I am back in the office today after a nice weekend on the island. It ended up raining or at least being cloudy most if the time we were there, but that's ok with me. I would have tried to stay out of the sun in any case, if it dared to show up.
It was actually a productive weekend for me. I graded the 30 10-page papers I took with me, and read several articles from the net as research for a paper I am trying to write. Mark and I made several new Thai friends, including a very nice family from a tiny Karen hilltribe village in Chiang Rai. I promised them that I would do my best to visit them someday. Hopefully it is a promise I can keep!
In any case, today I am going back and posting details from my trip. Ko Samet was the first place in SE Asia that I have been where there was limited internet access. I finally found a shop after a 30 minute walk down the beach, but by that point I was enjoying the fact that I had no contact with the outside world. (My mobile phone battery had also died, and there were no electrical outlets in my guesthouse room to recharge.)
I highly recommend the island and I think I will be going back soon. In my opinion, it is the perfect get-away from Bangkok -- only three+ hours away and very affordable at about 1200 baht (US$30) for a 2-day weekend. Can't beat it!
