5th of April, 2024.
Hitchhiking in Thailand: Koh Samui – Laem Yai.
I decide to stop at a 7-Eleven and get a sandwich for lunch because I am starving. I will figure out dinner later.
A car stops and it is a taxi. A grab, better saying, as we are in Thailand. There are two other passengers inside, also tourists. All the three of them say it is fine for me to come with them until the next 7-Eleven, as it is on their way. The tourists are from Iran and the UK. We have a quick chat and they are both very nice. And I am off at 7-Eleven.
No veggie sandwich. Cry. Next! I am walking and now holding my sign, which reads Laem Yai. A young but big man stop his motorbike. Ad is going to the gym (what a surprise), so he says he can drop me off at Laem Yai. When I explain to him that I only want to go to 7-Eleven to grab a sandwich, and after I will go to Laem Yai, he says he can wait for me at the shop, and after drop me off at the beach. Wonderful!
Ad says that there is another beach, a bit further ahead, which he thinks it is nicer. He offers to drive me there, show it to me, and if I don’t like it, he will bring me back to Laem Yai. I say – why not?
I don’t like it. Laugh. I mean, it is nice, and actually right now the sunset is absolutely amazing, but it is completely desert; there are no places where I can get food or water nearby; and the level of the tide worries me a little too; we go back to Laem Yai, and Ad carry on to the gym.
Completely by the opposite of that beach, I love Laem Yai! We enter the beach through some coconut trees, which is already beautiful! Then, I see some open sheds, more like gazebos, but public ones, and I even consider to pitch my tent under one of them, but then I imagine that there could be less breeze, and I also see come bottles nearby, so perhaps people like to come here to drink at night. Right now, the sunset is breath taking, making the sky its own colour palette, with shades of orange, blue and black. And I am taking photos! There are some traditional boats on shore, which contribute even more to the shots.
I find a great spot to camp, right beside a fancy resort, Tui Blue, but in front of an empty area. Perfect! Even more because it is in the opposite way of the most “crowded” part of the beach. Well, almost perfect. But I made it so, after flattening the sand, so I would not slide inside my tent because of the slightly uneven ground. It is actually kind of fun and I am proud of my ability in turning a slope into a flat surface.
Next morning, I first take some photos at one of the famous tree swings of Koh Samui. They are very popular in many different beaches. I am happy that Laem Yai is very chill, with only a hand full of tourists, so I can have all the time in the world to take my photos, and without any one staring at me. And it is not because I like to take hundreds of photos, you know I don’t, it is just that I don’t like other people in my photos, that’s all. Laugh.
Laem Yai is a super cute beach! I love it! The water is super clear and of a beautiful blue and turquoise. The sea is very calm here, and very shallow too. I could easily walk up to 50 metres with the water at my knee. As you can see in one of the photos.
When I came to use the resort bathroom, I see that they have a breakfast buffet. I decide to come later and ask for left-overs. Unfortunately, I come too late, as the manager tells me they already organized everything. I ask him if I can come back later, after lunch, and perhaps I could be lucky and they have some. He agrees.
All these mornings, I’ve been eating my own homemade muesli, which I brought with me. I always have with some yogurt and fruits. And then I get hot water from the coffee machines at 7-Eleven, for free of course, and add the coffee mixture I have also brought from home. Most of people don’t really think about all the ways they can save money, in daily life, and when travelling. For example, these same coffee mixtures, which I buy in big packages of 40, cost me around 3.5 THB each; but if you buy one at 7-Eleven, it will cost you 15 THB. That’s 11.5 THB saved, which times my 20 days travelling is 230 THB!
In the middle afternoon, reluctantly, I leave Laem Yai to go to the next beach on my list. When I stop at the resort Tui Blue, the manager is not there, but he has instructed his team to give me the food. I get two big takeaway boxes, one filled with rice, and the other with fried chicken fillets, done in a very special (fancy) way, and not greasy at all. They also give me 2 bananas. I fill my water bottle. Wow! That’s enough food for lunch and dinner! Yay!
10 Years Around the World 