Koh Samui OR Bali?

It's amazing how much fun can be packed into just three days. But, if for comparison, i still prefer Bali. For me, Bali just have its magical touch, combined with shopping, great natural views and temples.

Anyway, here are some of the pics taken at the beach nearby my hotel.


Hardly anyone can miss this eye-catchy signboard at the middle of the beach. The cafe staffs are so creative.




One of the drink of my free buffet breakfast - smiley face latte. It was not only look 'sweet', but the taste was great too.

No coconut tree at the beach? No problem. Here you are. White coconut trees.

Can you imagine yourself lying there? It must be very .... relaxing.

After 3 days of enjoyment, it was time for us to say Goodbye and back to the 'warm tropical' airport. The airport looks great except... most people also feel very 'HOT'.

The custom dog strikes & refuses to walk due to the heat too.

Mu Koh Angthong Natinal Marine Park- GOOD!!!

4.Mu Koh Angthong Natinal Marine Park
it is an archipelago in the Gulf of Siam and consisting of 42 islands. i chose this tour because the the pic in the brochure really attracted me.

Itinerary
730am Pick up from hotel and go to jetty
800am Depart to Marine park. light breakfast is served.
10am arrive Wua Ta Lap Island. It is a big island where there are so many activities can be done there, eg: snorkeling, swimming, climb up to view point to see magnificent view, and if you want, you can even stay overnight there or you can just do nothing and sitting under coconuts and enjoy breezes (hot).

Facilities that available are : personal belongings taking care (FREE), nice toilet where you can shower after swimming or snorkeling ( very very important!!!), restaurant...

ps: For this tour, we only stopped at two islands, and only THIS island has all these facilities. The next island which is Mea Koh Island is not as developed as the previous island where there is no restaurant, but there has toilet, but the toilet is not allowed to shower. hence, if you swim or snorkeling there, you have to get wet all the way back to the land. this was what i did. Imagine, wet hair, water dripping, salty smell, sticky body... sitting in a ferry for almost 2 hours. This is the experience that i would NOT like to 'enjoy' again.

Moral of the story : Do more research before take a tour. It would be good if we go to Mae Koh Island , then only we go to Wu Ta Lap Island. Some of the tours provide this package. or at least, we were informed by tour guide first that we should swim/snorkeling in the first island because the second island doesnt have shower facilities. But, anyway, i really enjoy the trip and i can see the underwater world while snorkeling. fantastic experience and i began to understand why people would spend thousands just to dive into the sea. It is because it is really so........ Gorgeous and great experience.


If you are energetic, you MUST climb up a nature trail to see the impressive picturesque panorama of all the neighboring islands. There are total of 4 view platforms, and since im not energetic & adventurous, i only able to make it to the first view platform, because the way is very very steeply and i was wearing my slippers. According to peoples that managed to make it to the top, the view is really ....... breathtaking.

Picture take from the first view point. The beach is so beautiful.

Can you see that?! Crystal clear water. Gorgeous~~~

At about 12pm, we back to our ferry and enjoy Thai buffet lunch. Initially, looking at the food, it was really not appetizing. The Thai buffet was really simple - fried chicken, green curry and onion. but, to my surprise, actually the food was good, even better than my romantic seaside expensive dinner the night before.



After lunch, we dropped by the Mae Koh Island to see the gorgeous "Talay Nai' ( Lagoon). This is the reason i chose this tour. The emerald lagoon really attracts me.

Good things never come easily. Before i can see the lagoon with my own eyes, i had to climb up steep staircase, up & down, down & up. kind of scary too. Without a good & healthy body, can one come here?i wonder. better enjoy when you are young & at least keep yourself very fit & healthy, so that, you can see so many nice thing.


The water is really so green!!! looks like emerald. "Talay Nai" is a sink-hole lagoon 200m wide and 250 m long. It has emerald green water totally surronded by limestone bluffs, connected to the sea only by an underwater tunnel. It is presumed that it forms when land collapses into underground tunnels and cave systems.


It is very big and i cant believe that it is not sea, but lagoon. Someone told me that Lake Toba is even bigger than this. i wish i can go and have a look too.

There is a view point on top of the island. The view is very very nice too.

This was the ferry that took us for the trip - with food, drinks, toilet and wooden chairs. Can you see me snorkeling there? So nice!!! but too bad that my mum refused to join me because she doesnt want to get all the wet back to KOh Samui cos there is not showering facilities in this island.

whole day tour - 1700 baht per person ( include hotel pick-up, light breakfast, lunch, kayaking)

It is really a good experience!!!

Touring in Koh Samui

Before i went to Koh Samui, I really dont know what are the activities that can be done there except the Full Moon Party and water sports. But, when i reached there, as usual, i would visit the local tourist centre and find out more from them. To my surprise, actually there are so many activities that can be done there and how i wish that i can have stay a few more days. Some of the tours are :

1. Boat tour around Koh Samui ( but, it is only limit to certain days of the week)
itenerary:
9am pick up from hotel lobby ----> departure Big Buddha Beach ---> arrive on 'Green Peach Island' Snorkeling & Swimming---> have lunch at Koh Tan - sunbathing, relaxation and sightseeing ---> visit 'The Swallows Nest Island' ---> 4.30pm get back to Nathon Pier & transfer by bus back to hotel.


2. Namuang Safari Park

• elephant trekking or cable ride
• big buddha (15 meters tall)
• Mummified monk
• elephant show
• monkey show
• crocodile show
• snake & scorpion show ( wondering what would scorpion performs??)
• bird show
• mini zoo
• Namuang waterfall

------> seem very attractive and adventurous


3. Koh Nangyuan & Koh Tao
These wonderful islands are really breathtaking- white sand & blue sky. if i have extra time, i definitely will leave my footprints there.

activities includes : snorkeling, sightseeing. according to the brochure, dont miss View Point at Koh Nangyuan because the view are really spectacular. I am totally agree with them by looking at the pic. One of my friend took that tour, and she only gave me one response : Thumb up!!


4.Mu Koh Angthong Natinal Marine Park
it is an archipelago in the Gulf of Siam and consisting of 42 islands. i chose this tour because the the pic in the brochure really attracted me.

--- To be continued---

where can i get good food in Koh Samui?

This is the our first lunch in Koh Samui. Ninja Crepes was recommended by our hotel's staff and it is on a few blocks away from Chaba Samui Resort. Noodle, Omelette Fried Rice, 2 fruit juice. Our lunch costed us 180Baht. i think the price was reasonable since we were in a middle of the tourist centre.


For dinner, we chose to have it on the beach with candle lights.... sounded so romantic. well. sounded only. because the drinks were not really our cup of 'tea'. the mint banana cocktail tasted like ..... cockroach smell. OHM~~~

The fish with tomato paste and the local fried rice were really ........ not tasty. My mum is a better cook than them.

anyway, we got to pay a really big damage for the dinner - 1000 baht.

We dont really where to have good food, so, we just trust our instinct and walked into any restaurant that look 'good'.

Chaba Samui Resort of Koh Samui

Standing outside Chaba Samui Resort- the place where we were going to spend our 2-day-3-nights stay in Koh Samui. Grand or luxurious are not the description for him. but, it is rather laid back and looks..... comfortable & friendly. It claims to be a 4-star hotel, located in the centre of Chaweng Beach. It is the busier road in Koh Samui. Great location where food & shopping are just of walking distance.

Entrance of Lake wing

Chaba Samui is divided to 2 blocks by Chaweng Road into Lake wing & Ocean wing. My room was at the lake wing, honestly, i cant really appreciate the lake. Anyway, for the ocean wing, i really doubt whether one can see any beach from their room. But, i would say the room was certainly clean & neat & the staffs are really friendly too. For more information of the resort, please go to : http://www.chabanet.com/ss_home.htm

The entrance of Ocean wing room.

A rather small but well-designed swimming pool. Mostly, i saw lots of elephant statues for most of the hotels, but it is good to see that this pool has a few dolphins. cute..

A rather quiet cafe of the resort- great place for someone that wish to have a peaceful afternoon.


Once open our room, we were welcomed by two elephants, to be more precise, towel elephants. what a pleasant surprise and i really like it. but, for people that dont know how to appreciate them, would just say that it is waste of energy to fold them like that, and put flowers on them and worry that it may be unhygienic to use those towels.


A closer look of the elephant. It even has eyes!!! so sweet


A special complement of the hotel- 2 mandarin oranges & bananas. it is nicely decorated too :)



RM599 for a nice room for 2 nights ( with breakfast), airport pickup and also the airticket----- i would say it is a good deal!!!

Koh Samui Airport is truly a tropical airport

The airport is really awesome!!! full of greens. Koh Samui welcomes us with their tropical airport.

I have been to many airports, but Koh Samui Airport really impressed me. It is not a huge gigantic building, but it is really show its identity- island. All the buildings are single-storey & i would say that it is really environmental friendly ( too much??- i think) where most of the halls are without air-conditioners. HOT! HOT! and really HOT.


but, we managed to get a very cooling area in the airport .... so comfortable standing inside. umm.. if i worked there, i think most probably i will spend most of my time there. but, it is not a pleasant place to stay too long because it is the TOILET!!!

But, i really have to give credits to the design of the toilets. really great, comfortable and cooling. this is the first toilet that i would actually want to stay inside and do my 'business' slowly and leisurely.



another surprise to me is : although the landing area of plane is far away from the hall, passengers dont have to walk under the hot sun or rain because there are lots of shuttle buses waiting there to fetch us to the hall. unlike in our local budget airports, we have to 'exercise'.

anyway, i really pity all the staffs in airport because they have to work under the hot weather all days. one of the staffs kept on fanning herself and the make-up seem like going to melt.

After settle everything in airport, we headed to our resort with the handsome driver from Chaba Samui Resort.

Koh Samui, here I am!!!

Really want to take a break..... but dont have a fix destination where i really want to go. Macau? EGYPT?? (really dream to go there, but it is too expensive... for me at the moment). Tibet? Krabi? Taiwan?or Koh Samui??? Really had a tough decision to make when i was in the MATTA fair.

wait.. something yellowish caught my attention. Not DIGI, but


it is another budget airlines of Malaysia, other than Air Asia. Their booth in Matta was very crowded and seem like all the flight+hotel packages selling like hot cakes. i enquired information regarding Koh Samui trip, then i moved on to another booths to look for other tour packages, but before i left, the staff warned me to make my decision faster cos their tour packages really in hot sell.

i walked around the hall. really really crowded. is the tour package really that cheap?? There are so many places that i wanted to go. Lake Toba, Cambodia, Vietnam.... But, at the end of day, i found myself sitting in front of FireFly booth and book a package to Koh Samui. but, most of the dates of the tours are sold off, i had limited choices but i managed to get one. well. firstly, i never been there and friends around me told me that it is a nice island for relaxing. Secondly, the price is.. my cup of tea. Thirdly, the price really seem cheaper than i booked online myself with my flight tickets and hotel stay for 3D2N.

This tour costs me RM 599 for 3D2N stay in a 3 stars hotel ( Chaba Samui Hotel).( i dont know whether the hotel is good or not, but the location is good which is located at the busiest street of Koh Samui- the Chaweng bay. ), return airflights and 2 days breakfasts.


Haha....... here i am...... in Koh Samui. Let's prepare for sunscreen, umbrella and handkerchief .....

Looking at Koh Samui, i understand something. i finally understand the meaning of Crystal clear water. the sea water is so clear that i can see the bottom of the sea and really have a strong urge to jump into the crystal clear water.