We took a flight from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways. We had one connection in Bangkok along the way. Their airline is clean, organized, and they provided meals even though each flight was only an hour. Domestic flights are inexpensive and an easy way to travel quickly in Thailand. We did have one delay while travelling with Bangkok Airways and they gave us meal vouchers to use in the airport. The service is outstanding and they really go above and beyond for their customers.
We arrived after dark in Koh Samui. It’s an open air airport, which was new for us. There are no walls - just covered walkways and sitting areas throughout the airport. When we landed, there was a desk with a sign that was advertising 800 baht taxi rides. That is $24, which is higher than any taxi rate we had seen in Thailand. We walked past the desk and past all the people offering taxi rides and approached a different desk. They were offering taxi rides for 600 baht ($18), so we agreed to that. We were escorted by a driver to a van that had a fancy ceiling that lit up along with cushy seats and air conditioning. The drive was farther than we had thought, so we understood why the taxi rate was so much higher than we had expected.
The first place we stayed at in Koh Samui was The Silver Beach Resort. This was fancier than other places I had booked, because we would be staying there on our 10 year wedding anniversary. The room I had booked had sea views, and the pictures looked amazing. I had booked this resort because it was recommended by a Youtuber who claimed this was the best beach on the island. It really is gorgeous. It’s nestled in a cove with exposed rocks, white sand, and steep hills on either side.
We arrived well after the place had shut down. A security guard was sitting at a table under a large covered area when we arrived. He gave us a key to our room and showed us where our room was. The forecast had predicted heavy rain during our time on the island, but that evening it wasn’t precipitating and there was a gentle breeze. We still needed to get dinner, so we decided to take a walk on the beach and eat at a nearby restaurant.
The beach was dark and vacant, except for a tourist who was skinny dipping. We noticed holes in the sand and discovered that those are crab houses! We dipped our toes in the ocean and took it all in. The restaurant we went to was called The Silver Spoon and was a short walk from the resort we were staying at. The food there was amazing, but we did get in late and I think they were happy to see us go when we finished. The prices in Koh Samui are higher than other parts of Thailand, but that’s to be expected since we were in a tourist area and on an island.
The Monsoon season in southern Thailand usually is finished by mid-late November, but we learned that the rainy season has been stretching out farther into December in recent years. This meant that there were heavy rains and overcast skies during most of our time on the island. We didn’t let this stop us from having a good time though. The rain wasn’t constant, so during breaks we enjoyed swimming in the pool that overlooked the ocean beach. We had the pool to ourselves since other tourists seemed more interested in swimming in the ocean. With overcast skies, we didn’t have to load up on sunblock and the temperatures were much more comfortable as well.
On the second night we were there, a huge storm rolled in with booming thunder and lightning illuminating the black, choppy ocean. Hard, heavy rain was hammering down outside. The door to our room was facing the ocean on a covered porch. It was decorative and looked more like it was meant as an interior door, much less an exterior door that faces incoming monsoons directly off the ocean. We were on the second floor, so flooding wasn’t a concern. However, since the rain was coming in at such a high rate it was bubbling up under the door, wind was rushing in around the sides, and water was seeping out from under the floor boards when you stepped on them. The power only went out for a few seconds. We were scared but trusted the resort owners would relocate us if we were in danger. We piled up towels along the bottom of the door to slow the incoming water and went to bed.
The next morning the rain had slowed down. We observed that the staff at the resort would raise and lower heavy waterproof curtains as the rain came and went. There was a restaurant and bar. We tried speaking Thai to the staff, but we learned that many of them are from Myanmar, so they speak more English than Thai.
We had Thai massages right on the beach during one of the rain storms, which was lovely. Originally I had booked a stay for us at Koh Tao, which is a small island not too far from Koh Samui. I cancelled those reservations though due to the high waves and stormy weather.
In celebration of our 10 year wedding anniversary, we decided to write new vows. On the morning of December 13th we walked down to the beach and found a quiet spot under a thatched canopy. We drew a big heart in the sand and stood on opposite sides of it while we read our original vows to each other. Then we stepped inside the heart and read our new vows to one another. We cried happy tears and took a few pictures. The rain even held off while we exchanged our vows. It was beautiful and perfect.
We used the Grab app on my phone to hire a taxi to bring us to our next destination. The Villager Fisherman's Village is in the northeast part of the island and not directly on the beach, so it was more protected from the weather. We stayed in a room on the first floor that was large and comfortable. Although, there had been so much rain that you could smell the septic in the bathroom, which wasn’t ideal. We discovered a really cute family restaurant down the road from where we were staying called Baan Thai (Thai House). The food was made by the family’s grandmother in front of their home. Her daughter was waiting on the tables, and she gave us information about her boyfriend who drives a taxi and gave us a discount on our next ride. There was a nearby night market that we went to and saw an incredible beat boxer. The audience wasn’t reacting much at first, but Tracker and I were awestruck. Tracker walked up to him and dropped one bill after another into his tip jar. After that more tourists came up and filled his jar. The night market was full of amazing food, souvenirs, and cocktail stands.
We decided to take a taxi to the mall since it was raining. This was an open air, two story mall. We watched Wicked Part I and LOVED IT! I have seen Wicked twice on Broadway, and Tracker has seen it once. We both are huge fans of Elphaba and the story of how she came to be. In Thailand, all movie theaters play a short clip to honor the king just before the actual movie begins. Everyone used to stand to show their respect during this, but that has been declining since the new king has been in power. No one stood while we were in the theater, and I thought it was because there were only foreigners watching, but I read more about this since returning home, and it sounds like people stopped standing since 2020. Many younger Thais feel that the money spent on the monarchy should be used for more important things like education and healthcare. I don’t know a lot about this topic, but I’m curious to see where this leads to.
The walkways and stores in the mall have a roof, but the center of the mall is open air, so rain was coming in and staff were using push brooms to direct the water down drains as best they could. The bathroom smelled HORRIBLE, and I think it was because the septic was backing up from all the rain but also because there weren’t any bum guns. I explained how toilets work in Thailand on the Chiang Rai page. Please revisit if you skipped over the Wet Room section and need a refresher. Since this bathroom didn’t have bum guns, it wasn’t clear if people were supposed to flush their toilet paper or not. So I think a lot of people were putting their dirty toilet paper in the trash. I had to plug my nose and used the bathroom as quickly as possible. I was gagging, and my eyes were watering from the smell. I ran outside to the balcony overlooking the market below and caught my breath. There are many vendors outside of the mall with tents lined up, creating an outside market.
While I was standing there, I noticed a woman kneeling in front of a shrine in the heavy rain. I thought that something awful must have happened and she was praying for help. Tracker and I watched her and considered if we wanted to do anything and decided to approach her and find out if she needed help. We agreed on how much cash we would offer her if she was in trouble. When she was finished praying, I walked down the flight of stairs and approached her. I asked if she was okay in broken Thai, and she looked very confused and said she was okay and didn’t understand why I was asking her this question. I tried to explain that I thought something was wrong since I saw her praying on her knees in the rain. I started to leave once I realized she was fine and I was just making a fool of myself, but she kept repeating that she didn’t understand. Tracker was able to explain in Thai why we were worried and she explained that she prays at the shrine everyday asking for a successful day at the market. She showed us her shop, and I told her I would look around. Once she realized why we were checking on her, we had a really warm conversation in bits of Thai and English. She appreciated our concern and was happy to report that she was okay. Tracker had been encouraging me to buy a summer dress during the duration of our trip. She had a bunch of them, so I decided to buy one along with a cover up. Most products in Thailand have a set price, but in outside markets where prices aren’t marked, the prices are up for negotiation. When she could see we weren’t comfortable with the price, she quickly brought it down and offered a necklace as well. The price was the amount we had agreed to give her before speaking with her and thought she was in crisis. Her name is Nok, which means bird in Thai. I showed her my bird tattoos on my arm and told her that I love birds. This was such a great connection! She was such a sweetheart, and I’m glad she’s okay. 😊
Our third and final stay was at Mekkala Resort. The taxi ride across the island showed us all the flooding that had been happening. It was awful seeing the roads filling up while the locals worked to manage it. We checked in early and were blown away by the size of the room we were staying in. It was on the second floor with a sea view (but from a safe and comfortable distance). The first room was a mudroom with huge closets, a kitchen sink, and dishes. The bathroom to the right had a large bathtub, shower, and toilet. The main room was the biggest one we stayed in while traveling. There was a large refrigerator with water bottles inside, a king size bed, and a sprawling seating area with a desk and couch. We had a private porch with comfortable lounge furniture and a table. The hotel pool was behind the building and was large and empty, like almost all of the pools we used while in Thailand. It was the perfect way to cool down in the afternoon.
We found a few restaurants a short walk down the hill from the Mekkala Resort. There was an Indian Restaurant and a Thai Restaurant that we went to. The road below the restaurants had about two feet of water and vehicles were driving through it. Motorcyclists were driving through with their feet up in an effort to stay dry.
