Staying at One of the Best Deals in Southern Thailand, According to LP

My room at the 100 Islands Resort and Spa, Surat Thani, Thailand.
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Well I decided to head to Ko Phangan with a pit stop in Surat Thani which is from where you take the boat to the island (you can also go to Ko Samui and Ko Tao). The four Brits were going to get on the night ferry to Ko Samui, but the thought of sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a freighter especially after being soaked and wishing for a warm shower was not my idea of fun. Plus, I head read in a blog that there were cockroaches - I wasn't going to have any of that. I also head later from Melina that they had pigs on their boat that kept them up most of the night from their smell and noise.

My bathroom with separate shower and curtain at the 100 Islands Resort and Spa, Surat Thani, Thailand.
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I had read in the LP but a hotel that was supposed to be the best deal in Southern Thailand so I called and could get a room with hot water for 590 Baht (approx $18.50). The bus ride was about 3 hours and it rained almost the entire time. I had debated about going to Khoa Sok to do some hiking, but after all the rain, I decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, plus I read in my LP that there is a good possibility of leeches - didn't want that to happen again!

Once in Surat Thani, the bus was supposed to stop at the bus station. Instead, it stopped on the main street and we were told to get out. At this point, I think there were only the 5 of us and maybe one other person. Kind of confused, we did as we were told. Next thing you know, we are being taken across the road to a tourist information center. Here the guy was trying to first sell me on a different place to stay. I shot him down on that one. Then he tried to sell me the ticket for the boat. He wanted 550 Baht (approx $17.20) which floored me because a combination bus and boat ticket from Phang Nga would have been 450 Baht ($14.00). The only reason that I didn't buy the combo ticket was that I wasn't sure what time I wanted to leave the next day. He then backed down to 450 Baht but I wasn't going to have it, feeling scammed. At that point, I just wanted to get to my hotel, only to find out it was quite a bit further from the center of town that I had realized. LP did not make this clear at all.

The lagoon pool that I didn't have a chance to use at the 100 Islands Resort and Spa, Surat Thani, Thailand.
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The only two options I had for getting to my hotel was by taxi or tuk tuk and I chose the tuk tuk being the cheaper option at 100 Baht (approx $3.20). This good deal of a hotel was turning out to not be such a good one, given that I also had to get back into town the next morning. As I left, the Brits were told that the night ferry had been canceled due to the weather. Not sure whether the guy was lying or not, the Brits were weighing their options about what to do.

Arriving at my hotel, which I must say was definitely the nicest place I had been to so far, looking quite disheveled from a day on the boat, a bus ride and then the tuk tuk ride, the women at the reception started laughing at me when I handed them my passport that was very warm from being in my moneybelt around my waist. I guess they probably weren't use to backpackers coming in.

The bellboy took my bag up to my room (what a treat!) which was very large, very clean, had a king size bed, a TV and air conditioning. However, the best part was, the shower in the bathroom actually had its own stall with a shower curtain. You know it is the small things in life that sometimes really matter ;)! Before showering, I decided to eat first. I headed down to the hotel restaurant that was very underwhelming and had no one inside, no wonder the woman was pretty insistent on me having dinner in my room, which I did. After figuring out what to eat, I decided to treat myself to two beers. A few minutes after getting back to my room, my beers arrive, much to my shock. When I ordered them, I figured that they were on the expensive side and that was probably because I was in a hotel. What I hadn't figured was that the price was for the large beers! No wonder the woman was surprised when I ordered two beers, just for me! Ten minutes later, the food arrived and ended being as underwhelming at the restaurant and on top of that, I could only finish one beer.

Next order of business, my hot shower. As I stood there and waited for the water to get hot, which is wasn't doing, I was thinking "Really? I went out of my way for this?". I was really disappointed. I decided to call down, even though it was 11pm and they said that the bellboy would take a look at it. Meanwhile, I switched on the TV and my only option was HBO which had a horrible French movie on, called "Saint Ange". Half an hour later, and still no hot water, I called down again. This time they promised me that in fifteen minutes the water would be hot.

So, a happy ending to this story is that I did end getting my hot shower that night (and another one in the morning) which made me very happy, plus I was actually able to shave my legs without the goosebumps!