Quick Update

This is going to be really quick since Internet here is 2 Baht per minute.

Anyway, we left the circus at Hat Chawang to spend 2 nights at the Marriott Renaissance Ko Samui. This was us finally spending the Marriott points spoils of Nisha's hell year at Accenture in 1999-2000. The hotel was really top notch. Perfect little sand beach with people filling your water and ice tea cups all day. Nice pool and bar. Excellent food. Jacuzzi tub on your private porch. $20 per hour Internet?

Yes you read that right, thus, no blogging at the Marriott. Honestly, it was not easy to stay under our $100 a day budget, even with the free room. It is not near a town, so you have to eat there, and everything is at normal hotel prices.

From there we took the ferry to Ko Pha-Ngan, near Ko Samui, but known as a backpacker mecca. After having plenty of time to get to see European tourists and the hookers that love them, with the requisite 24/7 trance music, on Ko Smaui, we were looking for something a little more out of the way. We found it on Hat Khom, on the north side of the island. It is a little cove about a 20 minute walk down a jeep track from the fishing village on the north side of the island.

There are 4 little bungalow operations there with about 40 rooms total. All around 300-600 (10-20 dollars) Baht. Bungalows are basic, only have electricity during the night (they have to run a generator) and only cold water. Our porch with 2 hammocks is only 10m from the surf however, and the beach is very nice. Also, there are several little beach bars with good food and cheap Beer Chang. Perfect place to spend a couple of days to really get away from it all.

In fact, I had to walk 20 minutes just to get to this Internet I am using right now.