Ban Phe Fresh Market

Time this one with your ferry and you'll do well. It's the working fresh market for Ban Phe, the mainland town where the Koh Samet boats leave from, and the seafood is the reason to walk through it, with shrimp, crab, clams, most of it landed close by. Vendors are set up well before sunrise and the morning is when the market is at full tilt. Come at three in the afternoon and you're picking over what's left.

Beyond the wet stalls there's dried seafood, produce, and the snack end of things, durian chips and packaged bits that travel fine in a bag. That last part matters more than it sounds, because prices on the island run higher than here, so anyone self-catering or just wanting something to nibble on the boat should stock up on this side of the water. If you're not buying, it's still a good half hour of ordinary Thai market life, which you won't find much of on Samet itself.