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Simon and Jackie Annals

Simon and Jackie Annals

Retiredish. Now 2 Wannabe Globetrotters. Read more🇬🇧Cuckfield
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    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand

      Day 13 - Sunday Bloody Sunday

      February 23 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

      It was a sleep of 2 halves - a bit like the previous nights football match. Having been awake between 1am and 5am, we finally awoke just after 9am. I had evidently scratched my bites during the night and my ankles looked like a bloody murder scene.

      After showering away the evidence (I’ll explain what evidence is to you another day Alka), I hurried to finish and post my blog. We left the room shortly after 10am and made for our favourite area of the beach. As anticipated the deckchair man had returned after the fashion shoot and had set out his deckchairs with a table and parasol in a much more spacious out manner. They were particularly inviting and we rented the last remaining set for the reasonable price of 150THB.

      Having paid up, we discovered that a leaf beside our deckchairs was riddled with large red ants. The deckchair man took the offending leaf away, but several ants had escaped and were attacking our beach furniture. We took to battering the ants with our shoes, but the little buggers were pretty much indestructible. We eventually took to flicking the ants as far away as possible, which probably appeased any on looking Buddhists!

      During the morning we noticed that the Flow Beach Cafe appeared closed, so we made alternative lunch plans. At lunchtime, we discovered that FBC had just opened but didn’t seem to be functioning properly. Our gut intuition was telling us to try somewhere different, but unfortunately we ignored it.

      Lunch was disappointing to say the least. Our favourite lady was stuck in the kitchen, presumably the chef had a day off. Jackie ordered her usual hummus, veggies and toast, whilst I ordered a mushroom, hummus and veggie wrap. Both did not live up to their usual high standards. It was almost as if they had run short on ingredients. We had 2 large Changs, then they ran out of large beers. The final straw for me was when I went to pay the arrogant son, who generally swanned around all day without getting his hands dirty, took our money without a thank you. This irritated me and we vowed to boycott it from now on.

      We spent an afternoon sat in deckchairs on what was now a very busy, but hazy overcast beach. During our deliberations for our boycott, we went in search of a beer. We bought 2 large Changs from a shop not too far away for half the price of the FBC beer prices. Later in the afternoon, we treated ourselves to a 2nd round of Changs. It was now that we decided to go feral from now on and buy shop bought beers and eat mainly from the beach sellers, whilst renting the exceptionally comfortable deckchairs.

      After the sun dropped behind the trees, we packed up and immediately got ready to go out. We had a quick Hong Thong, then walked along the beach and into town. We had identified 2 restaurants that we were going to try and eat in. The 1st was Banana Bar again, but all the tables were fully occupied. We continued on to Ocean Pizza, that was the first restaurant that you encounter after arriving at Koh Samed port.

      We found a table at Ocean Pizza and ordered 2 large bottles of Chang and a local ‘delicacy’ pizza with spicy minced pork and fried basil to share - Jackie’s decision to share. It was bloody delicious and thanks to Jackie’s sparrow appetite, I had 5 eighths of the pizza.

      We hunted for stubby holders on the way back. We only found the one shop selling them and they wanted 150THB. At that price we were best off just drinking our beer quicker. Instead we bought some sh*t sweets and ended this Sunday with a Hong Thong.

      Song of the Day - Sunday Morning Call by Oasis.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand
      1

      Day 12 - The Fashion Shoot

      February 22 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      We both had a decent nights sleep. The alcohol probably helped.

      By 10am we were on the beach where the mystery of the taped off area on the beach was solved. A fashion shoot with several models and countless cameramen and helpers was taking place at the end of the beach. The awnings were housing a rail of outfits and refreshments for the crew. It provided the entertainment for the morning.

      At 11.45am we went to our usual, Flow Beach Cafe, for brunch. I ordered the smoothie bowl predominantly with mango and banana, whilst Jackie ordered the avocado, pesto and tofu option. Yet again the food was superb and didn’t let us down, however with 3 large Changs it came to just over 800THB.

      During the afternoon we walked up and down the entire beach, where at the very far end of Sai Kaew Beach we found the sand to be literally teeming with tiny crabs. We also managed to cut open and eat one of the mangos that Jackie had bought the night before, using a knife we stole at brunch. It was extremely juicy and we put the skin and stone in a little plastic bag and hung it on a tree like a dog poo bag to dispose of later.

      Unbelievably, a Russian family sat under that exact branch of the tree with the dog poo bag was hanging less than a foot above their heads. Luckily they packed up and left as the same time as us, so we could retrieve it, otherwise it would have been way too awkward to get it with them still sitting there.

      Around 7.15pm we returned to the Gecko Bar to see what it looked like in darkness. Day-Glo was the answer. We thought it would be rude not to have a happy hour cocktail, especially as thunder cracked overhead nearby. We chose a seat undercover near the bar and ordered a banana daiquiri and Long Island Ice Tea. We didn’t realise initially that we were also under a huge speaker pumping out rap music at full volume. Jackie was keen to move seats but I had discovered that the Everton v Man Utd was just about to start on a television behind the bar, so I persuaded her to stay put.

      The cause of the day-glo decoration, or graffiti if you prefer, was by customers buying or being given brushes and pots of day-glo orange or yellow paint to daub the walls, floors or absolutely anything else with. We weren’t offered any, probably because we were too old!

      The game started in a dreadful manner and Utd were soon one down. We ordered a second, not so ‘happy hour’ cocktail, but when Everton scored a second goal I had seen enough so we drank up, paid up and left.

      We went to a little unnamed restaurant virtually next door where we ordered a chicken Massaman curry, a stir fried chicken with cashew nuts and a couple of steamed rices to share. It was all very nice, but in my humble opinion the Massaman curry was not quite as nice as the one I had the previous night. The chicken and cashew nuts dish was the 2nd best that we had had on this trip. Overall, an astounding success and cheap.

      We returned home to catch the end of the football (2-2) and the cricket, which England narrowly lost, had a Hong Thong and went to bed.

      Song of the Day - The Day the World Turned Day-Glo by X-Ray Spex.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand

      Day 11 - Thunder And Consolation

      February 21 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Woke up after 6.30am, which was marvellous for me. Apparently not for Jackie who informed me she had to hit me 6 times in the night to stop me snoring. Allegedly I sounded like a warthog.

      Outside we could hear it was raining and there was regular rumblings of thunder. Jackie took the opportunity to have a lie-in and catch up on her sleep whilst I read. We also used the time to catch up on a bit of admin including booking accommodation for our 2 last nights on the island, back at Samed Garden Resort.

      We finally left our room around midday and went straight to Flow Beach Cafe for an early lunch or some might say late brunch. Jackie had the hummus again and I had a bowl of yoghurt, muesli and fruit. Out of curiosity I tried to identify how much the beers cost on my phone calculator as they weren’t listed on the menu. After subtracting the cost of the food from the total bill of 790THB the answer was 146.6 recurring THB!!! Today our bill for ordering pretty much the same priced food and another 3 large Changs came to just 510THB, which would have made the beers just 40THB each, which was clearly too little.

      After lunch we returned to our usual spot and were quite perturbed to find that a large area included our spot was taped off. 2 awnings had been erected with tables and containers underneath. Luckily there was sufficient room outside of the taped area for us to happily lay out our mat for the overcast afternoon. It was a mystery as to why the area was taped off and throughout the afternoon there was next to no activity there.

      Just before 5pm, we left the beach and headed to the Gecko Bar for their happy hour. The Gecko Bar is huge open air bar and looks like Jackson Pollack had gone berserk with orange paint. There were no other clients, but we sat down ordered cocktails at just 80THB each. I had two Banana Daiquiris whilst Jackie had a Mojito followed by a Long Island Iced Tea. They were decent cocktails in proper glasses.

      After returning home we changed and went straight back out after a quick Hong Thong. In town we bought a sarong, some mossie spray and a couple of packs of cheap 10THB biscuits, then on impulse stopped at a tiny little restaurant called the Banana Bar. It only had 3 tables run by 2 elderly Thai ladies with an elderly male chef and had a nice bohemian feel about it. I ordered a chicken Massaman curry and rice, whilst Jackie ordered from the Specials menu - the deep fried prawns that didn’t have a price next to it.

      My bloody lovely Massaman came out which I devoured whilst Jackie looked on hungrily. I had finished my curry and we were starting to get that deja vu feeling. Jackie was by now feeling sorry for herself realising she had ‘f*cked up’ (her words, not mine) again. Eventually an enormous intimidating plate of deep fried prawns arrived at the table. Jackie nibbled at a few then declared that she didn’t like the batter, it wasn’t what she was expecting because she had ordered grilled prawns. No she hadn’t.

      I watched on as Jackie attempted to suck the prawns out of the batter, then gave it up as a bad job. I was dreading to find out how much this uneaten meal was going to cost, but I was pleasantly surprised when the entire meal including 4 small Changs came to only 700THB. The same price as a plate of grilled squid!

      On the way home Jackie bought 2 whole mangos because she was hungry, but with little thought to the fact that we didn’t have any cutlery in our room to cut it up with.

      This didn’t have anything to do with drinking a lot of alcohol and eating very little food!!

      Song of the Day - The Ballad of Bodmin Pill by New Model Army.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand

      Day 10 - Bewildered Donkey

      February 20 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      Woke up in the early hours with itchy ankles again. When we finally got up, I rushed down the road to purchase some coconut oil and some bottles of water whilst Jackie pampered herself.

      Upon my return we smothered ourselves in coconut oil and headed for our spot on the beach. We treated ourselves to a banana smoothie each, then Jackie knocked hers over on the beach mat and her sarong. But she’s not clumsy!

      It was a particularly hot morning (33 degrees) and it was a pleasant relief at lunchtime to get under the shade at Flow Beach Cafe, which also did vegan options. I ordered the tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelet) and Jackie ordered the hummus, veggies and toast with our regular Changs. Both were delicious, the atmosphere was spot on and we vowed to return most lunchtimes.

      It was another uneventful afternoon on the beach of dips in the sea, strolls along the beach and book reading.

      That evening we headed to 7-11 to buy some instant coffee, because the coffee suppled in our new room is way too sweet, even for Jackie. We ended up buying a small packet of coffee AND 2 more bottles of Hong Thong, 4 Coke Zeros and 2 litres of water. With the bulging bag slung over my shoulder I looked like one of those overburdened donkeys you see in Greece.

      We were stood in the road contemplating our next move - whether to go for a drink or dinner or take our shopping home, when an elderly English couple approached us and said “You look bewildered, can we help you?”
      “Pardon”.
      “We know what it’s like when you arrive in a strange place”.
      “That’s very kind of you, but no we’re ok thank you” and with that they walked off having tried to do their good deed for the day.

      I was annoyed that they thought we looked bewildered, but Jackie was more annoyed that we must still look white, because they had thought that we had just arrived,

      We walked to a bar we liked the look of on the beach, then I continued on heaving the shopping back to our room. I rejoined Jackie at beach bar for a small Chang whilst Jackie had a mojito cocktail.

      We then visited a little rustic backstreet shack which advertised panang curry and green curry on chalkboard outside. Jackie had the panang pork curry, while I had fried garlic and chicken with rice. Both were extremely delicious and we will be revisiting.

      It had been an exceptionally good food day and we finished it off with Hong Thong nightcap on the verandah.

      Song of the Day - I Am Bewildered by Dave Alvin.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand

      Day 9 - You Only Had One Job

      February 19 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      I woke up at 5am with the bites on my back and ankles itching like buggery. We have concluded that the bites are definitely sandfly bites which seem to take 12-24 hours to burst out of our bodies with their unsightly pusy heads.

      I watched my iPad to distract the itchiness until started to get ready around 9am. At 10.45am, we hauled our luggage consisting of 2 large rucksacks, 2 small rucksacks, 2 cloth beach bags, a handbag and our beach mat to reception. The receptionist called us a Songteo (taxi), which we loaded up with all our luggage and set off on the 2 mile trip to our next accommodation, Tok’s Little Hut.

      As we approached, I suggested to Jackie that I get out first then she could pass all the luggage out to me. At Tok’s Little Hut, I duly jumped out and Jackie passed me a large and small rucksack, the driver assisted with the remaining luggage, so I took the opportunity to count out the 300THB for the driver. The driver departed and we checked in at reception and was delighted to be informed that our room was all ready to move into despite the check in time being not until after 2pm.

      It was all going so well until I realised that my beach bag was missing. We immediately assumed that we had inadvertently left it at the previous resort, so we asked the receptionist if she could ring them. She eventually understood, but she couldn’t get through to them on the phone. I was left with no option, but to walk back to Samed Garden Resort to retrieve the missing beach bag. We dumped our remaining luggage in our new room, then Jackie returned to the reception with me to see me off. I was not impressed when in the busy reception area I found Jackie’s handbag containing our passports and all our cash sitting there wide open on a table. Brilliant!

      I then set off on my 2 mile route march in the blazing sun. Halfway into the march I realised that I hadn’t been thinking straight when it dawned on me that I could have rented a scooter for an hour for less than a bottle of Chang. It was too late to turn back so I plodded on. I was just short of Samed Garden Resort, when Jackie rang me to say she had contacted them via Booking.com and they had confirmed that they didn’t have my beach bag.

      I continued on anyway and met the very helpful receptionist who had ordered our Songteo. He informed me that he had spoken to the Songteo driver who said that he had checked his vehicle and didn’t have the beach bag. I searched our old room and the area where we boarded the Songteo without success. I even viewed their CCTV footage, which showed us leaving but it was inconclusive as to whether we had the missing beach bag with us or not. As I was leaving the receptionist confirmed that we had been picked up by Songteo No.4.

      My next stop was the ferry port where all the Songteos congregated to try and find the driver. As I walked back, I chatted with Jackie to establish what was in the lost beach bag - my favourite swimming shorts, my sarong, my book, my binoculars and my ‘tough’ camera that I can use underwater. As I continued, I started to get dishonest thoughts that I would declare that it was my expensive new camera lost and try and claim for a new one on our travel insurance.

      Eventually I arrived at the port car park and to my utter astonishment the 1st Songteo I laid eyes on had a number 4 on the side. It was unattended so I peered in the cab, then into back and to my utter astonishment again there was my beach bag sitting on the seat. I climbed in and retrieved it, then the driver appeared and said he had looked for it but didn’t see it!!

      Mightily relieved, I marched back to Tok’s Little Hut where I found Jackie in the restaurant supping a cold bottle of Chang. We celebrated with a couple more beers and a cheeseburger, club sandwich and fries lunch.

      We spent the entire afternoon in our usual spot on Koh Samet Beach, hopefully not getting bitten anymore, but hard to tell as our bites were still so itchy. It was quite late when we went out for dinner, not helped because we couldn’t find the purse in the room. We found it outside on the wall of our verandah!

      We walked along the beach, which had been transformed from rows and rows of sun beds into rows and rows of tables and chairs. As we walked all the way into town we caught the end of a couple of fire shows that had started at 8pm

      We chose a table at the, what I now know to be called, Seafood Food Court, then ordered chicken and pork dishes. Jackie ordered a spicy mango and pork salad whilst I ordered stir-fry fried chicken and cashew nuts with rice. Jackie enjoyed hers, but mine was bland. It was a bit disappointing, because it was a rough and ready place but always full, so we assumed it must be cheap or particularly good. It was neither.

      We priced up coconut oil in several shops, then did a big shop in the 7-11 for Hong Thong, Coke Zero and biscuits. We had a Hong Thong nightcap to end a stressful day.

      Song of the Day - Losing Things by The Beautiful South.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand

      Day 8 - Time To Move On

      February 18 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      This is going to be short and sweet!

      We sat at our usual spot on Noi Na Beach without being dowsed in coconut oil and felt the sandflies nipping at our ankles. We had lunch as usual at C Smile with our usual order of French fries and Chang Beer, but with the addition of a spicy mango salad. It was too spicy for my delicate palate.

      The afternoon was more of the same of being bitten on the beach until the sun disappeared behind the trees.

      That evening we went back to C Smile with high expectations for our final night at this end of the island. The restaurant was packed with diners but we did find a free table in their cafe area. I ordered the stir-fried chicken with black pepper, which had been somspectacular 2 nights ago. Jackie ordered the starter of scallops in a cream and garlic sauce and also drunken noodles with pork. The waiter informed Jackie that they didn’t have any scallops left, so she hurriedly scanned the menu and ordered the grilled squid.

      As is the case in Thailand, the dishes arrive at your table when they ready and in no particular order. The drunken noodles came out first , shortly followed by my stir-fried chicken, which was nothing short of disappointing. There were much fewer mushrooms in it and the sauce was this time like a bland gravy with a couple of whole peppercorns in it. We had finished both dishes and had nearly finished our second bottle of Chang, but still there was no sign of the squid dish. Jackie told me that she wasn’t hungry anymore anyway so we would pay up and go.

      No sooner had we made this decision when an enormous pile of flaccid squid pieces, enough to satisfy a family of six, was served up to us. Jackie took a little bite out of one piece and said she didn’t like it then tried to convince me that it didn’t matter, because it only cost 70THB. I wasn’t convinced that this much squid cost less than £2, so I checked on the menu and to my horror I saw that it actually cost 700THB. This was more than we had paid for any of our entire meals on this trip. To say I was annoyed was an understatement, especially as Jackie refused to eat any more of the squid.

      Just to top it off, as we were about to leave there was a sudden heavy downpour and we had to sit in seething silence for 15 minutes until it passed.

      We bought a half bottle of Hong Thong on the way home, which we drank and went to bed.

      Song of the Day - Moving On by James,      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand

      Day 7 - Travel Writing Envy

      February 17 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      I woke up at 5am which was a right result for me, dozed and watched Transparent, a very amusing comedy series on my iPad. Around 8am, just as I was contemplating getting up the heavens opened with a hell of a racket. The rain continued for 2-3 hours in total contrast to the weather forecast on my iPhone, which stated that we should have been basking in lovely sunshine all morning and dodging possible showers from 2pm.

      We ventured out into the now blazing sun shortly before midday. We stopped at C Smile cafe for several large Changs and a basket of their delicious crinkle cut french fries, but I was nervous that the weather was going to change back to rain before we had even had a chance to sit in the sun. As it happened it didn’t.

      After lunch we set down our mat at the far end of the beach next to C Smile. I read my book, ‘The Lost Continent : Travels in Small-Town America’ by Bill Bryson, which told of his travels through small town America in the eighties. I had read the book before, but it was particularly enjoyable second time around having visited many of the same places and having had similar experiences with the inhabitants. I was very jealous just how so so much more articulate and funny he is with his travel writing……..Feel free to disagree!!!

      At 4.30pm, the sun slid down behind the trees and cast the beach in shade. We packed up and returned to our room and immediately got ready to go out. We walked out to Minnie Seaview Resort where they had a couple of tables set out on the beach in a very scenic spot. We ordered a Chang and discovered that the owner was an Englishman from Poole. We were going to order food but before we had a chance to study the menu we started getting bitten alive again. I asked the owner if it was sandflies or mosquitoes that were biting us. He said it was mosquitoes biting at this time of day, but all the beaches did have sandflies. He recommended coconut oil to ward them off.

      It was just as well we didn’t order food, because we were soon plunged into darkness and we had to pay up by torchlight. We headed back in the dark towards home and stopped at a restaurant that on the map is called ‘Pan-Fried Man Crab Meat’, just as the power was restored. We sat down at a table and noticed that all the other diners, who were Thai, had a vat of soup on their tables and a small BBQ upon which they were grilling their own meat and seafood. It looked very appetising, but it seemed that you had to select your dinner from trays of unidentified food stuffs. We came to the conclusion that it would be just too complicated, particularly with no English speaker in sight, so we made our excuses and left.

      We returned to our trusted Samed Thanee, where Jackie ordered a spicy pork salad and a plate of Morning Glory, whilst I ordered chicken and cashew nuts with rice. It was all very lovely. We finished the evening on our verandah with a couple of Hong Thongs.

      Song of the Day - Change In The Weather (feat. Travis Tritt) by Buddy Guy.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand
      1
      11

      Day 6 - I Am a Poseur and I Don’t Care

      February 16 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      We left our room around 9am and hiked back to our beach spot over 2 miles away. We spent the morning on the beach entertained by wives and girlfriends posing on the beach whilst their husbands and boyfriends photographed them for Instagram, TikTok or whatever.

      One particular woman in her 30’s with a mop of white hair really did take the biscuit. She had her young daughter videoing her as she danced around the beach then stopping to review the content. The daughter eventually got fed up and refused to continue so the woman set her phone up on a stand and continued ‘creating content’.

      We went to lunch at Jep’s Beach Bar, which seemed a little posher than Tok’s Little Hut Bar and was reflected in the prices, but not in the service. A large bottle of Chang cost 160THB, whereas next door at Tok’s the cost just 120THB. We ordered the Fried Spicy Pork Ball Salad and the Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls. The Pork Ball Salad arrived 1st and was just placed on the corner of our table without a word and with just a fork, no knife, napkins or condiments. They were very nice but could have done with a sauce. The Spring Rolls arrived with just a dribble of plum sauce, so we had to ask for more and we then were given a huge pot of the stuff.

      We were just finishing up when I noticed that everyone else was drinking draft beer and all the parasols and signage were for Heineken. I picked up a menu and saw that the first page was advertising Heineken buy 1 get 1 free. I was kicking myself, so we ordered a 500ml glass of Heineken and 2 arrived for 190THB. Sadly we decided we actually much prefer Chang Beer. We left just as some morbidly obese bloke sat down in front of us and blocked out the sun.

      After an afternoon on the beach we headed home and my stomach started to gurgle, probably from the spicy pork balls! Luckily my stomach had calmed down when we went out to eat that evening. We went to C Smile Restaurant, which had virtually all fish on the menu. There were only a couple of options available to me, so I ordered the stir fry chicken with black pepper and rice. Jackie ordered Spicy Salt and Pepper King Prawns.

      Mine arrived first and it was sensational. As well as chicken the dish had enoki mushrooms with a gorgeous peppery sauce. Jackie was served up 6 enormous meaty prawns with a seriously spicy sauce, which was apparently also lovely. We both agreed that it was one of the best meals we had had in a very very long time.

      We finished the evening off with a couple of Hong Thongs on our verandah.

      Song of the Day - I Am a Poseur by X-Ray Spex      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand
      1

      Day 5 - Grey Dreadlocks

      February 15 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

      I woke up stupidly early again and Jackie woke up not much later to itch her bites. We crawled out of bed around 8.30am and hiked to Ko Samet Beach 2.1 miles away.

      On the way we bought a beach mat for 100THB, then settled down in our selected spot. We went for a dip in the cool blue sea where I was accosted by an elderly man with grey dreadlocks, who said “I guess you must be English if you’re wearing a New Model Army t-shirt”. I confirmed I was, then put him right by informing him that New Model Army were particularly big in Germany and Poland. He probably regretted ever saying anything when I told him about my travels around Europe following the band!!

      The grey dreadlocked man (I never asked his name) was in his 60s, from Dorset and was travelling alone. I thought I had too many ailments, but he trumped me. He suffered from sleep apnoea and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which was not curable. He was not able to now drink or smoke! We chewed over the fat for 30 minutes or so and exchanged travel stories.

      Jackie and I went for lunch at Tok’s Little Hut restaurant. Jackie ordered the Tom Yum soup, whilst I couldn’t make my mind up whether to have yet another Pad Thai or french fries, Jackie ordered both. Lunch was nice, but my Pad Thai could have been a little bit hotter.

      We spent the entire afternoon on the beach in the 30 degree heat with a gentle breeze and a banana smoothie to stop us overheating.

      We trekked back to our place with bags overflowing with cans of tonic and biscuits, which definitely didn’t do my back any good. We then showered, applied our bite cream and went straight back out to dinner at Samed Thanee. We both ordered curries, I had a huge bowl of superb green curry and Jackie had a spicier red curry.

      We ended the evening with the remainder of our duty-free gin.

      Song of the Day - Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc.      Read more

    • Simon and Jackie AnnalsSimon and Jackie AnnalsKo Samet, Thailand
      1

      Day 4 - Valentine’s Day Love Bites

      February 14 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      I woke up at 4.30am and watched my iPad until Jackie woke up around 7.30am. We exchanged Valentine’s Day cards, but Jackie also gave me a chocolate heart, so I treated her to coffee in bed with a couple of biscuits.

      Jackie had woken up with numerous bites on her legs, whilst I only had one on my back and one on my arm. Jackie’s bites were itchy and had gone pusy or pussy. I googled pusy spot to try and ascertain the correct spelling and got quite a shock with the images that it brought up. I don’t recommend it (especially if you’re in the presence of minors) and I’m still none the wiser!

      At 9.00am we rented a scooter from C Smile for the day. It cost 400THB, which was a bit steep but the standard price for the whole island. It was only 300THB last year! We then set off to explore the entire island and to try and make a decision as to where to stay for the remainder of our trip.

      We headed south, parked up in the main town then walked down to Sai Kaew Beach. It was too busy but we walked along the beach, past a mermaid statue to Koh Samet Beach which was much more to our liking. We decided that this would be the beach we would walk to for at least our first week.

      We returned to our bike and followed the one and only road to the south of the island. Our next stop was Tubtim Beach which was very pleasant. We continued and stopped at Wong Duean Beach, where numerous resorts and restaurants lined the beach. We walked to the northern end where the ‘poshish’ Vimarn Samed Resort was perched on the rocks. We found a scenic small bar nearby and relaxed with a couple of cold large Changs. We also took this pitstop as an opportunity to scour the internet for available accommodation near to Koh Samet Beach. We found what on the face of it is the perfect place, Tok’s Little Hut, which we booked for 7 nights for just £253.

      Feeling very pleased with ourselves, we stopped at C Samet Beach Resort, which was very tranquil and a good option for our final week. We then popped in at Wai Beach before arriving at the southern tip of the island, which is known as Koh Samet Sunrise and Sunset Viewing Point. We walked to the view points which bizarrely had lots of man made towers of loose stones and rocks.

      By now it was pretty much lunchtime, so we rode back to Wong Duean Beach where there were numerous restaurants on the beach. We chose Nice & Easy, which it wasn’t as we were soon to find out. We ordered a couple of large Changs and another Pad Thai each. It was the worst Pad Thai that we could ever remember eating. It was in actual fact just chicken, noodles and a nondescript sauce. To make it worse the Changs were 160THB, but on the bright side the location was lovely.

      After lunch we rode to Prao Beach on the western side of the island, then headed back to the main town for Jackie to purchase some antihistamine tablets and some cream for her bites. We treated ourselves to a delicious Mango smoothie then rode back to our place. Once back in the room, I removed my shirt and discovered that my back was also covered in bites, but not itchy like Jackie’s. The cause of the bites is a mystery. We initially thought they were sandfly bites, now more likely to be mosquito bites, but we haven’t ruled out bedbugs.

      That evening we rode back into town and I treated Jackie to a particularly cheap Valentine’s Day meal. I had a chicken yellow curry whilst Jackie had spicy prawns and rice, both at just 80THB and the large Changs were just 100THB - our cheapest yet.

      We concluded our evening with a banana pancake from a roadside stand and had a gin and tonic nightcap.

      Song of the Day - Love Bites by Judas Priest.      Read more

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