On the weekend of the 7th and 8th – I went back to Ko Samet to meet up with some of my fellow teacher tr
ainees. It was Ashley's birthday weekend and we definitly celebrated – with these really cruel concoctions of Thai Whiskey and Coke- but they put it in a bucket so you can share with friends. It was a lovely weekend but there a few things that made it drastically different from the first I had gone there. One being that it's peak tourist season in Thailand now, so all the beautiful bungalows that I stayed in previously were booked up and as much as double the price – now, this is still better than most island get-aways,( something that wouldn't phase me with my U.S. Salary) but on my humble Thai salary, it wasn't easy to take, seeing how I'd like to travel as much as possible yet still be able to afford it!
So, not only were the rooms double the price – a lot of the perferred places to stay were booked up! Not unless I wanted to pay more than what I budgeted for! There was a private house on the southern tip of Ko Samet that was available that came with it's own private swimming pool, full bar, private beach, any amenity you want - including a butler for only 5,000 Baht ( low season ) – which is the
equivalent to a little less than $200 U.S. Not bad, but not affordable with my Thai salary. So those of you who want to experience the good life with your western salary, I can give you the name of the rental :)
So you're wondering what I went with? I ended up sharing a bungalow with my friend Tammy – who too was trying to be budget conscious and got a bungalow for 1,500 Baht – which was about double what I paid for my bungalow last time I was there – and for a sub par room in comparison to the beautiful room I had last time...But, when I speaking to my other teacher trainees, who are professional backpackers – our accomadations were plush in comparison. Somehow they managed to squeeze 7 people in a teeny, tiny bamboo bungalow – that was a 3rd of the size that Tammy and I had..So, I shouldn't complain too much. This is an experience! Saturday night was good, we had dinner with our huge group and ended up dancing at the club that had a wonderful cover band – they sung all the hit songs so perfectly.
The next day, our group spent eating breakfast and basking in the sun. We all went swimming in the ocean and enjoyed the fact that we were on the more secluded part of Koh Samet – so we were away from th
e high energy of other vacationers which was nice, considering we wanted to take it easy. Tammy and I indulged and got massages for 350 Baht which is about $11-13 U.S. Our group split up and Tammy and I were about to leave to head back to Bangkok – we were actually on the back of a taxi truck that was headed toward the ferry when we bumped into our friends, Simon and Ashley, the birthday boy. They then talked us into staying and within 15 seconds Tammy and I hopped off the truck and stayed another night with no place to stay – we then became nomads with our backpacks....you'll never guess it, but Ashley invited us to stay with our group that had the 7 people in a teeny tiny hut...I knew that wasn't gonna fly completely with me – but I figured, something will work out...and it did, Tammy and I ended up staying in less crowded quarters with other friends, but the only thing was I didnt get a good nights rest. Why you ask? First, I was about to use the restroom to wash up and such, but there was this HUGE spider – the legs were about 5 Inches and the body was decent size. I just couldn't bring myself to enter the restroom – so I took care of things outside as if I were camping. And Well, before Tammy and I were about to go to bed, our friends conveniently decided to say, “Hey, you see all these red bites ( which they showed us their arms and there was at least 100, I am not even exagerateing!) this is what happens to you when you sleep in these beds.” So with that warning, I began to DEET myself like crazy – and covered myself as much as poss
ible with the little beach clothing I had, since I didnt have my backpack with me. Needless to say I didn't have sweetdreams – only nightmares which included bed bugs or bugs of any sort attacking me. I already had my fair share of bug bites, and again anyone who knows me well, knows that mosquitos and bugs love me. I kept waking up every hour or so. But hey, it was better than sleeping on the beach! All in all, I am glad I went, it was an experience I wont seek out in the future, but I am glad that I was a true nomadic backpacker for a few days :) It's a beautiful Island and it's only a 4 hour journey from Bangkok – you just can't beat that.
ainees. It was Ashley's birthday weekend and we definitly celebrated – with these really cruel concoctions of Thai Whiskey and Coke- but they put it in a bucket so you can share with friends. It was a lovely weekend but there a few things that made it drastically different from the first I had gone there. One being that it's peak tourist season in Thailand now, so all the beautiful bungalows that I stayed in previously were booked up and as much as double the price – now, this is still better than most island get-aways,( something that wouldn't phase me with my U.S. Salary) but on my humble Thai salary, it wasn't easy to take, seeing how I'd like to travel as much as possible yet still be able to afford it!So, not only were the rooms double the price – a lot of the perferred places to stay were booked up! Not unless I wanted to pay more than what I budgeted for! There was a private house on the southern tip of Ko Samet that was available that came with it's own private swimming pool, full bar, private beach, any amenity you want - including a butler for only 5,000 Baht ( low season ) – which is the
equivalent to a little less than $200 U.S. Not bad, but not affordable with my Thai salary. So those of you who want to experience the good life with your western salary, I can give you the name of the rental :)So you're wondering what I went with? I ended up sharing a bungalow with my friend Tammy – who too was trying to be budget conscious and got a bungalow for 1,500 Baht – which was about double what I paid for my bungalow last time I was there – and for a sub par room in comparison to the beautiful room I had last time...But, when I speaking to my other teacher trainees, who are professional backpackers – our accomadations were plush in comparison. Somehow they managed to squeeze 7 people in a teeny, tiny bamboo bungalow – that was a 3rd of the size that Tammy and I had..So, I shouldn't complain too much. This is an experience! Saturday night was good, we had dinner with our huge group and ended up dancing at the club that had a wonderful cover band – they sung all the hit songs so perfectly.
The next day, our group spent eating breakfast and basking in the sun. We all went swimming in the ocean and enjoyed the fact that we were on the more secluded part of Koh Samet – so we were away from th
e high energy of other vacationers which was nice, considering we wanted to take it easy. Tammy and I indulged and got massages for 350 Baht which is about $11-13 U.S. Our group split up and Tammy and I were about to leave to head back to Bangkok – we were actually on the back of a taxi truck that was headed toward the ferry when we bumped into our friends, Simon and Ashley, the birthday boy. They then talked us into staying and within 15 seconds Tammy and I hopped off the truck and stayed another night with no place to stay – we then became nomads with our backpacks....you'll never guess it, but Ashley invited us to stay with our group that had the 7 people in a teeny tiny hut...I knew that wasn't gonna fly completely with me – but I figured, something will work out...and it did, Tammy and I ended up staying in less crowded quarters with other friends, but the only thing was I didnt get a good nights rest. Why you ask? First, I was about to use the restroom to wash up and such, but there was this HUGE spider – the legs were about 5 Inches and the body was decent size. I just couldn't bring myself to enter the restroom – so I took care of things outside as if I were camping. And Well, before Tammy and I were about to go to bed, our friends conveniently decided to say, “Hey, you see all these red bites ( which they showed us their arms and there was at least 100, I am not even exagerateing!) this is what happens to you when you sleep in these beds.” So with that warning, I began to DEET myself like crazy – and covered myself as much as poss
ible with the little beach clothing I had, since I didnt have my backpack with me. Needless to say I didn't have sweetdreams – only nightmares which included bed bugs or bugs of any sort attacking me. I already had my fair share of bug bites, and again anyone who knows me well, knows that mosquitos and bugs love me. I kept waking up every hour or so. But hey, it was better than sleeping on the beach! All in all, I am glad I went, it was an experience I wont seek out in the future, but I am glad that I was a true nomadic backpacker for a few days :) It's a beautiful Island and it's only a 4 hour journey from Bangkok – you just can't beat that. 