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The Airport??
"Thump!!" as the Boeing 717 airport
descended on the runway of the Samui airport.
For first time visitor like me to this
island located in the Gulf of Thailand, what came to my mind when I first
set my foot here is the simplicity this island has to offer.
The airport at a glance cannot tell from
far that it is an airport! Rather with its hut-liked structure and
open-air surrounding, it resembled more like seaside resort.
Other than its unique outlook, another
novelty of this tiny airport is refreshments are being served for both
arrival and departure guests (which I doubt the folks at Changi can match
to that!!)
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The taxing part of any
beginning of a journey - the custom clearance |
The saddest part of
journey - the processing of the boarding pass back home |
Look how different it is,
the departure hall of the Samui airport. The open-space and "kumpung"
style made it so umique |
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Chaweng
As soon as we checked into our
accommodation for the night, we headed straight to the main street of
Chaweng, the main beach area of the Samui.
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The night scene of Chaweng,
flanked by rows of shops on both sides of the road. |
A nice cold beer at the
end of the day was such a welcome relief..."GULP!" |
To be honest, with the shops along the
street selling and offering similar types of merchandise and services
(i.e.: clothing, souvenir, massage parlous and etc.), unless one is
looking for a particular item, it would be wise to hang at the beach where
the main attraction is.
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Koh Phangan
 20 minutes boat ride from the pier had
us arrived at Koh Phangan.
Known for its enormous coconut
plantations, this island in years to come is all set to rival Samui with
number of guesthouses and resorts sprawling up.
Despite its lack of infrastructures
(given its hilly nature, not likely to have an airport build on it.),
Phangan still attracts a large number of visitors (mainly from Samui).
The only regret - we missed the much
touted "full moon" beach party.
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A bird-eye view from the
top of the mountain where the Goddess of Mercy's temple is |
Hauling the coconuts onto
the truck by my friend, while the worker took a break. |
A stroll down the main
street of Koh Phangan, before headed to the boat back to Samui |
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Koh Tao and Koh Nangyuan
  That breath-taking view
(the one on the right) from the top of
the peak at Nangyuan, made us felt worthwhile the arduous trek we made
ourselves up.
The surrounding water is so
crystal-clear that the underwater world in Sentosa could hardly match.
Stringent measures (such as barring of
plastic bottles on the island) are taken to ensure Nangyuan from being
polluted.
Snorkelling around these two islands is
the main activity.
The only drawback is travellers need to
endure the one-and-half hour catamaran ride from Samui. (pills for
sea-sickness advisable for those prone to it)
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Nathon (the former main gateway)
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This is the main town of the island.
Before the airport was built,
visitors would have to take the boat ride from Surat Thani and landed at
the main pier of Nathon.
Apparently with the airport built
near Chaweng, Nathon lost its shine as foreign travellers found it
more accessible to reach Samui by flights, while the locals continue
to rely largely on this affordable mode of transport. |
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Conclusion
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one of the beautiful
sceneries - Lad Koh |
Here we are at "Papa Mama"
rock structure, take a closer look and you know why |
The landmark of the
island, the Big Buddha |
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It was made known to me that end of the
year is normally the "low-peak" period of Samui due to the north-east
monsoon.
Thus, travellers would opted for Phuket
and its surrounding areas.
Alas though, the sad incident occurred on
Boxing Day had made the potential travellers think twice now before
setting their foot in the near future.
 pohui
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n front of the portrait of
HM King of Thailand, |
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