KOH SAMUI, THAILAND, MARCH 2013

This small island, (approx. 247km²), sits on the western side of the Thai Mainland - 700km from Bangkok - in the Gulf of Thailand.  Bordering the South China Sea and the Pacific, it is surrounded by more than sixty other islands, such as Koh Phangan and Koh Tao (divers island).  Many of which are small and uninhabited.

Though the first inhabitants were fisherman, some 1500 years ago, it was more recently "discovered" in the 1970's by backpackers.  Since then however, Koh Samui has developed as a major tourist destination, catering to tourists from all over the World.  Tourism is now the island's main source of income.

Bangkok Airways flies direct, a mere 1 hour and 50 min flight from Singapore - making it the perfect destination for a quick and easy getaway.  Exactly what hubby and I were looking for.

After doing much research on Koh Samui, we elected to stay at the Hansar Samui Resort in Bhoput.  We enjoy being able to walk out of our Hotel to find local restaurants and shops. The major areas in Samui seem to be Chewang, Lamai and Bhoput, but fabulous resorts and villas are sprinkled all over the Island, some in quite lovely remote locations.  It all depends on how you are looking to spend your time.  We just didn't want to have to rely on taking taxi's to go out in the evenings, preferring to be able to take a leisurely stroll and explore.

I must say, the choice was perfect for us.  The Hansar is located right at the end of the boardwalk style street in Bhoput (or Fisherman's Village as it is also known).  There were some more great resorts like The Zazen Resort, along the beach, past the Hansar.  However, these were further away from the shops/restaurants and the downside was the lack of good walking access to the village.  Other than a taxi, walking on the beach was the only way to get to the village.  You might think this is fine, but let me tell you, this beach has coarse and shelly sand which we found very difficult to walk along.  It was very hard on the feet.

Our room was great at the Hansar.  It is only 3 levels (no elevator by the way), and we were on floor 2, room 1205, right in the middle of the block you see in the picture to the right.  The infinity pool was good.  Buffet breakfast was included, and had everything you could want.  Omelettes, eggs and even eggs benedict made to order, yummy.  The beach bar has 3 happy hours, 1.30pm, 6.30pm and 9.30pm!  What more do you need?!  There was an option to have a romantic dinner on the beach.  Water sports and massages were also available on the beach, right in front of the Hotel.  The sea was very easy to swim in, nice and calm.  It also had a roped off area in front of the Hotel so you could swim safely.  For more details and pictures of our room and The Hansar Resort, check out my Koh Samui page.  You can also check out The Hansar on Tripadvisor

A view from our room, the building on the left is the 2 storey restaurant where breakfast is served.

Our room, the mesh over glass, is all that separates the bedroom from the huge walk in shower. Not much privacy if you should need it..

A view of the pool from the beach, our room was in the center of the block you see behind the umbrellas.

The view from our room on the second floor

This table on the beach, became a candlelit romantic spot for dinner at night.

The temperature whilst we were there (end of March) was pretty hot, round about 35°C or 95°F.  The humidity was also quite high although nothing like the humidity in Singapore.

High Season / Low Season
An increasing number of tourists are coming to Koh Samui during the low season months when the heat from the sun is not so intense. 
Low Season : May 1st through to July 15th and October 1st through to 15th December
High Season : December 15th through to April 30th and July 15th through to Sept 30th

Climate
December - April : The temperature gradually rises over this period from highs of about 30 C (86 F) from December to February to highs of about  40 C (104 F) from March to April. 
There are usually some short tropical downpours in December.
May - June : The temperature dips during these 2 months and usually there are occasionally some rainy periods lasting a few days.
July - September : The temperature rises again to highs of about 35 C (95 F). There are usually some tropical downpours but these rarely last more than a few hours.
October - November : The temperature dips to around 25 C (77 F) during these 2 months and there are usually some rain and wind storms that can last for around a week or two.
  Information courtesy of http://www.amazingsamui.com/ksinfo.htm

Bhoput, or "Fishermans Village" had plenty of bars and restaurants to explore.  Also the usual array of shops.  We ate Thai food almost every day because we just love it.  A lot of the restaurants offer menus to cater to the many nationalities of tourists, so there was a choice of western as well.  

The street to the village, really close to the Hotel and lined with restaurants and shops.

Further along the street from the Hotel. More shops and bars.

A few of the places were also doing amazing seafood BBQ's.  They had the BBQ going outside on the street, so the smells were fantastic and very tempting (obviously the plan) as you walked along. The array of fresh fish to choose from was incredible.

On Friday night, Bhoput comes alive.  The "walking street" comes to town, with  the set up of market stalls and food vendors of every description lining the streets. 

One of the walking street vendors making Pad Thai.

They love their quail eggs

Pad Thai being handed over.

Corn on the cob.

We decided to rent a car for a couple of days to explore the Island.  It is not very big, so we easily drove around it in a day.  We drove through Chewang, which is the biggest town on Samui.  Loads of resorts here and plenty of nightlife, markets and shops to keep you busy.  When I read up on Samui, this had put me off it a little bit.  But having driven through, my opinion is that staying in a resort there would be fine.  Especially if you stuck to the quieter ends of town and not the middle.

It was funny to see all the fast food places available in Chewang.  Also, wall to wall mopeds!  Wherever you go on Samui, there is always a ton of mopeds parked everywhere.  Obviously the biggest mode of transport for the locals.  We did contemplate renting one for a day, but ultimately we bottled out lol!

We drove through Lamai, a smaller town than Chewang and took a look at the beach.  It was a lot more breezy at Lamai which is on the South East coast of Samui, Bhoput being on the North Eastern part of the Island.

Lamai, street behind the beach

Lamai Beach

Looking towards the Mountain from Lamai Beach

We carried on driving around the coast, some great views of the coastline.  Then we headed up "The Mountain" which is more or less in the middle of the Island.  There are a few waterfalls you can trek to up there.  We went to take a look at Wangsaothong waterfall.  Being the dry season, they were more of a trickle though, which was a shame.  Our little rental car managed to make it to the top and we took a few pictures.

Our lunch stop was at a remote little place called The Five Island Restaurant.  This spot was recommended to us by the Hotel.  It was Thai food (of course), on a lovely beach setting, overlooking the Five Islands on the Western coast of Samui.  This would be a perfect place to watch the sunset.  Alas, we only made it for lunch but I took a few photos anyway, it was so pretty and peaceful there. To see some better pictures than mine, check out this post by Elina on her My Home Koh Samui website. 

All in all we had a lovely lazy week in Koh Samui.  We weren't particularly interested in doing a lot of excursions or water sports.  We really just wanted to relax.  There are a lot of things you can do in Samui, if you are so inclined.  They have their own Rum distillery, hard to believe we didn't go there I know!  Diving and water sports of all kinds are plentiful, as are the spas.  You can also go on an ATV excursion, go Elephant Trekking, Zip Line through the canopy and there is even a Safari Park. 

On the plus side, yet another tick in my 'where in the World is Lynny" travel box! 

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