According to people who have been in Thailand longer than I have and have seen more of the country than I have, Koh Samet is the ugliest of all the Thai islands.
Dear readers, I will let you know that I prefer to think that those people are simply more cynical and jaded than I ever hope to be.
Please, take a look for yourself:
Now, I must admit that my phone’s camera is not the BEST in the world (in fact, by phone camera standards, it’s pretty crappy). And, I must admit that I’ve never been to any other Thai islands (though stayed tuned…a trip to Phuket is right around the corner).
But, dear readers, I digress–you must agree with me when I say, there is nothing about this view that is not pleasing to the eye.
Am I right?
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Our trip to Koh Samet fell on the King’s birthday weekend. The King’s birthday falls on December 5–this year, on a Saturday. In his honor, Monday, December 7th was a national holiday. My TESOL friends saw this as an awesome opportunity to take a short vacation. Given its close proximity to Bangkok (a three hour trip by car) and the fact that one of my dear friends lives on the mainland about a half an hour from the ferry launch, we chose Koh Samet as our weekend getaway.
My only words–it was simply amazing.
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Friday night after school, I left my town in Nakhom Pathom province and took the forty-five minute van ride to Bangkok. There, I stayed over with my dear friend, Mo, and a few other friends who also met up for the journey at her place–and early the next morning (well, as early as we all managed to get up), we headed for the BTS–one of Bangkok’s many public transportation options–to catch a van at Victory Monument. Our destination? Rayong Province, where the ferry launch to Koh Samet is located.
Some three hours later, after a bit of a bumpy van ride, we were at the pier!
Water! Vast amounts of water! Everywhere! It was so blue! It was breathtaking! It was everything I needed to see right there in that moment–and the adventure was only just beginning.
We arrived on the island around noon on Saturday and pretty much immediately headed to the beach. There, we met up with more TESOL friends who were also staying on the island. Typical beachy things commenced. i.e. sun bathing, swimming, and eating roti (okay, well, I got roti).
A few of us soon decided to go get food (I was starving) and then I went back to our accommodation to battle an upset stomach. Much later, we went back out to the beach, saw a fire show, partook in karaoke with Thai people, and had an all around good time.
THEN COMES SUNDAY!
Sunday was amazing. Absolutely amazing. The crew rented motorbikes and we took the opportunity to explore the island a bit more. We spent the majority of the day cruising the island and exploring beaches off the main touristy path. It was amazing. It was perfect. I enjoyed every single second of this day with good friends. We ended our beach day by watching the sunset at Ao Prao beach…and it was stunning. I can’t even begin to explain the joy I felt at being in the Gulf of Thailand with some of my favorite people on earth–experiencing the sunset with them and reveling in all that life has to offer.
After sunset, we headed back to our accommodation to change from our swim gear and headed out for some dinner. I ended up having an early night because I was sooo exhausted but other people in our group went out for the night.
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, a group of us headed back to the mainland and hopped in a van for Bangkok–where we parted ways to head back home.
Koh Samet was exactly what I needed on that long weekend. I had been a bit of a funk since settling into my town and getting away and spending time on the beach with my friends made me feel refreshed and ready to tackle whatever life has to throw at me next.
For being the least attractive of the Thai islands, I sure thought it was beautiful…and I had an all around amazing time.
It's a Britta Bottle! 
It looks gorgeous! Glad you had a great time!
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Thanks Trent! It was lovely.
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Sounds like a fabulous adventure! Love the photos!
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Thanks Amelia! It was so much fun.
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Glad you had a great mini getaway. Im sure it was a much needed break. I can’t wait for you to go to Phuket. You will absolutely love it there! 🙂
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That, it is! It was a fantastic getaway with memories that I will cherish forever.
(Just got back from Phuket yesterday. So gorgeous. Will certainly have a post up about it soon!)
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Oooh, can’t wait to read your stories and more importantly your photos! Did you go to Kho Phi phi? We didn’t but instead went to James Bond island in Phang Nga Bay… beautiful islands!
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A group of my friends went to Koh Phi Phi, but one of my girlfriends and I decided to go to Phang Nga Bay, instead! So amazing. Loved every minute of our tour.
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Even better! hehe. Don’t you just love those limestone karsts jutting out in the ocean? They reminded me of Avatar. 🙂
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I’ve never actually seen Avatar but I did love it! So gorgeous!
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Now I gotta ask this Britta. Did you go check out one of those ladyboy shows? 😛 I couldn’t. We walked along the infamous Bangla road and I was just shocked at what I saw! hahah..
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Haha, I haven’t been to any lady boy shows in Thailand. Bangla Road is certainly an experience. We went to a bar for a little bit on Bangla on Saturday, but that’s it.
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It certainly is pretty much a circus of everything!
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Ooh it is rather picture perfect as far as I can see! Definitely nothing to dislike! Glad you had a fun weekend! 🙂 And if this was the “ugliest” of the lot, I’m excited to see what your posts will reveal when you visit the more beautiful ones! 🙂
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You just said, “ugliest of the lot.” And this is how I can definitely tell you live in England now. 🙂
(Just an observation)
It was a great weekend! I will definitely have more to share once I get to writing about my travels for New Years this weekend.
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haha is that a particularly British thing to say?! I’ve always used “of the lot.” Must be commonwealth-thing that got left behind in India! ^_^
Woohoo! More Britta Bottle stalking for me this weekend then!
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Haha, nobody (that I’ve ever heard) says “of the lot” in America. When I hear that phrase, I immediately think of Harry Potter. It MUST be Commonwealth thing. 🙂
Well, haven’t gotten that post written up yet. One of these days. Maybe. 🙂
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It looks amazing Britta, absolutely gorgeous!
Also glad to hear you’re feeling refreshed! What a beautiful way to end the year ready for 2016! X
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Thanks so much, Kitty! It was fabulous.
Well, I actually ended the year down South on the island-province of Phuket (which was absolutely amazing and a post will be coming soon) but Koh Samet was definitely much needed when I went there earlier in December!
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Looks really nice! I’ve been to Thailand once but it was a long time ago! Must be a a drastic change in culture for you, but I’m glad you’re liking it there 🙂
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Oh, Thailand is fantastic! I love it here! Where did you go when you visited?
I’ve actually been in Thailand since late September, so I’m past the culture shock stage. Thailand is definitely very different from my home back in the U.S., but it starts to feel more and more like home everyday.
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I went to Bangkok, that was when I was only a small kid! I have almost no memory of it now, I’m hoping maybe I will go again in future. That’s good :)) Hope you have a ball of a time!
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