Koh Samui is my favorite place in Thailand. It has beautiful private beaches, and even unique geography like mountains with gardens that make it a stunning destination full of wonder. I arrived here by ferry on the first day of 2019 after counting down the new year at the full moon party. When one of the attendants woke me from my slumber, I had arrived at this fantasy dream-like island and was staying in a pink triangular hut on Lamai Beach:
This is New Hut Bungalow, the most colorful and affordable accommodation on the island (priced at around $11 per night). When I saw how adorable my hut was, I immediately fell in love with it! All of the beaches on Koh Samui are more secluded and less touristy than the ones in Phuket and Krabi. I enjoyed waking up and running on the beach every day, the ending the night with a swim under the purple and orange gradient sunset. It felt like I had the beach to myself at times!
The palm trees, soft waves, and the lanterns really made me feel like I was in paradise! I enjoyed swimming and looking back at the rainbow huts. It made me realize how hard I had worked to come here, and how much I was enjoying adventuring through this country! The restaurant also had amazing glass noodles and fresh fruit that I feasted on everyday. It was so much fun that I didn’t want to leave!
One iconic landmark of these bungalows is the sign for the toilet whose eyes light up at night:
Whether it’s cursed, and omen, or actually good luck, I was grateful for this guidepost, as the island gets quite dark around 8pm and there are no streetlights like in the city so this is a necessity to survival. Even though whatever it was is now deceased. In theory. I really would like one of these for my room!
While I was in Koh Samui, I went to the Tiger Kingdom, saw and aquarium and birdshow, went to the Magic Buddha Garden and saw some of the mountains, and also relaxed on the beach and had an amazing start to the year! I would choose this over Tokyo most days, because you don’t find this kind of relaxation there (though onsen are pretty great for that). I am so excited for my next trip back here during Golden Week!
I love the beach huts!
Right? I love the sticky mango rice too! 😉