Первые впечатления о Самуи First impressions of Koh Samui

First impressions of Koh Samui. In hot pursuit, so to speak.
Briefly about the flight. Emelyanovo is certainly something. Especially the ensign customs officer with "ruby" stars on shoulder straps! Strange as it may seem, he was interested in the “Itinerary receipt of an electronic ticket” and he carefully read it, comparing each passenger ! , full name in it and in the passport. Since this piece of paper is not a document, we never take it anywhere. What for? For this individual who just clearly has nothing to do and has narrowed down his functions to the level of an usher? So when it was our turn, he just tried to keep us out! As a result, we all were detained for about ten minutes, while this "customs officer" puffed out his cheeks. Then everything is like clockwork. Transaero. Takeoff on time. Everything is great. And the plane and the crew. Of course, the most important thing is that on time.
Upon arrival, we transfer to a Bangkok Airways flight to Koh Samui. So that we would not be accidentally "lost", we went to the representatives of Biblioglobus waiting for all passengers. We checked in and went to the Bangkok Airways check-in counters. There is one feature. There are no flight numbers on the counters. Therefore, registration goes immediately for all flights, regardless of destination and time. We checked in very quickly and went to the waiting room. Everything is expected here, sorry for the tautology. Tea, coffee, water, snacks and of course WiFi. A couple of hours of waiting and we are landing. The plane is full. No vacant tables. Native speech is also not audible. Travel time 45 minutes. Everything is like clockwork! The most interesting thing is that during these 45 minutes they also managed to feed, which we did not expect. Koh Samui airport is something. Charming! In short, it is without walls. True, we examined it in more detail upon departure. Upon arrival, baggage claim and exit. Meeting with a representative of Biblioglobus. Minibus and about 20 minutes drive to the hotel.

We chose the hotel before the trip for a very long time. Of course, according to reviews on different sites. As a result, we settled on Coral Cove Chalet. Three stars is a conscious choice, since we went to Koh Samui for the first time, but we have been to Thailand more than once. Just wanted to take a closer look for the first time. We don't think we were wrong. We deliberately took a bungalow, although this hotel also has two-story buildings with DELUXE ROOM rooms. But they are near the road and it can be noisy there. Maybe? We lived in HOLIDAY SUITE. Normal house on the beach. We had room 101. The house itself, of course, is simple, but everything that was necessary for life was in it and functioned properly. Normal bathroom with normal working plumbing. The room has a refrigerator, TV, sofa, large bed, bedside tables, armchairs, wardrobe. Private veranda with two sunbeds. Therefore, we almost did not lie on the sunbeds on the beach. They went up to “their” veranda and sunbathed there. The air conditioner was a bit of a problem. He is downright weak. In addition, all electrical appliances and air conditioning work only when a special key fob is inserted into a special slot at the front door. When you leave, you take the key and everything, including the air conditioner, turns off. Well, it's like most hotels. I had to cheat a little, and unhooking the keychain from the key, leave it in the nest. Thanks to this, the air conditioner worked constantly and then barely cooled the room.
Yes, I almost missed it. Free WiFi. Both in the room and on the beach. Fairly fast. So both news and communication with relatives.
The main advantage of the hotel is the sea. He has his own descents to the sea. True, he himself shored the sand, but the entrance to the water requires attention. It is rocky and the stones are covered with coral. It is necessary to enter very carefully and it is better to wear shoes. Beach beds with mattresses. Pool towels are unlimited. There are not many people, there are always free sunbeds. If you seep, drawing in your ass and stomach, between large stones on the shore, then after 25 meters to the left along the coast, Coral Cove beach (coral bay). Wonderful beach! Sand from fine to almost pebbly framed by huge stones. The entrance is very gentle and there is quite steep, so that the low tides do not cause problems. Kayak rentals on the beach. Wonderful thing! And what is very good, there are absolutely no scooters. They took a kayak and swam to neighboring beaches, for knowledge of the world. Close to more star hotels without access to the sea! And along the coast, as in Pattaya, you can’t go to the beach of another hotel precisely because of the terrain. Stones! This of course does not apply to Chaweng and Lamai beaches. There the sand is white, fine and walk as much as you want. There are no stones. Almost not. But more often it is shallow and at low tides you have to go beyond the sea. The water in Coral Cove is just a miracle! Transparent at least a couple of meters deep. Cleaner than the coastal strip. No bags, no plastic bottles, no leaves, no algae. Transparent!!! ! This is not Pattaya.
The hotel is located between Lamai and Chaweng. Near no life except neighboring hotels. Of course, it is not far from Lamai and Chaweng, but it definitely won’t work on foot. Only for extreme! Transport certainly goes, but it is quite expensive. This is not Pattaya for you, where for 20 baht you can drive 30 minutes of 20 kilometers. Here from Lamai (or to) a maximum of 2 km, but you will not be taken for less than 100 baht. So we rented a moped. Taken at the hotel. 200 baht per day. A little more expensive than "on the street", but no problems with copies of the passport and so on. Rode it for 11 days. We drove more than 500 km and spent only 340 baht on gasoline. Truly refueled at gas stations, and not from roadside bottles. It's half the price. By the way, when they handed over the bike (moped), no one even looked at it.

The meeting with the guide at the hotel did not work out. For technical reasons, he was late for the meeting, about which he warned us. Well, we were on the phone with him and agreed that "we do not interfere with each other. " We took a card to the reception, a moped and go! We traveled all over the island. All waterfalls. All viewing platforms. It is easier and more interesting to do it by yourself than in a group.
We ate dinner at the hotel only once, on the day of arrival. OK, but why? We love Thai food very much. Therefore, we ate in different Thai cafes, which we are very happy about.
Breakfast at the hotel is called “you won’t die of hunger”, but this is a triplet. Everything is good, fresh. Omelettes, fried eggs, bacon, sausages. Alternating spaghetti and rice. Salad. A very modest pastry. Yogurt, cereal. Four sorts of juice, milk, tea and coffee. Fruits - watermelon, pineapple, papaya, banana, lime. Normal and expected.
There is a swimming pool at the hotel, there are sun loungers and umbrellas around, but we never swam in it. The sea is so clean that the pool does not pull. In addition, from our room to the sea 15 meters, and to the pool 50 up very steep steps.
The rest on Koh Samui is different from Pattaya. It's more beachy. There is no most important entertainment called shopping. Thai shops do not count. Nightlife is also quite moderate (compared to Pattaya!!! ) and mostly in Chaweng.
At the end of the holiday - a minibus, a wonderful Samui airport, Bangkok Airways as if by a stopwatch. Meeting Biblioglobus and transfer to the hotel in Bangkok. In the morning transfer to the airport and Transaero all in minutes. Although if you could avoid the night in Bangkok it would be better. In my opinion. Is it possible in the morning from Koh Samui to Suvarnabhumi and immediately to the Transaero flight home?
Let's go back to Koh Samui.