After arriving on the brand new big bus from Bangkok to Ban Phe after a three hour journey, I walked to the end of the pier and got the ferry boat to Ko Samet for just ฿70 which was a pleasant half hour journey across the sea. Joe, my Camino, buddy from Australia, stayed behind to have breakfast.
I usually stayed at the Runa-Runa guest house in the middle of the small village off of the Hat Sai Kaew—White Sand— beach area, but they were full. So I went on booking.com and ended up staying at the Blue Ocean guesthouse just a block away from the Runa-Runa.
I quickly found the Blue Ocean guest house using Google maps. It turned out it had only been open for the past 10 months with only three units behind the retail pot shop that Jay and his wife Tiana ran.
The unit was very clean and neat and had a surfer theme with a surfboard that held the shower head. The bed was so comfortable—almost like a Tempur-pedic mattress. The place came with a hot pot as well as a mini fridge, and A/C. The satellite TV was kind of iffy and I watched the France 24 channel for some news but mostly relied on YouTube summaries of current events as well as reading 1440.
Most mornings I would first have coffee and orange juice at my guesthouse and then head to one of the restaurants for an “American” breakfast of coffee, toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, and cabbage salad—usually Chilli’s.
I went to get my daily oil massage from Da at the Sirion Massage place, but she was over at Rayong taking care of her ailing father and helping her mother. Since I was there, I got a massage from one of te others there. Da returned on Wednesday and gave me my morning massage for ฿400 including tip during the rest of my stay.
After the hour massage, my daily routine was to go to the beach for a day of relaxing, exploring and reading on one of the many resort beach chairs after doing my hourly walk along the beach.
I usually bought some pomelo, mango slices, or whole coconut from one of the the many vendors that worked the tourists along the beaches. The costs were about ฿60 or under $1.75 USD each.
On my way back from the beach, I would usually stop at 7-11 to pick up some goodies, including orange juice, sunflower seeds, and a banana. Next-door to 7-11 was a new smoothie store where I got these delicious mango smoothies. It included a half a mango piece cross-hatched covering the drink for just ฿80.
One day I hiked about 10 miles down the trail along the beach. It went over some of the headlands to other coves. I think I saw four in total. All of these other beaches have resorts and bungalows hidden away in the trees with few right along the water like I used to enjoy at the AO Pudsa Beach.
I enjoyed visiting the local monastery with its shiny white Buddha beside some guardians and two Naga banisters
I enjoyed the delicious steak dinners at the Reef restaurant where my old Pudsa Bungalows used to be. It only cost ฿560–$17– which included roasted potatoes, variety of mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and garlic, a great value and delicious.
I enjoyed having food at various restaurants along the beach as well.
I caught the 9 AM boat from Ko Samet that returned to Ban Phe.
I returned to Bangkok taking this minivan rather than the big bus because the big bus was full. I was looking forward to enjoying the Lunar New Year in Chinatown that celebrated the year of the Snake.
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