THAILAND: Koh Samui (July 3rd - 5th) Island Hopping

We began our first group tour as we left Bangkok on a short flight, heading to the first of three islands we were to be visiting.  The islands are on the eastern side of the Thailand peninsula in the Gulf of Thailand.  Koh Samui is the larger of the three and most southern.....also the only one with an airport.

We were with a group of  about fourteen other travelers, plus our tour leader, a fun-loving Thai girl named "Boom".  Everyone was super friendly and we made new friends really quick.  Our group consisted of people from New York, UK, Germany, Australia, Norway, Finland, and Bolivia.  One of the couples from England, Tim and Emma, were also on their honeymoon......very nice people. and a lot of fun....everyone.

The first day in Koh Samui we checked in to a hotel on the north  part of the island in a little area called Bo Phut.... a little quieter and less touristy than the main beach of Chaweng on the east side.....more of a fishing village community type feeling.  Emily and I went for a long walk on the beach, checking out the sites.  On the way back it started to rain.....no problem......we stopped at one of the many bungalows along the beach and each got an hour long  classic Thai oil massage as the tropical storm quickly passed.  Emily even got a foot scrub and pedicure.  Amazing!!!!!!!.....and only cost $10 each!  We went out for a romantic dinner that night at a beautiful restaurant in a nearby hotel, and caught up with the group back at our hotel for some drinks and kareoke to end the night.

The next day we headed over to Chaweng Beach for the day.  Spent alot of time on the beach and in the ocean.....the water was ridiculously warm!  We stopped at different hotel beach fronts to grab lunch and umbrella drinks, take pictures, soak up the sun.....the usual beachy stuff.  Late in the afternoon we headed off the beach to the main street in Chaweng to check out the shopping, restaurants, nightlife options, etc...  We even stopped for me to get a $6 haircut.  Later that night we had another romantic dinner at a hotel restaurant that was designed like a series of treehouses....kind of swiss family robinson style.  We went back to Chaweng to meet up with our group for some cocktails and dancing....but Emily and I being the oldies we are....and newlyweds....called it a night before most of the others.

The next morning we took our time with breakfast and checking out before we headed to the ferry landing to catch the boat for out next island stop....Koh Phangan.

The island of Koh Samui from our plane

Bo Phut Beach

Ahhhhhhhh......I could do this everyday!

Our cozy hotel room...they were designed like little tree huts.

....with HUGE bathtubs

Paradise.....huge beach, warm water, all to ourselves.

Chaweng Beach

Interesting....we had lunch a a hotel called The Library....red swimming pool was a nice touch.

The tree house style restaurant where we had dinner