Category Archives: Koh Samui

We pack up our things and move out of our little bungalow at Moonhut. We had grown rather fond of our little hut and are rather sad to have to leave. We are also far from confident that we will find anything that offers such good value, having already trawled a few of the cheaper bungalow complexes in the village. There is a rather smart looking bungalow complex in the village and we decide to have a look, more out of curiousity than any real expectation that they will have anything within our budget. Set in neat tropical gardens with a swimming pool, direct access to the beach, the bungalows are arranged along a fresh water channel and offer a range of accommodation, but all have hot water and their own veranda and are rather stylishly decorated with platform beds and part enclosed bathrooms with overhanging thatched roofs. All very tropical. There is bar and restaurant as well as a massage hut and breakfast and wifi is included. Seems perfect, so we snap up the last available fan bungalow overlooking a rather murky river in a private corner of the complex. The resort even provide a car to take us back to Moonhut to pick up our luggage. Weather is showing no signs of improvement though. Continue reading →

The weather is still disappointing – monsoon winds and grey skies. We spend some time exploring more of Mae Nam and in particular the old village which takes in the few streets that run between the main road and the beach. Here there are a some shops, internet cafes, travel agents, bars, restaurants and a brightly decorated Chinese temple with the usual dragons scaling the supporting pillars – but hardly any people. We take a stroll along the windswept beach dodging the surf and checking out the beach front accommodation. There are some very upmarket resorts built out onto the beach as well as the occasional cluster of beach ‘huts’. We check out a few of the latter, but none are as well positioned or as picturesque as Moonhut. One just down the beach from us has been severely battered by the storms leaving a couple of the huts looking a bit precarious perched on a thin strip of land between the sea and the rising river waters behind. We decide to stay put at Moonhut until the weekend and then, if the weather has improved, we may go to the island of Pha Ngan which is a 30 minute ferry journey to the north of Koh Samui. Apparently, on a clear day it is possible to see it from Mae Nam (unfortunately we can’t verify that!). However our plans are thwarted as when we return to book a further three nights we find that Moonhut is fully booked tomorrow. Oh dear, looks as though we prevaricated too long and will be moving sooner than we thought, but to where…. Continue reading →

Weather is much the same as yesterday. High tides during the day (it’s full moon) and the strong waves means that the the length of Mae Nam beach is impassable. We hire a jeep and spend the day touring the island ostensibly to see if we can find a beach bungalow in a less commercialised spot that offers the possibility of some good snorkelling. Hot water would also be a plus! We’re also curious to see the rest the island. Samui isn’t a large island and it’s possible to drive round the ring road in just over an hour, but after a late start it takes us the remainder of the day to circumnavigate.

We follow the coast road which in the north-east and south-west diverges from the main ring road stopping off here and there along the way. Most of the coastal strip from Mae Nam, through Bo Phut and Big Buddha beaches and along the east coast through Chaweng and Lamai are heavily commercialised with bars, restaurants, shops (including the ubiquitous 7Eleven and even a couple of Tesco Lotus Locals) line either side of the main road and we don’t linger. Resorts and bungalow complexes crowd onto the beaches which are undeniably beautiful in spite of all the development. The south and south-west of the island is, in contrast, almost untouched, although even here signs of development is emerging.

We are singularly unsuccessful in finding anything remotely better than Moonhut. Either the beaches are too commercialised and built up or are almost deserted with nowhere to stay. There is also a dearth of budget beach-front accommodation that offers hot water. Even at Moonhut bungalows with hot water are two-and-an-half times more expensive than those without. We book another night while we contemplate our next move.

In the evening we go for a stroll along the main road through Mae Nam. The place is deserted with most of the bars and restaurants empty. Where is everyone? We conclude that they must all be in their beach resorts, but even a walk on the beach doesn’t deliver a happening scene as the wind buffets the empty beach bars.

Andy’s glasses have been falling apart ever since we left England; first he lost the screw from the arm and was walking around for months with them held together with electrical tape. Recently he lost one arm altogether and has been wearing them on the squiff ever since. Spotting an opticians we pop in to see if anything can be done to salvage them. They can’t be repaired but the three members of staff couldn’t be more helpful and set about hunting down a new pair of frames that will take Andy’s current lenses. Within twenty minutes we are walking out of the door with the old lenses cut to fit new frames all for 900 Baht (£18)! Now that just wouldn’t happen at home!

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The train is an hour late in arriving at Surat Thani station, but nevertheless our transfer to the waiting coach is smooth and painless and we are soon on our way to the ferry port at Don Sak. Surat Thani is on the east coast of southern Thailand and is the nearest train station to the ferry port for Koh Samui. It takes about an hour’s drive to get to Don Sak, but despite the train’s late arrival we are in plenty of time to get the 10 am crossing. The crossing is rather choppy and the old ferry creaks as the bows occasionally crash across the waves. We arrive in Koh Samui to a cool, grey and windy morning. Where are the hot, sunny days we have been following in the weather reports? After a bit of haggling with the metered taxi drivers (who apparently routinely refuse to turn on their meters) we agree a fare of 300 Baht for the 15-minute journey to Moonhut Bungalows on Mae Nam beach.

We found Moonhut Bungalows on the internet after some extensive trawling for reasonably-priced accommodation and have booked only a couple of nights initially in case we don’t like it. The bungalows turn out to be set well away from the busy ring road that runs around the island and right on the beach. There is a beach bar and restaurant and the bungalows are well-spaced around a central sandy area. Our bungalow is petite but can hardly be described as bijoux, it doesn’t have hot water or a sea view – but it is set in a tropical garden amongst shady palms on the edge of the beach with its own veranda – and it suits our modest budget! We would, of course, prefer to have hot water and the plan is to look for something a bit better appointed and slightly more off the beaten track. But for the time-being this will suit us fine.

The weather is rather disappointing. It is quite warm but overcast and very windy on the beach. The sea is grey and rough and waves are pounding right up the beach, breaking against the veranda of one of the sea view bungalows. Apparently this bay is supposed to be calm and tranquil with a uninterrupted 2km beach, but because it is full moon the tide is so high when we arrive that it isn’t possible to walk along it and any thoughts of swimming have to be shelved for the time-being. Hopefully this is just a blip in the weather and normal service will be resumed shortly!

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