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!
|
the largest walk-in tub I've ever seen at a hotel. Didn't use it but it looked very cool. |
|
Mai Samui's private beach |
|
'Step up' rooms with a patio that connects to the pool. |
|
Martha, I'd like to thank you again for being my personal photographer...always fun to pose! |
|
I was not the only one who enjoyed the camera either! |
|
My birthday surprise courtesy of Mai Samui. |
|
Red curry and coconut milk dish served with rice - so good I had it twice! |
|
One of our many times enjoying Thailand's popular dessert dish - mango sticky rice. |
|
Chaweng - biggest town in Koh Samui |
|
Thai Tiger Balm - this stuff is powerful! |
|
Chaweng Beach |
|
The water felt wonderful - such a beautiful sight. |
|
pineapple fried rice - the cook kindly gave us the recipe. I'm positive my creation will not come out nearly as good! |
|
Morning glory |
|
Chicken satay with peanut sauce |
|
More mango sticky rice with coconut sauce - my favorite Thai dish. I had to put a lot work in at the gym after this one. |
|
Adventure day - headed to our boat for a 1.5 hour ride to enjoy some snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking |
|
Boat #9 |
|
riding in the front of the boat had its pros and cons - I'm pretty sure the front seats should come with seat belts! |
|
It rained on us while snorkeling but we still had a good time. |
|
some people love their jobs - this guy was not one of those people. |
|
the joy of kayaking |
|
We hiked to the the top for a panoramic view of the island |
|
we got our exercise in that day! |
|
such a beautiful person inside and out |
No comments:
Post a Comment