Koh Samui

One of the places that I was very excited to visit in Thailand as I’d heard a lot of great things about it. Located north east of mainland Thailand, it was a little bit of journey to reach there from Koh Lanta but we thought it’d be worth it. Koh Samui has a bit of everything. As well as backpackers, there are also many tourists that take a holiday there and in my opinion, is a lot better than the other holiday spot of Phuket. From upper class luxury resorts, to cheap low budget hostels, Koh Samui is suited for everyone. It has beautiful beaches with many beach activities, plenty of restaurants that cater for everyone, stunning temples bursting with culture and so many things to do.

Day 1

After a day of travelling by van, coach and then a boat, we arrived in Koh Samui. The pier was a little way from the centre so we found transport to get to the centre. We opted for a local sort of bus/tuk tuk where locals get on and off along the way. It was much cheaper than a taxi and we got to experience much more of the local culture. We stayed at Cheeky Monkey Hostel in a private room with a/c. Despite the room being terribly small, it was clean and even had a rooftop pool. Winning! We dropped our bags off and headed straight out. It was pretty much evening time now so we did what we do best and went to find some food. Firstly, we explored Chewang Food market. It was one of those places where they are so many small restaurants packed next to each other outside and all of the workers are standing outside in a line all trying to get you inside. We thought we’d carry on looking and we then found somewhere cheaper and a bit more chilled. I had my favourite green thai curry. An early night was in order ready for a full day of exploring tomorrow.

Day 2

The weather was absolutely scorching today! Clear blue skies and sunshine that ‘hits’ you as soon as you walk outside. The first thing we did is rented a moped! And the shop was right next to our hostel! Mopeds really are the best way to get around and so much cheaper than booking a day tour with a company. Our plan for today was to explore the cultural side of Koh Samui and visit the temples. The first stop off was breakfast though. We found this place where pretty much all of the dishes were 50 baht so roughly £1.30 and the staff are so lovely and friendly. (And the food was brill!). After fueling up, we headed straight to Wat Plai Leam. This temple is absolutely beautiful and where I shot some of my favourite pictures. There are many smaller temples around the complex too so we spent a good couple of hours here. One of the good things about it, as well as the stunning architecture, was the fact it was so quiet. Hardly anyone was there so it was really peaceful. There were a few locals inside the temple worshipping too. This is a must to visit when coming to Koh Samui.

Our next stop was lunch so we jumped back on our bike to find some. I love the freedom with having a bike and just going wherever we want to go. We found a small family run business (these are our favourite types) and ordered a beef noodle soup, which was delicious.

Then, we headed to the Big Buddha. Before you enter the Big Buddha, there is a small sort of village with many clothes stalls that you have to walk through. I ended up buying a dress because the clothes were too good and cheap to say no! It was only around £5. The Big Buddha was beautiful and even more so, the views from the top. On the way back to the bike, I spotted a stall that sold milky tea. I’ve been eyeing this up for a while and thought I’d give it a go. It was so good! Basically, it was cold tea, which sounds disgusting but was really nice.

It was getting later now so we headed back to the hotel, dropped off our bike, got changed and walked to the beach. It was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel! It was called Chewang beach. The beach itself was beautiful with white sand. There are a few locals with their own mini BBQs on the sand selling meat. However, it was very overcrowded! We walked 10/15 minutes down and found a quieter spot to chill. Our aim was to catch sunset but there wasn’t really one. It was that relaxing that we both nodded off! Until I woke up and took photos of Lewis haha. For dinner we headed back to the place where we had breakfast and we had a couple of (very strong) cocktails! After, we had a stroll around the centre and had a browse around the stalls.

Day 3

Today was a beach day! We had a little lie in today and didn’t set an alarm. By the time we were out of the hotel, it was around 11.30am so instead of breakfast, we went for an early lunch! Guess where we went? Back to our newly favourite restaurant! We both had a vegetable fried rice. It was another hot day so I was glad to be spending the day at the beaches!

We visited 3 different beaches today on the bike. Beforehand, we researched a few beaches where we wanted to go but somehow couldn’t find all of them even though we had maps on our phone so we kinda just went with the flow! These days can turn out the best though. Our first beach was a dream. The water was turquoise and the sand was the whitest I’ve ever seen sand and hardy anyone was there. The second beach was much bigger but still just as beautiful. This one had a beach swing so of course I snapped away. The last beach wasn’t very nice however we wanted to get to the other side of the island to catch sunset and this was the first one we got to before time ran out. Even though the beach wasn’t great, the sunset was INSANE. We had such a relaxing day beach hopping. All we had were our towels, water bottles, sunglasses and camera and we had so much fun. It has been one of my favourite days so far.

The journey back was interesting. It was dark (not the best when on the moped), around a 35 minute drive back and we were pretty much out of petrol. Usually, there are fuel stations or stalls everywhere but we didn’t find one until we reached the centre. Even though it was flashing, Lewis wanted to chance it as we were giving the bike back after. I was certain we were going to break down! Luckily, we managed it though! It was time for food now. Despite being sandy and sweaty, we went for dinner. On holiday, I’d go back to the hotel, shower and get changed but it is so different when travelling. My standards drop so much. But I like it. We really don’t have a care in the world and do not care what we look like most of the time. We headed back to the restaurant of course and had another thai green curry. Delicious!

I have really enjoyed Koh Samui. There is so much to do here and I like the vibe it has. Tomorrow, we leave for a few hour boat trip to Koh Tao. Time to pack up the bags again and get ready to leave in the morning at 10am.

Laura and Lewis