Koh Samui

So this is a bit of a two-part post about one island. Lucky for me I went twice, once with Anthony and once with Kellie.

Koh Samui is super popular among tourists, but for good reason! Anthony and I only spent three nights in Koh Samui, but there is a lot to do, nice places to stay, and good food to eat. We stayed on the far northwestern side of the island, so the sunsets were immaculate, but the tradeoff was that we were farther away from food and activities than the busier parts of the island. 

The view at our hotel/resort pool

This was the first time we rented a scooter which I was slightly nervous about, but Anthony didn’t seem to have any reservations. But honestly, unless you’re at a really nice resort that you don’t plan on leaving, it’s just a pain to have to find a taxi or tuk-tuk, get cash out, and all that jazz, so it’s nice to be able to scoot around at your own pace. 

On our big road trip day we drove down the coast to Lipa Noi Beach, and then inland to a waterfall. After coming out of the innards of the island, we were on the opposite (east) coast near Lamai Beach. This is apparently the second most popular beach behind Chaweng. Lamai was a bit crowded for me so I can’t imagine what Chaweng was like, but we never actually went to find out.

The waterfall was called Na Muang 2, and it was easy to get to from the road. Then once you’re close, tourist shops line the whole path leading up to the falls. Anthony got his first (and maybe last?) pair of elephant pants. We also saw elephant riding near the entrance to the falls which was disappointing. :/

My view on the ferry from Koh Samui

The falls and the natural surroundings were wonderful, and it was nice to get into some fresh water and swim to cool off. It wasn’t too crowded but I definitely prefer lesser-known places. Still worth the trip though!

Find my husband in this photo..

Afterward, it was time for a cold Chang. We ended up eating a late lunch at Pink Orchid Restaurant where I had my first papaya salad and Anthony had larb for the first time. Larb is the weirdest thing to say and the description also gives me the creeps which is “meat salad.” I’m not hating on larb though, it is typically minced chicken or pork but mixed with fresh herbs, crisp vegetables, and tangy lime juice. It’s actually a Lao dish that we later had actually in Laos, but many Thai restaurants also have it on their menu. Okay, enough about larb..

This is when I first discovered my love for papaya salad.

Now, it was actually time for two cold Changs. There’s a place called Rock Bar that was literally a bar somehow built in the rocks like a treehouse-type establishment. It was around sunset so it wasn’t super hot and it was a great place to soak up the rest of the fading afternoon before we headed back to our room. 

Rock Bar infrastructure

Fast forward a couple of weeks and mom and I were back on Koh Samui for a wellness retreat which I wrote about in a separate post. After checking out of the retreat on the last day, we had several hours to kill before our evening flight. We did a Thai cooking class where we learned how to prep and cook spring rolls, tom yum soup, pad thai, and green curry. It was a remarkable experience except that I was super full and couldn’t finish the scrumptious food we had slaved over. 

From top to bottom: spring roll mixture, green curry ingredients, tom yum soup elements, and pad thai components

The cooking class just happened to be right beside Rock Bar, so I mean I couldn’t not go. When I went back again, it was still cool but I was too full to have a beer and it felt dirty and definitely a safety hazard with mom.

I mention this because travel is weird like that. It’s like whenever you taste wine at a beautiful vineyard and it’s the best wine you’ve ever had so you order several bottles. Then when you get home, it just doesn’t taste the same, it’s not as good. Is there something off about the bottle, the batch? Nope, that’s just the flipside of travel euphoria I think. Sometimes you just have to savor it all at that moment in time, then leave it behind and move on to the next new and exciting thing or place. I do wonder if Chang beer would taste as good to me in Kentucky or England…

Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Fisherman’s village, or Bophut, is up at the northern part of the island kind of in between where Anthony and I stayed and Chawang Beach. I’m glad that mom and I were able to go see it because it was pretty neat with great shops. If we didn’t have a flight to catch, I could’ve spent a lot more time in this area. 

We arrived at Koh Samui airport around dusk and it was such an island airport! There were food stalls, shops, and a playground, all right up to the outdoor gate. We watched planes take off in front of us as we waited to board a trolley to our plane.

Next stop, Phuket!