Thailand: Island Life - Koh Samui & Koh Tao
After the traumatic flight (by traumatic I mean, hungover) we landed in Koh Samui. Looking back, although beautiful, it was probably our least favourite of the islands. With a more commercial vibe and a busy strip that come morning, was awash with empty beer bottles, splashes of drunken sick and boxes of kebab style chips, you could tell the western world had certainly left its mark.
Fresh off the plane, still hungover and in need of some TLC, we dropped our bags at the hotel which was called
Baan Chaweng Beach Resort & Spa
, (another
find -
thanks
Mich) and headed down to the main strip in search of the famous Thai massage. We certainly weren't disappointed, it was a dream and we left feeling super relaxed and ready for bed. It cost around 400 Thai Baht which
was was
a standard price,
however
the more islands we explored the cheaper the
massages
became, around 250 Thai Baht was the cheapest we saw.
Our first full day in Koh Samui began by devouring brekkie in the hotel and setting up camp enjoying the picturesque views of Chaweng Beach. The weather wasn't particularly great, no one warned us of the constant grey clouds! But overall it was warm and hey, we're on holiday, drinking out of coconuts and frolicking on the beach - life was certainly good!
We partied that evening at
and basically got ripped off on the buckets, 700 Thai Baht was A LOT, considering we went on to pay a mere 200 Thai Baht in Phi Phi! Anyhow, the famous red bull and vodka mix was flowing and us girls were in full party mode, what was to follow is probably not quite suitable for this little area of the Internet so I'll let your imagination run wild...
Koh Samui
Boat trip from Koh Samui to Koh Tao
After 3 days in Koh Samui we were ready to leave and head to our second island, Koh Tao. What we weren't ready for was the worst boat journey of our lives. My one word of advice would be to 1000% take travel sickness tablets because, man those seas choppy. After absolute carnage for around 4 hours, the waves calmed and we slowly glided into Koh Tao; another piece of paradise, letting us descend on its white sands, ready for New Year's Eve!
Koh Tao
Koh Tao was next-level stunning and home to quite possibly, the most beautiful beach that my eyes have ever seen.
is a tiny little island just off the coast of Koh Tao and was actually opposite our hotel
, it's a place of tranquil beauty and was the last destination of a boat trip we did. We snorkelled, drank fresh watermelon on the beach, and hiked the steepest set of stairs through a forest to reach a viewpoint, that still to this day takes my breath away at the thought of it. If you spend any time on Koh Tao, visiting this paradise is a must.
Our evenings were spent drinking on the beach with a few cheeky cocktail treats at Fizz Bar. Watching the sunset with my all time favourite drink and my good friends is certainly one for the memory bank and up there with one of my happiest moments. New Year's Eve, however, was slightly more hectic; back on the buckets and covered in face paint we danced on the beach and saw in the New Year. The gin and vodka had well and truly set in causing us to end the night in a tattoo shop and with me waking up on New Year's Day with a rather wonky heart tattoo just above my boob. Thirty and sensible, I am not. We left Koh Tao with sore heads and a rather permanent reminder of the beautiful island.
I hope you've enjoyed the second post documenting my Thailand adventures, one more to come and then I'll finally shut up about it all and get back to my normal London life.
Until then, I am still mentally on a beach, straw in hand, downing a bucket of vodka infused loveliness...