Day 4-5: Ko Samet, Thailand

We decided to leave Bangkok it was time to move on and headed out to our first island, Ko Samet. We sort of lucked out with our travel to the island. We got to the bus station just as the bus was leaving, then got to the pier just as the boat was leaving. However, lodging was a different issue. We didn't realize that Monday was a Thai holiday, and Ko Samet is a very popular vacation destination for people living in Bangkok as it is only about 2 1/2 - 3 hours away. Almost the entire island was fully booked. We searched around for a while on foot (with our bags) at first without any luck. So we finally just put our bags down on a beach, and I sat with our bags while Chris continued to look for a place to stay (not a bad place to have to post up and wait). He ended up renting a motorbike, which is a very popular means of transportation here, and finally found us a place to stay near Ao Phutsa. It was about a 5 min walk from the beach, but very minimal to say the least. I bet they usually charge about 100-150 baht, but we had to pay 400. I'll post some pics, but they probably won't even do it justice. The worst part was that they had a whole bunch of roosters who continued to wake us up over and over.

That night we walked to a neighboring beach and had some dinner followed by the most delicious banana chocolate crepe I've ever had. Then there was a fire show outside, so we hung out there for a bit before heading to bed.

This morning we moved into a bungalow closer to the beach. This place is definitely an upgrade. It even has a western toilet!

We mainly toured the island today on the motorbike. I can't believe Chris was able to talk me into riding on the back of one of these things. The roads are all dirt and filled with potholes. But, I'm glad he talked me into it, because it was probably the highlight of our time here. We found a secluded beach all the way at the southern point, and Chris snorkled here while I relaxed on the beach. Then we found this amazing restaurant with beachside dining (straight out of a corona commercial) on one of the Southern beaches and had the best Thai food we've had so far.

We finished off the day with dinner on the beach. While we were at dinner, Chris came clean and told me that he had actually fallen off the motorbike while he was searching for a place to stay the first night. He said he dusted himself off as much as he could, so I wouldn't know. I'm glad he didn't tell me, because I probably wouldn't have gone, and I would've missed out...

Now, it's off to Ko Chang tomorrow bright and early.