Contributed by Charmaine Ku: Mae Ram Pueng Beach and Samed Island, Rayong, Thailand.

Unlike the famous Pattaya Beach, Mae Rum Pueng is a very quiet beach more suitable for those who are on a family vacation with little kids and are looking for a calm and quiet place to relax. It was a little too quiet around the hotel that I stayed at but it was still an enjoyable 3 days 2 nights Christmas vacation.. very relaxing!

There are lots of hotels around that area. I found Nice Beach Hotel online at http://www.atsiam.com/.. they have cheaper rates compared to booking directly from the hotel, and there are many other hotels in many other places for bookings and reservations too if you're interested. As for Nice Beach Hotel.. it's a budget hotel so I didn't expect too much of it. It was clean, comfy, and pleasant! :)

It was a rather empty beach but food is never hard to find. There's road side restaurants every 5-10 minutes walk along the road. It's lovely to walk as it overlooks the beach. December is great too since it's "winter" in Thailand.. just cool not cold.. so T-shirts are fine :) But if you're riding on a motorbike in the evening you do need some warm clothes coz it's pretty cold! Yes.. that's something you should not miss. There's no public transport so you need to rent a motorbike to go around. 200baht per day (24hours) It's fun!

Our first meal.. lunch was at a road side restaurant right next to Nice Beach Hotel on the left. Food is cheap, food is GOOD! Only 200baht for two (actually less.. )

Ovaltine! I love Ovaltine in Thailand.. it taste so different. No offence but all kinds of drinks here taste a lot better than back home in M'sia. Even when they filled the whole cup with tiny ice chunks, they're still full of flavour (soft drinks included). I usually wait for the ice to dilute more.

Keng Som Pla... a (very) sweet and (very) spicy soup with fish. I usually like it with fish.

Khao Pat Gai... Chicken Fried Rice. Simple and yummy!

Ban Phe's Map. The map (not Ban Phe) can be found not too far along the road of Nice Beach Hotel.. but you need a motorbike to get there.. around 5 mins ride to the right of the hotel :)

That's me! lol~

Nuanthip Pier @ Ban Phe is around 7-8 km away from Nice Beach Hotel. That's the pier to get you to Koh Samed (slow boat ride but only 100baht two ways)! A must go place if you're at Rayong. By the way, to get to Rayong from Bangkok, go to Ekamai Bus Terminal @ Ekamai BTS Station. That's the Bus Terminal to get you to all the beaches and islands you want to go to around Thailand. For Rayong, Cherdchai Bus, it's 157 baht one way, 3 hours ride. Last stop is at Ban Phe.. you will find Nuanthip Pier there.

Koh Samed... Samed Island. We proceed to Had Saikaew by pickup taxi, 20baht per person.. should have walked coz it wasn't too far. And there's so many things to look at as well along the way. Maybe next time :)

At Had Saikaew, there's lots of souvenirs and restaurants.

Hungry! Tom Kha Gai.. another style of Thai soup similar to Tom Yam but not red.

Ok.. another very brief blog entry from me. I wish to post more pictures, so I can give more description about the food and places, but I don't have enough good quality pics. Well, it's just my random holiday pics and didn't expect to be blogging about it :) Thank you! Hope you enjoy reading.. and enjoy even more if you plan for a trip to Koh Samed, Rayong. Cheers~