Our first holiday in a loooong time finally arrived, and with a 4 day weekend we headed to Ko Samet! Felix and our friend Guy and I got on an overnighter to Rayong and then after song-thaew, tuk-tuk, and ferry rides we finally got to Koh Samet around lunch time.
While it was supposed to be a wet weekend, the island seemed pretty cool and different from the others we had been to in the south. The island itself is a national park and almost no road is paved, leaving it QUITE muddy in the rainy season. We were lucky on our first day though, the sun just barely worked it's way from behind the clouds giving us one good beach day (which it's intensity fooled us and we are still paying the price for with peeling skin).
After spending the day in the sand, we got ready to get a dinner at a place we had heard about called Jep's which was supposed to be a nice beach restaurant. The food ended up being awesome, it was as close as we've gotten to a real restaurant in Thailand, with attentive waiters and big portioned meals. The menu literally had Mexican, Italian, Greek, German, Thai, and grilled kabobs which is usually a warning sign that it is all probably bad but we were happily blown away with everything and made it a 3 course meal. We headed out with friends afterwards and had a great night making day 1 successful on the island.
We woke up to the expected overcast and drizzling day and decided we should explore the island. Felix and I got an ATV while our friends got motorbikes and we headed out to explore. With all the money this island takes somehow like I said, there are almost no paved roads. The route was mud covered hills up and down with craters of rock and dips all along. On the ATV we splayed mud everywhere and I thought I was going to fly off the back half the time but I had such a good time. It was definitely something different than riding on the back of the motorbike all the time and I couldn't help but to laugh while we plowed our way up and down the hills and I was thrown all over the place. Along the way there were different beaches we stopped at and swam at.. mostly to escape the cold rain! The 2nd beach was pretty secluded and we bought a ball and played games for awhile and just enjoyed the warm water. We passed a beautiful lookout point where the gray waves crashed on some cliffs and the sky was filled with a brewing storm, and snapped some pics before making our way to the last stop.
The roads increasingly got worse and even in the mega ATV I found myself questioning if we were going to make it up some of these hole-strewn mud-slides that posed as roads. It was a bit scary but we finally made it up the worst ones (losing 2 of our friends on motorbike on the way who couldn't make it!) and we were rewarded with a very tiny picturesque beach. It was at a little resort and it made for a really lovely setting. Every tree had a hammock or swing attached to it and the beach was a little cove with a few scattered couples and families kayaking around. We waded in the water for a bit before deciding it was time to back track our way to our humble abode in the jungle.
We cleaned up the mass amounts of mud that covered us and got ready for yet again... another dinner at JEP'S (hey.. we like our routines) and a night out at Naga bar. The dinner was yet again delicious and we were entertained by a fire dancing family on the beach. These kids were maybe 10 years old and they were the best fire dancers I have seen in Thailand. To top that there was a BABY who was 2 years and 8 months old and was ALSO twirling an adult sized fire baton.. surprisingly with a lot of skill. That blew my mind. Yet again I'm reminded that any rule or law or even standard that wouldn't fly in America ... is certain to be O.K here.
We had another night out with friends at Naga bar, where they provided neon paint for us to cover ourselves with and add to the fun.
The day (and after a lunch at Jep's) us and another couple we are friends with decided it would be wise to start making our way back home. Our departure from the island wasn't so pleasurable however. We were loaded on a tiny tug-boat of a ferry with a ton of people and as soon as we got on it started torrential down pouring icy rain. The boat for some reason on top of that just stayed at the dock for the next 45 minutes and we got so soaked to the core it was pointless to even try to shield ourselves anymore. Every person on the boat was half shivering to death and laughing because of how ridiculous it was. We finally left and spend another 45 minutes on the sea in the downpour which by he end of it ensured that every piece of clothing and thing in our backpacks was entirely drenched. Which meant we had no clothes for the next two days. We got on a mini-bus to Bangkok (poor choice with blasting A/C and us still wet) and salvaged what we could on the bus to dry. Finally in Bangkok we ended our vacation with yet another trip to our favorite all you can eat sushi restaurant and a trip to the Paragon to see Inception (incredible!). We made it back to home sweet Chaiyaphum the next day around dinner and were happy to be home after all the eating, drinking, muddiness, and travel that ensued during the holiday.
Since then we have been quite lucky and while we complained about never getting a break before, we are getting more than our fair share now. The next week we only had a 2 day school week because we had to make a trip for visa stuff on that Friday. I had 3 classes on Wednesday, and then Thursday all morning classes were cancelled due to a assembly for national "Thai Day" leaving me with only 1 class left! This week we woke up Monday to no school due to RAIN. It poured all night and while the rain was over by 9 am and left us with a beautiful day off, the streets were totally flooded. Going out on the motorbike on some streets the water almost met the SEAT and we were just plowing through giant puddles motorbike half sunken. We had class on Tuesday now and now on Wednesday I will only have 1 class because were were told we will have to head to Laos around lunch and for the rest of the week because of more stuff to do with our visa! So yet again, here comes another 4 day weekend! A lot of travelling, but nevertheless breaks are always welcomed....
TO LAOS we go.
After spending the day in the sand, we got ready to get a dinner at a place we had heard about called Jep's which was supposed to be a nice beach restaurant. The food ended up being awesome, it was as close as we've gotten to a real restaurant in Thailand, with attentive waiters and big portioned meals. The menu literally had Mexican, Italian, Greek, German, Thai, and grilled kabobs which is usually a warning sign that it is all probably bad but we were happily blown away with everything and made it a 3 course meal. We headed out with friends afterwards and had a great night making day 1 successful on the island.
We woke up to the expected overcast and drizzling day and decided we should explore the island. Felix and I got an ATV while our friends got motorbikes and we headed out to explore. With all the money this island takes somehow like I said, there are almost no paved roads. The route was mud covered hills up and down with craters of rock and dips all along. On the ATV we splayed mud everywhere and I thought I was going to fly off the back half the time but I had such a good time. It was definitely something different than riding on the back of the motorbike all the time and I couldn't help but to laugh while we plowed our way up and down the hills and I was thrown all over the place. Along the way there were different beaches we stopped at and swam at.. mostly to escape the cold rain! The 2nd beach was pretty secluded and we bought a ball and played games for awhile and just enjoyed the warm water. We passed a beautiful lookout point where the gray waves crashed on some cliffs and the sky was filled with a brewing storm, and snapped some pics before making our way to the last stop.
The roads increasingly got worse and even in the mega ATV I found myself questioning if we were going to make it up some of these hole-strewn mud-slides that posed as roads. It was a bit scary but we finally made it up the worst ones (losing 2 of our friends on motorbike on the way who couldn't make it!) and we were rewarded with a very tiny picturesque beach. It was at a little resort and it made for a really lovely setting. Every tree had a hammock or swing attached to it and the beach was a little cove with a few scattered couples and families kayaking around. We waded in the water for a bit before deciding it was time to back track our way to our humble abode in the jungle.
We cleaned up the mass amounts of mud that covered us and got ready for yet again... another dinner at JEP'S (hey.. we like our routines) and a night out at Naga bar. The dinner was yet again delicious and we were entertained by a fire dancing family on the beach. These kids were maybe 10 years old and they were the best fire dancers I have seen in Thailand. To top that there was a BABY who was 2 years and 8 months old and was ALSO twirling an adult sized fire baton.. surprisingly with a lot of skill. That blew my mind. Yet again I'm reminded that any rule or law or even standard that wouldn't fly in America ... is certain to be O.K here.
We had another night out with friends at Naga bar, where they provided neon paint for us to cover ourselves with and add to the fun.
The day (and after a lunch at Jep's) us and another couple we are friends with decided it would be wise to start making our way back home. Our departure from the island wasn't so pleasurable however. We were loaded on a tiny tug-boat of a ferry with a ton of people and as soon as we got on it started torrential down pouring icy rain. The boat for some reason on top of that just stayed at the dock for the next 45 minutes and we got so soaked to the core it was pointless to even try to shield ourselves anymore. Every person on the boat was half shivering to death and laughing because of how ridiculous it was. We finally left and spend another 45 minutes on the sea in the downpour which by he end of it ensured that every piece of clothing and thing in our backpacks was entirely drenched. Which meant we had no clothes for the next two days. We got on a mini-bus to Bangkok (poor choice with blasting A/C and us still wet) and salvaged what we could on the bus to dry. Finally in Bangkok we ended our vacation with yet another trip to our favorite all you can eat sushi restaurant and a trip to the Paragon to see Inception (incredible!). We made it back to home sweet Chaiyaphum the next day around dinner and were happy to be home after all the eating, drinking, muddiness, and travel that ensued during the holiday.
Since then we have been quite lucky and while we complained about never getting a break before, we are getting more than our fair share now. The next week we only had a 2 day school week because we had to make a trip for visa stuff on that Friday. I had 3 classes on Wednesday, and then Thursday all morning classes were cancelled due to a assembly for national "Thai Day" leaving me with only 1 class left! This week we woke up Monday to no school due to RAIN. It poured all night and while the rain was over by 9 am and left us with a beautiful day off, the streets were totally flooded. Going out on the motorbike on some streets the water almost met the SEAT and we were just plowing through giant puddles motorbike half sunken. We had class on Tuesday now and now on Wednesday I will only have 1 class because were were told we will have to head to Laos around lunch and for the rest of the week because of more stuff to do with our visa! So yet again, here comes another 4 day weekend! A lot of travelling, but nevertheless breaks are always welcomed....
TO LAOS we go.
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