Anyone who tells you that Ko Samet is closer to Pattaya than Ko Chang is merely looking at a map.

I prefer Ko Chang because it has paved roads and is more developed. It's a four-hour minivan ride to Trat and then a short ferry ride to Ko Chang.

But it practically takes just as long to get to Ko Samet: over an hour's drive, a long wait for the boat, then over an hour's boat ride (if you take the same creaky old giant wooden boat that everyone else takes), and a kidney-jarring four-wheeler trek to your hotel that takes about half an hour. (The slow boat is included in your package, but a speed boat can be had for an additional 1200 baht each way.) So all told, it's four hours.

We went for one night to check it out because that's all I had time for, and it was not worth it. (The off-season package was $150.)

Ko Samet's "island taxis" are late-model bright green 4x4 pickups with benches in the back. (200 baht each way, not included in your island package from Pattaya.) If you ride inside it's a lot smoother than riding on the bench.

I don't care for islands with unpaved roads. (Koh Phangan was also like that last time I was there.) It had been raining and some gear-heads were sliding around in the mud on mini-bikes with off-road tires. Whee.

No need to post photos: I took the oldest girl I've ever had in Thailand (34) because she was a dead ringer for Christine Gambito --just look for her on YouTube. Big eyes and dimples. (Different personality and not as fluent with English, but you can't have everything.) We stayed in a hut at the Grand View Resort and it was OK except they played loud technoid party music after 10 p.m.

But closer than either of those islands (time-wise) is Ko Samui, which I like best of all. It's about 15 minutes to Utapao airport and then a one-hour flight. Now there are daily flights from Utapao to Ko Samui, either at 11 a.m. or 5 p.m. (but not at both times on the same day). Ko Samui is *much* larger and much more developed. There are lady-bars there, but not on the smaller islands mentioned in this report.

The night before we left for Ko Samet I saw another Christine Gambito look-alike on Walking Street that was still in her 20's. Very tempting, but I stayed with the bird in hand.

Interesting title. I had heard that the mosquitoes on Ko Samet were terrible. I thought it might be an option because of the logistics to Pattaya.

After reading this, there's no way I'm going to Samet. All indications anyway had pointed to Ko Chang as being the far better destination.

I can't stay in a 24/7 pussy place like Pattaya for a real extended period. The more I drink the more I spend, and my spending generally becomes more foolish as the days go by. That's why a nice beach getaway helps break things up, mentally and financially.

Thanks for the info.

The mosquitoes are the same on Ko Chang, but no big deal: you just get some repellent and they'll leave you alone.

I won't be going back to Ko Samet.

Gotta agree about Pattaya: you go for a good time, not for a long time. An extended stay can put me in a bad frame of mind. But nothing cures the Pattaya blues like a trip to Bangkok!

Christine Gambito is the girl that does Happy Slip...met her in person...very hot.

I stayed on Ko Samet with my family, and we had a great time. We didn't go anywhere near the main part though. We stayed at a small resort on the other way down the beach. Really nice and no mosquitos at all. It was in february though.