If you enjoy being around friendly people, appreciate great food with a bit of spice and have a weakness for nice beaches, then Thailand should be on the list of your favourite destinations!
In 2001 a friend and I booked flights from Frankfurt to Bangkok and from there a one way ticket to Koh Samui, a beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand, about 35 km from Surat Thani on the mainland.
The flight from Bangkok took about an hour and we arrived at the airport of Koh Samui. Having booked our accommodation for the first 5 days in advance, we caught a taxi to our resort. The cheapest way to get around the island is by songtaew. These are red trucks with 2 long benches. They operate the same way as the tuk-tuks you might know from Bangkok. They drive around the island, and you can hail them and bargain for a price with the driver.
After spending the first 5 days of our holidays exploring the island, we decided to take a ferry to the neighbouring island, called Koh Phangan. We arrived in the evening at Thong Sala town, and decided to stay the night in a little backpacker resort not far from the town.
The next day we made our way to the twin coves, Thong Nai Pan Noi and Thong Nai Pan Yai in the North East of the Island. The drive can be described as adventurous, as the surrounding mountains make these beaches fairly inaccessible with a steep and rutted dirt road the only overland option. The bumpy ride was well worth it! Both beaches are beautiful with softly curved white sand bays surrounded by mountains covered in rich tropical rain forest.
Thong Nai Pan Noi and Thong Nai Pan Yai are two of the most idyllic bays on the island, and although they are hard to reach, there is a variety of accommodation options available, with everything from luxury villas to old school beach huts.
We stayed in a hotel room at the Panviman Resort, which I can highly recommend. We had a beautiful room with a balcony facing the rainforest. The staff were very attentive. If you stay there, I do recommend taking a boat trip to Bottle Beach, which is nearby.
Koh Phangan also has a national park with tropical rainforest and waterfalls. It's definately worth taking a day trip to explore this area of the Island.
To add something special to our trip, we decided to go back to Bangkok on the overnight train, which was a great experience! If you are an adventurous person and want to have a genuine Thai experience, you shouldn't’t miss it, as it is comfortable, safe, cheap and environmentally friendly. We bought our train tickets directly at the station, but if you want to travel at peak Thai holiday periods (around Christmas & New Year) or absolutely have to be on a particular train, it's a good idea to book in advance.
A great experience all round.