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Published: January 2nd 2007
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What did you get..What did you get ????
Christmas morning in the lap of luxury at the Santhiya The first sign that we are moving up to a more luxurious standard of trip comes when the courtesy bus provided by Koh Phangan's Santhiya Resort picks us up from our Koh Samui hotel 15 minutes ahead of schedule. In the last 4 months we have never had an on-time pick up, never mind an early one.
Unfortunately bad weather means the hotel's speedboat cannot take us and instead we join the Cattamaran along with what feels like most of the tourists on Koh Samui. The boat is full and we end up sitting on a vent, the first wave to come over the side sprinkles me with water and I decide to move, thankfully as more was to follow leaving people sat at the edge of the boat to look like they have been on the log flume at Alton Towers.
After 40 minutes on the sea and an hour across the bumpy roads of Koh Phangan in another Santhiya minivan we finally arrive at the resort. Set over a vast area and nestled into the hillside, the hotel seems slightly at odds with the dusty makeshift bungalows we had passed en route. Considering Santhiya picked us up
Room with a view
Who needs a TV in the room when you can sit and watch this all day. Santhiya, NE Koh Phangan it feels a little bit like they didn't know we were coming. Staff rush around preparing too many welcome drinks, asking for passports we have already handed in and we are introduced to a host of staff. Ping, a Chinese/Thai is the main spokesperson, she apologises for the wait and tells us that it is difficult to check us in quickly as we
all arrived together (all being us, another couple and a family of 4). Matt wanders off to check out the view and comes back whispering that the pool and private beach are empty, despite the hotel being open 5 months it's starting to feel like we are the first guests.
Check in complete, Ping escorts us to our room, the resort is fairly large so golf buggys are used to transport guests, though we make a rule to walk unless a lift is offered but never to call for a buggy. The room is beautiful, despite being on the top floor of a 3 storey block the teak walls give it a standalone feel, the bath and shower are huge, the room has a DVD player amd the bathroom's 5ft by 5ft window looks into the
How did you spend your Christmas Eve ?
Carla gets some good competition in the 'Cherie Blair' smile contest. Whilst Matt has just noticed a 'bulge' in the front of one of their dresses ??? bedroom, finally the balcony reveals an unspolit view of sand, sea and mountains. It's perfect and had the weather not perked up, enabling us to sunbathe and use the pool, exactly the sort of room we wouldn't mind being stuck in.
Ping gives us a tour of the pool, spa and restaurants, in doing so she confesses that she has only been working there a week and is very nervous, at times she breaks into fits of giggles mid sentence before returning to hyperactively tell us about the hotel. The reason for Ping's behaviour becomes clear when she admits she is so busy she rarely has time to eat and survives on endless cups of coffee!
Christmas Eve brings the Gala Dinner, guests are in varying outfits from ballgowns to jeans. Ping (fast becoming our new best friend) stops at our table to explain she is the MC and is once again, very nervous, she also tells us that there is a lucky draw and she will keep her fingers crossed for us. The evening goes well, lovely food including a huge, moist, buttery turkey (though it's not the same with BBQ sauce and salad), the ubiqitous Thai
Chok - D (thai for cheers)
We enjoy the bubbly that Linda, Steve, Cath & Chris treated us to during our stay at the Santhiya dancing and a fantastic two piece band, described by Matt as Jimi Hendrix on a classical guitar (which I think means he liked it!). Everytime Ping takes to the stage Jingle Bells is played like it's her theme tune, she announces the draw and after sitting through several disappointments room 436 is the winner of a free dinner att he hotel. I shout 'YES' look to my right to celebrate with Matt only to see him crossing the room to the stage, hands aloft in an old skool style victory pose, he grabs Ping kissing both cheeks and leaning into the microphone says "Merry Christmas Everyone" in the exact same way Uma Thurman announces her name as Mrs Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction.
Christmas Day is odd, it's been one of the hardest days for us so far, whilst it's difficult to compete with the paradise we are staying in it makes us realise that the day is about families. After opening our presents to each other and eating a cooked breakfast we spend the day at the pool before heading over the rocks to the next beach. Despite the fact that Thai's do not celebrate Christmas the sheer
Christmas Day 2006
the Santhiyas private beach (with the villas and resort in the background) number of tourists mean that many places cater for it, clearly not here - our Christmas lunch is sandwiches from a place called Mr Handsome, eaten on the beach. In the early evening we get calls from both sets of families, it's early morning in England and we both feel sad as we put the phone down knowing the day will happen without us.
Our final evening at Santhiya is spent at the hotel's restaurant overlooking the sea where we use our free meal voucher and drink the wine sent to us on Christmas Day by Matt's relatives (thanks Linda, Steve, Cath and Chris!!).
The following day we say goodbye to Ping and enjoy the last of our luxury with the Santhiya speedboat that whisks us back to Koh Samui. Arriving at Jungle Club once again we are welcomed back by the gang and taken to our room. We have opted this time for a cheaper Jungle Hut and it quickly reminds us of the level of accommodation we are limited to....cold showers and the biggest gecko we have seen so far on the trip, it's almost a foot long and lives behind the shower unit! 3 nights
Welcome (back) to the Club
Jungle clubs infinity pool under blue skies and sunshine, with the blue waters of the gulf of Thailand below. No wonder we didnt want to leave at the hut begin to take their toll on us, after noticing teeth marks on the soap, a second gecko behind the shower (at the same time as the first) and finding it increasingly hard to sleep due to the hotel's taxi service driving past our room at all hours of the night picking up partying guests, Matt asks if any bungalows are free (where we stayed last time). No bungalows are available so the 'Club' bump us up to Madame's Maman Villa (the owner's mum's holiday home on site), this beautiful white building has an open plan kiitchen, a seating area plus a 4 poster bed and huge bathroom with hot water, absolute bliss.
Sawadee Pree My (Happy New Year)
If Christmas is about family then for us New Year is usually about friends, most of ours at home are going to a House Party, we decide to spend New Year at the Jungle Club where they have organised a buffet. We spend New Years Eve day time at the pool before bumping into Brandon Bloc at the bar, he is having a few drinks before playing at an event nearby and makes a lot of the
Home # 41 of the trip
Our biggest home so far - The Jungle Clubs 'Villa' complete with kitchen, Chill out room and 2 huge Gheckos named Edward and Wendy hotel guests pretty happy by supplying them with free tickets.
The NYE buffet is fantastic; fish in Mousseline sauce, huge prawns, mussels, Amok fish, and much more, all washed down with Mai Tai cocktails. At midnight the hotel's location give us a bird's eye of the fireworks happening up and down the length of the beach, it's only the next day we find out that these would have coincided with some of the bombs in Bangkok.
Jungle Club has made Koh Samui for us, it's the only place we have returned to, and our second visit does not dissappoint. In addition to the staff we meet a great gang of 3, Debbie (Scotland), Matt and Alan (England) are on holiday and make the most of every available drinking hour. The first time we speak at 6pm on their first day they have spent the day in the bar, where upon Alan takes great delight in informing us that he caught Matt kissing a lady boy, Gordon as we christen him/her haunts Matt for the rest of the time we spend with them!
We leave Jungle Club for 2 more nights in Chaweng and are quickly reminded of
Home # 39 of the trip
The bath (our first in 2 months) could fit 4 and the shower cubicle was BIGGER than some rooms we have stayed in. Thanks again Winn et Mozza the reasons we weren't overly keen staying here; stinking drains, too many people and high prices. Koh Tao, our next stop promises a more laid back experience with none of the more commercial aspects of Koh Samui.....well apart from the ever present 7/11s!
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chris
non-member comment
I bet the one on the left has the 'bulge'!!! ps she/he wasn't taking the Christmas morning pic was she????