After a 2 hour journey on a twin prop plane we arrived at the quaint airport of Koh Samui. This is one of the best airports we have ever seen, open air buildings with lovely thatched roofs. We decided to be a little daring this time and arrived with no accommodation pre-booked, knowing that there was a hotel information desk at the airport that could help us out. After perusing the file of Samui accommodation it became apparent that all of them were a little bit out of our price range, so we enquired if there was anything a little cheaper. The clerk immediately flipped the book to the back page and pointed at the only resort that was in our budget. This we thought looked fine! That was until we were ferried by minivan to our chosen resort and shown the room. Having learnt from our previous experiences, we decided to go through our checklist. Bathroom - Fine, Cleanliness - Reasonable, then the ultimate test - the mattress! After we prized the mattress springs from out of our bottoms, we decided that this was not the room for us. So after a stern look from the cashier, we got our money back and set off in the scorching midday heat for something a little better. Luckily Koh Samui is not short of accommodation, so we found an alternative in next to no time.
The sea here was crystal clear ad the beach was made from fine white powdery sand. So our days were spent relaxing on the beach and swimming in the clear blue water. Come sunset the atmosphere changes on the beach with some lively bars and pretty restaurants appearing. We decided to steer clear of all the brits abroad packed in like sardines on sun loungers, listening to their Ibiza beats and found ourselves a lovely candlelit beach restaurant where we had an enjoyable meal.
On a romantic note, we bought a Chinese paper lantern from a beach seller, lit it and watched it float into the night sky over Chaweng beach and above the sea. Lighting a paper lantern and trying to catch the moment of film was a difficult thing, but we did manage to get a good couple of pictures.
Unfortunately the main road on Chaweng beach at night does resemble Kingston at closing time! Apart from the drunken brits staggering around, this was cleverly illustrated by a monkey being thrown at Adams head and a ladyboy accosting Clare! So we made a swift exit to the comfort of our balcony and played cards, where no monkeys or ladyboys could find us!
Whilst having a gorgeous beach and plenty of restaurants and bars, Koh Samui does seem to have lost any Thai culture and has become overpriced compared to nearby islands. Ultimately this is a great place for the young part crowd, but it realistically could have been anywhere in Europe.
So after 2 nights, we booked our ferry ticket to Koh Tao and looked forward to a nice relaxing journey...
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