Koh Samet Island!

Koh Samet was a trip I have wanted to do since I arrived in Thailand! It is one of the islands that is closer to Bangkok and most areas have not gotten too touristy yet, so it is a nice beach to lay on because there are not too many crowds. I left after school on Friday like I do for all my weekend trips! Becky was meeting me at the Southern Bangkok Bus Terminal which was only a 10 min motorbike ride from my apartment. We got a ticket for a minibus, which in Thailand is a larger minivan that can hold approx. 10 people. If the van is full your bag usually rests on your lap on in the small middle aisle so they can get really crowded if everyone has a larger backpack. The van ride was one of the best I have had so far. It was a smooth drive and we arrived at the docks in around 2 and a half hours. We got in later so the ferry was not running again until the morning. This meant that we had to take a speedboat. We were told the waves were too big to take us right to our beach where our bungalow was but they could take us to the nearest dock and then we would have to take a songtao (pick-up truck with seats in the back) to our place. This was fine because we already booked the bungalow for that night and didn't want to wait until morning. It was a little expensive, but I understand why. It was about midnight, the sea black and the waves big. I'm okay in boats, but man was I scared!! I could not see the waves but my guess was we were going over about 10 foot waves. The boat would slow down a bit, we would go up and come down with a thump! I was laughing because all I could think about was my mom not approving of this boat ride, but Becky was holding on for dear life and looked like she might either cry or throw up, or possibly both. Once we got to safety... I mean land, it was a short 5 min songtoa ride and we had arrived! We were also meeting my new friend Jenna there with 3 of her friends. Jenna greeted us at the beach showed us to our room and the night had only begun! First, I was starving so this little restaurant on the beach was serving burgers, perfect! Then Jenna was sharing her large, cheap bucket of booze with us before we headed to the bar! Naga bar on Koh Samet island is famous. If you ever go there you have to go to this bar! Its a glow paint bar where the walls are covered in paint that glows and you get paint to cover yourself in! They play Western music so I was jamming out to Justin Bieber while sipping on my incredibly strong whiskey bucket of booze that cost next to nothing! It was a really fun night! When we woke up our bungalow we stayed in was more beautiful than I had imagined. It was right on the beach and you could hear the crashing waves from bed. Highly recommend Padosa Bunglows! It is close enough to the night life that you can walk but then also right on a quiet beach that had hardly no one on it! The restaurants in the area were also amazing! For breakfast I had an omelet and the best iced coffee I have had yet in Thailand! Lunch was Pad Tai because I love it sooo much! The day was spent on the beautiful beach soaking up the sun and swimming in the perfect temperature water! I was in heaven! Then I got a massage on the beach for around $10 for one hour! Sooooo good. The massages here are too die for! Then that night we went up to the busier beach and had seafood feast with Jenna's Thai teacher friend! It's always so fun and nice to have Thai people with you that speak English and Thai because they can communicate things to our server easily and know of cool places to go, like this restaurant! We had scallops, shrimp, squid, rice, yummy spicy soup! It was amazing. The we got to watch a fire show, which I still can't believe! I was sweating standing 20 feet away from these guys and they were swinging poles of fire right in front of their faces! Very entertaining! Then we walked down the beach some more when dinner was over and sat on cushions on the beach drinking beer and buckets of vodka and redbull! Becky went back to the room because she wasn't feeling the best and the rest of us went back to Naga to spend the rest of the night! Once again we painted ourselves to glow and had a great night :) The next morning before hitting up the beach I got another massage. This one a real Thai massage. They are a little rough and put a lot of pressure on your muscles, but man does it feel good after! Then some beach time was a must again. Jenna and her friends rented motorbikes for the day, but I haven't built up enough courage yet to ride one myself, but it will happen soon....sorry mom :) I promise to be safe and wear a helmet! We caught the ferry around 3:00pm. It took around 45 minutes to get back to the main land. From there it was a 3 hour van ride to Bangkok, 20 min skytrain ride to my stop, and a 10 minute motorbike ride to my apartment :) One of the most relaxing and fun weekends, definitely want to go back to Koh Samet and all of the other islands!