Koh Samui (8 - 10 October 1999)

Although the island is relatively big, the roads are not very good. Except for the main roads, the rest of the island consists of gravel roads. That means it is very dusty and frequently, the shopkeepers would spray the road with water to settle the dirt and dust. Getting around the island involves getting on the back of a pick-up truck converted into a “taxi” called “songtoas”. The fare varies with distance and can accommodate up to 8 - 10 people. The alternative would be to rent a jeep at about THB 1000 or a motorcycle at about THB 150 a day. Quite reasonable I think.

Click on any of the pictures below to get a full size at 640x480.

For all those of you who live just to shop, this is a place you will enjoy. There are stretches of beach all around the island. You get the sea on one side and shops on the other. You can walk for about 2 hours one-way to cover the stretch of shops on Chaweng Beach on the east. Chaweng beach is the longest and there are many shops there. Currency in not a problem because there are money changers every 100 meters of so and they are open till midnight. Keep in mind that they do NOT accept MYR ever since the exchange control by the Government of Malaysia in September 1998. Most of the shops sell handicrafts, T-Shirts, toys and beautiful carved soap in forms of flowers. There are many hotels and restaurants around catering to all budgets and standards. I managed to check out the Amari Palm Reef Resort and the Central Samui Beach Resort (Tel No. +66-77-230500). Both are outstanding 5 stars resorts but Central Samui offers a better location being right in the middle of Chaweng Beach. I stayed at The Imperial Boat House Hotel (Tel No. +66-77-425041) which was situated about 7km from Chaweng Beach. Through the generosity of the hotel, two Boathouse suites were allocated to our group of ten. I happened to be one of the lucky two. 

On the second day, we went to the Ang Thong Marine National Park. This was a 1 hour 45 mins boat ride to Koh Ang Thong. We were told we would get to swim and snorkel in the open sea. In my humble opinion, the journey was better than the destination. Along the way, we saw many breath-taking islands and scenery. I even managed to see a pink dolphin for a brief moment before it dived under. There was also this strange jumping fish that looks like a marlin. It jumped out of the water and begun to skip on the water like a flat stone being thrown and it did that for more than 5 times before diving into the sea again. Amazing! The island itself is not much. The water was clean but was also murky so it was a disappointment. There were some fish but being a SCUBA diver myself, I find the reef and fish not up to my expectation. Plus I managed to cut my foot on one of the stones. The seas all over the islands are particularly calm because it is protected by the Gulf of Thailand.

On the last night, we had a memorable dinner at The Central Samui Beach Resort. This brought together the whole group of about 50 people who were allocated to 4 different hotels. The dinner is nothing short of excellence. No expense was spared. It was held on the beach with a bonfire. Plenty of good food from salad to local cuisine to barbeque to delicious deserts and local fruits. There was even a stage for some entertaining cultural shows from Tahiti and Hawaii after the speeches made by Peter Stuyvesant Travel, Pelangi Air and Bangkok Airways.

After the dinner, a few of us went for a traditional massage at Mamma’s Massage. I went the first night so I didn’t join them. It was one of the best if not the best massage I had ever had and it only cost THB 400 for 2 hours. This is the Real McCoy. Not the hanky-panky kind. Instead of a massage, I went shopping on Chaweng beach. Walked for about 2 hours looking at the hawker’s stalls and some pubs. The landmark nightlife was at the Green Mango, a discothèque. The entrance was very impressive and inside it, there is a big dance floor. Over all, the nightlife in Koh Samui is not as grand or raunchy as in Bangkok or Pattaya. More like Phuket. Beers are less than THB 100 each.

On the last day after we checked out from our hotel, we were treated to a tour of the island. Our first stop was to the Big Buddha as you can see on the picture above. The island is fairly big so it takes about 40 mins to get from one side to the other. Our last but most interesting site was to the Grandfather Rock and Grandmother Rock also known as Hin Ta and Hin Yai. These rocks resemble the male and female genitals and are completely natural. Judge for yourself. They are only separated by about 200 meters. The folklore was that a long time ago, there was an elderly couple who wanted to married their son off. So once the marriage was arranged, they took a boat to go to the wedding. Unfortunately there was a heavy storm, their boat was sunk and they were killed. Unable to make it to the wedding, they made their presence known by turning themselves into the respective rocks. 

After this last site, we had to leave for the airport. All in all, a very good and memorable trip. My only complains are that our hotel at The Imperial Boat House Hotel was a little far from town and the trip was too short (didn’t get to go to Lamai Beach). Definitely worth going if all you want to do is relax and enjoy life.

Any comments, please e-mail me at hifever@hotmail.com.

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