Koh Samui, Thailand…An Island Paradise
by Michelle Larson
  My mom and I took a small plane from Chiang Mai to Koh
Samui, a tropical island in the south, on the Gulf of Thailand. The flight
was an easy 2 hours. I had the window seat and the view of Samui from above
was awesome. The water is calm and turquoise blue. The airport is small and
it feels like you have arrived for some island living; thatch roof over
bamboo, open air and smiles everywhere. Everyone is happy to be arriving
here. The hotel sent a  driver to pick us up at the airport. It was just a
short 15 minutes to Bo Phut Resort & Spa. We decided to splurge for our last few nights
and rent a villa with a private pool. AMAZING! We enter through our outdoor
solid gate into an oasis on tranquility and serenity. The villa is walled in
on all sides, so it is very private. Through the gate is our pool and patio
area with lounge chairs, umbrella and dining table. We can also step right
into the pool through teak doors that open from the bedroom. There is a huge
Jacuzzi tub and an outdoor shower too. The dark wood floors throughout and
windows everywhere, bring the lush tropical landscape and bright sunshine
inside. This would be an incredible honeymoon destination.
  We put on our bathing suits and walked down the beach.
It is so beautiful! There are women offering massages on the sand for 200
baht and hour ($6). They have lovely teak beds with flowing white canopy
drapes set up for the treatments. We will have to indulge in this tomorrow.
We find some shells as we walk, one of my hobbies. I love to keep a
 bowl full of shells
in my home from every tropical destination I visit. Back at the resort we
wander and take photos. This place is really a gem. The restaurant is right
on the water along side the large pool surrounded by palm trees and orchids.
We ordered room service for dinner. We want to enjoy
every minute in our new digs. The food was excellent and the presentation
remarkable. They really go the extra mile here. Mom went outside for a walk
and noticed that there were unusual fiery lights up in the sky. She called
me out to take a look. We couldn’t imagine what it was. We walked out to the
beach and saw that there were a group of Thai guys selling 3 foot tall x 18”
around paper balloons. They would light a fire in the middle and then let
them go. They would float up like a helium balloon into the sky all orange
and illuminated. It was a magical sight to see all of these glowing balls in
the night sky. Before long there were dozens of them on a journey to who
knows where.
Our first full day on the island with nothing to
do…what more could we ask for? The breakfast at the resort was a wonderful
buffet filled with all kinds of international selections. The Thai’s pretty
much eat rice and noodles for every meal. The food has been good, although
sometimes a bit too spicy for our tastes.
It is really hot and humid today, probably around
98-100°F with 100% humidity. All of the forecasts told us that we were
looking at a 60% chance of thunderstorms everyday that we were going to be
here. We have been so lucky to only see a few rainy hours and overall nice
weather. So, other than being a walking pool of sweaty-stickiness, we’re all
good.
We were by, or in, our pool until early afternoon and
then the manager of the hotel drove us to the neighboring town of Nathon for
some shopping. We stopped into a little cafe for an iced coffee and mixed
fruit plate before combing the streets. We did find some good stuff. Both of
us like to buy a painting from a local artist in every country we visit. We
haven’t run into any art galleries or painters until today. I bought a
really beautiful painting of a little monk, what the Thai’s call, “the monk
who is still a boy”. The expression on the boy’s face is so moving. The
artist was also working on a painting that I liked and I asked him if I
could buy it. He said that he would finish it today and it needed to dry the
next day. I arranged a time to pick up the finished art the next night. This
piece is a close up view of green coconuts in a palm tree. There is
something very tranquil and tropical about it. I had the paintings taken off
of the frame and rolled onto a cardboard tube. Unfortunately, the small
airline that we have been flying inside Thailand has a pretty small weight
limit to the checked luggage. They allow 20 kilos per person. Coming over to
Koh Samui we were at 80 kilos between the two of us. I think we paid more
for the extra luggage than we did for our plane tickets. So, we are trying
to keep our purchases light.
  After
a couple of hours we were so hot that we had to grab a taxi back to the
room. The stores do not have air conditioning and it was getting unbearable.
It is funny how the Thai people don’t sweat like us. Somehow they just must
be acclimated. As it cooled down we walked up the beach to a small village.
We stopped to take in the sunset over the mountains. Breathtaking. While
there, we decided to have dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants. There
are many and the people who work at them stand out front and try to draw you
in. We decided on a quaint place with hundreds of soft golden silk lanterns
hanging from the ceiling. We ordered an ice blended watermelon juice to
start…our new favorite drink. We ordered some Thai specialties with seafood
and some delicious spring rolls with a sweet plum sauce. It was a really
nice meal. We walked back down the beach to our resort and as soon as we
walked into our villa, I took off my dress and jump in the pool in my
birthday suit....It felt so refreshing. The great thing about a private pool
is, bathing suits, optional.
 Our last full day in Thailand, we had our breakfast at
the beachside café and immediately after, changed into swimsuits for a dip
in our pool. It always feels so good. It never really cools down here. Even
at night it is probably 85°F. The pool is the perfect temperature. After our
swim we walked down the beach for a massage. We just had to see what a $6 an
hour massage was like. We climbed up the ladder of a bamboo hut built on
stilts. The floor was covered with cushions. The girls basically kneel and
move around you. It seems like their backs would hurt after doing this all
day. We both had an oil massage and though we thought we might feel
uncomfortably hot, the breeze was nice and they had a fan going. The massage
was pretty good, a little Thai mixed with Swedish. I decided to add in a
foot scrub for an extra $6. My feet were baby soft when they finished.
  We decided that we should see Chaweng,
the city to the north that is supposedly the big shopping area and the
former capital. Not impressed. We walked around the shops for an hour or so
and decided to catch a cab back before the sunset. The sunsets have been
spectacular and I wanted to get some good pictures.
We ordered room service and dined al fresco on our
patio. We wanted to enjoy our last hours in the villa. What a wonderful trip
this was! It worked out so well to have time relaxing on this island before
returning home.
Today we fly home. We woke up and started packing our
bags. We are getting more cumbersome with every stop and now we have to be
really efficient to get it all in. The bags that came filled with toys for
the orphans are now going home packed with gifts and Thai treasures.
This was truly an amazing vacation. My Mom and I travel
so well together. We like doing the same things. We appreciate the culture
and art in the same way. There wasn’t a moment of discontent or disagreement
the entire trip. What a great experience for us both. As a busy mother and
businesswoman I can get caught up in all of my daily lists and
responsibilities. It was so great that both of us were able to take this
time to bond again – mother and daughter, friends, and president of each
other’s fan club.
Getting there:
Take Bangkok Airways out of Chiang Mai Airport to Koh
Samui. The flight is about two hours and will cost about $236 USD per
person, one way. (It used to be that you could take Nok Air for much
cheaper, but it doesn’t look like they are serving Ko Samui currently. Check
before you book though). Be careful with the weight of your luggage. Over
40lbs. of luggage will result in additional fees. For us, the fees varied,
but we were able to negotiate the price down. These additional fees can cost
more than the flight itself, so just be aware.
Where to stay:
Situated on the northern tip of the island on Bo Phut
beach, Bo Phut Resort & Spa is a real treat!
www.santiburi.com/bophut_resort In off-season, between May 1 –
October 31, rates are $260 USD per night for a garden room, and villas start
at $409 USD per night and offer private pools and gardens. If you can afford
to spend a little more, this place will not disappoint. The casual and fine
dining restaurants, incredibly friendly staff, beautiful tropical grounds
and overall tranquil feel at this resort, make for the perfect combination
for creating a relaxing island experience that you can melt into.
If you are looking to spend less money on
accommodations, it can definitely be done. Hotels.com quotes room rates for
as little as $79 USD per night for 3star hotels.
Must-see & Do Koh Samui:
Your feet in the san
Sunset each day
Floating lanterns in the night sky
Beach massage
Many dips in the pool and sea
Shopping in Nathon
“Just Go!” The more time you spend simply daydreaming
about far off places, the less time you have to experience all of the many
wonders of this incredible world. | 