Blue Heart Journey: October 2014

Last month my friend Martha invited me to join her on a vacation she planned to Koh Samui, Thailand. I was not familiar with this island, as the more popular island destination in Thailand is Phuket. I was hesitant to say yes immediately because I had not ever traveled on leisure overseas without my husband. While I know time apart is healthy and good for anyone, I was certainly going to miss my best friend. Douglas agreed that I could benefit from a short girls’ getaway and supported my decision in going. So on 25 September I flew from Hanoi to Koh Samui with a short layover in Bangkok.

We stayed at Mai Samui Beach Resort and Spa. The resort was beautiful. It provided numerous amenities for guests to choose from including its own private beach. I think the best part about the resort was the remarkable structure of the swimming pools on the property. It was certainly the largest resort/hotel pool I have ever seen. Mai Samui even offered rooms with a ‘swim up’ option, where the pool was connected to the room. It was a great location to experience a bit of peace and quiet away from the lively city area of the island. However, that was also its downfall. The resort was so far away from town that we often felt trapped in this majestic hideaway. Mai Samui provided free shuttle service to and from town at specific times. The ride was about 30 minutes each way – definitely not a quick trip. If I ever returned to Koh Samui I would have to think twice about staying at Mai Samui again, mainly due to its distance from town. I like to get away, but not that far away.

Over my six day stay, Martha and I found plenty of activities to keep us busy and plenty of places that gave us opportunities to relax. We especially enjoyed our time at Chaweng Beach with its white sand and clear blue water – absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed our adventurous days filled with snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking too. I snorkeled in Mexico a few years ago but I had never kayaked. Don’t let those commercials fool you; kayaking is certainly much harder than it looks. Our little excursion started off on the wrong foot when I returned from the bathroom realizing our tour guide left us and two other people behind. All but four of us were out in the water with no idea of what to do or where to go. So I decided to become our tour guide and tried to lead us through the open water and around a massive rock. My job was not difficult. I had no clue what I was doing and I’m pretty sure I did everything wrong, but we had fun! Martha sat in the back and I took the front seat. We soon figured out the person in the back controlled the direction of the boat and apparently had to do the most work too. Thanks for taking one for the team, Martha! This is what being on the show Survivor must be like. We weren’t stranded but we didn’t know where we were going either. Our boat constantly kept turning in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go. At times we were very close to colliding with the large limestone rocks in the water. Kayaking takes a lot of patience and every bit of teamwork. Once we made it on the other side of the rock we hoped that the other end would lead us back to shore. Instead of attempting to turn the boat around and go back the way we came we took our chances with the unknown. A few strong waves passed under our boat along the way. I was curious as to where these waves came from. It was so random! Parts of the water exemplified a typical picture of white water rafting, which I have never done and after seeing our little boat get tossed by that small wave I don’t think I have a desire to try it out. After about 45 minutes in the water we finally made it back to the shore just in time to find that our group was already up the hill filling their stomachs with the buffet lunch provided. Our tour guide definitely lost out on his tip for that oversight.

Koh Samui is a gorgeous island that is very much worth the visit. It is always a pleasure to experience a different country, city, or island along my journey overseas. Blessings in life come in various forms and through many kinds of people. I am grateful that Martha chose to be a blessing to me by including me on her fabulous vacation. Thank you, Martha, for everything!