Sunday, March 12, 2006

Siam Summer

Ah summer in Siam (Thailand). School is out, the hot season is coming and it's time to do something. I love riding my motorcycle but in town the song, Lunatic Fringe" comes to mind. So to really enjoy must get out of the city limits. Just have to watch out for drivers coming head-on on my side of the road. One of the wonderful things about living in Thailand is that travel here is cheap. If I was still on Oahu and wanted to rent a bungalow on the beach for a week I would have to take out a loan. But here it's different.

Koh Samui, or Samui Island in Surat Thani province is a nice place to spend a week or so. The beaches are nice and not too crowded. Samui is in the Gulf of Thailand and there is an island nearby that is famous for Full Moon Party. The biggest expense going to Samui is travel, if you fly. One airline in and the airport belongs to them. You can take a train or bus but then have several legs of travel to arrive there.

I like Lamai Beach. It is less commercial then Sawang Beach. Sawang beach is more like Waikiki, many tourists and all the western restaurants. But on Lamai I had a bungalow for $20 a night and it was only 30 meters from the beach. It had air, hot water, and cable TV. A great deal. Lamai is a wide beach and sandy. Not a rock beach. You don't have to pay to sit in the chairs and use the tables. The food around is diverse. You can get western food, seafood buffets and, of course, great Thai food.

At night you can walk down the road and get a cold beer, listen to music and socialize. The area does close down soon after midnight but you are ready to get some rest so can have a nice, calm, tranquil walk on the beach in the morning.

I am thinking about going down there again. It's very nice and relaxing. I highly recommend it to anyone planning to come to Thailand. It's quite a bit cheaper than Phuket but it's not on the Andaman Sea too.

The Siam summer will be over all too soon, but this year I am hoping things work out and I won't have to go back to teaching English. Will have to find another way to keep my visa to live here but that's ok. Enjoy and if you are living in a cold climate you should consider coming here to thaw out. Take care.

Darwin
P.S.
If you have any questions about Thailand or any of my posts you can send me an email at dndent@gmail.com but please introduce yourself and tell me you got my email from there. Thanks.