Northern Thailand - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 837

Ko Samet Health Centre ( 0 3861 1123; 8.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-4.30pm Sat & Sun) On
the main road between Na Dan and Hat Sai Kaew. On-call mobile numbers are posted for
after-hours emergencies.
Police Station ( 1155) On the main road between Na Dan and Hat Sai Kaew. There's a
substation on Ao Wong Deuan.
Getting There & Away
Ko Samet is accessed via Ban Phe, in Rayong Province. Buses from Ban Phe's bus station
(near Tha Thetsaban) go to/from Bangkok's Eastern Bus Terminal (173B, four hours,
hourly 6am to 6pm). Ban Phe also has minivan services to Laem Ngop for boats to Ko
Chang (300B, four hours, three departures daily) and Bangkok's Victory Monument
(250B, four hours, hourly 7am to 6pm).
There are dozens of piers at Ban Phe, each used by different ferry companies, but they
all charge the same fares (one way/return 70/100B, 40 minutes, hourly 8am to 5pm) and
dock at Na Dan Pier, the main pier on Ko Samet. The last boat back to the mainland
leaves at 6pm. Speedboats charge 200B per person (one way) and will drop you at the
beach of your choice, but they only leave when they have enough passengers.
Getting Around
Green sŏrngtăaou meet arriving boats at the pier and provide drop-offs at the various
beaches (per person 100B to 400B).
You can rent motorcycles nearly everywhere along the northern half of the island. Ex-
pect to pay about 300B per day.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Trat
039 / POP 22,000
A major mainland transit point for Ko Chang and coastal Cambodia, Trat's provincial
charms are underappreciated. Since your destination is still so far away, why not stay a
little longer and enjoy all the things you can't get on the islands: fresh, affordable fruit;
tasty noodles; and tonnes of people-watching.