Ko Samet, Thailand

It was raining heavily during the night and when we got up just after 9am, it was still spitting. We got ready and sat on our verandah and decided we might as well be back on the beach.

By the time we were back at the deckchairs, the sun was trying its hardest to burn away the clouds, making for the perfect temperature with just the occasional spot of rain to prevent us overheating.

We selected our deckchairs and settled in for the morning as others slowly ventured out and filled up most of the other deckchairs. My morning was nearly ruined, when a family with 3 young boys, plonked themselves down directly in front of us. Luckily, literally 2 minutes later, one of the boys ran back to his parents with blood pouring from both knees. Evidently he fallen when trying to retrieve their football from the rocks. With that they packed up and departed never to be seen again, presumably to get some medical attention. I thanked our lucky stars!!

At lunchtime we decided to return to our very own Tok’s Little Hut restaurant. We had 2 dishes in mind to try for the first time. Annoyingly they didn’t serve either, so Jackie ordered a Pad Thai and I, a fried chicken in curry paste and rice. I added a spoonful of chilli sauce to my dish and to my horror discovered that it contained a hint of fish sauce. Jackie kindly swapped with me and I had her Pad Thai which was served with a tray of 4 condiments to add according to individual taste. To be on the safe side I added just a couple of spoonfuls of sugar and wow did it enhance the flavour.

During the afternoon I returned to the little shop down the road to buy a couple of large Changs. I was taken back, when the lady (younger than yesterday) asked me for 180THB. I argued the toss telling her I only paid 160THB the previous day. She was having none of it and I begrudgingly paid her what she was asking, vowing not to return.

My principals were shredded when Jackie was not going to have her holiday ruined by a tight bugger (me) and went off to buy a two more Changs. Jackie assured me that she checked the price of Changs in other shops and they were no cheaper than 90THB each. She is convinced we were undercharged yesterday and that is the end of it!!

We bought a couple more sarongs from a seller on the beach for what we considered to be a bargain price and returned home gone 5pm.

After showering, we had a couple of Hong Thongs then went straight back out. We walked along the beach and encountered the end of one of the highly advertised ‘free’ Fire Shows. As the performers came round looking for tips, we disappeared into the town. We walked up to the Banana Bar, but sadly we were confronted by a queue outside waiting to get a table. I don’t know, but I’m guessing that it is recommended in the Lonely Planet guidebook or something similar.

We did a sit-rep and settled for the same ‘cheap’ restaurant that I treated her to on Valentine’s Day. As soon as we sat down, I needed a wee and had to trek to the public toilets on the other side of the square. A large Chang was sitting on the table upon my return and the waitress was stood over Jackie with her pen posed. It was an awkward next 10 minutes whilst we deliberated from the huge menu whilst the waitress refused to be moved on. Eventually, Jackie chose a pork Penang curry and I went totally off piste with a pineapple curry with chicken.

Two Asian lads on the table next to us had a veritable feast of seafood including piles of crab and prawn. They were filming themselves eating it, probably for YouTube or TikTok. When their bill came it was more than double what we normally pay for a meal.

We also had notification that a caller to our house at home had rung our doorbell. We didn’t speak to him but we did at least confirm our car hadn’t been stolen yet!

Jackie’s delicious Penang curry arrived about 15 minutes after ordering, but there was no inkling that mine was on its way. Jackie had finished her dinner before mine finally arrived after I had enquired as to where mine was. It felt like I was eating a pineapple soup with rice. It was nice, but more like a dessert than a savoury dish. When the bill arrived it was at least 200THB short, so we quickly paid up and departed as quickly as we could without making a scene.

We popped into the 7-11 for some more Coke Zeros, some Lays and more Hong Thong. They only had litre bottles of Hong Thong costing 413THB, whereas we normally bought the 750ml bottles costing just 294THB. My mathematical brain kicked into gear and I concluded that the litre bottles were overpriced, which didn’t make sense. Instead we bought two 750ml bottles at the regular price from the 7-11 opposite, before walking home.

It may appear from this blog that I am tight, but I’m not. I just like to get value for my money and I don’t like being ripped off.

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