Tourist’s Experience Of Koh Samui

Koh Samui – Lured by the promise of a congenial climate. I first went to Thailand just over a year ago. To bask in its glorious scenery and enjoy a lazy time pattering barefoot along white-sandy shores.

After I googled ‘tranquil Thailand locations’, and hit upon the island of Koh Samui. A quick image search brought up visions of heaven – a sun-drenched paradise island washed by emerald seas.

It seemed a far cry from the cold, damp and granite-cliffed stormy Atlantic British backwater, I call home. So I broke open my savings and booked myself a ticket.

Koh Samui’s Reputation

Admittedly, I did not do my research quite as well as I should have.

Koh Samui is one of the main tourist beach resorts here in Thailand since the very early days.

So, it made sorting out my various pre-holiday provisions rather easy, as the infrastructure of Koh Samui is well-established.

On a more personal level, I was a little disappointed not to be breaking new ground.

Koh Samui is and has been a magnet for tourists for many years.  Its beautiful beaches and paradise islands in the sun have made for a thriving resort.

This means that transport and hospitality on the island have had plenty of time to hone itself into a fine art.

If you’re one of those people that judges a place by its airport, then Koh Samui must certainly be up there with the most scenic in the world.

I found that getting to my destination from the airport was an absolute breeze because of the convenience with which the island’s transport system is set up.

A Deserved Reputation

It did not take long for my overactive imagination to take a back seat. I was concerned about going on a clichéd holiday. These worries were blown away by the sheer beauty of the place. The island is – there is no other word for it – stunning.

Never in my life have I seen seas of such a sparkling blue, nor beaches quite so inviting as those I encountered surrounding Samui.

I discovered while I was there that Koh Samui provided the inspiration for Alex Garland’s book ‘The Beach’.

I’d seen the rather dubious film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, back when it came out. I can safely say that, the island upon which it was based blasts the Hollywood version out of the water.

I did not quite believe that the shores of Koh Samui would live up to the images I’d seen on the internet before coming out.

When I actually got there, I quickly realised that the sheer beauty of the island far exceeded anything I had seen on the net.

Further inland, mist-wreathed jungle and luxuriant plant-life enticed and inspired me.

Plentiful Activity

I had, of course, planned on doing very little during my stay on Koh Samui. A little sunbathing, a little paddling, a little light strolling if I was feeling in the mood for something more strenuous.

As it happened, I found myself rather more stimulated and active than I’d expected.

This was by no means because Koh Samui forced its activities upon me. There was plenty of holidaymakers spending their time in peaceful seclusion on the beaches.

Quickly awakening from my laziness, I just felt that the opportunities offered by Koh Samui were simply too good to be missed.

Who would possibly pass up on the chance to go elephant trekking through the jungle?

Certainly not someone from a place where the closest you’ll get to anything like an elephant trek, is a sedate plod along a rainswept beach straddled a donkey.

If you’re less into wildlife and nature than I, then fear not.

The island is also home to an incredibly wide range of restaurants, nightspots, sites of historical interest (some of them rather bizarre)

The and shopping – enough to keep even the most materialistic culture vulture perfectly contented for a long time is both a mix of local and Thai souvenirs and the latest fashions from around the world.

While my experience turned out to be rather more action-packed than I had expected, I shall certainly be back as soon as I can afford it.

Contact Easy Day Samui Tours