Koh Samui on a Shoestring
February 11th, 2007I went on a holiday to Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand last year for a week and you wouldn’t believe how much it cost me. While I’m living in Bangkok my intention is to visit as many places around Thailand and South East Asia as I can and still keep my job. Although I work quite long hours at the Sports Club during the week I do manage to get a lot of holidays and take full advantage of my close proximity to a multitude of fantastic and cheap holiday spots. Koh Samui is a real tropical paradise and is a lot bigger than the tiny dot on the map suggests.
Usually when I travel around Asia I fly as it’s so much quicker than any other form of travel and the cost of travel in South East Asia is so cheap I can’t fathom how they could possibly make a profit with airfares so ridiculously low and fuel costs on the rise but I’m sure they do. This time however I had a week off work and decided to catch the overnight train from Bangkok to Surat Thani. Surat Thani is the coastal town from where I took a 2.5 hour boat ride to the island of Koh Samui. By the way, koh means island in Thai. It was fun taking the overnight train instead of flying, although the trip does take around 12 hours, it is a sleeper train and surprisingly enough I slept for about 8 hours of the trip quite comfortably. I think the noise of the moving train had a kind of hypnotic effect on me and because of this the journey didn’t seem so long and I felt quite refreshed arriving in Surat Thani at around 6am. From the train station I took a half hour bus ride to the port and only waited a short time till the boat left for Koh Samui. I was on the island by 10am and the weather could not have been better.
After arriving at the port in Koh Samui I took a “baht bus” which is an open back pick up truck with bench seats to the main beach of Chaweng on the island. Chaweng is basically on the opposite side of the island to where the port is so the bus ride took about an hour, stopping a few times along the way. One of the first things I noticed was how many coconut trees there were on the island, they were literally everywhere. I wouldn’t want to be standing under one when the coconut dropped, those things weigh a ton with the thick husk still covering the relatively small coconut inside, I reckon it’d be lights out for sure, permanently. My first impression of the island as I drove towards Chaweng Beach was this is going to be a very relaxing week, and it was.
I was traveling in the first week of April which is considered the beginning of the slow season and was just before the Thai Songkran celebrations in the mid to later part of April. The Songkran celebrations in Thailand are equivalent to the New Year celebrations in the Western world. So while I was in Koh Samui it was no where near as busy as it would be around November to February. This is one of the reasons I chose to go at this time of the year, the weather is hot but fine and relatively low tourist traffic.
Since I knew there would be no trouble finding a room at this time of year I didn’t even bother to book one. Instead, I just strolled along Chaweng Beach until I found what I was looking for. Chaweng is by no means the only place to stay, there are many other beautiful beaches and scenic spots but I wanted to stay at Chaweng since it is within walking distance of numerous restaurants, travel agencies, hotels, bungalows, a vibrant nightlife, a variety of shops and a full size supermarket. After speaking to a number of people who had been to Koh Samui before, I was told it just makes things easier to stay at Chaweng and still travel to all the other places on the island at your leisure, although you may prefer to be away from the action and stay somewhere else. I ended up staying in a self contained beach front bungalow for only $14 US per night. It was a real gem although it was pretty basic. I don’t watch television so it didn’t bother me that there was no TV and there was only a fan, no air conditioning. I don’t even use the air conditioner in my place in Bangkok so this was no big deal for me either. If you are not used to very hot and tropical climates I would suggest getting a room with an air conditioner as the humidity in this part of the world is much the same in the night as it is in the day. It doesn’t really cool down at all at night so this can make it difficult to get to sleep. Oh and by the way, no hot water but it’s so hot that won’t bother you and no toilet, just a big smelly hole in the ground behind the bungalow, just kidding, there was a toilet. Actually I spent almost all day, everyday outside doing things that I only came back to the room at night to sleep so I couldn’t see any reason the waste money on a luxury room I was rarely ever in.
After I got my room I walked down the street and rented a small motorbike to zip around the island on. This is, in my opinion, the best and easiest way to get around on. It’s cheap and relatively safe, the bikes are very easy to handle and they give you the freedom to go where you want when you want and they can be parked anywhere. I think a bike is more convenient than a car but you can also hire them to if you like. Even if you are not usually a motorbike rider, it’s very common for tourists to hire bikes when traveling around Thailand.
Koh Samui is basically surrounded by beaches, not all of them are ideal for swimming at but many are. The coastline offers some incredible rock formations and some of the most scenic places I have seen in Thailand. The island itself isn’t huge but it’s bigger than I thought it would be, it took me just over 2 hours to ride my motorbike around the entire island without stopping. I took my motorbike off the beaten track to explore down some side roads and found this was when I had the most fun. I found some great quiet areas and some top swimming spots where I was the only one there. Taking a swim off the coast in some of these secluded places and looking back at the island from the water really made me feel like I was in this beautiful tropical paradise all on my own, it was such a wonderful experience and made me feel a world away from overcrowded Bangkok. So if you are like me and live in a big city I think you will especially appreciate a place like Koh Samui.
Since the island is really not that big, even if you decide to take off along some side roads that head in allsorts of directions, you might seem to get lost at first, this certainly happened to me, however if you just keep riding along finally you will find your bearings by eventually getting back on one of the islands main roads. For me the greatest adventure is getting lost and finding my way back, I just don’t want to go where everyone else goes, I want to find those out-of-the-way places because they often provide the most unique experiences that you will more likely remember. This island has a lot of locations like that but you would never find them if you didn’t take a bit of a risk, just remember to keep an eye on your fuel gauge as once you leave the Chaweng and Lamai beach areas there are not so many places to refuel if you run out of gas.
One of the things I enjoyed the most while I was on Koh Samui was the many opportunities to go snorkeling off the island. I found some magic places with an abundance of sea life and some huge coral formations. The entire island is scattered with superb snorkeling holes often just off numerous rockshelfs along the coast line. Most of the snorkeling spots I found weren’t on any maps, I just found them while exploring.
Through the middle of the tree studded island I found about 3 inland waterfalls which all had a decent size rockpool to swim in at the bottom, these rockpools were very popular with the locals but I always felt welcome when ever I went swimming there. Traveling through the middle of the island you really get a clear picture of just how many coconut trees are in Koh Samui, I found out while I was there that this island grows a huge chuck of the coconuts consumed throughout Thailand.
One day I took a day trip to the nearby island of Koh Pha Ngan. This smaller but beautiful island can be seen from Koh Samui and can only be reached by boat. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from Koh Samui. On the boat ride there I remember seeing a long slender fish about 2 feet long literally walking on water. This might seem hard to believe but that is exactly what it looked like, the fish came hurtling alongside the boat and seemed to spring out of the water onto it’s tail and wiggle along with almost all of it’s body out of the water at tremendous speed for about 10 seconds, it must have traveled about 20 meters or about 60 feet until it went back under the water. I had my camera in my hand and tried to get a picture of it but it all happened so quickly.
The boat arrives at a port on Koh Pha Ngan that is very close to Haad Rin beach where the world famous Full Moon Party is held each month. Travelers and young backpackers from all over the world converge on this beach for the Koh Pha Ngan Full Moon Party in huge numbers. I wasn’t there for the Full Moon Party but I have heard it’s quite an experience with the entire population of Haad Rin beach dancing and having fun to all types of trance and techno music. From all reports it sounds like a night of no holds barred hedonism but don’t get caught with drugs there as the Thai police are not at all forgiving in the ways police in the Western world may be. A trip to a Thai prison would make any other jail outside of Thailand look like a fun park so be very careful with what you do, who you associate with and where you leave your belongings. There are signs all over Haad Rin beach warning of this danger.
I hired a motorbike while on Koh Pha Ngan and traveled along one side of the island and then made a treacherous trip inland and over the top of a mountain in the middle of the island to the other side. The roads in the middle of the island are unsealed, muddy in some areas and riddled with craters. It was a very steep and rough ride heading in both directions but the view from the top of the island was a real spectacle so I’m glad I made the trip. On my way down one side of the mountain I was traveling behind a guy and girl doubling together on the same motorbike when they hit a crater and tumbled head first over the handle bars and slid quite a way down the mountain, the guy was pretty messed up but his girl passenger seemed to land on top of him and was barely hurt. I stopped and asked them if they were ok but I think the guy was so charged on adrenaline or something else that he simply hopped back on his bike and zoomed off, it was quite a surreal experience since while I was watching it I was wondering if he wasn’t severely injured but apparently not.
Although I only spent a day on Koh Pha Ngan it is certainly a place you could spend a few days or even weeks. It was much quieter and not as built up with tourist resorts as Koh Samui so I think it would be well worth the effort to make a trip there for at least a few days if you had the time. If you have ever read the book “The Beach” by Alex Garland, the island of Koh Pha Ngan is mentioned. In fact in one chapter the protagonist in the story takes a “rice run” to Koh Pha Ngan from their hidden utopia in the book’s fictional story. I’m willing to bet many a young backpacker has made the trip to Thailand and in particular Koh Pha Ngan after reading The Beach which is also a big budget Hollywood movie starring Leonardo Dicaprio. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was equally impressed with the movie.
There are a multitude of scenic places and tourist attractions to visit on Koh Samui which are all within a relatively short distance from where ever you decide to stay and no matter what time of the year you go, the weather is always going to be hot. Some months around the middle of the year you will most probably encounter some rain but having traveled around Thailand at all times of the year and been caught in some rain storms, a blast of rain has the added effect of cooling things down and often the rain only comes down for short periods of time and then usually the sun comes back just as quickly as the rain came. One tourist spot I didn’t go to was the Ang Thong National Marine Park which comprises 42 small islands within sight of Koh Samui. I’ve heard Ang Thong is another spectacular group of islands similar to Phi Phi island which is just off the coast of Phuket. Once again Ang Thong would be another great tourist location if you had the time and tours to the marine park operate every day of the year.
All up I spent 7 days and 6 nights in Koh Samui and all I spent was around 10,000 Baht ($280 US). This included my return train fare from Bangkok, 6 nights accommodation at a cheap bungalow on popular Chaweng Beach, all my food, a week’s motorbike hire plus fuel, a return trip to Koh Pha Ngan for the day and a few other bits and pieces. I brought my own snorkeling set and just about everything else I did there was free like swimming and exploring the waterfalls and other areas on the island. I did everything I wanted to do and saw everything I wanted to see and it cost me less than $300. All I can say is what a bargain. I had a great time there and for anyone else who plans to come to Thailand for some adventure in paradise without spending a lot of money, I think you’ll have the time of your life in tropical Koh Samui.
If you find this site helpful, please leave a donation for John
Other Related Posts:-
August 1st, 2007 at 4:39 pm
[…] Hill presents Koh Samui on a Shoestring posted at Universe Of […]
September 12th, 2007 at 12:07 am
[…] interested in spending time in Thai beach resorts will normally travel to Pattaya, Phuket or Koh Samui which are fantastic holiday destinations although these hot spots do become quite crowded at […]
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
this information is very useful to me, as im planning for my first trip there - i dont know how much cash i should be spending until i read this! THANKS!