I stayed a few days in Bangkok before heading to Ko Samet Island.
While there I took the Skytrain to the end of the Bang Wa route and saw this beautiful canal.
During my Skytrain travels, I saw wrapped trains with some colorful motifs. One advertised the Zootopia 2 movie, and the other the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Again, I took the 3 to 4 hour bus to Ban Phe and stopped by to see Da at her massage shop, Laksika Massage. Her friend Lily pick me up at the bus station on her motorbike.
In Ko Samet Village, I once again stayed at the very comfortable La Bella guesthouse at $32/night with its 10 foot ceilings and glass wall view of the patio, little used roadway, and gardens.
On a few days it rained at night and early morning. Here’s a sample of the downpours I experienced there.
Every morning I had a simple breakfast of eggs for ฿80 followed by a one hour massage at the Sirion massage shop, where Da used to work. It was ฿400 including tip for a one hour oil massage.
I got smoothies at Wut and Tuts smoothie shop – – Wut is Da’s brother. I usually got a mango smoothie for ฿80 but sometimes I would get an avocado and coconut, or a strawberry one.
My routine was to walk to the beach for my daily 3 mile walk, and then enjoy a lounge chair for ฿100 under the umbrellas while watching people and vendors go by, and reading a book.
On several days, with low tides, I saw washed up jellyfish, most of them very small.
On the weekends, I saw large groups of Thai visitors from Bangkok and other nearby cities. They would enjoy funny games.
Instead of wearing swimsuits, many Thais would just wear normal casual clothes while swimming.
While here, I enjoyed my weekly visit to the Reef Restaurant, which is at the site of the old AO Pudsa bungalows that I used to stay at before Covid. After Covid, the bungalows, and the old restaurant were torn down and replaced by a luxury resort called Samed Tamarind Beach Resort and Reef Restaurant. Before Covid, I stayed at beachside bungalows at $20 per night, the price is now $225 per night at this new resort.
Fortunately, the filet mignon and mango smoothie was only $19 and was surrounded by a variety of mushrooms, roasted potatoes, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Most other places in Thailand now charge over $30 for filet mignon dinners.
I enjoyed eating at other restaurants on Ko Samet and usually had their Thai meals. My favorites are Pad Krapow, Penang curry, and cashew nut chicken.
After two weeks here, I returned by ferry boat to Ban Phe and caught a minivan to Pattaya where I stayed for over a week before taking a 2 hour busto the Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and home.
I noticed there were a lot fewer people here now, possibly because of the disruption caused by Trump‘s war in Iran. A lot of Australians used to transit through the Middle East on their way to Thailand, as well as people from the Middle East. Now that travel has been curtailed with this war.
I took my daily 3 mile walk along the beach and then settled in on a lounge chair. You can see there are very few people sitting in the chairs, but the dinosaurs were back.
.One of the snacks the Thai girls, here from the countryside, enjoyed were a variety of fried bugs. Here’s one of the vendor carts
As the temperatures got up into the 90s, I tried a few indoor activities which included:
- getting a one hour facial for $20,
- an ear spa treatment, with a candle to draw out the earwax and massage for $13, and
- A mani-pedi, and haircut with shampoo for $21.
At the Suvarnabhumi Airport, I always enjoyed looking at the sculpture called “Churning of the Ocean of Milk” or in Thai—Samudra Manthan. Although my Asiana Air flight was delayed for 45 minutes, it didn’t really matter because I had a 12 hour layover at the Incheon airport in South Korea..
While at the Incheon Airport, I enjoyed a Bulgogi dinner, some entertainment, and relaxing in their wonderful nap rooms.
I also enjoyed these heated butt spritzer toilets at the airport.
When I arrived in Seattle, I enjoyed some beautiful blue sky weather as I breezed through the Global Entry Pass Immigration screening.
During my wait for the light rail to downtown Seattle, I enjoyed this beautiful view of Mount Rainier which capped off my three-month trip to Southeast Asia— Thailand and Laos.
