Flying to Koh Samui

On the morning of our first day of the southern tour, we caught a flight down to Koh Samui. We flew Bangkok Airways. One could already feel the effects of island time take over as our flight didn't even bother boarding passengers until after our departure time. No explanation, no difficulties, no big deal. The flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui was just over an hour, but it served breakfast. One of the lovely perks on flying a boutique airline.

We landed in a valley on a single runway that looked like it was barely longer than a football field. On Koh Samui, I experienced my first all outdoor airport. luggage conveyor belt? Outside. Waiting areas? Outside. But it was gorgeous.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we discovered that this was going to be the "budget" part of the trip. The hotel rooms were rough. I found it disturbing, but also slightly innovative that the shower was the entire bathroom. Just a shower and tiled floor with a drain in the middle and a toilet and sink thrown in. At least I didn't have to worry about getting the floor wet when getting out of the shower. I figure they just expected us to spend most of our time on the beach anyway. There were steps down from the outdoor restaurant to the beach just outside the rooms. This was my first encounter with the famous Thailand beaches and it did not disappoint.

For the following two mornings I sat looking over the water while eating my breakfast.

I also had some companions looking for handouts...

That night I got to experience the legendary Thai and more specifically, island night life.

Pick you poison (NSFW):

Crickets:
It was weird how many bars were exclusively for Australian, Irish, or English people. It was a like "It's a Small World" but made of bars and drunk college kids. Like a grandma, I left around 1am when the cabs were still cheap. It doesn't seem like there is a last call in Thailand, the rest of the group got back around 5:30am.