Moh the story of how we spent another vacation in the land of smiles, the Kingdom of Thailand on the island of Koh Samui. Although my wife Elena and I rested in Thailand not for the first time, it was the first time on Koh Samui. Our vacation lasted from October 27 to November 28. Yes, yes - a whole month of carefree bliss, new experiences and gentle sun on the shores of a fabulous island.
Our way to Koh Samui
First, why the island of Koh Samui. We chose it for several reasons and they are simple and straightforward. The island is quite easy to get to, it has a relatively large variety of attractions, it has good beaches, and it is possible to organize various sightseeing trips right on the spot.
But first things first. The following information may be useful for independent travelers. There are several ways to get to Koh Samui.
How to get to Koh Samui:
- A direct flight from Bangkok is the most expensive option (but we could afford it);
- A much cheaper flight to nearby Suratani and then a transfer from the airport to the jetty and then a ferry to the island.
- Another option is by train to Surathani and again transfer from the station to the ferry and ferry to the island.
- The most economical option is by bus, preferably at night because the journey is long. The ticket includes a trip to the island, but the cost of the ferry (140BHT) is paid separately.
But I repeat, we flew directly to the island from Bangkok. Upon arrival in the capital of the Kingdom, we immediately took tickets to the island, waited at the Bangkok Airport for two hours, and forward to the island. Koh Samui welcomed us with very warm weather and an impressive Airport that simply boggles the minds of our citizens who are not accustomed to these types of buildings.
More about the territory of Samui international airport. The whole structure is like a stand-alone Bali-style bungalow, i.e. everything openly has no walls, is blown by the sea breeze, the territory is more like a very well-groomed tropical garden, large alleys with shops and small restaurants, such a large recreation complex in a tropical garden.
And most importantly, and not standard, these are trailers that are served to the gangway, they are also all open, colored, painted with fish, the sea, and palm trees, which immediately catches the eye. I also want to note all the planes that fly from the capital to the island, painted with ocean drawings, waves of fish, etc. something similar to.
The very first day on Koh Samui
We went to the hotel, where we were met by a Thai, with a cup of iced tea and cold and wet wipes, for a refreshing effect after the road. Placed well, everything is on the level, everyone and everything smiles for no reason, which simply pleases and cheers up.
The hotel was excellent overall. Large room with huge terrace and kitchen. There is also a large bathroom with shower and hot tub, and a TV with HDMI cable so we can watch movies with laptops. We were very happy with these amenities. The beach was close. Nearby was the main street with cafes, restaurants and shops.
After looking around we go to the beach. The choice immediately fell on Chaweng Beach. This beach is located on the east coast of the island, one of the most famous beaches on Koh Samui, in other words, a tourist place. I liked the beach, the sand is white, fine as flour, very clean, the water is clear, you can see the bottom, the entrance to the sea is even with the same soft sand.
Throughout the beach, there are hotels on the first coastline, while each hotel has very cozy restaurants at the edge of the beach, so you can sit down to eat and drink while enjoying the view of the ocean. We swam for about two hours, everyone was delighted with the sea, sun, palm trees and air. Later we traveled to many beaches of the island and each of us was attracted and interested in something. However, I think photos will explain more than words.
Well, as they say, it's time to eat. Well, having definitely consulted, we all decided to eat something local and, of course, sea. We walked to a restaurant not far from the beach, the menu showed that the choice of seafood was excellent, we tried Shark, huge shrimp and seafood soup. Everyone liked it, everyone is happy. Tired but satisfied again went to the beach and only then to the room to sleep.
Attractions in Koh Samui
The next day, we decided to deal with the issue of moving around the island, having discussed all the points, we decided to rent a motorbike scooter, as we decided that it was a crime to be in Southeast Asia and not ride a moped. We took it and drove around the island.
Big Buddha - "Big Buddha", temple temple Wat Plai Laem and more
The first sight on the island that we met on the way was the Temple of the Big Buddha "Big Buddha" a very majestic sculpture of Buddha towering on one of the cape of the island, around the statue there is a functioning Buddhist monastery, where the monks serve to this day. The place is touristy, very interesting and beautiful. You can go through a couple of rituals, the monks will explain everything on the spot.
Fun place grandma and grandpa
After that, we headed to the next attraction of the island, this is a very famous place called "Grandfather and Grandmother", in principle, these are huge stones in the sea, but the whole point is that the stones look one to one with the intimate parts of the male and female type. When you see this, you understand how great nature is, wind and water created a real masterpiece, I advise everyone who will be on the island to see it.
Magic Monk
We go further, on Koh Samui there is a legend about a monk who died in the lotus position, while meditating at a very advanced age, and mummified himself, we decided to go look at the monk, and of course after what I saw, I believed in this legend, so everyone must go there .
Different differences on Koh Samui
Well, everything else is traditional for Thailand, this is a snake farm, a monkey theater, an elephant ride, Thai boxing. Even from the island you can take excursions to the nearby islands, which are smaller than Koh Samui, but also very beautiful. For example, such as Koh Tao or Koh Phangan.
I’ll explain right away that the prefix Ko means island, and the island of Koh Phangan is a separate topic, since every month it hosts world-famous “Full moon parties”, parties are held on the full moon, and here there is such a full moon once a month and the moon huge since the island is closer to the equator, boats depart from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan all night, transporting people to the party and back, a holiday for real riotous youth, if you are young and you have nothing to lose - go ahead to the Full moon Party.
I can't say about retreat on koh samui. In short, this is an opportunity for 7 days to look into your souls under the guidance of Buddhist monks at a special meditation center Dipabhavan. Read more carefully, you might be interested.
Do not forget about three wonderful things on Koh Samui
Separately, it must be said about some pleasant and interesting phenomena on Koh Samui. Of course, it is impossible to designate them as something special and characteristic only for this island. However, this is clearly no worse. So what am I on about? In short, diving, Thai massage and Thai traditional food.
Diving on Koh Samui
For people who go in for diving, or for the first time decided on this adventure, the island is just an ideal place, as there are a lot of international class dive centers for not a lot of money, and most importantly a lot of places to dive, after all, there is a very rich marine world, there are specimens that already in the red book, for example a seahorse, we saw it. Well, in general, about diving is understandable for an amateur.
Thai massage
Now for massage and spa, this is of course a separate life and culture in Thailand, very, very interesting and original., and most importantly real, I think everyone understands what I mean real Thai massage and spa, which has absolutely nothing to do with sex tourism. So, the island has a huge selection of massages, traditional and for every taste of the most spoiled tourist, and the spa centers are even more impressive, well, you need to feel and see it.
Thai food on Koh Samui
The cuisine on Koh Samui is, of course, everything sweet, spicy, smelling of no idea what, everything is for real lovers of the exotic, and a lot of seafood, but the main thing that we noted for ourselves is, of course, a huge selection of tropical fruits that we saw for the first time, and tried it too. Bananas and coconuts don't count, of course, as they grow every meter. In general, everything is on the level, the sea is the sun and vitamins, what else do urban children need to relax.
The result is that we are satisfied and happy. Yes, that's right - happy. We were lucky that nothing marred our trip, and the place itself is simply heaven on earth. I advise everyone to visit this island. But be careful - Koh Samui will pick you up and never let you go again...
Andrey Sadovoy for Travelgide.ru