We finally arrived at the pier in one piece, squeezed into another dodgy taxi and headed to find somewhere to stay. As we drove through the streets you could see just how under developed this place was, which was good. You could sense the real Thailand; no bright lights, McDonalds or KFC in the distance. This place didnt even have any roads it was all just dirt track.

As we started going around the hotels to find a room we sussed out that it was a Buddist holiday that weekend so prices were high. We managed to find a cheapish room for that night so we could dump our things and have a nosey around and then look for somewhere else in the morning. It wasnt the best but we were feeling so mingin that we were grateful to jump in the shower.

Our hotel was right on the beach front so once we were ready we headed down there for a look around. It was a fab atmosphere on the front, lots of funky bars with lights and candles. It was so relaxed and mega chilled out, I loved it.

The following day Danni decided she wanted to chill on the beach but I felt the need to hire a bike and get out and see the island. With it being all dirt track the bikes were a bit more expensive (to cover damage) they were 6 pound lol and included a tank of petrol. The wheels were a bit more like thos of ramblers. When I set off I soon realised why. God what a challenge I had on my hands but I totally impressed myself. I got a map when I hired the bike and set off to see as much as I could. The island was pretty small so didnt take too long although there was loads of nice beached and I wanted to check them all out. I made my way down the coast dodging the rocks along the bumpy dirt tracks, it had been raining the night before and so there was also loads of mud to tend with, oh the joys! I managed with onyl one fall but I was ok. I did more damage whilst rock climbing stubbing my big toe :-(

Some of the beaches were amazing and totally isolated. I spent a wee while on each having a walk around and climbing up the rocks to take some photos, also chatted with some of the locals. As always by the time I got back to the resort we were staying I was a sweaty mess. The sun hadnt been out but it gets so clammy.

I got back later afternoon and thought id head to the beach for a few hours and hopefully see Dan. I couldnt see her so chilled for a few hours on my own. It was nice taking it all in. Lots of Thai people had started arriving for the holiday weekend so the beach was getting quite busy, but was a fab atmopshere. I had a hair treatment andhead massage done while I sat chilled on my deckchair, oh the life! Was such a thought to think that in a week from then id be back in sunny Scotland.

That night I was in the mood for a proper night out but Dan wasnt feeling too good. We headed along the beach front and had a specific bar/restaurant in mind we had seen from the night before. But it was totally mobbed. We ended up at the bar next to it. It was mega chilled cushions and low tables on the sand. We watched fireworks going off and a fire show. We were having a good night and hoping to move on somewhere else for a drink when the wind got up and suddenly madness!! The rain poured down and it was like a mega evacuation, people diving around everywhere. We ended up heading up nearer the other room we had rented for the night in a bar with a live band and sat and had a cocktail. The owner was Canadian and felt the need to show us some of his party tricks! The night ended earlier than we had hoped but we headed home.

The room we had rented turned out to be horrible. The worst we had felt in any of the rooms we had had the whole trip, even though it was far from the cheapest. Finding the dead cockroach on top of everything else tipped us over the edge. For some reason we were mega itchy so got it into our heads that there was bed bugs so slept with layers of clothes, even socks. There was no sink so we had to brush our teeth with bottles of water onto the floor and use the shower to flush it away, can you imagine???The bed was like stone so we didnt get much sleep we hoped we would get a few hours kip on the beach whilst catching some rays. We couldnt stay there another night so before dropping my bike off I went around a few places but they were still charging loads for rooms so we decided to cut our stay in Koh Samet short and head to Pattaya that night instead of the following morning.

We spent the day on the beach and treated ourselves to a pedicure which was lovely. We had planned to be there until about 3 before heading to the pier for our ferry over to the mainland where we were getting the bus to Pattaya but the black clouds hovered and the rain came AGAIN! We took cover in a bar but eventually had to give in and walk up the road. Our lovely newly scrubbed and painted nails were covered in mud from the muddy puddles and we were soaked though.

Once we got our bags we flagged down a taxi in the rain and headed to the pier. We bought our boat ticket and headed onboard. I was distraught as I had forgotten to take my sea sickness tablet so was having palpitations trying to find somewhere I could buy water to take them with. The ride was mental just as we had experienced on the way over. All you could see were other boats at the side of you which looked as if they were going to tipple over, I kept my eyes closed and covered myself in a towel to keep dry (there was no cover at all). We survived the journey again though and had an hour to kill in Trat before our bus was due to leave. We had a wee nosey around some of the gift shops and sat in a bar. It was so much cheaper in Trat than anywhere we had been. Finally it was time to leave, we set off on our 1 hour mini bus ride to Pattaya.

Koh Samet is a fantastic place. It would be great to visit again but stay in a fabby beach front location and have a proper chilled holiday.