Great Food and Paradise Beaches
Nakhon Si Thammerat -> Koh Samui, 24th March 2002
I climbed out of bed at a far too early 8am to go and get some
breakfast with Exandreaz. I met him by the Internet cafe and we went
into a nearby restaurant.
He told me to have a look at the food that was on offer. I walked
around the cabinets, very unsure of what I was going to eat. I could
only recognise a few dishes, and they didn't look too appetising. I
can't eat fish (I'm allergic to it) and I noticed a few fish head
soups and fish curries. I pointed to one innocent looking vegetable
stir fry, but Exandreaz told me there was squid in it. Ah.
Luckily they also had a menu from which they'd make up fresh dishes.
I chose chicken fried rice (it's normal to have rice dishes for
breakfast in Thailand) and a cup of local coffee. The food was
really nice and the coffee was fantastic! I also tried some 'sticky
rice', a sweet-coconuty-rice ball, which were very nice.
When we'd finished, Exandreaz decided it'd be easier to take me to
the travel office instead of trying to give directions. So off we
went. It wasn't hot, but after a few minutes with my bags on, I was
sweating (again). Luckily we soon arrived there, I paid the 80baht
(1 pound 30) then after about 10 minutes, the mini-bus turned up.
I thanked Exandreaz for his help, then waved goodbye as I started
the 2 hour journey to Dam Tok.
The bus ride was quiet and uneventful, the other passengers all
dozed and I just read & watched the scenery pass by. There really is
a lot of untouched tropical foliage in Thailand, mixed effortlessly
with developing houses.
We reached the port and I looked around a bit bemused by the
bustling scene. Luckily, it's all fairly clear what to do. I joined
the queue (ensuring it was the queue for the ferry to Koh Samui, not
Koh Pha Ngan), bought my ticket, then waited for a few minutes. Once
everyone started moving, I walked towards a large car ferry, and saw
a sign saying 'Koh Samui' so it was obviously the right ferry.
I boarded the boat and grabbed an outside seat that looked cool and
shaded. As the boat pulled off, I saw a huge sign saying 'Bon
Voyage!', then slowly the mainland started to disappear.
After about 10 minutes, it was getting uncomfortably hot, so I moved
seats about 4 times until I found a nice cool place. The journey to
Koh Samui took 1 1/2 hours and was uneventful. Not much scenery to
see when you're cruising through the water.
 Eventually,
Koh Samui began to come into sight, and wow! It really looked like a
tropical beach paradise! Two golden beaches stretched out on either
side, curving into the distance. Behind them, tall tropical palm
trees arched over, pushing forward, trying to see the clear, blue
water. Looking into the water, it was so clear I could see the
bottom of the harbour!
As we came to a stop, the first people I saw were a small group of
Muslim women wearing the full, traditional black robes. Only their
eyes could be seen. They sat on the beach, under the shade of a huge
palm tree. But, stepping onto the mainland, I was soon presented
with the usual hustle and bustle of touts offering places to stay on
the island. I used the old "I'm meeting a friend" trick at a hostel
I'd already chosen from the rough guide. That way I could be sure I
was getting a decent hostel, rather than be forced into staying in a
poor quality place.
The first car park I reached was full of taxis, I told the man I
wanted to go to Maenam beach. After a bit of conferring with his
colleagues and running around, he brought me a driver. But the guy
said he'd only take me as far as Na Thon, and I'd have to change
their. The cost was 150 Baht! My answer followed the lines of 'No
Way!' And eventually he suggested that I take a sawngthaew (I'd
wanted to, but I couldn't find any) and he pointed to a farther away
car park, full of sawngthaews.
I walked over and told the guy where I was going and he pointed to
an already crammed Sawngthaew. The people inside all shifted around
to make some space and a helper threw my backpack onto the luggage
rack. The sawngthaew then, reluctantly, pulled off. The engine
screamed, the wheels turned, and the chassis slowly moved forward.
Not surprising really. I looked around and counted 18 people crammed
into what looks like its made for 8! Then another 3 people jumped on
and stood on the back board. 21 people all on one sawngtheaw, plus
the driver and a person sitting in the front! I'm sure the engine
was having a great time!
But I must admit, travelling like this was great fun! It's only a
short journey, about 15 minutes, and sitting at the back, looking
out onto the road zipping by, the wind rushing through (sawngthaews
have open backs, yes, that does mean you can fall off if you're not
careful) was an amazing feeling. I love travelling by Sawngthaew,
it's cheap and it's fun (for short journeys).
We soon reached Maenam beach, and he stopped so a couple and me
could get off. We paid him the 50B (80p) each, grabbed our bags, and
he disappeared in a cloud of dust.
It turned out that the couple who'd alighted with me were trying to
find the same guest house as me, so we began our hunt. However,
because of the combination of the heat and the bags we were
carrying, we settled on the first place we found. We were looking
for the 'Friendly Bungalows' but when we looked at the 'Maenam
Village Bungalows' they were absolutely fine, and right on the
beach.
A word about accommodation on islands. Most places aren't guest
house or hotels. The most common accommodation are Bungalows, which
are perfect for the island paradise of Koh Samui. I got a little
detached building with a huge double bed, sink, bathroom with a
western toilet & shower and a fan. At only 150B (2 pound 50) it was
a bargain! And I was literally 20 paces from the beach!
After taking a quick breather, I had a look around the village of
Maenam. It's not much, there's everything you need, restaurants,
shops, supermarkets, net cafes etc, but it's nothing amazing.
The beach is pretty good, not the best on Koh Samui, but relatively
untouched. The best beaches on the island have been highly
commercialised, which ruins the atmosphere. Maenam has a quiet,
relaxed atmosphere with pretty good views and is a nice compromise
between desolate beauty and numerous tourists.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I just relaxed on the
beach and swam in the sea. Unfortunately, there are no waves (I love
swimming in waves) but it was still good fun.
Just before going to bed, I decided to put up my mosquito net, just
in case, even though the room has mosquito screens, you can't be too
sure. So I hung my net from the ceiling and tucked it in around the
bed. It was actually quite fun, I had all my stuff on the bed next
to me (it's a double bed, so there's loads of room) and I did up the
net around me to make a little fortress. It might be all this time
I'm spending on my own, but I think I'm reverting to my fortress
building childhood years!
Anyhow, after Fort Hooks had been built, I flicked off the light,
and called it a night.
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