Getting around Samui during the rainy season with temperatures flaring

I got into an argument today with a songtaew driver over 1,5baht. That’s 0.0235081 pence, 0.0479144 cents. I’m on the currency converter now measuring this in all the world’s currencies until it sinks in.

She was a sun baked old whale of a woman, and the fare was 50 Baht. I had 48 Baht 50 and I asked if she cold give me a break. The response was a knowing look of contempt, as if I’d only taken the ride so I could con her out of 1.5 Baht, and that I’d thus fulfilled my day’s purpose. It got to the point where I was offering an IOU but then she called me a “white buffalo” and I had to walk away.

Met a guy who’s renting a jeep with 2 friends and it works out that they’re paying around 250baht each per day. Now that’s more like it! There are plenty of ways to get around without relying on the unfriendly local transportation system. The 4-wheel dune buggies are a new favourite, perhaps saying something about the amount of sand on the roads, zipping around with their shirtless and proud looking drivers.

You can find some more conventional rental transport online, with plenty of Samui rental car options and get the basic overview of the Samui transport scene via the web if perilous journey’s on a motorbike aren’t your thing. First things first, if you want to find out the best way to get to Koh Samui, visit the most professional dedicated website for comprehensive information on cross country journeys and what to do when you arrive.

There is talk on the island of a movement to reduce the number to trucks on the road, a combined effort to deal with Samui’s traffic congestion and to make the place safe for bicycles, but more on that later.

Until next time…