Advertisement
Published: July 22nd 2010
Let the Nightmare Begin!
So we stepped off the ferry from the mainland into what we thought was going to be paradise... the stress started on the ride to the other side of the Island... let me rewind.. way back in 2006 while researching my first holiday, I found a 'quaint' little resort called Mai Pen Rai Bungalows on Than Sadet Beach... its located on the western end of the island and the beach is home to only about 3 resorts. Its accessible by boat or 4WD (4WD journey takes about an hour) so you are in the middle of nowhere... I have always wanted to go there but never found the time during my travels.
The bungalows are basic small huts (some on the beach and some on the rocks at the far end of the beach). There is only electricity between 11am and 4pm then 6pm to midnight (ish). No hot water and rickety little bungalows a stones throw from the water.. we werent expecting too much considering we were paying 650 Baht per night... Anyway, we caught the 1pm resort 4WD there and the fun began - the driver threw all our bags on
the roof... and thats exactly what it was, the roof with nothing to hold them on top... we spent the next hour swaying between stress and laughter .... thinking that due to the rough road our bags were either going to go flying off and either land in a massive water puddle on the side of the road, or even worse go over the edge of some of the cliffs we were driving past, never to be seen again... I dont think any of us relaxed the whole time! Only in Thailand!
Once at the resort, with bags still intact (thats Thailand for you) we were left to find reception by ourselves. Once found, a western woman was there who didnt even acknowledge our presence.. turns out she is the 'receptionist' and so a thai lady that clearly was in training, sorted us out into our bungalows. We were pointed in the direction of our bungalows, so off we went in search of our beachfront bungalows. After viewing the inside, we agreed to swap the bungalows around, as Narelle had got the big one and Jakki and I were crammed in the smaller one (Thanks Naz!)
Our first
The Treehouses Beach
Was gorgeous in the water... crystal clear!impression of the resort was not what we had expected... the whole place seemed to have a bad vibe to it and it was dark/dingy... maybe it was the way in which we had been greeted that set that tone... We met a guy that had been staying there awhile and he told us over lunch that there was a GREAT little beach, a small 5 minute walk away... we decided to go check it out.. what we found was an amazing little Oasis! It was a gorgeous little beach with a small resort called 'The Treehouse'.
Narelle went for a massage late that afternoon so Jakki and I decided to head for a walk along to the other end of our beach. There is a restaurant at the top of the cliff called Plaa's which had great reviews so we thought we would have a sunset drink there... On the way up, we ran into a giant pig... seriously... we werent sure if it was wild or tame and whether we shoud be scared, but its moments like these that you wish you hadnt forgotten your camera!!! The pig was basically heading up to Plaa's too, up really
steep stairs in front of us... it kept stopping like it was waiting for us... very funny. The moment it got to a fork in the path and looked like it was heading left, we bolted past it and made it to Plaa's. We were later told that it was the pet pig of Plaa's owner... they had rescued it from some dogs the year before...
Night One Terror
Narelle eventually found us after her massage and we had dinner at Plaa's before heading back to our bungalows... with no nightlife on the beach we all had a pretty early night just chilling out on our balconies reading and chatting. We eventually went to bed and our adventure took a Blair Witch twist.... At about 2am the generator switched off and the beach fell deadly silent.. all our lights and fans went out... and then about 5 minutes after 'lights out' our 'Blair Witch Project' nightmare started... Jakki and I could both hear people walking around our bungalow and it clearly sounded like they were purposely 'creeping trying not to make noise'. We were terrified.... there was also a series of 'bangs' against our bungalow walls.
This went on for at least half hour. We both only had our mobile phones as lights so I had mine lit against one window and she had hers lit against the other... the windows were just bamboo like the rest of the hut and one (Jakki's side) was only secured by some string! It was so funny but also scary...
Eventually we decided we needed to investigate. We lit some candles and headed for the front door. I pushed Jakki forward saying 'you go first' (hehehe I'm a chicken I know!) before we headed outside... the candles were useless though and we couldnt see anything. We eventually headed back inside only to hear the noises start again.. we spent a very sleepless night terrified... thinking we were in a Thai version of Blair Witch Project... lol
The next morning I went outside to find Narelle in tears, turns out her mattress was modelled off the Flintstones cartoon series and resembled a rock! Her back had taken a turn for the worse and she was in alot of pain. Thai mattresses are renowned for being hard, but I think Narelle got one of the worse she could have..
I remember sleeping on one of those in Laos a few years back and if you have a bad back, its probably not the best nights sleep... We had breakfast at the Treehouse then headed for the beach, where we swam and tanned all day.... some of us more than others... by the end of the day two girlies were sunburnt and one wasnt (hint: the blog writer who stayed in the shade a bit typing wasnt!!!!!).
Night Two Nightmare
That night we headed back to the resort before dark hit (as the pathway was pretty treacherous) and were on our balconies when the storm hit... it was raining heavily so we decided we would eat at our resort. I tried to access internet but it was down due to the weather... It was about 8pm when we finally sat down to eat at the resort restaurant. I ordered a papaya salad and asked for it to be med/hot. What transpired next was a 12 birdseye chilli papaya salad being served, tears of pure hotness rolling down my face trying to eat it, and a bad recommendation of drink from the waiter... I will leave it
at that but our experience in the restaurant that night combined with the rest of the events that took place became the final straw for us....
Since it was raining we all decided to have an early night and were in bed asleep by 9pm. At about 11pm I woke up REALLY sick and panic set in that I might need a visit to the hospital... After discussion with Narelle and Jakki (who both were wonderful in looking after me) and consultation with the waiting staff, I managed to eventually get back to sleep... but it turned into another long night as soon as the electricity switched off.... the noises and banging on our bungalow started again and Jakki and I spent a long long night terrified to sleep! I have no idea who it was, but I know I wasnt hallucinating!
Lets Get The F**K out of here!
The next morning I got up out of bed and went to sit, tired and cranky on the balcony. Narelle came over and asked if I wanted to leave.. I was like "YES NOW".. we then asked Jakki if she wanted to stay and she
was like "NO" so the decision was made... we were out of there!!! I realised we had about 45 minutes until the Ko Samui boat turned up and after a really quick chat we all agreed Ko Samui it was... we rushed to get packed and were checking out just as the boat pulled up. I made a complaint to Clancy (the rude receptionist from Day 1) who didnt seem too concerned... and we couldnt get out of there quick enough.. jumping on the boat we all felt a sense of relief as the boat pulled away...
We made a loose plan for when we got to Samui... deciding to head to Ark Bar which is a well known backpacker place right in the middle of Chaweng Beach (the main party beach of Ko Samui). We decided we would look at their rooms, have some breakfast and then the girls would hang there while I did a quick search of the surrounding accommodation for something. We wanted budget considering we had lost 3 nights paid accommodation leaving Mai Pen Rai.
When we arrived at Ark Bar, I asked how much their rooms were... they quoted 1200 baht per
room including breakfast... I went to have a look at one of the rooms and was stoked.. it was a complete bargain, and really nice!! I told the girls to check it out to make sure they were happy and in agreeance we took two rooms. EASY AS! We then headed to the restaurant where we devoured the best burgers in Thailand... for 1200 baht we got air-conditioning, hot water, balcony, fridge, electronic safety deposit box, cable tv, a gorgeous little pool, a resort right on the beach which is one of the beaches most popular drinking spots and breakfast each day! Incredible value... only downside? It was right under the flight path of the airport... but that didnt disturb us too much anyway!
Next blog: Samui Paradise!!
Love to all
Reet xxxxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.1s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0526s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jade
non-member comment
awesome blogs reety!! what a disaster on KPN you poor thing.. glad you're better now andhope you enjoyed your time in Samui Ark Bar rooms look so clean and fresh!! well done. xxx