Koh Samet of Thailand – Silversand Resort Review & 10 Tips on the Island
July 30th, 2010
Koh Samet is an island or ‘koh’ in transliterated Thai. It is close to Rayong which is about 2 hours from Bangkok by private car or taxi. The island is roughly the shape of Thailand itself.We caught a bus from the Eastern Bus Terminal in Bangkok which is close to the Ekkamai BTS Skytrain Station on Sukhumvit Road.We went as a group of four and paid 15 baht each from mid-Sukhumvit Soi 22 in a taxi. The bus trip cost 157 baht each. They told us it would take 2 1/2 hours but it was 3 1/2 hours before we reached the Ban Phe Pier which is where our Koh Samet boat was to leave.The bus stopped quite often to let people on and off. The trip was UTE RENTAL although it was a reasonable quality of bus, the driver decided to play a TV program blaringly loud. The program was a Thai sitcom or soap opera and it was far too loud to be ignored.The program was performed by adults but it was so infantile that it was unwatchable. Luckily, either the TV or the DVD player system broke down about an hour into the journey. But it was not long before it was replaced by Thai music which was also played very loudly. The speakers in the bus were arranged in a waythat this noise could not be avoided.Again luckily I had bought some ear plugs. They were the wax kind that reduce noise the most and they are essential for budget travel in Thailand. I have traveled on Thai buses before.I noticed a few things in particular on the journey to the Pier. There were a large number of partially completed industrial, commercial, and residential buildings which had been abandoned part way through construction. This represents, of course, a tremendous waste of resources and labour and was very surprising. I think many of them may have been built in the mid-nineties boom period, and then failed through lack of finance.The building were spaced, in many cases all on their own and not part of a group of buildings or industrial area. This is a very inefficient way to run business because of the extra costs.Another thing I noticed were vast tracts of land – if you added the individual pieces together – with long grass on them which were carrying no stock at all. The grass was just growing and no one was making any money from it. Another waste of resources, and valuable land. Thailand has some of the most fertile land in the world and as I come from New Zealand, it always seems like a great shame to me; this agricultural waste.Finally, there were many quite beautiful temples on the trip which occupied choice positions – at least looking from the bus travelling down the motorway. In some cases the temples were on the only raised piece of land in the immediate area, and this fact showed their importance to Thai people.We got to the Rayong late and quite hungry. After purchasing tickets for Koh Samet – 100 baht each return – we had lunch at the Iier which was ok. The Som Tam was excellent but the bill of 400 baht seemed a little high.The boat trip was in an old blue twin decked motor boat. It was enjoyable for me being back in salt air again after a long absence from it. Once we reached Koh Samet we had to find some accommodation. After talking to a few people we found that the best beaches which were close were called Ao Phrao and Ao Phai.
Entry Filed under: Business