Tropical Paradise

Lamai Beach, Koh Samui 

Imagine waking to the sound of the surf just metres from your chalet, sipping your morning coffee on the terrace right next to the pristine white sand and walking along the edge of the Gulf of Thailand with the sun climbing slowly up into a perfect blue sky. Ah yes, another day dawns in Paradise.

OK, so in reality it was the rooster that woke us all at 5 am, followed closely by the cats yowling outside the chalets, but at least we all slept soundly (in airconditioned comfort!) away from the traffic that we had to endure at the more popular Chaweng Beach.

We all liked Lamai much better. The sea was clearer, the beach much less crowded and the sea clear and devoid of the jet skis that buzz continuously over the water in Chaweng. And it was half the price, if you are willing to stay in simpler lodgings. Ours were new, clean and roomy and cost around S$35 a night. Their food was also better than resort type food and they let us bring in our daily dose of simply incomparably delicious durian every day. It is called Mira Mare if you ever have a chance to go there.

We took a day trip out to Koh Tao for a bit of snorkelling, which wasn't fantastic - at least not compared to Pulau Redang off the east coast of Malaysia - but it was ok. For 1250 baht (about S$52) you get picked up from your chalet, taken to the jetty where you are given a quick breakfast, and then a catamaran takes around an hour or so to get to Koh Tao. It's a marine park so no plastic bottles or bags are allowed on the island (how refreshing!). Whoever manages the restaurant/resort has done a great job. And the lunch they served was excellent.

Koh Samui  attracts a lot of Europeans who seem to spend weeks, rather than days, there. They're sun worshippers par excellence - obviously quite oblivious to the warnings about skin cancer - lying out on the beach like slabs of meat sizzling to the required shade of golden brown. I suppose I can't be too critical as I ventured out on my first day without a hat, had a mild case of heat stroke and when I woke up the next day I looked like I'd been dipped in war paint!

A small price to pay for a few days in Utopia!