Last edited: April 7, 2024
One of Thailand’s premier island getaways, Koh Samui offers plenty of beachside high-end resorts and inland waterfalls, though requires a vehicle to navigate fully.
Koh Samui: One of Thailand’s Resort Islands
I had a couple of extra days before I needed to be in Koh Pha Ngan for the Full Moon Party (more on that later), and Koh Samui is on the way from the mainland, making it a logical stop in my itinerary. Given that February is the high season for tourism, I had only gotten 1-night stays at two different hostels on different parts of Koh Samui, a fact I overlooked that ended up being quite an inconvenience. Koh Samui is the largest of the 3 main islands in this part of Thailand and has the reputation for catering towards tourists staying in resorts, even having signage in Russian and an airport for those unwilling to make the circuitous trek from Bangkok.
The island is shaped roughly like a rectangle, and my ferry port was on the opposite side to my hostel. The ride was longer than expected at around 40 mins costing a hefty 1000 Baht (~$33)- very expensive by Thai standards. The hostel was along one of the main 2-lane roads connecting the island, but with no sidewalk it was near impossible to get around without renting a motorbike or taking expensive taxis.
Big Buddha in Koh Samui
I had already heard of too many motorbike horror stories in my few days in Thailand. The energy on Koh Samui, being a vacation island compared to a big city, felt much more touristy and the roads were littered with foreign tourists zipping down the street on motorbikes with questionable degrees of comfort. Seeing an array of tourists with casts, crutches, and road rashes (affectionately called a “Farang” or tourist tattoo by the locals) was enough to dissuade me. I wasn’t going to get hurt a week into my trip before the fun had begun. I was luckily within walking distance of the famous Big Buddha Temple, which is one of the island’s most iconic sites and made for a spectacular view.
When I arrived back to my hostel, I was greeted with a jolly but eccentric old French man occupying what was previously my bottom bunk. He laid out all his belongings on the bed and laid down watching something on his laptop, satisfied with commandeering my space. It was only one night and I’m not sure he would’ve made it up the ladder, so slightly annoyed I claimed my new bed and had a chill evening in the lobby. Even though the place was fully booked, the downstairs restaurant was empty though I talked to one of the other guests for a while.
Restaurant near Chill Inn Hostel in Koh Samui
Lamai Beach: One of Koh Samui’s Busiest Centers
The next day it was time to switch hostels, which again were on opposite sides of the island requiring an overpriced taxi and 45 min walk to help mitigate the cost. Here I stayed at Chill Inn, which had a great view of the water and its own beach, so I was able to borrow a paddleboard and go around the nearby lagoon. The hostel was booked but other guests were nowhere to be found, so I walked up the street through town for a while, and got a haircut. On the way back, it started to rain heavily, and I took shelter under a tarp in a small food market and treated myself to a personal pizza. It was a 30 minute walk, which would leave me drenched without any cover, so I ran over to the nearest 7 eleven in sight to get a plastic poncho. The plastic ponchos are found all throughout Southeast Asia, and due to their low price are a good rain option whenever an unexpected shower happens.
Of course, the rain stopped as soon as I put on my poncho. The ponchos also trap heat very effectively, so it was time to ditch it and make my way to the Lamai viewpoint. I also considered visiting the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks at the end of Lamai beach, but a quick search revealed that the rocks became famous due to how they resembled male and female genitalia, hence the name of the rocks. It sounded intriguing, but I didn’t feel the need to go that far to see a phallic-shaped rock, so I opted for the viewpoint.
Viewing deck of Lamai Viewpoint
Lamai viewpoint was atop a short but strenuous hike, featuring a bar at the top where I watched the sunset before racing back to the hostel. I was unfortunately the victim of another bed hijacking, seeing a pair of sunglasses that were in my bed. I moved them to the side and socialized on the outside deck until later that evening. I went to bed and was woken up a couple hours later by the culprit claiming I had stolen the bed with the receptionist accompanying him. I sharply acknowledged that I had been there first, and when the receptionist asked me which bed was free I snapped a bit and asked why on earth I should know. I rolled back over and headed to the pier in the morning with another pricy taxi, ending my underwhelming stay on Koh Samui.
6/10