We've travelled to the upscale island of Koh Samui from Phuket. This island is in the Gulf of Thailand, on the east coast. The beaches are everything you've ever pictured on a tropical island. The daily temperature is 35 C (95 Fahrenheit) and the water seems just as warm.
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| Our hotel room is the top balcony, left of Kim, overlooking the pool |
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| Pool and landscaping |
For the eight days we're staying on this island we have booked a Centara Resort in the middle of the most popular beach, Chaweng, for four days and then we go north to another resort, Bhindhari. This is a mountainside resort, overlooking the beach.
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| Lush gardens |
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| Endless pool |
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| Hot tub |
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| Our balcony view |
Our resort on Chaweng Beach is gorgeous. The grounds are beautifully manicured. It is a very popular resort, with lots of European guests. So far, we are the only North Americans here. We've met lots of Australians and had a great time with them.
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| Palm tree beside our balcony-it comes complete with a green snake |
We found this resort as a result of Air Asia's website. They have a Mystery Hotel program where you don't know which hotel you will be staying at but you get a 5 star hotel at 3 star rates. We've done this 5 times now and each hotel has been stellar. This Centara Grand Resort is no exception. The breakfast buffet is endless, the lunch spread is vast and the happy hour is truly jolly. Plus, the games area has a ping pong table. We have been spending HOURS beating each other. One of us has a killer spike and the other has a mean spin.
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| Sir Spins-a-lot |
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| Ms. Spikes-a-lot |
The town of Chaweng Beach is bustling. In the daytime, there are endless blocks of shops; shoe shopping is to die for. Scooters are everywhere on the streets and the entrepreneurial people convert their scooters into a rolling restaurant.
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| Converted scooter restaurant |
At night, the streets really come alive. It is still hot at night, and loud, pumping music plus throngs of people make the streets vibrate with life.
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| Night market with food stalls and lots of shopping |
There is a small night market where the locals shop and it has free entertainment (jugglers who juggle liquor bottles, and flaming liquor bottles.)
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| Volkswagon conversion to a bar |
There are many Thai and European restaurants. Because it isn't high season, many of the restaurants are not filled to capacity so the deals are everywhere. A tasty Thai meal is cheap by North American standards.
We've enjoyed the resort life-the pool, the beach, the sun, the nightlife. It's been nice to relax. Next, we're headed north to Bhindhari where we're visiting the National Marine Park for some ocean kayaking and then to the island of Koh Tao for some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world.
OK, I see the photo of Ms. Spikes-a-lot, but where was the loser, Sir Sucks-a-lot? Behind the camera??? By the way, I am curious if you two are turning into the Pillsbury Dough Family with the constant all-you-can eat and happy hour opportunities! Sorry, just jealous, have another shrimp!
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