A break on Ko Samet island

A new day comes to Ko Samet

Tired of Bangkok I decide to take a short break on the island of Ko Samet. It is the last chance to grasp a bit of summer before returning to Europe. Soon I realize that I am at a certain front line. This is the island on which the constant tug-of-war takes place. It is still unsettled between the defenseless, untouched nature and the cruel and relentlessly progressing mass tourism. The new investments are taking increasingly more areas of natural beauty.

I decide to spend all day to pass the island along its eastern shore to the very southern tip. The terrain is very diverse. Sandy-paradise beaches, dense jungle in the mainland and various rock formations above and underwater.

Corals, waves, sharp rocks, endless corners of wild island, here and there alternated with luxurious enclaves for western tourists. I happen to see numerous people who spend their holiday simply sipping a drink slouched in a plastic chair, gawking stupidly at the sea with absolutely no idea that just a few minutes away there is a wild island with lots of natural rocks and fantastic areas to explore.

After an intense effort from dawn to early afternoon, I achieve the southern tip. As I ascend to the lookout I admire the whole bay and try to discern some more snorkeling sites on the west coast of the island.

It is a difficult and tiresome terrain. I enter the water and because of the inaccessible and rocky coast, I have to stay in water for another mile, occasionally being able to hold on to tree roots and grab sharp rocks that require climbing. After an hour I manage to get back on land. I have no choice but to walk barefoot on sharp, small stones. Completely exhausted I hurry to make it before the dark. It happens to be a near miss. I definitely have underestimated the difficulty of the trip. Especially having just one bottle of water for eight hours of tropical sunshine. Has it been already dark, continuing the trip would have not only been much more difficult, as due to the rocky terrain, it would have been nearly impossible to carry on.

In the morning I come back to stuffy Bangkok and receive my preordered souvenir from Asia. I stay here a few extra days and reminisce about the whole trip. The last two months have made up a wonderful adventure. I overnight waiting for my flight at the airport in Qatar to land in a snow-clad Berlin the following day. The city is paralyzed by the unexpected snowfall. It takes me only 2 days to switch from the middle of summer right into the middle of winter. Thus I manage to skip boring and rainy autumn. It is time to start the winter season in Austria!

[eazyest_folder folder=”sea/th-ko-samet”]