A Memorable Journey to the Beach – Ko Samet, Thailand

Since the locals know their country better than I do, they’re a great resource for information.

With that in mind, I arrived at the Eastern Bus Terminal en route to Ko Samet for my designated beach day during my nine day backpacking jaunt through Southeast Asia. It was a sunny Friday morning in Bangkok, so things were looking good. Having traveled from Bangkok to Ko Samet six years ago, I knew the normal way of making the trek was taking the bus to Ban Phe and then boarding a ferry to the glamorous island.

However, as traveling to Ko Samet from Bangkok could take around four-and-a half hours, all rational thought was thrown out the window as I was looking for the quickest way to the beach. So when a ticket taker standing in front of a bus found out my final destination, I was open to her recommendation.

Which was to take the bus to Rayong, and then a songthaew to Ban Phe. Not knowing when the next bus would leave and being told that the bus to Rayong was leaving immediately, I turn to board the bus after being assured by the ticket taker (after asking her “Ko Samet” three times) that it was going my way. I figured… she must know more than I do.

What I couldn’t have figured out beforehand was that the bus was a rinkydink, bumpy old one that bore no resemblance to mine that had smoothly sailed from Bangkok to Nong Khai five nights earlier. First, we met the brutal Bangkok traffic. Then after leaving the city, the driver – when not stopping the bus to take care of his nature calls – would bring the bus to a crawl, often begging passengers to hop on (while eschewing the adjacent motorway to my dismay). Finally, after a needless 15-20 stop at the Chonburi Bus Terminal (where no one got on), the bus died on a busy city street. My beach day seemed it was dying.

After the rainstorm, several people had told me that the weather had been crappy for the most part that day. So it was a relief to know that I hadn’t missed wonderful beach weather. What I also hadn’t missed was a memorable zig-zag to the beach. Thanks to some unintentional help from the locals.