Katty's Travels: Koh Samet, Go to Samet!

Last week I finally made it to Koh Samet! I've been meaning to make a weekend trip there since.... um, probably September. haha It just never happened. I always got too lazy, which is such a shame, because it was wonderful! Absolutely beautiful and relaxing and the perfect island getaway! There was a big Buddhist holiday (Buddhist Lent, I think) on Tuesday and Wednesday and a bunch of people from the building managed to make it to Koh Samet for whatever days they had off. Lots of us didn't have the same exact break, but they all managed to overlap a day or two, so it was a great time to go.

I left early Tuesday morning with Ryan, Fern, and Nam. We were planning on catching a minibus, but then Name said that he was going also and he could drive us down there in his car, which was really great and it saved us some time. We parked the car at Ban Phe and chartered a speed boat to take us to the island. It took us right up to Tubtim Beach, where we got ourselves a couple of bungalows and sat down for lunch on the beach. A few minutes later, Chris and James wandered our way and after lunch we set out for some hiking and exploring. The entire island is only about 7 km long (shaped like a skinny South America), full of bays that are diconnected by rockiness. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's the best I can do right now. So we hiked along the beach and the rockiness all day. It was great. We made little pit stops along the way to swing on tire swings, take a swim in the ocean, and get some coconut ice cream cones! Parts of the hike were kindof intense and after about 3 hours, I was exhausted. It was more mentally exhausting for me than physically, because I was constantly trying to figure out where it was the most stable and safe place to step. After our hike, we all took a quick nap and then met up for a seafood barbeque feast on the beach. It was so tasty! Oysters, fish, chicken shish kebabs, crabs, and all of it fresh! Then we headed out to lay on the sand and order a couple drinks! A perfect day!

The next morning I woke up and immediately put on my swim suit and went to lay out. I was out there for a little while before the rest of the crew came out and joined me for lunch. Then I went for a last swim. I just love the ocean. I thought I had to leave earlier, so I took a shower and packed up my stuff, but then found out that I could get a speed boat back to the main pier in a few hours for a pretty good price, so I had a couple of hours to spend lazing about. We went to a small beach next to ours, where I napped on a boulder and watched the rest play some frisbee and swim. Then I boarded a speed boat and got a bus back to Bangkok! It was a great couple of days!

Arriving at Tubtim! Me, Nam, and Fern!