I have thought about it all some more. Even if I were to happen to arrive on Koh Samet at a time when it isn't too busy, which seems pretty unlikely anytime during October or November, I still have my doubts that it will have that idyllic, empty, non-touristic feel I am looking for. I feel like I have been in Thailand too long to be able to enjoy a place that has a heavy tourist vibe and the type of local business operators that come with it. I also had a look at that Paradee Resort on Agoda just out of curiosity. 17,000 a night in October and 26,000 a night in November. Couldn't you stay somewhere like a Four Seasons resort somewhere else in Thailand at those prices? It just seems like a tremendous amount of money for a small resort on Koh Samet. So I am still thinking I need to stick with my original plan of going to a coastal mainland beach in a non-touristy area to find what I am lusting for. Some of the photos people have posted are really what I am after. Unfortunately, I am not really willing to drive more than 3–4 hours though. Honestly, I am not really a big fan of driving in Thailand, and the main reason I never bought a car here of my own, even though some of the electric cars now are really good value for money. In the past, I have driven all over the country, and it is kind of stressful and exhausting because you have to really be paying attention 110% at all times. It would be great to go down to some of those places in the south on the Andaman side, like Ranong and down into Phang Nga, or even an island like Koh Lanta, but realistically I don't want to drive that far. I think it kind of limits me to somewhere in the Prachuap Khiri Khan area. Sam Roi Yot Beach in Prachuap actually looks very nice from the video thumbnail that was posted. It sounds like Rayong beaches aren't very nice though, so that is off the list, and Chumphon is tempting, but also realistically a bit further than I would want to drive. I have been to Cha-Am a few times, also probably two decades ago, but I didn't find it much different from Hua Hin in terms of the sea water being kind of brackish. At the time Cha-Am had less going on, but at least it was a bit closer to Bangkok than Hua Hin. Saved around 30 minutes of driving by going there, if I remember correctly, and it was less busy than Hua Hin, but also pretty limited in terms of restaurants at the time. Very few foreigners going there back then, mostly locals, if I remember correctly. In the past, friends have also talked to me about Trang, but again, just too far. I don't mind taking sleeper car trains in Thailand, but then when you reach the destination you have no transport of your own if you want to explore a coastal area. Maybe one solution is to take a train first to cover the long distance and then rent a car locally once I reach the destination. That would limit the driving. Maybe not a bad idea, but I am not sure if that would be very realistic, or if there are any international car rental companies operating in those more remote areas in the south. Something I would have to look into. I also need to renew my Thai car driving license before I can rent a car in Thailand. It expired earlier this year, and I was planning to renew it in October or November, assuming I can get a queue. I renewed my motorcycle driving license a year or two ago, and I remember I still had to wait 30–60 days for a queue number from the DLT online booking system, after already watching the driver safety video online. At the time I couldn't even get a queue at Chatuchak DLT at all, so I ended up going over to Taling Chan to do it, which wasn't bad, but it was kind of in the middle of nowhere. I was the only foreigner there that day, which was kind of fun though. It sounds like Sam Roi Yot Beach in Prachuap is about a 3.5-hour drive from Bangkok. That might work out just perfectly. How are accommodations and food options in that area? I also assume it doesn't really matter if it is high or low season when you go, because it isn't really on the tourist map?
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