Koh Samed Island, Thailand
Samed Island is located in Rayong Province (Eastern Thailand), which is about 3.5 hours drive from Bangkok. Koh Samed island is famous for its white sandy beach with lively nightlife among the Thai people. You would find mostly local tourists there.
I would certainly recommend Samed island to everyone seeking peace and tranquility in midst of our busy worklife. Definitely a good and quiet place to relax or meditate. The only minus point is the inconvenience of travelling to the place. Besides driving down from Bangkok, there are also buses from Pattaya and Koh Chang.
At Nuanthip pier in Rayong Province, you would need a 30 minutes boat ride to Samed Island. A round trip costs only 100 baht. However, most good resorts reservation includes an exclusive boat ride across else you would need to get onto an overcrowded boat with insufficient seats.
I stayed at Mooban Talay resort on Ao Noi Na beach which is also the quieter and remote side of Koh Samed. For your info: “Mooban” means village while “Talay” means Sea in Thai language, so Mooban Talay actually means “Sea Village”. The main beaches on Samed island are Hat Sai Kaew; Ao Vong Duan and Ao Prao which are more crowded with tourists.
Sand on the beach is indeed fine & clean while water is real bluish and calm. A tiny swimming pool of about 6m x 7m is available in the centre of the resort. Thai massage and foot massage services are available beside the pool in an open hut. 60 minutes of massage costs 600bahts which is slightly more expensive compared to the 400 baht outside the resort. Sadly, the massage was lousy too. The masseur was too gentle despite several requests to increase the pressure and strength. The worst thing is probably the irritating flies which were hovering around me during the 60 minutes! I wouldn't quite recommend massage in the open really.
The bungalows are not cheap though. Each bungalow built on silt, costs about 4000 Baht (equivalent to about S$170 per night). There are also sea-view rooms which are much more expensive and garden view rooms which are cheaper. I stayed in the centre and could see the sea once I walked from the room. There is also n nice area for chit-chat and snacks outside each room with chairs and tables.
There are sufficient beach chairs on the beach for sun-tanning or watching the sea. Besides applying lots of sun block, I came to realize the importance of insect repellent as I had been bitten quite severely over half a day! The bites became red and swollen in the night and scars remain even after the swellings are down! Do remember your antiseptic cream and insect repellent for your next sunny beach trip.
The king-sized tatami bed is on a flat wooden platform and you can sit on the platform on both sides of the bed. The amazing part of the resort is the bathroom! Walk into the bathroom, shut the wooden door and you can see the sink and toilet-bowl. Walk further in and you get an open-air shower space (surrounded by wall though with windows by its side, but no celling)! The shower tap is high up on the wall and there is a huge water vase at the side (Dare not use the water in it though). This is probably the coolest shower room I have come across. The most hilarious thing is that you would not be able to shower if it rains, lest you would get wet before you on the tap!
The most happening beach at night is at Saikaew Beach where you can find numerous beach restaurants; bar and pub. They are not anything like the ones at Patong Beach, Phuket though. Mooban Talay resort is not far from Saikaew Beach and you can take a sonthaew, which is a public pickup trunk with two benches in the back. Do be careful as the back of the trunk is open and you really have to hold on tight especially on the bumpy ride to the next beach. The trip will cost about 20 baht per person but you would need to negotiate and agree on the rate before hopping onto it.
At Saikaew beach, you will see many tables laid on mats on the sand while customers dine comfortably while sitting on these mats. The most renowned restaurant at Saikaew Beach is Ploy Bar & Club which is at the near end of the beach especially for its magnificent fire performance at 8.30pm daily. The 5- 6 performers presented exciting fire stunts during the 30 minutes stint on the beach along with the loud music. Definitely an eye-opening performance to watch! There is also live band performing on the stage which was pretty good too. Food was average and I managed to get a table with chairs (instead of mats).
The next nicest thing on the beach is the pancakes! You will find many pushcarts on the beach selling these pancakes at 25 baht each. The most delicious toppings for me would be banana & chocolate as well as banana & cheese. Yummy!
Koh Samed is truly one of the nicest beach I have been to (the most beautiful beach is still Kota Kinabalu, Nexus Resort which I visited some years ago). If you have the time to seek this island of paradise, do visit it!
Samed Island is located in Rayong Province (Eastern Thailand), which is about 3.5 hours drive from Bangkok. Koh Samed island is famous for its white sandy beach with lively nightlife among the Thai people. You would find mostly local tourists there.
I would certainly recommend Samed island to everyone seeking peace and tranquility in midst of our busy worklife. Definitely a good and quiet place to relax or meditate. The only minus point is the inconvenience of travelling to the place. Besides driving down from Bangkok, there are also buses from Pattaya and Koh Chang.
At Nuanthip pier in Rayong Province, you would need a 30 minutes boat ride to Samed Island. A round trip costs only 100 baht. However, most good resorts reservation includes an exclusive boat ride across else you would need to get onto an overcrowded boat with insufficient seats.
I stayed at Mooban Talay resort on Ao Noi Na beach which is also the quieter and remote side of Koh Samed. For your info: “Mooban” means village while “Talay” means Sea in Thai language, so Mooban Talay actually means “Sea Village”. The main beaches on Samed island are Hat Sai Kaew; Ao Vong Duan and Ao Prao which are more crowded with tourists.
Sand on the beach is indeed fine & clean while water is real bluish and calm. A tiny swimming pool of about 6m x 7m is available in the centre of the resort. Thai massage and foot massage services are available beside the pool in an open hut. 60 minutes of massage costs 600bahts which is slightly more expensive compared to the 400 baht outside the resort. Sadly, the massage was lousy too. The masseur was too gentle despite several requests to increase the pressure and strength. The worst thing is probably the irritating flies which were hovering around me during the 60 minutes! I wouldn't quite recommend massage in the open really.
The bungalows are not cheap though. Each bungalow built on silt, costs about 4000 Baht (equivalent to about S$170 per night). There are also sea-view rooms which are much more expensive and garden view rooms which are cheaper. I stayed in the centre and could see the sea once I walked from the room. There is also n nice area for chit-chat and snacks outside each room with chairs and tables.
There are sufficient beach chairs on the beach for sun-tanning or watching the sea. Besides applying lots of sun block, I came to realize the importance of insect repellent as I had been bitten quite severely over half a day! The bites became red and swollen in the night and scars remain even after the swellings are down! Do remember your antiseptic cream and insect repellent for your next sunny beach trip.
The king-sized tatami bed is on a flat wooden platform and you can sit on the platform on both sides of the bed. The amazing part of the resort is the bathroom! Walk into the bathroom, shut the wooden door and you can see the sink and toilet-bowl. Walk further in and you get an open-air shower space (surrounded by wall though with windows by its side, but no celling)! The shower tap is high up on the wall and there is a huge water vase at the side (Dare not use the water in it though). This is probably the coolest shower room I have come across. The most hilarious thing is that you would not be able to shower if it rains, lest you would get wet before you on the tap!
The most happening beach at night is at Saikaew Beach where you can find numerous beach restaurants; bar and pub. They are not anything like the ones at Patong Beach, Phuket though. Mooban Talay resort is not far from Saikaew Beach and you can take a sonthaew, which is a public pickup trunk with two benches in the back. Do be careful as the back of the trunk is open and you really have to hold on tight especially on the bumpy ride to the next beach. The trip will cost about 20 baht per person but you would need to negotiate and agree on the rate before hopping onto it.
At Saikaew beach, you will see many tables laid on mats on the sand while customers dine comfortably while sitting on these mats. The most renowned restaurant at Saikaew Beach is Ploy Bar & Club which is at the near end of the beach especially for its magnificent fire performance at 8.30pm daily. The 5- 6 performers presented exciting fire stunts during the 30 minutes stint on the beach along with the loud music. Definitely an eye-opening performance to watch! There is also live band performing on the stage which was pretty good too. Food was average and I managed to get a table with chairs (instead of mats).
The next nicest thing on the beach is the pancakes! You will find many pushcarts on the beach selling these pancakes at 25 baht each. The most delicious toppings for me would be banana & chocolate as well as banana & cheese. Yummy!
Koh Samed is truly one of the nicest beach I have been to (the most beautiful beach is still Kota Kinabalu, Nexus Resort which I visited some years ago). If you have the time to seek this island of paradise, do visit it!
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