Thread: Trip Report - Koh Tao, Koh Samui, and Return

Originally Posted by daveboy

This thread needs pictures Rick.

would be good with pics


what i dont get is your moaning about 5 baht for a toilet at chumpon, then end up giving someone a 500 baht tip for a massage?

Originally Posted by sunsetter

Originally Posted by daveboy

This thread needs pictures Rick.

would be good with pics


what i dont get is your moaning about 5 baht for a toilet at chumpon, then end up giving someone a 500 baht tip for a massage?

In my olden days (pre-Buddhist), I would have said, "That if you have to ask, you probably won't understand.", but trying to practise "Right Speech", I will explain.

The money is not the issue, I am very generous when tipping people, and buying my friends dinners, drinks, etc. However, the principle of someone trying to take advantage of other people (including myself), really bothers me.

In Thailand, the 3 baht bathroom charges are set by the department that oversees the railway system. The practise of charging falongs 5 baht is just a scam that some station workers have started to increase their income. Besides being racist, it is illegal.

By refusing to support the scam, I am making a statement (which probably has no impact) that is more important to me, than having to take a piss (at least during that instant).

I have enough money so that I don't ever have to worry about working, and I spend it freely, but I will not let some dirtbag take advantage of me.

Living in Thailand is a real challenge, due to the widespread "dual pricing" convention. I generally just refrain from paying extra by using a local to make the purchase, using my BIL (who is a Thai police Captain) to negotiate, or just saying to hell with it, and not buying or paying the fee. Works for me (you just have to be carefull and not insult the person trying to scam you - Thais have "deadly" tempers if they think you are insulting them).

I hope this explains my actions.

Regards,

Rick

Now back to my trip report. We arrived in Sarat Thani without too much hassle. The transfer from the ferry to the bus went fairly painless, and after an hour or so, we arrived in Sarat Thani. One word of caution, Make sure you know where you want to be let off, as the bus stops in a couple of different places.

Once we got our baggage (which we had no problem with theft, although I would recommend making sure everything is locked with good (not TSA) locks and always keep vaulables (money, electronics, etc) on your person in a small carryon).

At the busstop there was a slew of song tao drivers trying to overcharge us. I wanted to just walk away a block or so, but my wife really doesn't like to walk with our luggage, so I wound up paying 200 baht for what would probably cost 50 baht for a local.

We were staying at the 100 islands resort (or something like that), which is located at the edge of town, across from the Tesco-Lotus. It is an old teak building that has a lot of history. It was like staying in a museum. The room, was dated, but nice (with the exception of the moz - my wife had to borrow an electric swatter from the staff to clear our room prior to going to bed).

Having the Tesco-Lotus across the street was nice (although you had to be carefull crossing the 4-lanes of traffic), due to having KFC, Mk, and the other mall food restaurants.

We really didn't do much, as we were only staying the night, but still it was an interesting place to stay, fairly cheap, and came with breakfast (okay, but not great).

The next morning we caught a song tao to the "new bus terminal), which was quite close. I think we paid 50 or 100 baht for the both of us.

There we caught a bus to Prachuap Kirin Khan. The bus ride was okay, and we managed to get seats in the front on the top deck. Hint, if they are playing music, which they often do, don't tap your feet - the bus driver does NOT like that.

The trip was nice, with good roads and not too loud (Thai buses sometimes play music or DVDs at very loud levels- ensure you have earplugs!).

We arrived a PKK (Prachuap Kirin Khan) by early afternoon. The bus dropped us off on the side of the road, and my wife asked a shop girl about transportation, and the girl phoned a couple of motorcycle taxis to take us to the beach/hotel area.

They wanted 100 baht a piece, which was a little high, but we agreed. The ride was kind of pleasant, without too much traffic, and the hotel area was a lot futher than I had imagined.

We got dropped off at a little hotel at the far south end of the boardwalk, and after the motorcycle taxis had left, we discovered they had no vacanies.

I left my wife at the hotel with the luggage, and walked about 100 meters up the boardwalk to the Prachuap Beach Hotel.

Fortunately they had some rooms (around 800 baht a night) and I booked a room for two nights. I then went out the front door, and got a motorcycle taxi (with a side car), to take me to where my wife was and collect her and the luggage and return us to the new hotel. It cost about 30 baht.

The room was fantastic, with a great ocean view. It was done all in white, fairly new, and sparkling clean. It was the nicest place we had stayed in our entire trip.
The owners were really nice an friendly people, who gave us great advice on where to eat and what to do. I would highly recommend this place.

PKK itself, was a really clean city full of friendly Thais. Not too many tourists (which is probably why the Thais are so friendly) and traffic (at least in the boardwalk beach section of town) is fairly light, making it an excellent place to rent a motorbike (which you really need if you want to explore the place for a few days).

There were plenty of places to eat and the food was cheap (compared to Koh Samui, Koh Tao, etc). I saw a sign offering ocean fishing for 1500 baht (5:00 PM to midnight), which seemed really reasonable to me. Unfortunately, my wife wanted to go to the market (held on the northern end of the beach on Fridays and Saturdays), so I didn't get the chance to go fishing.

Although there was a lot of empty buildings, I really liked the town and would seriously consider moving there. It was quiet, had a beautiful bay, and seemed really low-key and old-fashioned. (If you are looking for girly bars and nightlife, this is probably not for you.)

I definitely plan to go back someday and spend a week or so.

Running out of time, so I will finish this up tomorrow.

Cheers.



I would definitely go back.

Although, we had originally planned on taking the train to Hua Hin and spending a couple of days there, my wife was wanting to get back to Bangkok to spend some more time with her oldest sister, before heading back to Kamphangphet to see the
rest of her family, so instead we took the bus directly to Bangkok.

The bus trip was okay, except that we weren't able to set next to each other (the knob of bus attendant wouldn't let us set together in one of the many empty seats, but insisted we set next to strangers). Later on, other (Thai) passengers got on and set whereever they liked, including switching seats. That kind of pissed me off, as I expect the attendant doesn't like foreigners (with Thai women anyway). I kind of got him back later on, as I moved our carryon luggage around (it had been under our seats) and the idiot managed to hit his head fairly hard (not very Buddhist of me I know, but I kind of liked the karma aspects).

Otherwise, the trip wasn't bad. The on-board DVD/CD player was on the blink so we didn't have to endure hours of very loud audio. My wife was sitting with a German lady who had been traveling all over Thailand by herself. She was quite pleasant and my wife (and I to a certain extent) had some very nice conversations with her. I, on the other hand, was sitting next to some grumpy old knob (a German to as it turned out). All he did was frown and look slightly crazy.

When we stopped for lunch (you get meal coupons with your bus tickets), apparently the German lady tried to talk with the grumpy old guy and (she later told us), the guy was very rude and told her to f-ck off (or words to that extent).

Don't know what that old blighter was doing in Thailand, but my guess it wasn't anything to be proud of.

Eventually we arrived at the southern bus terminal, where my wife and I got a taxi to Huai Kwang. The German lady was having trouble getting a taxi to where she wanted to go (it really helps in Bangkok if you know the exact address of the hotel
you are going to, since many Taxi drivers aren't familiar with every hotel). My wife
helped her as much as possible, and off they went, but there was still some confusion on both the lady and the driver as to their destination.

That's about it for this trip. I hope everyone enjoyed the narrative and found some useful information as well.

Our next trip is being tentatively planned for the Club Med in Phuket (both my wife and I are tired of eating sub-par Thai food at high prices). We stayed at the Club Med there about 5 years ago and had a pleasant time.

We plan on doing a lot of snorkeling and I plan on doing a dive or two (I finally got my Open Water Dive card from Koh Tao). I really enjoyed Club Med food (we've stayed at about 5 different Club Meds, with Bora Bora being the best location and
Guadeloupe, FWI having the best food and ambience. There is something about waiting in buffetlines for breakfast and lunch with dozens of young French women who are wearing their beachwear which consists of a bottom (often a thong) and no tops.). I'm trying to get my wife to go there next year (before the Phuket trip).
Guadeloupe is also great for snorkeling right off the beach, windsurfing, and diving.

Well best regards to all,

RickThai

PS Sorry about not having any pics, but I took a Hero3 video camera and have about 12 hours of video, but no stills worth posting.

Sounds like Samui has totally lost the plot. I was there in 2000 and 2002, and it was already full of the dregs of Europe. I even naiively got chatting to an english guy at a bar who, when I asked what he did for a living, said ''I can't tell you as it's classified'' upon which I ordered us two more beers, paid, went to the toilet and slunk off into the dusty night. A small price to pay for escaping another english Walter Mitty fucking prick tosser.

I went horse riding with the mia noi (I was married at the time) which was a bit scary, but 800 Baht for an hour luckily wasn't too long.

Rick, when they said you'd have to leave your credit card at reception, surely you must have had some doubts? I've never heard that one. Usually a deposit of 1000 and copy of passport suffices.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

Sounds like Samui has totally lost the plot. I was there in 2000 and 2002, and it was already full of the dregs of Europe. I even naiively got chatting to an english guy at a bar who, when I asked what he did for a living, said ''I can't tell you as it's classified'' upon which I ordered us two more beers, paid, went to the toilet and slunk off into the dusty night. A small price to pay for escaping another english Walter Mitty fucking prick tosser.

I went horse riding with the mia noi (I was married at the time) which was a bit scary, but 800 Baht for an hour luckily wasn't too long.

Rick, when they said you'd have to leave your credit card at reception, surely you must have had some doubts? I've never heard that one. Usually a deposit of 1000 and copy of passport suffices.

Yeah having to leave the actual credit card was a little disturbing. A couple of days later I swapped out my passport for the credit card. I did receive my credit card statement a few days ago which shows no illegal charges.

However, I have to be real carefull in the future, because it is possible that they stole the magnetic information and will use that to get money in the future.

As I think about it, maybe I better contact the CC company and tell them that card has been comprised. Better safe then sorry.

As to Koh Samui, I really feel sorry for the Thais that work there, as the quality of the tourists seem to have hit rock bottom.

Then again, maybe it is karma at work.

Cheers,

Rick

Originally Posted by RickThai

I really feel sorry for the Thais that work there, as the quality of the tourists seem to have hit rock bottom.

Then again, maybe it is karma at work.

Cheers,

Rick

They must be confused, as all westerners are ATMs to them and these tossers from the arse-end of Europe can't be very big spenders.

To them they seem to think that all they have to do with tourists is shout to them ''I go with you'' and the wallets fall open.

"That was probably the best thing about Koh Tao, was that there were no old men running around with young Thai hookers."

If that's the highlight then you must have had a pretty shit time.

Originally Posted by RickThai

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

Sounds like Samui has totally lost the plot. I was there in 2000 and 2002, and it was already full of the dregs of Europe. I even naiively got chatting to an english guy at a bar who, when I asked what he did for a living, said ''I can't tell you as it's classified'' upon which I ordered us two more beers, paid, went to the toilet and slunk off into the dusty night. A small price to pay for escaping another english Walter Mitty fucking prick tosser.

I went horse riding with the mia noi (I was married at the time) which was a bit scary, but 800 Baht for an hour luckily wasn't too long.

Rick, when they said you'd have to leave your credit card at reception, surely you must have had some doubts? I've never heard that one. Usually a deposit of 1000 and copy of passport suffices.

Yeah having to leave the actual credit card was a little disturbing. A couple of days later I swapped out my passport for the credit card. I did receive my credit card statement a few days ago which shows no illegal charges.

However, I have to be real carefull in the future, because it is possible that they stole the magnetic information and will use that to get money in the future.

As I think about it, maybe I better contact the CC company and tell them that card has been comprised. Better safe then sorry.

As to Koh Samui, I really feel sorry for the Thais that work there, as the quality of the tourists seem to have hit rock bottom.

Then again, maybe it is karma at work.

Cheers,

Rick

You never have to leave your card or passport at reception. That's just dumb.

Not once in 10 years have I been asked to do that. All that is req'd is a photocopy or in big hotels a copy of your card. These items are yours and you should never give them up otherwise the chances of being scammed go way up.

I first came to Thailand in 87 and had maybe 15 years association with Koh Tao owning a dive shop there.

Never ever have I heard of any company that asks for a credit card as security and I know the owner of Big Blue personally.

One must give a passport as security when renting a motor bike, this is standard procedure and always has been.

Never hand over a credit card for security, your a bit silly for doing it, should of asked for a refund on your diving course and walked out.

I have been in Thailand for ten years 7 have never been asked to leave passport or C/C, I always leave a deposit only 1000b

When I rented Motorbikes my British Club membership card was good enough, they were ok with it due to the official looking ''British Club'' lettering, same as hotels etc

*I was only granted a basic membership because I played for their football team

Originally Posted by terry57

I first came to Thailand in 87 and had maybe 15 years association with Koh Tao owning a dive shop there.

Never ever have I heard of any company that asks for a credit card as security and I know the owner of Big Blue personally.

One must give a passport as security when renting a motor bike, this is standard procedure and always has been.

Never hand over a credit card for security, your a bit silly for doing it, should of asked for a refund on your diving course and walked out.

Actually I argued with the guy (Luke was his name, a rather blocky guy with black hair) quite a bit, and tried to leave a photocopy but he was adamant.

If I hadn't already paid a deposit (5000 baht) thru eThaipay, I would have considered saying "screw it", but I didn't want the hassle of trying to get my money back, plus trying to find a place to stay and another dive course (I only had 6 days scheduled for my Koh Tao trip).

Maybe you could check with the owner about why I had to leave either my passport or a credit card (this was at Big Blue I were I checked in)?

Thanks.

Rick

Originally Posted by RickThai

Maybe you could check with the owner about why I had to leave either my passport or a credit card (this was at Big Blue I were I checked in)?

Next time I see him I will. Don't make sense to me and never heard of it.

More than likely though the manager of the complex is doing this and I suggest that next time you never give over your credit card to any body as it can be compromised.

You should of held the hard line and flatly refused end of. The balls in his court then and he either rolls over or refunds your money. Big blue run an honest business.

Regards the Passport. You should of just given the passport as they are kept in a secure location and returned if all is in order when you check out. Also saves you worrying about it when your out diving, lots of theft on Tao with bungalows being broken into.

The holding of passports is common practice on the Islands and always has been. They are always returned if the punter has not damaged any premises or rented vehicle. After the punter pays for his damages the passport is returned, if the punter refuses to pay for his damages the police are called and they sort it.

There are some trash tourists that float through the Islands causing damages to bungalows and rented motorbikes hence the holding of passports for security.

Never heard of passports being held for security on bungalows though. Quite strange your story although I believe you.

Fair enough And the system works.

Wordy thread.
I'm sure it's great but without pics I'm not even gonna start reading it.

Originally Posted by terry57

Originally Posted by RickThai

Maybe you could check with the owner about why I had to leave either my passport or a credit card (this was at Big Blue I were I checked in)?

Next time I see him I will. Don't make sense to me and never heard of it.

More than likely though the manager of the complex is doing this and I suggest that next time you never give over your credit card to any body as it can be compromised.

You should of held the hard line and flatly refused end of. The balls in his court then and he either rolls over or refunds your money. Big blue run an honest business.

Regards the Passport. You should of just given the passport as they are kept in a secure location and returned if all is in order when you check out. Also saves you worrying about it when your out diving, lots of theft on Tao with bungalows being broken into.

The holding of passports is common practice on the Islands and always has been. They are always returned if the punter has not damaged any premises or rented vehicle. After the punter pays for his damages the passport is returned, if the punter refuses to pay for his damages the police are called and they sort it.

There are some trash tourists that float through the Islands causing damages to bungalows and rented motorbikes hence the holding of passports for security.

Never heard of passports being held for security on bungalows though. Quite strange your story although I believe you.

Fair enough And the system works.

Just to be clear, I didn't stay in a bungalow, I stayed in a hotel room (Pra Wha, I think it was called).

And I agree with you entirely, that Big Blue Dive Resort is a first class business and very professional (with the exception of the passport/credit card thing).

Cheers,

Rick

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

Wordy thread.
I'm sure it's great but without pics I'm not even gonna start reading it.

That's the beauty of free choice!

Enjoy (your not reading of the thread).

Rick