Our first couple of nights here were spent in Bophut, which is better known as the Fishermans Village.
This area is beautiful yet simple.
The beach is wonderfully quiet, and as we arrived just before the wet season, most of the hotels that are joined onto this beach were pretty much empty! Result!
The only down side to this area is, from what we found, there weren't many restaurants...well, that were open anyway. This meant we had to eat at our hotel. Now this wasn't a problem as the food was lovely, but still, we wanted a little variation when it came to dinner.
To top it off you can see the Big Gold Buddha sitting proudly on the rocks over the other side of the island which is really worth seeing around sunset.
After being pretty secluded for a couple of days we decided to move to Chaweng. Due to check in times being around 2pm we thought we would see the big Buddha up close.
We didn't feel up to the challenge of the stairs with our rucksacks but it was definitely worth a visit. There is also a selection of shops around here, some very different to what you normally see around attraction areas. Keep an eye out for alien and predator.
After this brief checkpoint and a couple of Changs to past the time we headed to our new accommodation.
We stayed at a hostel called Behind the Scene.
We were fortunate enough to get a room on the top floor which, much to Suze's excitement, came with a huge bathtub! That's right a bathtub in a hostel! We realise some of you might be thinking ewww, but we were in a private room, so no shared bath tub.
The only downside is the noise. You are directly on the party strip and this hostel is next door to the famous Cabaret Club and a Muay Thai boxing arena. Don't be surprised if you hear 'Let's get ready to Rumble' every now and then.
Even on the top floor it's very much a headphones in, pillow over the head situation, but for the price, the location and the cleanliness of this place it's worth the extra noise.
There is a tasty coffee shop on the other side called the Coffee Club. They do amazing experimental coffee drinks hot and cold with loads of different flavours. The food here is also of a really high standard in price and portion. We recommend the Prawn Won Ton Soup and Classic Coffee Club Sandwich.
Hopefully if you pop in you'll get the waiter called 'Friend', he's lovely, helpful and made our several visits here awesome. They also have an amazing breakfast menu! So if you are recovering from a night out be sure to go try it.
Being on the strip is fantastic if you are up for the party lifestyle. This area is full of bars, good music and restaurants. However if you are looking for a slightly more chilled out vibe but still with a party twist head towards the beach. There are lots of little cut throughs so it's easy to find.
We loved this side. Chilled beach bars with pillows and beanbag chairs playing awesome music with great entertainment.
LipSmackers was a personal favourite of ours before the night life fully kicked in!
On the beach you see all the talented thrill seeking fire dancers. They look awesome but for goodness sake be careful! We don't want any burns now do we?!
If you are like us and love a party but sometimes you just want to explore we would recommend getting a moped.
Mopeds here are around 150-250THB per day. This is pretty standard, so if the sales guy pushes you to pay more either use those haggling skills or just go else where.
Also ordering a moped through a hotel will be more expensive, so might be worth looking independently unless you've got the extra cash for the convenience.
Now for that price it won't be the greatest bike in the world but it's far cheaper and gives you a sense of freedom compared to the extortionate taxi prices. Just be careful and wear those helmets!
We decided to take a tour of the island as we had the moped.
It's a very simple place to drive around and almost impossible to get lost.
Have somewhere in mind when you are heading out, but just remember if something catches your eye on route it's definitely worth pulling over and checking it out.
We saw a beautiful temple very different from the others we have seen in the past which was called Wat Sila Ngu. So we recommend taking a look around here.
Our aim was to reach the secret Buddha garden which turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip here, however we didn't realise that you have to ascend to the peak of a mountain to gain access to it.
So having two of us on a little moped with what looked like bicycle wheels wasn't the quickest of journeys, but we made it.
After walking down a flight of stone steps you are suddenly transported into this magical overgrown garden.
The gardens are a creation of an old Samui fruit farmer, Nim Thongsuk, who in 1976 began carving several statues and temples around his family's land.
A waterfall runs right the way through which is surrounded by incredible stone carvings, some are hidden and others are in a spectacular display.
Nim continued to work developing his garden until his death at the age of 91.
The entrance fee is only 80THB per person so it's well worth hunting this place out.
It's truly extraordinary and breathtaking here.
On our route back to the hostel we saw this awesome reggae bar called Moon Stone.
We had an extremely warm welcome from the owner who was covered head to toe in tattoos. We took a seat, which our bums desperately needed after a long period of time on the moped, and instantly felt at home with the sounds of reggae playing.
Offering reasonably priced food and drinks in such a cool layout you can't really go wrong.
We should have guessed from the intricate detail of the owners tattoos that this place also doubled up as a tattoo shop. We politely declined this offer but seeing the detail and skill that had gone into his work if you are in the market for one, maybe check MoonStone out.
As awesome as this place was, what really topped it off for us were their pets.
A scruffy little brown puppy with a blonde tuft and a Great British Bulldog called Bob Marley!
They were so cute that we couldn't help but love them. Bob in particular was a right little host. Anyone that came in he felt the need to go up and greet in a friendly manner by rolling over onto his back to get a tummy rub. They are two very well trained, very loving animals and to be honest we have seen so many dog whilst in Thailand, but never a Bulldog!
Koh Samui is beautiful and it's the first beach we've seen in a long time, and it didn't disappoint.
Top Tips
▪️ Shop around when it comes to hostels! Some are right hidden gems others......well are inhabitable! So be reading those reviews, checking places out and find the right deals. www.agoda.com have saved us lots of money and haven't let us down yet!
▪️The strip was very much like Khao San road. Markets trying to sell you all sorts of bits and bobs that you have no need for. There's no way to avoid them, so you can either ignore them, or be stern and firmly say No! They'll start to get the hint.
▪️Get some photocopies of your passport. Do NOT leave your passport with a rental company!!
Always leave a deposit rather than a legal document as it's illegal for them to hold this.
▪️For more pictures and updates on where we are in the World check out both our Instagrams @beardyandsuze and @suzeandthebeard
If you have any questions feel free to comment below on the blog, on our Instagrams or drop us an email at suzeandthebeard@gmail.com
We will do our best to answer all of them for you guys.
I love reading your blog! Its breath-taking the places that you've been too and are seeing. What an adventure you're going on, really something to remember for the rest of your lives! I adore that you are also showing the side of the caring pet owner, you hear so much about the cruelty and horrors that are in and around Thailand its really great to hear the positive stories of much loved pets! Safe travels and can't wait for the next blog post! x
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