Island of Koh Samui, Thailand

Our Hotel's Beach!

 

<Cathy>  Koh Samui is an island off the East coast of Thailand – what a great place to relax and play!  It’s plenty tropical, very relaxed, and all about slowing down and taking life as it comes.  We stayed on Choeng Mon beach –Northeast corner of the island.  It was significantly quieter than other parts of the island, yet with enough restaurants and action to keep it fun.  We were right on the beach and spend most days deciding whether we would hang poolside or beachside – tough choices I know! 

Thai Foot Massages

There are Thai massages offered everywhere.  If you’ve never had a Thai massage, it’s a cross between a massage, sports stretching regime, and acrobatic routine.  Don’t be deceived…these petite Thai women can pack a powerful blow.  I’m pretty sure we all had a foot massage or Thai massage every day we were in Koh Samui and it felt amazing!  They run about 200-250 Thai baht for an hour massage – roughly $6-$7.50.  

On Thursday, we caught a 10 minute ride into center town and just hung out at the beach while the kids bodysurfed the day away.  Such a fun and relaxing day for all of us.  We haven’t seen temps below 85 degrees since leaving Minnesota and at the heat of the day, it was mid to upper 90s most of the time.  The water was pretty warm and salty, but still refreshing. 

Night Market!

Jet Skiing in the Gulf of Thailand

On Wednesday night, we walked around the little town and much to our surprise, there was a night market and the town had sprung to life!  Food vendors, jewelry, lanterns, incense and essential oils, etc.  I tried these sweet & sour peanut pot stickers – and had to go back for seconds.  They steam the wrap on a piece of plastic wrap stretched across a boiling pot of water.  Next add the filling, gently close it up and serve with a sprinkling of toasted garlic.  Seriously good eats.

<Callie> July 10^th - Today was definitely my favorite day in Koh Samui for many reasons, one was that I turned 12!  Here’s how the day went: we woke up, went to town and stopped at a Starbucks to get breakfast.  After that, I decided I wanted to explore the town a little more, so we went and walked around for a while then took a Saong tow (Truck/Taxi) back to the resort. We rented a jet ski and we each got 20 minutes to ride. It was really fun, especially in the ocean!

Afterwards, Camryn and I swam in the ocean for only a minute.  Then mom and dad brought us to a little boat which brought us to a big catamaran boat with sails.  There were 3 men on the boat named Bernie- Captain, Fred-Helped with sails, and Phillip- the cook. They would take us on a 6 hour boat ride around the islands!  Camryn and I had no idea, what a great surprise! 

Callie at the helm!

Birthday Kisses!

Phillip made us some really great snacks and also a surprise Oreo birthday cake! They took us to a private beach area.   We didn’t go on the beach but we jumped off the side of the boat and had a good time…except for one thing.  Every time you jumped off the boat in a matter of seconds little dots of pain would come to you.  We all assumed it was from the saltwater but it was painful and felt like something was burning you. We asked Bernie what it was and he said it was little plankton or jellyfish attaching to you that caused the pain!  They brought us back and we watched the sunset then said our goodbyes.