Koh Samed, Thailand

Since I had such an amazing time on the beaches of Thailand I decided it would be great to take Keith to an island so he could experience the more relaxing way of life.  (It is not hard to have a more relaxing way of life than the trekking in Chiang Mai.)  Since we did not have enough time to head very far south and hit up any of the islands that I had been to earlier in the month we hit Koh Samed.  

Not only is Koh Samed close to Bangkok (only a 4-hour bus ride and a 45-minute boat ride) it is also touted as a locals island (it is supposedly huge with the people in Bangkok).  We were expecting an island paradise with great snorkeling and fun in the sun.  What we actually got was the worst island I had been to.  Koh Samed was dirty, expensive and had crappy snorkeling.  In defense of the island we did stay in one of the touristy places on the island (there are supposedly a couple of really nice beaches that are harder to get to and a lot more remote).

Anyway, we stayed at an ok guesthouse on the island that was close to the beach and close to restaurants (very nice).  We spent two nights and one full day on the island so we did get to swim in the water and tired to sign up for a snorkeling trip.  Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled because the water was too rough and the boat was not going to go out that night.  So, we finally found some equipment to rent and tried to snorkel off of the beach.  This was also a bust because the water was much too murky to actually see anything more than two inches in front of you.  It was kind of crazy because I could not see my hand if I stretched my arm out in front of me.  We played around with the snorkel stuff for a while and then just swam around.  The best part was that Keith actually got to swim in the ocean (really a sea, but part of the ocean) for the first time - chalk another one up to new experiences.

We both got some sun while at the beach and got to play in the water so it was a somewhat successful beach adventure.  The fact that the island was dirty (trash on the side of the road), you get ripped off taking a cab/truck back to the ferry dock and that the island is more expensive than most places makes this my least favorite island that I went to.  I don't think I would go back to this island and I do not recommend it to anyone who is looking for a relaxing time on the beach.  If you are looking for jet skis and inner tubing and the banana float rides and all of the other motor sports you can think of then go ahead and jump on a boat to the island, but be ready to dish out some serious (for Thailand) dough to do all of these adventures (30 minutes of jet skiing will cost you about $50USD).  All in all I would skip it, but I guess that is because I am not into the types of things this island had to offer.