02/03/10: Than Sadet
Posted by: LiteraryHero
I had been wanting to go out to Than Sadet for years now, but never had made it there before. As I previously mentioned, it is a hassle to get to. Besides, I always had this nagging fear that I would get out there and hate it, but be unable to leave because of its remoteness. However, after reading so many great things online I finally decided to take the plunge.
Than Sadet, it turns out, is even better than I could have possibly imagined. I ended up staying at Mai Pen Rai bungalows for the simple fact that they have the best website, and I didn't know any better. Now, don't get the wrong idea, Mai Pen Rai is awesome, but I would have stayed at a different place if I had known better. The benefits with Mai Pen Rai are that the bungalows are really nice and close to the water. We actually stayed on the rocks, which gave us a short walk, but it was quiet and really nice. Also, Mai Pen Rai has a really nice and helpful staff, which is amazing. They gave me some medicine when Jisun wasn't feeling well, and also managed to bring a birthday cake in (don't forget, Than Sadet is REMOTE!) at the last minute for her birthday. While it was the most terrible cake I have ever tasted, it was the thought that counts, and the thought was nice.
The downside to Mai Pen Rai is that they are slightly more expensive. When I say that, I don't mean that Mai Pen Rai is expensive in any way, just that it is more expensive than some other options. The bungalows on the rocks at Mai Pen Rai are 650 baht in the winter time, which translates to about exactly 20$US. There are other places, such as Plaa's bungalows, which are cheaper than that. To be fair, Plaa's bungalows are further up the hill, so it is a bit more of a walk. But also, Plaa is a better cook than the people at Mai Pen Rai, and the restaurant is also a bit cheaper. To be honest, both of them are good, and Silver Cliff Resort is also a good option. There are a couple other resorts out there, but I didn't have enough of a look at them to be certain either way.
To understand about Than Sadet, you have to realize where it is. The beach is inside a national park, which means that it isn't built up at all. In fact it is so remote that all electricity comes from a generator, and that means you don't have power late at night and during most of the day. Of course none of that is important, because the whole idea behind a place like Than Sadet is to relax.
Basically all we would do all day was swim, eat, and chill out. Let me break down some eating options for you today. Out of five restaurants on Than Sadet, we really liked three of them. In order of elevation (not of preference, mind you), I'll tell you about them.
Silver Cliff restaurant was all the way at the top of the hill, well actually cliff, as the name implies. It was a brief two minute walk up nearly vertical stairs to get there, but the view was amazing. The restaurant is actually built out the side of the cliff, so if you look down while eating, you can see through the slats on the floor to the ground, which is about fifty feet below you. Not exactly for the faint of heart, but the food was good and inexpensive and the view was fantastic. Plus, I liked the feeling my stomach would have when the wooden floor would bend under my weight, it was kind of exhilarating! Unfortunately I never remembered to bring my camera when we ate there. However, I do have some pictures for the next place.
The second restaurant was Plaa's, which was also at the top of the hill, but just a bit lower than Silver Cliff. To be honest, Plaa had my favorite restaurant. The food was excellent and inexpensive, and the service was really friendly. It is a family run place, with Plaa working in the kitchen and her daughter usually serving. There was also a toothless guy working there, who would smile like he had the nicest set of choppers ever, which was quite endearing. Also, the first time we ate there, Plaa came out of the kitchen with a camera and asked if she could take our picture, which I thought was really nice. On top of it all, it is on top of the hill, so has a view that is equal to Silver Cliff. Speaking of the view, here are a few shots to give you an idea.
The third restaurant that we liked was the Mai Pen Rai restaurant. This place was right on the beach, which was nice. It has a sand floor and you can just watch the waves crashing while you eat. The benefits of this place were that it was right on the beach so we could go swimming immediately afterwards, also, the staff was very friendly and the food was good. However, it seemed to me to be slightly more expensive than the other places, but this was offset by the fact that we were staying at their bungalows, so ran a week long tab. Here is a POV shot that was more or less what I constantly saw while at the Mai Pen Rai restaurant.
That should give you a bit of an idea of what the eating at Than Sadet is like, and tomorrow I'll get into describing the art of just hanging out. Until then, be cool!
Than Sadet, it turns out, is even better than I could have possibly imagined. I ended up staying at Mai Pen Rai bungalows for the simple fact that they have the best website, and I didn't know any better. Now, don't get the wrong idea, Mai Pen Rai is awesome, but I would have stayed at a different place if I had known better. The benefits with Mai Pen Rai are that the bungalows are really nice and close to the water. We actually stayed on the rocks, which gave us a short walk, but it was quiet and really nice. Also, Mai Pen Rai has a really nice and helpful staff, which is amazing. They gave me some medicine when Jisun wasn't feeling well, and also managed to bring a birthday cake in (don't forget, Than Sadet is REMOTE!) at the last minute for her birthday. While it was the most terrible cake I have ever tasted, it was the thought that counts, and the thought was nice.
The downside to Mai Pen Rai is that they are slightly more expensive. When I say that, I don't mean that Mai Pen Rai is expensive in any way, just that it is more expensive than some other options. The bungalows on the rocks at Mai Pen Rai are 650 baht in the winter time, which translates to about exactly 20$US. There are other places, such as Plaa's bungalows, which are cheaper than that. To be fair, Plaa's bungalows are further up the hill, so it is a bit more of a walk. But also, Plaa is a better cook than the people at Mai Pen Rai, and the restaurant is also a bit cheaper. To be honest, both of them are good, and Silver Cliff Resort is also a good option. There are a couple other resorts out there, but I didn't have enough of a look at them to be certain either way.
To understand about Than Sadet, you have to realize where it is. The beach is inside a national park, which means that it isn't built up at all. In fact it is so remote that all electricity comes from a generator, and that means you don't have power late at night and during most of the day. Of course none of that is important, because the whole idea behind a place like Than Sadet is to relax.
Basically all we would do all day was swim, eat, and chill out. Let me break down some eating options for you today. Out of five restaurants on Than Sadet, we really liked three of them. In order of elevation (not of preference, mind you), I'll tell you about them.
Silver Cliff restaurant was all the way at the top of the hill, well actually cliff, as the name implies. It was a brief two minute walk up nearly vertical stairs to get there, but the view was amazing. The restaurant is actually built out the side of the cliff, so if you look down while eating, you can see through the slats on the floor to the ground, which is about fifty feet below you. Not exactly for the faint of heart, but the food was good and inexpensive and the view was fantastic. Plus, I liked the feeling my stomach would have when the wooden floor would bend under my weight, it was kind of exhilarating! Unfortunately I never remembered to bring my camera when we ate there. However, I do have some pictures for the next place.
The second restaurant was Plaa's, which was also at the top of the hill, but just a bit lower than Silver Cliff. To be honest, Plaa had my favorite restaurant. The food was excellent and inexpensive, and the service was really friendly. It is a family run place, with Plaa working in the kitchen and her daughter usually serving. There was also a toothless guy working there, who would smile like he had the nicest set of choppers ever, which was quite endearing. Also, the first time we ate there, Plaa came out of the kitchen with a camera and asked if she could take our picture, which I thought was really nice. On top of it all, it is on top of the hill, so has a view that is equal to Silver Cliff. Speaking of the view, here are a few shots to give you an idea.
The third restaurant that we liked was the Mai Pen Rai restaurant. This place was right on the beach, which was nice. It has a sand floor and you can just watch the waves crashing while you eat. The benefits of this place were that it was right on the beach so we could go swimming immediately afterwards, also, the staff was very friendly and the food was good. However, it seemed to me to be slightly more expensive than the other places, but this was offset by the fact that we were staying at their bungalows, so ran a week long tab. Here is a POV shot that was more or less what I constantly saw while at the Mai Pen Rai restaurant.
That should give you a bit of an idea of what the eating at Than Sadet is like, and tomorrow I'll get into describing the art of just hanging out. Until then, be cool!
Term Papers wrote: