by aa aaronson

Created on: December 14, 2006   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

The most beautiful place I have ever traveled was the island of Ko Samed in Thailand. We arrived by taxi boat to Jeb's Island Resort where we were greeted by other tourists hanging out in the patio section eating a tasty meal of authentic Thai cuisine. The resort is made to look like a relaxed atmosphere, as though you had arrived to this island and happened upon this local's hut who just happens to offer cheap 5$ (about 200 Baht) bungalows for rent.

The bungalows were clean and spacious with a beach motif of seashell colored tiles and bamboo shades. Surprisingly we had a 22" television, and thankfully, a bathroom/shower combo. Unluckily, we had to share beds.

If you travel on the road leading back into town, you'll find a 7-eleven to get any snacks or drinks. There are other shops in the area too also a tattoo parlor, if you're adventurous enough to try it. When we were visiting Ko Samed, my friend got a tattoo and, as it turned out, his arm didn't fall off.

Also in the area is a place to rent motorbikes. The owners were friendly and helped me, who had never ridden a motorbike before, learn the proper controls and made sure I was comfortable until he let us on our way. Securing these bikes was the best choice because about a mile down from Jeb's Island Resort is another resort, Silver Sand that usually takes the bulk of the crowd when the sun goes down. Everybody goes there to dance to the music, drink from the buckets yes, buckets of alcohol while they sit and talk in the patio section. Anyway, renting the motorbikes turned out to be a good idea because Silver Sand was nearly a mile away, and without the headlight guiding our way, we would have had to find our way on the dark, nearly pitch black road. Without the motorbikes, I couldn't have imagined walking down it.

One of the days we went on a boat island tour. We went down to Jeb's front office to sign-up for the trip, which was reasonably cheap for a full day of out in the sun. For 5$ (about 200 Baht) we chartered a full fishing boat replete with an upper sunning deck. We were out on the ocean for five to six hours, stopping at various fishing spots to fish with a hook and a line of fishing wire wrapped around a plastic bottle. Ghetto indeed, but don't mock the usefulness of such a contraption, for many of my friends caught a number of fish. After stopping at the third spot, the captain of the boat (with his two sons helping him) anchored the boat about a hundred yards from shore where some coral

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