In which we arrive on Koh Samui and go aah.
Although our berths were very comfortable, I didn’t get very much sleep because one of the carriage lights was right by my upper-berth bunk and shone brightly – no dimmed night-time setting – right through the curtains, all night.
We arrived at Surat Thani about 25 minutes late, but that was okay as the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave for another half hour or so. There were two buses and we were given a bit of a run-around as the surly baggage handler of one bus told us we wanted the other bus and vice verse. We eventually got on the right bus, but only after being told to wait between the two buses for no good reason and Juli making a bit of a fuss. We did, at least get seats.Two others were less fortunate and had to perch where they could between the baggage handler and the driver at the front of the bus.
The bus left punctually at 8.00 am and arrived at the Don Sak ferry terminal in plenty of time for our 10.00 am sailing. Unfortunately, no announcement was made, so when some other passengers got off, we assumed we should too. Noticing that most others hadn’t, however, we asked if we were in the right place for our ferry and were rudely and aggressively told to ‘get back on bus’ by the surly baggage handler. The driver then, without waiting for us to retake our seats, roared off and drove, like a lunatic, to another part of the port where we again had to guess if this was the right place for us to get off. This time we waited to see what everyone else did, and, as most of the others got off, so did we. How they all knew when to stay and when to go, I have no idea. Hey ho.
We made our way into the ferry terminal building and, after a short wait, were soon embarking. The three of us found some seats near a food concession and made ourselves comfortable. Once the ship was under way, I bought some very tasty (and reasonable priced – no captive market rip off here – British and French ferries please note) stir fried pork and noodles for breakfast and some tea for Juli, who’d had her breakfast on the train: a cheese, ham and egg sandwich with chips.
The ferry got us to Na Thon Pier on Koh Samui dead on time and we had no difficulty in finding a shared minibus taxi to take us to our hotel. Already at The Waterfront Hotel, Bophut, waiting for us by the pool, beers in hand, were Marion and John, having arrived earlier that morning at the end of their three-flight marathon journey from London, via Hong Kong and Bangkok. Once we’d settled in, we wasted as little time as possible before joining them.
By the time we went to bed that night, we’d drunk more beer, swam in the pool, had cocktails by the light of the setting sun, enjoyed a diner of Thai food (shrimp green curry for me; chicken and cashew nuts for Juli) more drinks, swam again and both John and I had been measured up for new suits and shirts. Not bad for day one.
I’m not going to record a blow by blow account, but during our time on the Island, we did more of the above plus a little light shopping, watched John scare Marion to death in a two-seater go-cart, went for suit and shirt fittings and tried our hand at snorkelling, but mostly we just lounged by the pool.
On the evening of the second full day, the main street through fisherman’s village (the more boutique-y part of Bophut where our hotel was situated) was turned into one long market place, where, in addition to the usual shops, bars and restaurants, dozens of small stalls had been setup selling all sorts of local handicrafts, souvenirs, street food and even cocktails for half the prices (or less) than the bars were charging, which must have pleased them no end.
The next evening, we took a taxi over to a Chaweng, which is a bit of party resort town a few kilometres round the coast from us, where we drank cocktails at one beach restaurant, ate fish at another and chilled at a beach bar watching a fire show, where a couple of guys swung flaming torches round their heads while paper lanterns rose in to the night sky.
Marion and John flew home the following evening, leaving us on our own after an early dinner, following which, after collecting my suits and shirts, we stayed in and watched DVDs from the hotel’s extensive library.
Our last full day was spent buying a new suitcase to accommodate our new ‘cruise’ wardrobe – mine from the Island and Juli’s from Vietnam – packing all our bags and enjoying a last meal of lobster and fish in a waterside restaurant called the Happy Elephant, to which, one day, we hope very much to return.
Thank you, so much, Marion (& John) for finding and sharing this wonderful spot with us; in all our travels, there have been few places I’d revisit in preference to exploring somewhere new, but this is one.
In the next post, we get back on the truck and move on from Thailand to country number 25: Malaysia.
TTFN - N
Day 144 (Arrive in Surat Thani, bus to Don Sak and the ferry to Koh Samui)
In the last post, we were on-board a train from Bangkok, bound for the Island of Koh Samui.Although our berths were very comfortable, I didn’t get very much sleep because one of the carriage lights was right by my upper-berth bunk and shone brightly – no dimmed night-time setting – right through the curtains, all night.
We arrived at Surat Thani about 25 minutes late, but that was okay as the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave for another half hour or so. There were two buses and we were given a bit of a run-around as the surly baggage handler of one bus told us we wanted the other bus and vice verse. We eventually got on the right bus, but only after being told to wait between the two buses for no good reason and Juli making a bit of a fuss. We did, at least get seats.Two others were less fortunate and had to perch where they could between the baggage handler and the driver at the front of the bus.
The bus left punctually at 8.00 am and arrived at the Don Sak ferry terminal in plenty of time for our 10.00 am sailing. Unfortunately, no announcement was made, so when some other passengers got off, we assumed we should too. Noticing that most others hadn’t, however, we asked if we were in the right place for our ferry and were rudely and aggressively told to ‘get back on bus’ by the surly baggage handler. The driver then, without waiting for us to retake our seats, roared off and drove, like a lunatic, to another part of the port where we again had to guess if this was the right place for us to get off. This time we waited to see what everyone else did, and, as most of the others got off, so did we. How they all knew when to stay and when to go, I have no idea. Hey ho.
We made our way into the ferry terminal building and, after a short wait, were soon embarking. The three of us found some seats near a food concession and made ourselves comfortable. Once the ship was under way, I bought some very tasty (and reasonable priced – no captive market rip off here – British and French ferries please note) stir fried pork and noodles for breakfast and some tea for Juli, who’d had her breakfast on the train: a cheese, ham and egg sandwich with chips.
The ferry got us to Na Thon Pier on Koh Samui dead on time and we had no difficulty in finding a shared minibus taxi to take us to our hotel. Already at The Waterfront Hotel, Bophut, waiting for us by the pool, beers in hand, were Marion and John, having arrived earlier that morning at the end of their three-flight marathon journey from London, via Hong Kong and Bangkok. Once we’d settled in, we wasted as little time as possible before joining them.
By the time we went to bed that night, we’d drunk more beer, swam in the pool, had cocktails by the light of the setting sun, enjoyed a diner of Thai food (shrimp green curry for me; chicken and cashew nuts for Juli) more drinks, swam again and both John and I had been measured up for new suits and shirts. Not bad for day one.
Days 145 to 149 (on Koh Samui)
For the next five days we tried to do as little as possible, a task made easy by our picture postcard perfect location: a beautiful bungalow in a beautiful hotel with a beautiful pool (and pool-side bar) set in beautiful gardens by a beautiful beach on a beautiful island.I’m not going to record a blow by blow account, but during our time on the Island, we did more of the above plus a little light shopping, watched John scare Marion to death in a two-seater go-cart, went for suit and shirt fittings and tried our hand at snorkelling, but mostly we just lounged by the pool.
***
On the evening of the second full day, the main street through fisherman’s village (the more boutique-y part of Bophut where our hotel was situated) was turned into one long market place, where, in addition to the usual shops, bars and restaurants, dozens of small stalls had been setup selling all sorts of local handicrafts, souvenirs, street food and even cocktails for half the prices (or less) than the bars were charging, which must have pleased them no end.
***
The next evening, we took a taxi over to a Chaweng, which is a bit of party resort town a few kilometres round the coast from us, where we drank cocktails at one beach restaurant, ate fish at another and chilled at a beach bar watching a fire show, where a couple of guys swung flaming torches round their heads while paper lanterns rose in to the night sky.
***
Marion and John flew home the following evening, leaving us on our own after an early dinner, following which, after collecting my suits and shirts, we stayed in and watched DVDs from the hotel’s extensive library.
***
Our last full day was spent buying a new suitcase to accommodate our new ‘cruise’ wardrobe – mine from the Island and Juli’s from Vietnam – packing all our bags and enjoying a last meal of lobster and fish in a waterside restaurant called the Happy Elephant, to which, one day, we hope very much to return.
Thank you, so much, Marion (& John) for finding and sharing this wonderful spot with us; in all our travels, there have been few places I’d revisit in preference to exploring somewhere new, but this is one.
In the next post, we get back on the truck and move on from Thailand to country number 25: Malaysia.
TTFN - N
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