Koh Samui, Thailand: Part 3

After a few nights in our previous resort (Samui Pier Beach Resort), it was time to head on over to our next hotel (B.R Sea, rebranding to Bangrak Beach Club this Saturday), which was only a five minute walk away. Marshall negotiated a screaming good deal for us! We got a bungalow right on the beach for $25 a night! How awesome is that? This place was recently converted into a resort and was really well done. It had a huge pool, bar/restaurant, with great music playing all day with a 'private beach' area. In fact, the DJ booth was actually attached to our beachfront bungalow. We literally had to walk through it to get inside our unit. All in all, this place was amazing. The only catch was that this hotel didn’t have a crib so this was the first time that Tyson had to sleep with us. But for that deal we thought it was well worth him rolling around and kicking us in the face a few times in his sleep. We grabbed as many days as they had left (4 days) before their ‘high season’ when the price would quadruple (from what we negotiated).

It was a hot day, so the first thing we did after getting the room was throw on our swimsuits and jump in pool. We saw the same kid that Tyson was playing with at the last hotel (remember the naked one). Turns out they live on the island and just hop around to different resorts and just use their amenities. Not sure how they get away with that, but Tyson was excited to play with him and his pool floaties.

The next day we decided to rent a car in the afternoon and explore the island. In Thailand the most random places rent out cars. There was a French Bakery across the street from our hotel that had a poster for rental cars on his wall. When Marshall went to ask him about renting a car the owner said that it was actually his personal car (it even had the name of his bakery written in the back window). We asked him about the car a bit more and then he demanded that he hold onto one of our passports (umm…no) or he'd needed an additional $1,000 upfront cash deposit (Ha!). We weren’t willing to do either one and thanked him anyway, and as Marshall walked away the guy told him that “maybe its best if you walk anyway, huh” (French accent and everything). That was a good laugh… we later found out that it’s actually illegal for them to hold our passport so glad we followed our common sense on that one.

We talked to the Assistant Manager at our hotel, Renee (Shout out to my Mom with the same name), to see if she could recommend a place to rent a car. She was fantastic and quickly found us a legit car company who would drop off the car that didn’t require a deposit or to hold our passport and was the lowest price we’d found yet. Renee also recommended a great lunch place called Gecko Bar for us to check out and mentioned she wouldn't mind going to say hi to her friends that own the place (and the entire mountain it sits on). Of course we were more than happy to have her join us and it was cool to meet locals and get her tips on what to do while we stay on Koh Samui. Renee is from New York (then moved to LA), so it was great chatting with someone from the States all around.

They drive on the left side of the road here and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. There was no way in heck I was going to drive on the wrong side of the road, especially with all the crazy mopeds on the road that swerve around you constantly, so Marshall did all the driving. We headed up to Gecko which is up in the hills and has an amazing view of the jungle and the ocean. After our delicious Thai lunch and great conversation we drove Renee back to our hotel to drop her off and then we got back on the road to explore the island.

We headed over to a cool spot that had some beautiful temples and a huge statue called Wat Plai Laem (Buddha with 18 arms and other iconic statues). They were all surrounded by a lake with a ton of fish and turtles swimming in it.  A guy standing on the dock was feeding them and we got there just in time for Tyson to watch about 50 massive catfish poking up to fight for the food, which he got a kick out of. We also enjoyed the coffee shop next to the lake that made a dang good cold blended drink.

We hopped back on the road and headed down the east side of the island past the most touristy spot called Chewang Beach. You should have seen the electric wires running through the main shopping area. There were like 30 cables all bunched together with some even dangling down with trees and branches intertwined. Not sure how that could be up to code…unless there is no code. Anywho, we continued driving towards the southern end of the island, but it was getting close to dinner and Tyson’s bed time so we decided to cut through the middle of the island and head back to the hotel.

We had the car for 24 hours so we were able to do more exploring the next morning. This time we wanted to make our way around the entire island. We headed the same direction we did the day before and drove straight to Chewang Beach to stop for a coffee. We got our mocha frappuccinos at a Starbucks since it was the touristy spot. We noticed that our gas was running pretty low so we were on the lookout for a gas station. As we were about to drive past one Marshall sees it out of the corner of his eye and slammed on the breaks making a huge squeal and leaving skid marks on the road (and almost in my pants). The workers standing outside the gas station were pointing and laughing at us. They probably thought we were crazy and I’m sure it didn’t help that we were entering through the exit. Ooops! We were all laughing the entire time they were filling up the tank.

We drove another 15 minutes down the road then stopped at a place called the Grandmother and Grandfather rocks. There are several rock formations along the water, one of which looks like a giant wiener and the other one looks like girl parts. They sure capitalized on these rocks and turned it into a spot where all the tour buses stop and there are plenty of street vendors next to it that sell snacks and souvenirs. We just snapped a few pics then hopped back on the road. We drove for a good 20 minutes through a jungle road and saw a small town with a decent sized outdoor market. We got out to stretch our legs and get some more water from the nearby store before heading into the market. Tyson got a sucker which he was infatuated with for the next 30 minutes. Of course, he was a sticky mess when he was done, but well worth it! There was mostly fish and meat at the market but they also had fruit and vegetables as well as other random stuff. We bought a papaya and the biggest mango we’ve ever seen. The fruit is almost always perfectly ripe when you buy it at these markets and they tasted delicious.

We continued driving until we arrived at Fisherman’s Wharf which is where the playground was that Tyson had played at a few nights before. This time it was the middle of the day so there were no kids and the toys were too blasted hot to play on. While we were in that area we decided to stop at a café for lunch. Marshall shared some beef lasagna with Tyson and I had a banana Nutella french toast. Yum! Tyson was having fun making friends with the servers by handing each of them his fan one by one so they could fan him off. Such a funny little guy.

We eventually made our way around the island and ended back at our hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around in the pool and playing in the room with Tyson. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant where we have eaten most of our meals while staying there. It’s hard to just go get whatever you want to eat. A lot of people rave about the street food and what not, but honestly it is more misses than hits in our experience. Don’t get me wrong, some of the best meals we’ve had were random places on the side of the road, but you really just don’t know until you commit to trying it and with a kiddo it’s a lot harder to be as adventurous with that type of thing. In Thailand, we’ve noticed some restaurants cook so much fish on their grills/pans that all the other dishes have a fishy taste as well. It’s a bit weird to be eating beef that has an overpowering stench of Flipper or Nemo.

Our last day at this hotel was pretty chill. We spent most of the day swimming in the pool and playing in the ocean on a blow up mattress we bought at the local mini mart. We ventured out to try to find some fruit to snack on but for some reason nobody sells fruit within walking distance. The only thing we could find is a banana at 7-11. By the way, there is a 7-11 literally every quarter mile here. You’ll be standing at one and can see the next one up the street, that’s how close they are. It’s like Starbucks in Seattle, one on every corner.

Later that afternoon a storm rolled in and everyone headed for cover. Well, except for Marshall. He ran outside and jumped into the ocean right as it started pouring rain while Tyson and I watched comfortably (dry) from our room. It’s funny the things you find to do to pass the time when you have this much free time on your hands. Random thought, but come to think of it, we didn’t even have a functioning T.V. in that room and didn’t even notice that we hadn’t turned on a T.V. in 4 days. It’s sad that we realized that and were surprised, but very happy for it and looking forward to taking some of these habits back home with us when we return.

Last night was definitely a great way to end our stay at this hotel. Renee joined us at our table that overlooked the ocean and we chatted for hours about our lives and experiences. She was filling us in on all the Thailand corruption as well as showing us shirtless pictures of all the younger men she’s dated recently. Haha! She was a really fun lady! Toward the end of the night a few locals lit a lantern down at the beach and let it fly up into the night sky. We said our farewells and thanked Renee for everything and hit the hay. Fun times.

Tomorrow we set off for a new hotel on the North side of the island where we’ll stay for another 4 days. Marshall’s 30th Birthday is on Sunday, so looking forward to that as well!!