Koh Samui - Thailand

We left Lara and Leise in Ao Nang on Saturday 2nd January and made our way to the island of Koh Samui off the Eastern coast of Thailand. This involved a quick minivan trip, followed by a long coach journey to the opposite coast, and then a couple of hours on the ferry. The ferry trip was rocky to say the least but we all managed to avoid throwing up thankfully! As we closed in on the island it was beautiful to see, as the sun was just about to set. We unloaded our bags and then after a quick haggle with a taxi which we lost hands down, we made our way to the Baanrommai Resort (our home for the next few days) sharing our ride with a lovely Swedish couple.

After a quick check in it was time to explore the nightlife and go and have some dinner. After walking almost the entire length of the main road looking for the Ocean Basket restaurant which Greg and Shandy had been to before, we finally realised that it must have closed and so set about looking for a good alternative. We settled on a restaurant and we all had an enjoyable meal except for Greg who risked the Calamari and was bitterly disappointed – especially when my Thai curry was a beauty! From there we strolled down the street which was packed with tourists and travellers – this is by far the most touristy island in Thailand and is a bit too hectic to be honest. It doesn’t feel much like Thailand either as it caters completely for the holiday makers and has 24 hour Burger Kings and McDonalds, Boots chemists, Australian bars etc.

On our walk home we found a bar with a pool table (any good bar has one which is a good way to entice customers). We settled into a doubles pool challenge where the Herriott’s took on the van Alvin’s – we were pipped 2-1! Then it was time to sit down and enjoy some cards and a few more beers. From there we staggered home, using all our willpower to avoid the McDonalds ice cream on the way, and quickly hit the sack.

We woke up at a respectable time on Sunday and made our way straight to the beach. We found a perfect little spot and made ourselves at home. The water was nice but nowhere near as clean or blue as the islands around Ao Nang and again you are left with the feeling that this is mostly down to the tourists! Anyway we enjoyed plenty of swimming, bat and ball, and Frisbee throwing for several hours and of course the girls tucked into their new favourite lunch, barbecued mielies! Unfortunately it started to rain later that afternoon so we had to make our way back to our hotel to relax and catch up on some reading while the downpour continued outside our window. Once the rain cleared we headed out for dinner.

On our long walk the night before we had seen plenty of restaurants that appealed to us, one of which was a Wiener Schnitzel House. Greg was determined that we would head there for dinner and after another pretty long walk we finally found it. We all ordered our Schnitzels and waited with bated breath. Unfortunately their idea of a Chicken Schnitzel is nothing like ours – in fact it was basically just a grilled chicken breast with some average sauce. There was great disappointment all round and 2 bad dinners in a row for Greg had not made him happy. Anyway we paid up and then found a large Aussie bar which was showing the SA v England cricket so we popped ourselves down on a comfy spot and settled in. Cards, beer and cricket were a perfect way to finish the day, although Greg and I topped it off with a stop on the way home to watch the end of the West Ham v Arsenal game which was a cracker! Shandy did try and bring us back down to earth by making us weigh ourselves on an electronic scale outside our hotel before bed – the results were not good and some of us are at record weight levels!

On Monday we decided to explore a little more of the island and so we hired some scooters from our hotel. This was an inspired idea and with our retro helmets on (safety first) we set off to see what we could find. Our first stop was the giant Buddha, a beautiful statue and some temples just 15 minutes from our beach. After enjoying the sights and the view from the top we then made our way along the coast to see if we could find some nicer beaches which we did in no time at all. We stopped off at the Silver Beach resort for a quick drink and then rode a bit further down the coast where we came across Republic Beach. This was a stunning resort with a pool, serious luxury for us backpackers!

We were allowed to stay and enjoy the facilities if we had lunch there so we jumped at the chance. The girls relaxed on the sun loungers while Greg and I hit the pool to enjoy the water and the stunning view of the beach. This was real paradise! We tucked into a hearty lunch and then as the rain hit later in the afternoon we moved inside to enjoy another drink and play some chess. Greg was the master this time but a rematch has been planned! The rain died down and after a quick final swim we jumped back on our scooters and made our way back home through the manic evening traffic........scooters and vans whipping past you in all directions. Anyway we made it safe and sound just as darkness descended.

From there it was a quick change as we headed out for our last dinner in Koh Samui. After the last 2 nights being a little average we decided to go local and found a lovely Thai restaurant on the main road (you would be surprised how rare these actually are on this island). We tucked into some curries and were all very happy with our choices. Then it was back to our new favourite Aussie pub so we could enjoy some more beers, cards and of course the cricket. Tired after a busy day we made a quick stop at the Ark Bar on the way home where a full beach party was on the go. We found a nice area to relax and enjoy a couple of beers. We were then challenged by some local kids no older than 7 or 8 to a game of Connect 4. If we won they would pay 500 Baht and if we lost we would pay them 100 Baht – so 5 to 1 odds and worth a go although they cleaned us out in the 3 games we played them. They clearly have a system, but it was good fun anyway! Then it was home time as we still had to pack and get some sleep as we were off to the island of Koh Phangan in the morning.

So a quick 3 nights in Koh Samui which we really enjoyed and here are our highlights and lowlights:
- Scooter ride around part of the island, a great day out and a perfect way to see some lovely beaches
- Our afternoon at Beach Republic was perfect
- Far too touristy with rude drunks everywhere!
- This little island is also a little dirty and smelly.