Well that’s a complete lie and fabrication, but Boba Fett was the only thing I could think of that rhymed with Kho Samet. Also I think if he had the choice, he would’ve totally liked to have come from there. What’s that you say? Oh right, Kho Samet is the magnificent gem of a little island about three hours south of Bangkok.
If you’ve read my previous post, you might understand all of the pain and suffering I had to endure the whole week long. While it wasn’t very much at all actually, most of us new Ajarns (teachers) decided we needed a good break. Actually, I think we just wanted to go somewhere- and beaches are good for curing that desire.
We headed out Friday evening after everyone was done teaching their last class. With a planned departure time of 7:00, I think we finally left at 7:45. This will be your first introduction to Thai time. In Thailand, everything is based on events, so if I have a meeting with someone, I’m not going to run off to my next appointment until I’m completely done with that meeting. This makes things get behind schedule a little. I don’t think that’s a good explanation as to why 13-14 Americans couldn’t leave on time when everyone’s last class was 2 hours ago, but it must be something in the water. Although all we drink is bottled water.
So we grabbed a few cabs to take down to the bus station where we would catch our coach to the coast. Well because we had been so lackidaisickle the last bus of the night was already booked, and the next wasn’t until 5am. So what do you do then? You strike a deal with a cab driver to drive you 2 hours to the coast. This cost us about 1700 baht (thai currency) total, coming to about 425 baht a head- roughly $14 USD or so. The bus is only 155 baht and much more comfortable, but it doesn’t fly down the highway at 140kmph.
Once we arrived in Bang Phe where we had to find a ferry to the island, two of the more seasoned teachers (those who are here for a second year) talked the ferry people to run a ferry for us even though they weren’t really running anymore- we paid an extra 30 baht each on top of 100 for that. And after a nice nightly cruise with a couple of beers to the island, we made land. We made our way to find some accomodations for the weekend, but not without first stopping in 7-11 (sevs, sept-onze, sevys) to grab some more beer.
A quick aside, if you will. Seven Eleven’s are virtually everywhere in Thailand, there is not a block in Bangkok that isn’t graced by one, and they are only slightly less visible outside of Bangkok. I’ve had a few people who live in the city try to describe to me where they live, it usually includes “oh I live right down from the 7-11.” “Oh the 7-11, right, I know that place! So which one of the 5 billion are you talking about?” The true magic of the 7-11 and Thailand is that you can totally buy your cheap beer there then walk to the bar without being stopped at the door. It saves massive amounts of money. Also, they sell Red Bull for 10 baht (28 cents approx). It was invented here, so it better be cheap, and its cocain free, unlike the kind made in Austria. Bunch of coke heads those Austrians.
Either way, we checked into our non-air conditioned rooms (there was a fan though) at about 11:30pm, put on our swimmies then headed to the beach/bar. It should be known that I’m probably the biggest hick of anyone in our group being from western upstate New York, which really isn’t that red-neck, but most of my fellow teachers here are from Long Island, NJ, Mass, etc. So when we came upon a bar that was quite literally sitting on the beach, I was pretty dumbfounded because I thought they only existed in movies. Or heaven.
The next day we did exactly what you’re suppose to do at a beach- nothing. The clear water was warm and I managed to avoid getting skin cancer for the most part. My farmer’s tan on the other hand is doing quite well although it probably won’t help me with the ladies. Prices must be paid for keeping your shirt on I suppose.
So that’s what I did more or less for two days last weekend. We took a bus back to Bangkok on Sunday evening. The coolest thing about taking the bus is that its super comfortable and they have a bus attendant who brings around free cookies and water as well as blankets for anyone who wants one. Greyhound should probably look into this. Check-out the photo’s below. If you click on them it will bring up slide show.
