Tales from Thailand: Beach

Travel to a tropical beach for 1000 baht ($30) and arrive there in four hours...yes please!

Koh Samed is an obvious choice for a fantastic weekend for it's logistical convenience!

Add beautiful, clear water, a white sand beach with few visitors, and the convenience of delicious restaurants, fun bars, and beach side amenities, and you'll understand why we've traveled here twice within two months!

When we visited in March, we left school at 3:00 on Friday and arrived on the beach in Koh Samed in time for sunset.

Then we headed to Ploy Restaurant and Bar for dinner and an amazing fire show. After seeing the fire show for a second time this weekend, my opinion has been solidified--it's fantastic.

We had a blast!

We stayed at Samed Villa on Ao Pai. The rooms are good, the grounds are beautiful, and the breakfast is satisfying.

During the day, we spent our time on the next beach, Ao Pudusa.

It's a gorgeous little cove that is often visited by strong women who carry large baskets and coolers of fruit on a yoke. This means my next coconut water is readily available.

The restaurants make delicious smoothies, good Thai eats, and sandwiches.

Water, sun, reading time under the umbrella, sand, and tossing the frisbee (and this guy) are more than enough for a blissful day.

Additionally we found pretty coral and fish this time! (In March the tide was rough since there had been a significant rain.)

The additional big benefit of Koh Samed this weekend was that it seemed nearly unaffected by the coup that was declared on the 22nd of May. There was no military presence and the 10:00 pm curfew didn't appear to be in effect. It certainly didn't impact the great time we had with friends! The only sign was the message from the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council on the projection screen at Ploy's during the fire show.

Returning from Koh Samed felt the same this time--I was relaxed, happy, a wee bit sun burnt, and wondering why we haven't gone to Samed twice a month all year.

For my birthday, Neil planned a surprise weekend. And so I anxiously counted down the days until Chinese New Year. Not just because I'm looking forward to the year of the horse, but because it was our three day weekend and my birthday getaway!

After an hour and a half of hanging out in the Bangkok Airways lounge (one of the many reasons I highly recommend flying Bangkok Airways), Neil finally told me we were traveling to Koh Samui!

That night we were welcomed to Elements Resort and Spa Boutique with birthday cake and bubbly! (I really enjoy when birthday celebrations are stretched beyond the actual day and week of my birthday.) Then we enjoyed the quiet beach and amazing stars--by far the best view of stars we've had thus far--a result of the isolated and sparsely inhabited area surrounding the resort.

Friday morning started with yoga. Then we read and relaxed by the small, and refreshingly cool pool. We later took a kayak out and had an incredible view of Four Islands-Five Islands! We chased schools of tiny flying fish and found a rocky beach that we had all to ourselves. The water was incredibly clear and the quiet was fantastic! We paddled back in for massages and then jumped in a kayak again to get out of the cove to see the sunset. We picked a bum kayak that took on so much water we came close to tipping. Luckily I'm married to an Eagle Scout, so he steered us onto a sandbar and emptied the hull in no time. We ended the evening with dinner in a bamboo cabana on the beach and more star gazing from the comfort of giant bean bags.

Neil told me that on Saturday we would need to be ready for an early pickup for a boat trip to Ang Thong national park. It's a group of 42 small islands about 35 kilometers from Koh Samui. I was thrilled, and the trip did not disappoint! Our crew on the Anda of Samui Boat Charter took amazing care of us. We snorkeled, and I had the most fun I've ever had snorkeling! We got to see tons of fish, giant clams, sea urchins, beautiful purple sea sponges. My experience was so enjoyable because my mask and snorkel were so comfortable and didn't leak--turns out that makes a big difference! (I am now searching for the mask and snorkel online.). We then toured the islands, anchoring to swim, relax on small beaches, visit the beautiful Emerald Lagoon, have lunch, and kayak. The lagoon was an incredible turquoise; however, I'm still a bigger fan of the hidden lagoon in Railay.

Getting down to and up from the Emerald Lagoon was a steep climb!

We kayaked out to this "floating" cliff

Fittingly, Neil started reading The Beach the day before (and as I wrote this post he was reading beside me). The book (and the movie based on the book) were inspired by the islands of Ang Thong--a stunning setting for a thriller. The movie was filmed in Thailand, in Ko Phi Phi Lee and the waterfall jump scene was filmed at Khaoyai National Park (at one of the large waterfalls).

After returning to our resort we walked out to see the sunset. The cove is so shallow that at low tide we could walk and wade out over 500 meters to see around the edge of the cove and soak up the beautiful colors of the sunset.

Sunday morning we again took a kayak (not the leaky one!) and headed west out of the cove this time. Somehow the water seemed even clearer than Friday. The schools of tiny flying fish were still perfecting their formations. We found a long, sandy, empty beach with a giant leafy tree and a spirit house at the point. This made it an opportune spot to stop and enjoy the shade and the view. The red and gold spirit house with a naga inside honored the spirits of this beautiful land and sea. The paths begged to be explored, but since we didn't have any shoes, and I have a bum toe, we had to content ourselves with exploring the views from the point. We had lunch by the quiet pool and then headed back to the spa for a two hour post-sun skin treatment and massage. The cool concoctions soothed our skin and the face scrubs smelled good enough to eat (I refrained from licking my lips). By the end if my massage I got a French braid that rivaled my mom's work circa 1987.