suep1

First and foremost I want to thank all you generous Fodorites who were so patient and helpful with my numerous posts and questions. Your suggestions really made our trip! Anyway, here goes:

We took an early morning flight out of JFK on Cathay Pacific to Bangkok routing through Hong Kong. Early morning probably wasn’t the best choice since we weren’t sleepy for most of the uncomfortable flight. We flew economy, with the new “shell” seats and I can’t imagine that anyone finds them comfortable no matter what height or measurements. Yes, no one can recline into you, but on the other hand, the recline is so uncomfortable that would hardly be a problem in any case. Still, the in-flight entertainment was good and so was the food.

We arrived in Bangkok around 6pm and headed to the Best Western near the airport to sleep and then head out early the next morning for our flight to Koh Samui. The Best Western was a 15 minute taxi ride from the airport and appreciably cheaper than the Novotel. It was great. All new and modern, luxurious, lovely pool, large room with beautifully appointed bath. Highly recommended. We took their free shuttle to the airport in the morning.

After a lot of research, we had decided to stay at the Sala Samui in Choeng Mon. Our idea was to go someplace we could relax while we got over jet lag and I think that plan worked well. We were there for 4 nights. The Sala was our first real introduction to the “wai” which every employee we passed gracefully gave us, and the incredible hospitality of the vast majority of Thais we came into contract with (Tuk Tuk drivers excepted). We had also considered Tongsai Bay which was visible from the beach in front of the Sala but decided against because the Sala was less expensive and remote--really glad we made that decision because I think it would have been a bit claustrophobic--you really couldn’t go anywhere from Tongsai, while we had the beach with a bunch of restaurants, a whole lot of independent, open air massage choices and when I needed some aloe vera for the major sunburn I got snorkeling (how dumb is that?) we could easily walk to a pharmacy. I hate being a captive audience in an expensive hotel.

The Sala was gorgeous with excellent service and an incredible breakfast buffet with hot entrees included in our rate. Can’t say I cared so much for the open air bathroom--hot and a bit buggy--but overall a great hotel. We did a massage every day on the beach and especially liked the group in front of Honey Bar--really good and only 250 Bht an hour. We are complete converts to Thai massage. Can't imagine ever paying over $100 for a Swedish massage back in the US again.

We did a one day snorkeling trip to Koh Tau and the National Park which was great. Met people from Gibralter, South Africa, England and China--not many Americans around the whole trip, which was nice. The snorkeling was good; not exceptional, but quite worthwhile. One afternoon/evening we went to Chaweng which we didn’t care for: too many touts, too crowded, nothing worth buying. It took us forever to figure out how to get from the main street onto the beach--there were no through ways that weren’t through private property. We did eat at a really good restaurant there though: “7 Arcs”. I’ll also say that the beach is nicer at Chaweng, but a whole lot more crowded. In Choeng Mon, I’d recommend eating dinner at Honey Restaurant all the way at the end of the beach.

That’s the first leg of our trip-- on our 6th morning in Thailand we flew Bangkok Air (expensive, but not other option) to Chiang Mai via Bangkok....trip report coming.

Kathie

I'm so glad you had a good time - looking forward to more of your report.

rhkkmk

great start

Hanuman

Very happy to hear that you had a good trip! Keep the report coming...

shanek

Glad to hear that we have another Thai-lover. Isn't Choeng Mon fabulous. It is my favorite beach in Thailand. Far enough from the madness of Chaweng, but also close enough!