Planning first days

My list for further equipment needed is still a long one. Nevertheless I´m already doing some intense reading in my travel guide on a possible route for my first days in Thailand filling the pages with notes and markings. Additionally I bought a little red note book that will be my travel diary with two pages for every day, writing down all the important things to prepare and to plan, my travel itinerary and of course experiences of the day.

Okay, now how does the modern westerner approach travel plans? Right, surf the internet. My travel guide includes all those great places with phone numbers and homepages. I was sure from the beginning, that I want to spend the first days at the beaches. So here was my initial plan: Arrive in Bangkok, directly take a bus down to the island of Ko Samet or stay over night in Pattaya and then go down to Ko Samet the next day and plan from there. And if I don´t find a direct bus down there, stay one night in Bangkok and then go down to Ko Samet. I don´t have to tell you more about what happened to this plan, when you have a look at the homepage of the national transport company Borisat Khon Song. So no bus booking in advance... What happened to my other plan booking my first accomodation on Ko Samet in advance? Well, have a look at this and read the note: "To make a reservation at this resort, you must arrive in person.The resort has no telephone." Well at least other nice places have a telephone line. Of course there are some resorts with great amenities you can book in advance, but that is not how I want to travel, well at least not at the beginning. Later in time maybe I´m happy to see one of those...

First lessons learned:

No 1: Forget about exact German planning and just see what happens when you are there and live your life day to day

No 2: Forget about internet and emails, use a simple phone and talk to people (what a great perspective coming from an internet and e-mail packed daily schedule!)

 

After reading some more I´ve gotten away from my plan of going down to Pattaya at a second glance anyway. A lot of classical tourists stay there and Pattaya with its ambivalent image as a party paradise you don´t really have to see, if you are searching for an authentic Asia experience. Ko Samet is the island where lots of tourists go to after arriving in or before departing from Bangkok. So I would rather prefer this: Arrive in Bangkok, search for one of those busses listed in my guide to take me down to the beautiful and still pretty original island of Ko Chang. They start directly from the airport or from Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai) or I´ll take one of the Minibusses from Victory Monument in Bangkok. They all cost about 250-300 Baht for a 6 hours drive. Amazing price! Of course there are private bus companies who take you down there like the Express Bus. But, unfortunately most of the direct busses to Koh Chang from the airport leave in the morning and I arrive in the afternoon and again, taking the "normal" busses is more the kind of experience I´m searching for. For the same reason I wouldn´t take one of the really cheap flights with Bangkok Air or Air Asia down to Trat and go from there. I will probably  try to get down to Trat near the Cambodian border by bus and look for a one night accomodation there or travel over night. The next day I will take one of the ships over to Koh Chang, spend a few days there and then explore the beaches and islands hopping aorund the Koh Chang archipelago with boats like these.