Thailand | Koh Samui

Everyone RAVES about Thailand – the cuisine, the scenery, the people and the culture so different from America’s. I now understand why: it’s undeniably beautiful, and not just in a Western sense. Beauty at home typically means clean, simple and organized. Beauty in Thailand and the rest of Indochina is more difficult to define. It is a temple 1,000 years old tucked in a dirty alleyway, an elderly woman trying to sell her millionth young coconut from her rickety street cart or a trickling waterfall tucked in a dense, unpretentious forest. Beauty here is also a $.50 refreshing local beer accompanied by cheap pork satay!
We got our fix of Thailand on the gorgeous, resort-filled island, Samui, off the East coast of the mainland. Our stay was tranquil with much needed downtime between urban Singapore and our packed Cambodian itinerary. With all rooms at the Hansar Samui facing the infinity pool and ocean, we constantly felt that the water and the sun were calling our names… so we gave in quite a bit. Hey, its vacation after all, right? We did, however, get up from our pool chairs every once in a while to experience Ko Samui, Thailand’s third largest island.
A few highlights from our stay:

1. Sipping cocktails at sunset at Coco Tam’s just a short walk from our hotel – a bar with swings, giant bean bags and live music. Need I say more?
2. Learning about the Thai Buddhist culture through a local named Keng. Keng took us to the Wat Phrai Yai, Big Buddha, Wat Plai Lem and several others Buddhist temples (wats)
3. Trekking on a male elephant named Jambo through the inner jungle and past a waterfall
4. Pretending like we’re back in college and partying in Chaweng at Ark Bar
5. Eating chicken curry pie with fresh mango and mint and duck dumplings at a hole in the wall called Café 69. While the ambiance is mediocre, the food delivered by Chef Vivian is outstanding
6. Waking up to the view outside our patio door and thanking God for keeping us safe and giving us the ability and resources to see the world!