The Mermaid and the Prince

There is an interesting scene at Sai Kaew Beach of Koh Samet Island. The scene is set on a rock and consisted of statues of a mermaid and a man that seems to be peering through a telescope. I asked our Thai friend about it so she told us the story of the mermaid of Koh Samet Island.

The mermaid and the prince.

There was a prince named Phra Apai Mani who was driven away, with his brother, by their father. A giant attacked the two princes and abducted Phra Apai Mani. After a long time (and after fathering a child with the giant), Phra Apai Mani managed to escape from captivity. He was helped by a family of mermaids but the father and mother mermaids were eaten by the furious giant. The young mermaid, the sole survivor of her family, brought the prince to Wonder Island.

The Wonder Island, of course, is Koh Samet Island.

Our Thai friend told me that the prince is not holding a telescope but a flute. According to Wikipedia, Phra Apai Mani’s flute has the power to make people fall asleep and take their souls. This reminded me of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

There are many mermaid stories around the world and this mermaid story in Koh Samet Island is just one of such stories. In the Philippines, I also saw a mermaid statue somewhere along the coast of Atimonan in Quezon Province.

It is good to know that there are other mermaid stories other than Disney’s Little Mermaid. It is also good that I heard a Thai story about a mermaid.

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Parts of the story of the mermaid and Phra Apai Mani was obtained from Phra Apai Mani page in Wikipedia.

Our Koh Samet Island Nightlife

Our trip around Koh Samet Island didn't end after the sunset. Since the island is still awake during the evening, our group decided to stay awake also. We knew that Koh Samet Island has interesting sights during the night.

We saw empty tables and cushions on the beach during our day trip along Sai Kaew Beach. Well, the place is not so empty anymore during the night. Many tourists came to the beach restaurant to dine on some delicious Thai food.

Our Thai office mate wanted us to taste as many Thai dishes as we could eat so we ordered plenty of food. Here are some of them:

Squid dish with veggies.

A bowl of soup and shrimp dish.

Fried fish

I can't recall the name of each dish, all of which are seafood. What I can only remember is that each dish is delicious and we enjoyed our dinner.

We were happily munching our dinner when a group teens made a fiery appearance.

The fire dancer performed amazing tricks. It is a show to behold. They even used fireworks during their dance.

The show was free of charge. The fire dancers only asked their audience for donations.

Looking up the sky, we noticed some orange lights floating near the moon. We debated if those were stars, planets or even UFOs. We were wrong because those lights are sky lanterns. Of course we were excited to light a sky lantern.

Oooooops...blurry photo.

Lighting a sky lantern may look easy but it took us many minutes before we managed to fly one. Sky lantern operates like a hot air balloon. So, we waited a long time for the lantern to be filled with hot air.

Good bye sky  lantern.

Sky lanterns were blamed for the fire that razed some parts of Metro Manila last New Year's Eve. Sky lanterns are dangerous if lighted in the city. But I believe that they are safe if lighted at the beach because the general direction of the wind during the evening is seaward. Falling sky lantern will be extinguished by the sea.

Dinner was over but our night had just began. We roamed Sai Kaew Island to see some sights like this sleeping dog:

There are other restaurants too...

..and other seaside vendors like at this small roti pancake stall.

We didn't see any night club like the ones in Pattaya and I like it. There are many times that an office mate invited me to go to Pattaya but I was hesitant because I don't want to see the “shower bars”, night clubs or other places where women (and even “sex-changed” men) are prostituted.

Our group ended our night by going to a bar dedicated to Bob Marley. The bar promised good music and good singers of Bob Marley songs. Too bad that they didn't made good of their promise because the singers are terrible. Well at least the beer is good.

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Read my other posts to know about the beautiful Koh Samet Island. Read about our first day on this island and how we reached this place.

Day 1 in Koh Samet Island

We’re a little exhausted when we arrived to Koh Samet Island. It is because we woke up early and then travelled a total of 4 to 5 hours from our place north of Bangkok. Good thing that the beach of Koh Samet Island looks good that excitement immediately removed our exhaustion. The thought of lazing out at the beach soothed my mind.

Aaaah...beach paradise.

The ferry that we rode brought us to the Na Dan Pier located on the north coast of the island.

The beach is still far away so the easiest way to reach it by riding a pick-up car.

We paid about 20 or 30 Baht to reach the entrance to the beach area of Koh Samet Island.

Tourists should not worry riding these pick-up cars because the road is concreted and paved. Rough roads are found in the interior of the island.

Koh Samet Island is not just a simple tourist destination. The Thai government declared the whole island as a national park. It was named Khao Laem Ya – Mu Koh Samet National Park. There are park rangers who ensure that the wildlife on the island is protected.

Park rangers approached us the moment we went down the pick-up cars. They told us to pay entrance fees before entering the beach. Good thing we were accompanied by a Thai office mate who negotiated down the price of the entrance fee. Each of us paid 30 Baht instead of 100 Baht entrance fee for foreign tourists.

The sea is calling us but we ignored it because we need to find rooms where we can drop our things and stay for the night. Good thing that not all resorts on Koh Samet Island or of the high-end super-expensive types.

We avoided luxurious hotels and resorts not only because we don’t have enough money but also of the fact that we will stay more on the beach than in our rooms. It is good that majority of visitors to Koh Samet Island are Thais because many hotel owners offer room rates that are affordable to the locals.

Our Thai office mate found a room that costs around 800 Baht per day that have two beds. We rented one room for men and one room for the ladies. Traveling in group meant that we share the expenses so I didn’t pay the whole 800 Baht (which makes the penny-pincher in me smile).

Sai Kaew Beach

Our room is located in the Sai Kaew Beach area. The place has plenty of hotels and resorts. Souvenir shops and grocery can be found in this area. Beach side restaurants are plenty and one of the first things that I noticed are the tables and cushions near the sea.

Food is not yet served because beach restaurants are only open during the evening.

The sea around Koh Samet Island is still clean. Me and my friends enjoyed dipping in the seawater although I wish sometimes that the sea is less salty.

Sai Kaew Beach is just one of the many beaches of Koh Samet Island. There’s the Ao Prao, Ao Wai, Ao Nuan and so much more. We decided to take a peek at another beach and we picked Ao Prao.

We hitched a ride on a pick-up and passed a rough road before we reached Ao Prao Beach.

Ao Prao Beach is the only beach located on the west coast of Koh Samet Island.

Ao Prao Beach looks like a private beach resort because the resort in the area is of the high-end sort. Fortunately, the beach is accessible to anyone.

It is 5 years ago, somewhere in Davao Gulf, where I made my last dip in the sea. Such a long time, huh? That’s why I stayed in the sea of Koh Samet as much as I possibly could.

Time passed very quickly, especially when we are having fun. The sun began to set few minutes after we reached Ao Prao Beach. Our first day in Koh Samet Island ended with the orange ball of fire being swallowed by the sea.

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Want to know how to reach Koh Samet Island from Bangkok? Please read the first part of this post series for info.

Some information found on this post was obtained from Koh Samed website.

Next Stop: Koh Samet Island

Some of you might have noticed that most of my posts about Thailand are about spots located on land. My only post about the sea and beach would be about the Bang Saen Beach where I didn’t even wade in the seawater.

The “dry spell” is over because I will now talk about the one and only beach in Thailand that I enjoyed visiting. That beach, of course, is located on Koh Samet Island.

My office mates invited me to join their Koh Samet Island trip. I immediately accepted their invitation because opportunity like this is so rare.

Where the in the World is Koh Samet Island?

When talking about Thailand beaches, the first ones to be mentioned are Pattaya and Phuket. Koh Samet Island is way under the radar of foreigners. Fortunately, Koh Samet Island is not that unknown. Thai people and some foreign tourists know of this place. My Thai office mate prefers this island over Pattaya because it is less crowded and less commercialized.

Thailand map showing the location of Koh Samet Island.

Koh Samet Island is located about 200 kilometers south of Bangkok and in the Gulf of Thailand. The island is part of the Rayong Province and can be accessed by riding a boat from Ban Phe Port. Pattaya is nearer to Bangkok than this island that’s why few foreign tourists go here.

For a better idea on the location of Koh Samet Island, I suggest that you use this Google Map of the island:

Van Trip: Bangkok to Ban Phe Port, Rayong

Our trip from Bangkok to Koh Samet Island was easy. We just rode a Line 36 van going to Ban Phe Port of Rayong Province. The trip took around 2 to 3 hours.

Van going to Ban Phe port.

You may also reach Koh Samet Island by following our “footsteps”. Vans going to Koh Samet Island can be found near the Rajavithi-Edwards Lifesciences Critical Care Training Center to the west of Victory Monument. Ask the people in the area about vans going to Ban Phe if you’re lost or you just search for this sign:

Going back to Bangkok from Ban Phe is also easy because the Line 36 vans wait for passengers in front of the grocery store just across the road of the Ban Phe Port.

I can’t recall exactly how much we paid for the van ride from Victory Monument to Ban Phe. I vaguely remember that I pay around 150 Baht for the one way trip.

You can get more info about the vans going to Koh Samet by visiting the Line 36 van website.

Boat Trip to Koh Samet Island

Crossing the sea from Ban Phe Port is the last leg of our trip to Koh Samet Island. The island is already visible from the port of Ban Phe but the actual travel time is around 1 hour. The boat that we boarded is a small passenger boat, like the one I rode during my trip from Masbate City to Bulan, Sorsogon.

Boats to Koh Samet Island

Our boat trip to Koh Samet Island is uneventful since the sea is calm and we didn’t encounter any problem in the middle of the sea. I’ve encountered rough seas in the past so this short boat trip doesn’t freak me out.

To ride a boat, you must first purchase the trip ticket from the Boat Service and Accommodation Office at the entrance to the pier. I can’t recall the exact amount but I think the ticket cost around 100 Baht per passenger.

We got excited when we saw Koh Samet Island getting nearer and nearer. I knew that I will enjoy the beautiful beach that Koh Samet Island has to offer.

How to Go Back to Bangkok

Going to Koh Samet Island is easy and so is going back to back Bangkok. You will just ride any ferry boat or vessel going to Ban Phe Port and then ride the Line 36 vans located at the grocery store just across the road in front of the entrance to the port.

Line 36 van waiting for passengers going to Bangkok.

Take note that the last boat trip from Koh Samet Island to Ban Phe Port is around 3 PM. The last van to Bangkok leaves around 6 PM. Just remember these schedules so you will not have a problem going back to Bangkok.

This is my initial post about our trip to Koh Samet Island. There is more to come so please stay tuned.

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The map of Thailand was obtained from Koh Samed website. Photos of the Line 36 vans was obtained from their official website.