something) we paid and agreed to stay somewhere else the next day. In the internet café we found 2 places to stay (thanks to the website of Lonely Planet, the travel bible!). We expected to see a lot of the toilet that evening and night. But to our surprise we didn't get or even feel sick at all. We watched The Boat That Rocked and a Darkwing Duck episode before going to sleep.

Conclusion

I think it's safe to advise people to enjoy the view and pretty rooms at the Sri Phitsanu Bungalow. Just don't eat there. It isn't a long walk from there to the main street where you can find better places to eat.

Sichang View Resort

is the name of the second place we found on the Lonely Planet site. We had packed all our stuff in the morning and had asked the Sri Phitsanu Bungalow staff to call for a tuk-tuk. A 50 baht ride later we were dropped off at the Sichang View Resort. The Lonely Planet site said that the restaurant here is pretty good, so that was a plus. The rooms here are a little more expensive, but since it's our last 2 nights and sleeping in the airplane is really not our idea of a good nights rest we'll just stay here. We chose a room for 900 baht a night. Which is about 10 euros per night, per person. (And that's expensive over here!)

There were rooms available but one had to be made up. So as we waited in the lobby we had a refreshing drink and I noticed a "Wi-fi hotspot" sticker behind the reception counter. The Lonely Planet site said nothing about that! But it was a very nice plus! So we're guessing we're not surprising anyone when we say we're writing this using the Sichang Resort wifi. As we waited we read the Belgian news (hey they finally burried MJ thank god!), read the loads of messages on different sites etc.

After about 40 minutes we were taken to our room. A very nice, clean place to stay the next 3 days (2 nights). Luckily we have a tv in our room so we don't have to miss out on the ultra weird Thai commercials. Honestly, you should see the commercials here. Girls pinching out extremely large blackheads on their faces, which they then kick in the air, after which the extremely large blackhead explodes in the sky into lots of smaller blackheads which then penetrate the girls face again ...

We are not making this up.

But the room is nice. We just got back from a small dinner, we hadn't eaten yet. We avoided having breakfast at the Sri Phitsanu Bungalow. Over here things tasted a whole lot better. However there was a bit of similar strange taste. We think that's due to the water on the island. You see, there isn't any drinkwater readily available on the islands Ko Samet and Ko Sichang. All the water has to be imported from the mainland. Then distributed across the islands.

That's more or less how far we are now. As I'm writing this Lise is having a nap on the bed. I believe she's really asleep. Because if she's not, she's watching a Muay Thai boxing match on the tv ... I'll try not to wake her up in a second. Though I'll probably fail because I need to make a lot of noise grabbing all the necessary equipment to upload at least a few pictures to go with this blog entry.

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Photos

Ao Phai Huts bathroom
The "modest" bathroom at Ao Phai Huts on Ko Samet. Very rudimentary (the sink drain actually ends just above the floor). You can't flush the toilet btw, just add water (by hand)

Guest
The extra guest in our hut on Ko Samet, Ao Phai Huts. Moments later it was released into the wild

Ko Samet beach dinner
First evening on Ko Samet, dinner on the beach, right next to the water

Ao Phai beach
Nothing more to add to that, really

Ko Samet beach dinner 2
Dinner on the beach at Jeps Restaurant, second evening

Ko Sichang, Sri Phitsanu Bungalow
The view from our terras at Sri Phitsanu Bungalow on Ko Sichang

Ko Sichang, Sri Phitsanu Bungalow
Another view from our terras at Sri Phitsanu Bungalow on Ko Sichang

Ko Sichang, Sri Phitsanu Bungalow
Our room "on the rocks" on Ko Sichang, Sri Phitsanu Bungalow

Comments

[William]

My take and I just got back
I was introduced on boat to a Thai Police man and another Thai man who spoke great English. Rare! They were very polite and nice. You get more if you give some of it. Does help that my new wife is with me and is very personable. So nice start, except the tide was low and the ramp was down to boat and not big. I have bad feet from diabetes and could see me falling down. Damn hate to ask for help but immediately got it. I am 59 so I am old. Went to Royal Palace which was recommended by Policeman. Tried giving him a tip and he gave me a hug. Don't see that much in Thailand from a stranger, but nice. Everyone were so good, my room nothing to rant about. I could smell the smoke and I hate that. But after A/C ran awhile it was ok, finally got to sleep. Ate breakfast at the resturant and it was excellent. The older couple who own much around the Koh were so kind. I may move there since I am retired and have a year visa. I am on my second one. Was here during the Vietnam War when I was a kid. You grow up fast. I ate out of a box for most of the year. Never enjoyed the Mess hall that was 125 degrees. Kinda takes it out of you. I ate there one time. I found a place to live, my wife worries I may get sick and can not get out to hospital. Island has a hospital but it is limited. Get real sick its the speed boat out.