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Published: February 8th 2006
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View from the plane
Taken in the clouds on the way to Koh Samui Just a quick update to show you some photos and let you know how we are getting on on the beautiful island of Koh Samui!
After a few plane journeys (that suprisingly were on time and straight forward, they didnt lose our bags this time anyway!) at about 6pm we arrived in Koh Samui.
Our first stop on the island was Chewang Beach. Chewang Beach is probably the most popular place for tourists to visit so it was very busy! Very few backpackers, just lots of people on holiday. On our first night we headed to the beach and was pleasently surprised by all the bars along the beach, actually on the beach! They lay sunloungers out on the sand in a square, with a table in the middle for your drinks (hard to explain!) its so relaxed and it is lovely to have a few beers, lay down and just chill, we loved it! Our first day on the beach was great too. You lay on the sand with a bar right behind you playing good dance/beach music. Its great!
We booked 4 nights in the guesthouse with the intention to stay until mum and dad came
over on the 3rd Feb but we decided to be spontaneous and head down to the next beach called Lamai. We'd been recommended it by another backpacker, he said it was more for backpackers and we'd like it more than Chewang. Although I really like Chewang, its hard to meet people when your backpacking because everyone is on holiday - they're not really interested in meeting new people. We were so used to having company all the time in Chiang Mai that it was strange just being the 2 of us - we needed some friends! We left Chewang early morning and got a bus down to Lamai. We were heading for some cheap bungalows called 'Chill Out' that cost 200 baht a night (2.80!) we had a nightmare trying to find them, carrying around our backpacks in the boiling hot but we got there in the end. The bar and the place overall was ideal for backpackers (although there werent many there) and at first we loved it. The two guys that were running it were cool but very young - 20 years old (what a life to be running a bar in Thailand at that age!) They'd only
taken it over 8 weeks prior to us arriving so a lot of work needed doing and to be honest it didnt seem like they really knew much about what to do and how to run a business. They got stoned everynight and stayed up til about 6am, slept until the evening of the next day and left this little Thai in charge of the bar who could speak little English - I felt so sorry for him! Anyway, we got taken to our bungalow which was really basic with a bed and a toilet and it smelt quite bad! The bungalow didnt bother me at first, I just figured we had been spolit staying in guesthouses and this was what traveling was all about - I just had to get on with it but the first night I didnt sleep at all! We got in in the evening and there was a great big spider in our bathroom - huge it was! Phil is scared of them so I had to take care of it! I hate them too! I kept wondering what other wildlife was lingering around - yuk! so I woke up and by 9am I was
packed and ready to go!
On the one and only night we stayed there we met a girl called Helen from England. I saw her the next morning and we all went for breakfast. She told us that she is going to Boh Puht Beach (a beach in the North of Koh Samui) that evening to meet a friend. We decided in the end to pack our stuff and head to Boh Puht Beach for a couple of nights and what an experience it was! In all our traveling so far we havent struggled to find somewhere to stay and we have never carried our bags for longer than 5-10 mins. The day we decided to leave Lamai and head for Boh Puht will be the first and hopefully the last time we end up walking around with our backpacks for 4 hours in the pouring rain! We couldnt find anywhere to stay that was anywhere near our budget! Eventually we found somewhere and guess where it was? only where the taxi had dropped us off, right at the beginning! We couldnt believe it! What a day!
The next day we ended up hiring a jeep with Helen,
her friend Ella and her friend Rachel. It ended up costing about 4 quid each (including petrol) which was really good. We visited a few tourist attractions - waterfalls and Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks. The waterfalls were lovely. One of them was 80 metres high up a cliff. You could walk all the way to the top, it was a hell of a walk up the mountain. Me and Phil were doing really well and at one point looked much like Tarzan and Jayne!! (he, he) I got almost to the top but had to head back down - my height fobia set in. I was trying to overcome it but failed. Phil did really well though and went all the way to the top - without a tour guide too! It was a really good day and a good opportuniy visit different parts of the island. The girls were ok, Helen was fine but Ella was a bit annoying - bit bossy and she got on nerves! Until then, we hadnt met any girls on our travels (none that we actually hungaround with) and now I know why!! I dont think Phil particulary liked being the only lad and
he found the conversations between them incrediblly boring so he hardly spoke the whole time, which is unusual for him! Buy hey, it was still a good day and if it wasnt for Ella we wouldnt have seen many of the things we did.
After 2 nights we all said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways. Me and Phil had to travel back down to Chewang Beach where we were to meet mum and dad when they arrived 2pm that day. I was so excited, I couldnt wait to see them! I seemed like we had been away for so long when in fact its only been about 9 weeks! I really missed them!
They are here now and we will be together for the first week of their holiday. I wont write too much and publish any photos coz I'll tell you all about our holiday with the parents/in laws in our next blog!
Just a quick summary an the places themselves:
Chewang Beach: Is a nice beach and is great in the day and evenings with all the bars along the beach. The nightlife is good too. The only problem with Chewang is if
you're backpacking there seems to be very few other backpackers and little opportunity to meet new people. Its full of tourists and is quite busy. I would love to come back here with my mates, you'd have a fantastic time!
Lamai: Lamai is really nice, much the same as Chewang but quieter. It has less tourists and more bacpackers. You can find many beach huts starting at as cheap as 200 baht a night. There bars and resturants on the street away from the beach but to be honest, I would probably just hang around the beach - its got everything you need there. We'll prob head back down there when we get back from the Full Moon Party (butwe'll stay somewhere else!)
Boh Puht (fishermans village): Is a small beach but nice. It seems a quiet place, more for older people, not so much the young ones. Its for the people who dont like the busy life in Chewang and just want to chill out. The village is one street with nice bars, resturants and accomadation. It was nice to visit but I dont think I would go there on holiday, too quiet.
Still having a
fantastic time - we really dont want to leave Thailand. Cant believe we only have a few weeks left here!
I'll write again soon xx
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