We spent this day at the resort. It was great to be able to just relax. We walked down to Jin's for lunch (for the fourth and final time of the week) and lounged around the beach and pool. A storm blew in late in the day, which was perfect timing and happened during our massage on the beach. In the early evening we walked a short distance up the road to the W Hotel. They have an outside lounge that overlooks the Gulf. We went early in the evening so were able to get a seat in their sunken couches.
After this we headed back to Maenam Beach for their street market. Although it is not as large as Fisherman's Village it was a good size. We had a few pre-dinner snacks and then finished the evening with dinner on the beach.
Day 11:
One day 9 we headed back to our favorite beach, Lamai. We called a taxi driver from a previous night and he drove us there, waited on us all day, and then drove us home. (He also drove us to the airport and was SO sweet!). We went back to the Black Pearl and got a small breakfast and a latte and were greeted by the sweet owner, who again offered us a place on the beach in front of his place.
We spent our final night in Koh Samui back at Fisherman's Village for the street market. Since this is only on Friday nights and since we were delirious the first time we went this was was much more enjoyable. We ate dinner by eating various street food, which was an excellent choice. We bartered, bargained and shopped. I wanted this night to go on forever...but it had to come an end...and luckily it ended with a songthaw (or tuk tuk) home - see the photo below. This was my favorite way to travel, as it was cheap and felt more local than just grabbing taxi.
Day 12-13:
We spent our last few early morning hours eating breakfast on the beach and sitting and taking in the gorgeous views.
We left Koh Samui early Sunday afternoon and arrived home Monday morning (our time). The trip was a few hours shorter on the way home but was still quite the trek. Unfortunately the Koh Samui airport is open-air so we started our long journey home by sweating while we waited on our flight. Fortunately however, we were lucky enough to have the only empty seat on the flight beside us on our longest flight home...giving us some extra comfort the 14 hour flight!
This was by the far the most amazing experience we have had thus far. I adore everything about Thailand. I love the culture. The people are amazing, so sweet, so kind, so friendly, and so eager to welcome visitors. The food was more than I could have expected. The views are something I will never forget and pictures will never do justice to. It was a perfect combination of relaxation (during our trip I got 5 massages and one pedicure!), adventure and sight-seeing. I cannot recommend Koh Samui enough and we can only hope that one day we will return.
