Jane and I have decided to give Bali a rest and explore other parts of Southeast Asia for our “relaxing” type holidays. We booked a week in Koh Samui, Thailand’s second largest island sitting in the Gulf of Thailand. We took a Luxury Escapes package staying at the Pavilion Samui Villas and Resort. The Pavilion Samui resort is situated on Lamai Beach, southeast of the island. It’s about a 30-minute car ride from the airport.
Getting there
We flew Singapore Airlines (from Perth) via Singapore. As Koh Samui airport only allows two airlines, Scoot and Bangkok Airways, the Singapore to Koh Samui (USM) leg was operated by Scoot. Coming home we flew Bangkok Airways to Singapore. Nothing to complain about, all flights were excellent.
Samui International Airport is quite primitive. It reminded me of traveling around the small cities in the Philippines. Nonetheless, it was quite efficient, and our transport to the hotel was waiting for us.
It was raining hard. The picturesque view on route to the hotel was somewhat ruined, but i didn’t dampen our excitement however.
Pavilion Samui Villas and Resort
We arrived at the hotel and were informed we were upgraded to a balcony jacuzzi room. It sounded wonderful. The room was indeed nice, but traipsing up and down the stairs got pretty old after a week. The view from the balcony was neither the ocean nor the pool.
The hotel was empty. We should have done some research, as we didn’t know it was the wet season in Koh Samui. Apparently, Phuket and Koh Samui have differing wet seasons. Some patrons came and went. But it was actually nice to have the place to ourselves most of the time.
The luxury escapes package included: daily breakfast; daily lunch or dinner; daily free-flow drinks (1-hour limit); massage for two (…meaning 2 massages for Jane).
The breakfast was nice with a good variety without being spectacular. The egg chefs were excellent (I resisted saying eggcellent there). I tried fried, poached, and omelet. Jane stuck with her omelet every day.
The lunch and dinner menus were the same and offered a large variety, from Thai dishes to European and burgers and pizzas. Most of the food was good, although there were a few “misses.” We tried to stick to the Thai dishes.
The highlight, though, was the free-flow drinks from 3:30 – 4:30 PM, particularly the cocktails. We’ve had drinks packages before, and we’ve found they are usually pretty stingy with the spirits. The cocktails at the Lookout Bar were first class. Jane’s favorite was the mango daiquiri, which wasn’t actually on the menu. I floated between beers (Singha, Chang, and Leo) and Mai Tai and Piña Colada cocktails. Chit behind the bar was excellent. After the free-flow session, happy hour kicked in where there was buy one, get one free. We were usually too hammered to kick on, though.
Ang Thong Marine Park cruise tour
Before we left, we had booked a Ang Thong Marine Park Discovery Day Cruise tour through Luxury Escapes for Tuesday. The weather looked promising, and we were looking forward to exploring past our beach area. However, the day before, we were dismayed when they informed us it was cancelled due to insufficient attendees. Luxury Escapes had no hesitation in providing a full refund.
Island tour
Rebounding from our canceled cruise, we hastily booked another tour. This was a Half Day Highlights Koh Samui Tour through Viator on Wednesday.
Wednesday, as it turned out, was the wettest day of our trip. It didn’t stop raining the whole day.
The highlights included:
Wat Plai Laem. A beautiful temple characterised by architecture that blends Buddhism and Chinese culture
Wat Phra Ya. The Big Buddha Temple is one of Koh Samui’s most iconic landmarks. Located on a small island connected to the mainland, it features a massive 12 metre tall golden Buddha statue that can be seen from miles away
Lad Koh View Point. View over Chaweng Bay and the coastline. This would have been much more spectacular on a clear day,
Hin Ta Hin Yai. Grandfather and Grandmother rocks. A large rock located on the coast of the sea, shaped like male and female genitalia. We could see the the granddad, but the grandmother was too slippery apparently. No comment.
Wat Khunaram. The mummified body of Loung Pordaeng is housed in a glass casket at Wat Khunaram in Koh Samui, passed away in 1973 and his body has remained remarkably preserved.
Na Muang Waterfall. Stunning waterfall features a cascade that flows into a natural pool. They say you can have a swim in the pool, but the recent rains made it very powerful and dangerous to get near.
Our guide, Yai was very lively and quick with his jokes. He also “conned” us into buying coconut caramel and coconut ice cream from the local vendors. Despite the rain it was thoroughly enjoyable and informative.
Cocktail class
The hotel had some free activities in anticipation of rainy days. These included a “Mixology Cocktail Class” and “Thai Culinary Class.” There were others, but Jane and I signed up for those two.
The cocktail class was run by our favorite barman, Chit. There were only Jane and I in the class. We got to choose a cocktail from the menu, and Chit showed us the recipe and how to make it. Jane chose the Piña Colada, and I chose the Mai Tai.
It was a bit of fun, and the results were delicious.
Cooking class
The next day was the Thai cooking class. Jane and I were join by Walter, a newly arrived German fellow. The dish of the day was Tom Yum Goong (hot and sour prawn soup). Walter opted for Tom Yum Gai (chicken) because he had a seafood allergy. We had the hotel chefs guiding us through it. Again the results was aroi mak mak!
We chatted to Walter and his wife Jutta later over cocktails. They were a lovely retired couple who were spending 5 weeks travelling around Asia. He gave me his details and invited us to visit him when we get to the south of Germany (around Munich or Stuttgart region).
Beach life
The rest of the holiday was spent hanging around the beach and exploring local bars and restaurants.
The last night we had dinner at the Lamai Night Markets. The eateries were all popular with tourists. A had a Massaman curry for 120 THB ($6 AUD) which was one of the best meals of the trip.
Thoughts on Koh Samui
This was my third trip to Thailand. Jane’s second. It was a welcome change to our normal relaxing Bali holidays. We should have done some research on the weather before we chose Koh Samui. It rained quite a lot. But reading the news, there was a lot of bad weather in other parts of Thailand, and indeed all over the world, including Australia. The weather didn’t ruin the trip however and we did have a great time.
Highlights were:
- Hotel staff were nice
- Cocktails were plentiful and delicious.
- Half day trip around the island was fun
- Not being at work
Comparison to Bali
As I said we were trying new destinations. So how does Koh Samui stack up against Bali?
Alan
| Koh Samui | Bali | |
| People | 3 | 4 |
| Food | 4 | 3 |
| Getting there | 4 | 5 |
| Things to do | 4 | 5 |
| General Vibe | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 18 | 21 |
Jane
| Koh Samui | Bali | |
| People | 4 | 4 |
| Food | 5 | 5 |
| Getting there | 5 | 4 |
| Things to do | 5 | 4 |
| General Vibe | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 23 | 20 |
Pretty close, but Bali just pips Koh Samui for me and the opposite for Jane. We’ll definitely be back to Thailand. Perhaps Krabi, Chang Mai or Phuket.
What’s next? Vietnam in February 2026!
JellyfishKing Travel 