6th of April, 2024.
Hitchhiking in Thailand: Koh Samui – Ban Tai
My next destination is called Ban Tai. It is only about 13 minutes driving from here. A nice local couple takes me there, and drive me all the way from the main road to the beach. Thai people are very sweet!
When I first see Ban Tai, even though is a bit crowded, I liked. Then, I take right, going all the way to the Sala Ban Tai Pho Tak Yao (which for no reason at all Google calls it “scenic spot”), and I find myself in heaven. Why? This portion of Ban Tai is basically empty. All the tourist are to the left of the main entrance to the beach, where all the resorts and restaurants are. This side of the beach looks more like “ashore” than the other side, but not less beautiful at all. There is something about this beach, and this particular area, which I just love it!
Beside Sala Ban Tai Pho Tak Yao there is a tiny fishing port, where very few local boats stay. A bit further away, there are some bungalows, part of a fancy hotel, with what looks like very nice views.
As I said, where I am staying, under the shade of some lovely coconut trees, flat and green grounds, in this kind of big park (called Ban Tai Estate on Google Maps), there is almost nobody. And the few people who come and go are mostly Thai people. The very few tourists who came all the way here, were just walking their dogs. I am telling you, people are so blind by what they think it is beautiful, this completely mistaken and messed up idea of what: 1) it’s nice; 2) they like; 3) they can enjoy; that they are uncapable to see what is right in front of their eyes! Humans grew so dependent on things, that they cannot possibly enjoy to be over one hundred metres from a shop, a restaurant, or a place where they can buy things. This area where I am is absolutely fantastic, chill, beautiful, the water is awesome, and still, all the tourists gather in the busiest part of the beach, in front of the restaurants and resorts, fighting for a spot on the sand, on the sea, and everywhere else.
I enjoy myself on my little paradise. I sunbath for a while, then I go to swim. I love how shallow the water is here, and even more now at this time. You can easily walk one hundred metres and have the water up to your knee. The water is clear and you can see the shades of blue and turquoise everywhere.
I also go for a walk to the other side. That’s when I figure out all what I have mentioned above. I take some photos of the most wonderful sunset! Incredible!
I choose a very scenic spot for my camping: under two coconut trees. And I am protected from the coconuts, no worries! It seems just so perfect to camp here, as it was meant to be. When I am making my camping, a couple arrives and start making their camp too. What? Unbelievable! Angelina and Roman are from Russia, and they tell me they have been camping here for a few days already. Amazing! They have been travelling for some time now, and they also hitchhike and camp. They also spend some nights in temples, just like me. Angelina gives me a most wonderful tip about Thailand, which I only wished I had known earlier: the filtered water cabins. All over Thailand they have this plastic cabins, which are basically water machines with a filter system. All the locals get their water from there, as Angelina tells me, so they started doing it as well. You pay 1 THB per litre of water. That’s nothing! At 7-Eleven, the cheapest bottle of water, of 1.5 litres, it costs 13 THB. I tell then quickly about my travel journey and they are amazed! We chat for a while and it’s awesome, but then the mosquitoes start to eat us alive.
At night, a group of Russians and other people, make a campfire nearby our tents and sing some songs, playing the guitar also. I think it’s nice, honestly, and they stop early too, so there’s no issues. These last few days, I’ve been reading at night too, under my flashlight.
I enjoy Ban Tai so much that I decide to stay another night here. Next morning, I go for a short walk around. I get what would be the biggest coconut water I have ever had! It seemed like there was 500 mL of coconut water inside. Laugh. But together with this very fortunate moment, another unfortunate one happens. I make the terrible mistake of letting my water bottle open, and when I put my backpack down, a considerable amount of water is spilled inside. Luckily, my passport is safe, but other papers and stuff get ruined. The worse is my camera. I can see that there’s water around it, but I don’t know how much is the damage. I take the battery out and let it to dry for a while. When I come back to the beach, the camera doesn’t turn on. And when it does, it is not clicking photos. After some long minutes and many attempts, it finally works again. I was already starting to consider not going to Koh Phangan if it would not work again.
I spend the rest of my day at the beach, just chilling, reading, swimming and resting. I was hoping I would see Angelina and Roman again, but they only come back in the evening. I go to town after dark and get some Pad Thai for dinner.
Next morning I leave early, as I want to catch an early ferry to Koh Phangan. Ban Tai and Laem Yai are my favourite beaches in Thailand, that’s for sure.
10 Years Around the World 