1. Thailand drives on the left but in practice expect cars and bikes anywhere even pavements/sidewalks.
2. Thailand is the only country in that area never colonised by a western power.
3. The 1999 movie Anna and the King is banned because it is considered disrespectful to the Royal Family. As is the Yul Brynner musical film The King & I.
4. Thai writing is unique and was invented by a Thai king in 1283.
5. Every Thai building, no matter how grand or humble has a small spirit house. This is so the spirits do not move into the proper building.
6. The famous Thai whisky, Mekhong, is made from rice.
7. There are two daily national newspapers published in English, The Nation and The Bangkok Post.
8. Every Thai male becomes a monk for at least two months in their late teens, and many men return to the monkhood when they retire.
9. Females must not sit next to monks, touch them, or hand them anything directly. Seats at the back of busses are traditionally reserved for monks.
10. Many ancient Thai place names have a peculiar resemblence to English place names, eg Khanchanaburi and Canterbury.
As well as a large Bhuddist monastery and many bhudda image shrines, Samet has a number of animist shrines. It never hurts to cover your bets where good fortune is concerned. I came upon this rather unusual shrine in a quiet place on Samet. Perhaps you can identify the image being worshipped ?
Information : Did you know ? 10 Thai facts.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Travel to Koh Samet
You need to travel to the port of Ban Phe, near the town of Rayong. There are some hotels Ban Phe; the Diamond Hotel is close to the pier, opposite to Ao Phrao Resort which is next to the pier. Even though new roads have drastically cut journey time and distance, it is still 173 kilometres from Bangkok. I prefer to travel directly from Bangkok airport to the beach resort of Pattaya. There are plenty of good quality and reasonably priced hotels there where I can recover from the flight and arrange onward travel to Ban Phe and Samet.
Another advantage of going to Pattaya is there are numerous ways to travel there. The cheapest way is the public bus from Bangkok Eastern bus terminal. From Bangkok airport the Thai International bus departs three times a day, and it will drop you off at you hotel. All Bangkok hotels will book you onto a minibus that will pick you up from your hotel and take you there - after touring around all the other hotels till the bus is full. I have travelled using all these methods. The journey takes about three hours driving, plus a half hour comfort break midway.
Perhaps its because I now have a little more money, less time, or require more comfort, but I now either take a taxi from the airport, or I arrange to be met a car. It is faster and you do not stop on the way unless you wish to.
Arranging to be met by a chauffered car is great. As you come out from customs you see the driver with your name on a large board. He takes your bags and you are off while others are still dithering. It is easy to arrange nowadays. Several Pattaya hotels and travel agents offer the service. I can book a room and they'll arrange the taxi via email.
Once in Pattaya there are many travel agents who can arrange onward travel to Samet. For several years I have used the services of Malibu on Soi Post Office. (Find the lane next to The Royal Garden Resort Hotel between Beach Road and Pattaya 2 Road. At the corner with Pattaya 2 you'll find Malibu Restuarant and Travel Agency.) Malibu own a fine location on Wong Duern Beach and I like to ensure I have a room before arriving on Samet. Malibu will organise travel. A minibus will take you to Bhan Phe. Getting onto the boat involves a hairy climb down from the jetty onto the boat. Even on calm days the seas can get high, and the small boat rocks and lurches into the waves. So the first sight of Samet is welcome, and once in its shelter the water stills and one can enjoy the view.
As described in the introduction, there is no jetty on Ao Wong Duern. You clamber down the side of the boat into a raft which is hauled ashore. The water is sparkling clear, the sea bottom is white sand and several travellers just dive fully clothed into the water and swim ashore.
Once ashore and checked into ones bungalow the curse of the 20th century affects one. What do I do now, one wonders? It takes time to slow down. To reduce one's pace to that of nature. It takes several days before you realise you are in tune with nature. And the longer you stay, the less you ever want to leave.
Information : Travel to Koh Samet
Another advantage of going to Pattaya is there are numerous ways to travel there. The cheapest way is the public bus from Bangkok Eastern bus terminal. From Bangkok airport the Thai International bus departs three times a day, and it will drop you off at you hotel. All Bangkok hotels will book you onto a minibus that will pick you up from your hotel and take you there - after touring around all the other hotels till the bus is full. I have travelled using all these methods. The journey takes about three hours driving, plus a half hour comfort break midway.
Perhaps its because I now have a little more money, less time, or require more comfort, but I now either take a taxi from the airport, or I arrange to be met a car. It is faster and you do not stop on the way unless you wish to.
Arranging to be met by a chauffered car is great. As you come out from customs you see the driver with your name on a large board. He takes your bags and you are off while others are still dithering. It is easy to arrange nowadays. Several Pattaya hotels and travel agents offer the service. I can book a room and they'll arrange the taxi via email.
Once in Pattaya there are many travel agents who can arrange onward travel to Samet. For several years I have used the services of Malibu on Soi Post Office. (Find the lane next to The Royal Garden Resort Hotel between Beach Road and Pattaya 2 Road. At the corner with Pattaya 2 you'll find Malibu Restuarant and Travel Agency.) Malibu own a fine location on Wong Duern Beach and I like to ensure I have a room before arriving on Samet. Malibu will organise travel. A minibus will take you to Bhan Phe. Getting onto the boat involves a hairy climb down from the jetty onto the boat. Even on calm days the seas can get high, and the small boat rocks and lurches into the waves. So the first sight of Samet is welcome, and once in its shelter the water stills and one can enjoy the view.
As described in the introduction, there is no jetty on Ao Wong Duern. You clamber down the side of the boat into a raft which is hauled ashore. The water is sparkling clear, the sea bottom is white sand and several travellers just dive fully clothed into the water and swim ashore.
Once ashore and checked into ones bungalow the curse of the 20th century affects one. What do I do now, one wonders? It takes time to slow down. To reduce one's pace to that of nature. It takes several days before you realise you are in tune with nature. And the longer you stay, the less you ever want to leave.
Information : Travel to Koh Samet
Arriving in Thailand : Bangkok Airport
Arriving for the first time at Bangkok's new Don Mueng International airport is much like that of any other airport. You will have been given an immigration and customs form to complete in the 'plane. You do not neet a visa for stays of up to three weeks. If you realise you do require a visa you can obtain one at the airport; follow the signs. Then you queue in front of the immigration officer. I have never had any problems (except for once when my visa obtained in London was not complete. I was led away by an armed officer to the stares of the rest of the plane, and amongst much smiling the visa was completed and I was given a VIP escort past the queues).
Immigration officers are looking out for 'hippy' types without money who are intending becoming long stay visitors. If you look respectable you will be moving down the shiny escalators to the baggage hall with a stamp in your passport. The customs form you filled in on the plane asks you to declare electrical goods such as cameras and walkmans, but as you walk into the customs hall you'll find no-one pays any attention and the form is not even looked at as you hand it to a bored official sitting at the entrance.
Once through customs you are protected by a cordon sanitaire of empty space outside which all the hawkers, pirate taxi drivers and touts gather. Before going any further, change some money at the various banks exchange booths. The exchange rates are good, and although I usually find the Thai Military Bank has the keenest rate, I will pick the one with the shortest queue as the difference is not worth the hassle of waiting. You will notice now the heat seeping in from outside.
Decide now what to do. You need transport. If you have not arranged to be met by a driver, the options are public transport or a taxi. There is an official taxi desk where you can pay for a taxi and get a receipt and be led to a taxi outside. This will be a little more expensive than the prices quoted by the touts who come up to you, but at this stage in your journey when you are tired, suffering culture shock, and carrying al your goods and valuables, I would not recommend an unofficial taxi.
Information : Arriving in Thailand : Bangkok Airport
Immigration officers are looking out for 'hippy' types without money who are intending becoming long stay visitors. If you look respectable you will be moving down the shiny escalators to the baggage hall with a stamp in your passport. The customs form you filled in on the plane asks you to declare electrical goods such as cameras and walkmans, but as you walk into the customs hall you'll find no-one pays any attention and the form is not even looked at as you hand it to a bored official sitting at the entrance.
Once through customs you are protected by a cordon sanitaire of empty space outside which all the hawkers, pirate taxi drivers and touts gather. Before going any further, change some money at the various banks exchange booths. The exchange rates are good, and although I usually find the Thai Military Bank has the keenest rate, I will pick the one with the shortest queue as the difference is not worth the hassle of waiting. You will notice now the heat seeping in from outside.
Decide now what to do. You need transport. If you have not arranged to be met by a driver, the options are public transport or a taxi. There is an official taxi desk where you can pay for a taxi and get a receipt and be led to a taxi outside. This will be a little more expensive than the prices quoted by the touts who come up to you, but at this stage in your journey when you are tired, suffering culture shock, and carrying al your goods and valuables, I would not recommend an unofficial taxi.
Information : Arriving in Thailand : Bangkok Airport
Koh Samet : Paradise Island
Koh Samet means island in Thai, and Samet is tree that grows in abundance on the island, famed for its bark which is used in traditional medicine and boat building.
I fly in to Bangkok Airport and catch a bus or taxi to Pattaya, which is a beach resort about three hours drive away on the congested roads. I find a room, and sleep after the 13 hour long flight, the congestion of the airport and the long drive. When I awake I arrange accommodation at Samet with one of the Samet accommodation agencies based in Pattaya.
Next morning before breakfast I cram into an overcrowded mini-bus for the ninety minute drive to Ban Pae, which is the nearest port to Koh Samet. There is time while we wait for the tide to get some rice or noodles for a late breakfast before clambering into the ferry. The journey takes almost an hour and sometimes the swell rocks the small boat so much I worry it will turn over. But as we approach the island the waves still and I lean over the side staring at the thin white lines that are the beaches, backed by bright green of palm trees.
The island is shaped like the letter p with a long tail. At the top of the p is a fishing village with a jetty and a monastery and temple. The rest of the island is a national park where development is forbidden. The left side of the p, is a straight rocky coast with only one sandy beach. The other long side has long sandy beaches. I am staying about halfway down the long tail at Ao Wong Duen. There is no jetty at this beach and the boat stops in the narrow water. A raft is hauled out from shore and passengers climb down the boat a few at a time, our bags passed down to us, then stand on the raft which is hauled to the shallows. We then step into the knee deep warm water and wade ashore. A couple of smartly uniformed National Park police collect the park entry fee, and we make out way to our cabins dotted behind the tree line in a mango glade.
The island is small enough to walk around. There are some small restaurants and beach bars. Everyday, local people come over on the public ferries to sell fruits and snacks along the beaches. Everything must be imported, except for fish. There are no discos, go-go bars, cinemas, shopping precincts, mains electricity or other benefits of civilistation. The owner of my cabin runs a generator in the evening to power a strip light and fan in the room. But at midnight that stops and it is time to sleep. My entertainment consists of walking, swimming, talking to people I meet and reading my supply of books. Time goes by so fast. I am so happy and relaxed, and I turn off the neon light early and sleep a deep untroubled sleep.
When I was young the sight of coconut trees in travel films about far off places always seemed so exotic. I never ever dreamed that I would ever be able to see one. I truly know I am on vacation when I can sit under a coconut tree drinking the juice from a fresh green coconut. The beaches on Koh Samet are fine white sand. The long beach at the top of the p has the finest sand. It is like talculm powder and sings when pressure is placed on it. As you walk along high pitched musical notes are emitted at every step.
Ten days on Koh Samet passes by in a flash. Before one is ready it is time to wade out to the raft to go on the ferry back to the mainland and the long journey home. Back home when I tell people I have been in Thailand, their knowing smiles and winks show they do not really believe I have spend my time on paradise island.
Information : Koh Samet : Paradise Island
I fly in to Bangkok Airport and catch a bus or taxi to Pattaya, which is a beach resort about three hours drive away on the congested roads. I find a room, and sleep after the 13 hour long flight, the congestion of the airport and the long drive. When I awake I arrange accommodation at Samet with one of the Samet accommodation agencies based in Pattaya.
Next morning before breakfast I cram into an overcrowded mini-bus for the ninety minute drive to Ban Pae, which is the nearest port to Koh Samet. There is time while we wait for the tide to get some rice or noodles for a late breakfast before clambering into the ferry. The journey takes almost an hour and sometimes the swell rocks the small boat so much I worry it will turn over. But as we approach the island the waves still and I lean over the side staring at the thin white lines that are the beaches, backed by bright green of palm trees.
The island is shaped like the letter p with a long tail. At the top of the p is a fishing village with a jetty and a monastery and temple. The rest of the island is a national park where development is forbidden. The left side of the p, is a straight rocky coast with only one sandy beach. The other long side has long sandy beaches. I am staying about halfway down the long tail at Ao Wong Duen. There is no jetty at this beach and the boat stops in the narrow water. A raft is hauled out from shore and passengers climb down the boat a few at a time, our bags passed down to us, then stand on the raft which is hauled to the shallows. We then step into the knee deep warm water and wade ashore. A couple of smartly uniformed National Park police collect the park entry fee, and we make out way to our cabins dotted behind the tree line in a mango glade.
The island is small enough to walk around. There are some small restaurants and beach bars. Everyday, local people come over on the public ferries to sell fruits and snacks along the beaches. Everything must be imported, except for fish. There are no discos, go-go bars, cinemas, shopping precincts, mains electricity or other benefits of civilistation. The owner of my cabin runs a generator in the evening to power a strip light and fan in the room. But at midnight that stops and it is time to sleep. My entertainment consists of walking, swimming, talking to people I meet and reading my supply of books. Time goes by so fast. I am so happy and relaxed, and I turn off the neon light early and sleep a deep untroubled sleep.
When I was young the sight of coconut trees in travel films about far off places always seemed so exotic. I never ever dreamed that I would ever be able to see one. I truly know I am on vacation when I can sit under a coconut tree drinking the juice from a fresh green coconut. The beaches on Koh Samet are fine white sand. The long beach at the top of the p has the finest sand. It is like talculm powder and sings when pressure is placed on it. As you walk along high pitched musical notes are emitted at every step.
Ten days on Koh Samet passes by in a flash. Before one is ready it is time to wade out to the raft to go on the ferry back to the mainland and the long journey home. Back home when I tell people I have been in Thailand, their knowing smiles and winks show they do not really believe I have spend my time on paradise island.
Information : Koh Samet : Paradise Island
Koh Samet - Beaches.
Hat Sai Kaew
Hat Sai Kaew or Diamond beach is the longest and one of the most popular beaches on Koh Samet. It is located in the North-East and it is about 780 meters long. This is the beach You should choose if you like to have a little people and activities around you, but at the same time live next to a almost paradise-like beach. The sand is almost snow-white and the water is invitingly green-blue.
Ao Vong Duan
Ao Vong Duan is a 500 meter long half moon shaped beach with the most fantastic sunrise on this island. The sand is as inviting as on Hat Sai Kaew and the atmosphere here is really pleasant.
Ao Prao
The only beach on the West coast of Samet is a real beauty and a few elegant hotels are located here. The beach is about 200 meters long and very pleasant. The sunset from Ao Prao is on a clear night a memory that will probably last a lifetime.
Other beaches
On the East coast from North to South (apart from the beaches we already mentioned) You will find, in order: Ao Phai, Ao Wai, Ao Kui Na Nok and Ao Kui Na Nai. They are all very nice small beaches that all has the white characteristic Samet sand. The further South you go on this island the less tourists you will find in general.
Information : http://www.kosamet.net
Hat Sai Kaew or Diamond beach is the longest and one of the most popular beaches on Koh Samet. It is located in the North-East and it is about 780 meters long. This is the beach You should choose if you like to have a little people and activities around you, but at the same time live next to a almost paradise-like beach. The sand is almost snow-white and the water is invitingly green-blue.
Ao Vong Duan
Ao Vong Duan is a 500 meter long half moon shaped beach with the most fantastic sunrise on this island. The sand is as inviting as on Hat Sai Kaew and the atmosphere here is really pleasant.
Ao Prao
The only beach on the West coast of Samet is a real beauty and a few elegant hotels are located here. The beach is about 200 meters long and very pleasant. The sunset from Ao Prao is on a clear night a memory that will probably last a lifetime.
Other beaches
On the East coast from North to South (apart from the beaches we already mentioned) You will find, in order: Ao Phai, Ao Wai, Ao Kui Na Nok and Ao Kui Na Nai. They are all very nice small beaches that all has the white characteristic Samet sand. The further South you go on this island the less tourists you will find in general.
Information : http://www.kosamet.net
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