but I’m trying hard to remember what happened that Friday in Bohphut Beach. As I recall, I chilled at the apartment for quite awhile that morning. The microwave was set up higher than my height, so I had to stand on a chair to warm up my mini croissant thing-a-ma-jigs! My plan was to hang at the apartment a little longer than usual during the day since I expected to be out a little later than usual, due to the Night Market.
When I finally made it to Fisherman’s Village, my first stop was at Starfish & Coffee, a huge restaurant with a rather East Indian-themed décor. There was plenty of seating inside, outside upstairs and outside on the beach. I decided to sit outside upstairs. Though it was hot and humid, the thought of returning to cold, gray San Francisco made me soak up all of the sun possible, no matter the heat. The owner of the restaurant was French. He asked where I was from, then said that he’d been to California and liked San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. He’d also been to Las Vegas, but wasn’t as crazy about it. I ordered some stir fried chicken with ginger and mushrooms, as well as some watermelon juice. When he brought it to me, he commented that he liked my scent. What’s funny is that it was a hodge podge of different body wash, lotion and perfume – none of which matched! Although I’d asked for the stir fried chicken with ginger and mushrooms to be spicy, there was no discernible spice at all. It was still quite good, though. I wandered through Fisherman’s Village the remainder of the afternoon, taking pictures here and there. I tried, once again, to find Namcha Samui, to no avail. I didn’t have a very specific map of Fisherman’s Village and no one seemed to be familiar with the name of the tea salon. When rain seemed imminent, I parked myself in Karma Sutra again to wait it out (just in case) and to take advantage of the free internet. I drank, ate something (don’t recall what) and watched as many, many food carts and other vendors began driving into the village to set up. Light rain did come down off and on for about an hour or so, then it seemed to be over. To waste more time until the start of the Night Market at 5:30 p.m., I headed over to an outdoor beach bar at a hotel called Baan Bophut. Nothing much going on there; nice environment, friendly bartenders, chill music. After about an hour there, all of the vendors and food carts were out in force. I made a quick run-through before even considering actually purchasing something. There was plenty of cheap food and drinks to be had, but I’d already filled up while waiting for it to begin! The ambience was nice; plenty of local Thai families were there. Surprisingly, several vendors were selling cosmetics by Urban Decay. Their “Naked” sets are always in high demand and generally cost in the vicinity of $50 at a regular retail store. I set my heart on Naked2 and began the bargaining process. My final price ended up being about US$15, which was probably still too high, but I was happy with it. My only other purchase was a Thai marionette that cost about US$17, without bargaining. The one at Mr. C had been about US$25, so this was a better deal. My regret is not buying a pair of cute cotton shorts with elephants on them. Since I had no idea how much I’d want to buy in Bangkok, but KNOW that I always buy a fair amount in Bali, it was best to keep my shopping to a minimum, lest my luggage already was overweight. I also picked up some chicken and veggie egg rolls for about US$2.00. Unfortunately, by the time I made it back to the apartment, they were slightly soggy. Besides, they didn’t have lots of flavor.
Forgive me, but I’m gonna’ kinda’ skip over my last two days in Bophut Beach – Saturday and Sunday. I ate, drank, took pictures, bought a couple of dresses and got spa treatments. I tried to get tickets on-line to a Muay Thai match, but, once I’d filled out all of the info, they said that they didn’t pick up in that area and promptly refunded my money! They could have suggested a hotel relatively close to me that they picked up at and I would happily have gone over there, but… whatever.
My experience in Koh Samui was that it was low season, so no major excitement. The party beach is Chaweng Beach, but I wasn’t there to party, so opted for Bophut Beach. Bophut Beach is pleasant and Fisherman’s Village is nice enough, yet the sand at the beach is a little coarse and there really wasn’t much to take pictures of. I’m sure there would have been more photo ops, had I gone around the Island, but I was too relaxed and wanted to stay put. The French expat influence was definitely to my liking, spas and restaurants were reasonable and people were nice, but the shopping didn’t interest me much. Would I go back? Yes, particularly to stay in the same apartment!
I was up early on Monday morning packing, emptying trash and cleaning out the refrigerator. K. was nice enough to offer to take me to the airport. She wished me well in Bangkok and throughout the rest of the trip. My favorite analyst had told me that the Koh Samui airport was beautiful. I hadn’t seen much of it at all upon arrival. The departure was a different story, though. The airport was beautifully landscaped with lots of cute boutique-y shops, perfectly manicured areas and lotus ponds. Fortunately for me, it was too early for any of the shops to be open. As they had done at Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Airways had complimentary snacks and drinks in their area. I got some nibbles and something to drink, then settled back to relax and enjoy the nice airport. Then I noticed some creeper taking photos of me with his camera phone. After 2 (or 3), I decided to move somewhere out of his view. Everything went well from that point on. The flight departed on time and it was comfortable.
Next up, a glimpse of Bangkok.
Bophut Beach
Beef Penang from Le Cabanon
Lotus at the Koh Samui Airport
Inside the Koh Samui Airport