The town of Ban Phe recedes into the distance as our ferry steams towards Samet Island a few kilometers off the coast. A few of us were late for the boat but they phoned the captain and he came back and picked us up. There was a scramble to get onboard so I didn't get any pictures of Ban Phe or the boat.
passengers luggage is piled on top of the engine compartment. plastic sheeting can be pulled down to cover the window openings in bad weather.
the east side of the island slips by as the boat steams towards Vong Duern (Half Moon) bay located about halfway along east coast
the boat drops anchor in Vong Duern bay in the middle of the 7 kilometer long golf tee shaped island
a ferry boat much like the one we are on is off loading supplies to a motor barge which is used to shuttle passengers and cargo between the boats and shore.
a motor barge approaches to take us to shore.
the view as we come in towards the beach on the barge. The buildings in back are bungalows which can be rented. There are many bungalow operations all along the coast
the barge pulls up just short of the beach and the passengers disembark with their luggage
sun worshippers baking in the sun along the waters edge. Vong Duern is a popular day trip for tourists from nearby Pattaya. A combination mini-bus and boat trip brings day trippers to the beach in th morning and takes them to Pattaya in the afternoon.
the day trippers help support quite a few restaurants and bars along Vong Duern beach. These tables are designed to lay down on like a couch while food and drinks are served on the little table on top
some prefer to sit at the waters edge as the surf washes over their feet.
I decide to stay on the next beach Ao Cho which is a five minute hike. The beach is smaller but less crowded and quieter.
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Ao Cho has a pier which juts out from the middle of the beach thus allowing the ferry boats to dock and thus there are no noisy motor barges. There is only rainfall for water on the island but now is the dry-cool season and all water must be brought from the mainland by boat. There is no electricity and each bungalow operator must produce their own electricity from gasoline powered generators.
I rent a bungalow close to the beach for C$ 28 a day where I can hear the surf day and night
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I have brought three books on Mac programming plus a pile of Carbon API documentation from Apple's web site.
sunrise on ao cho beach on Friday Dec 9th