Ban Lamai, Koh Samui

We are now sitting on the airplane back to Chiang Mai, after taking the ferry and bus from Koh Samui to Surat Thani. 

Overall our stay at our friend's house in Ban Lamai, Koh Samui was relaxing and grounding, aside from both of us getting food poisoning. For me it only lasted a day, but for Zen it lingered longer. After that we were more cautious about where we chose to eat and made sure it was organic and sanitary. 

The city was pretty ugly and noisy, but there were quite a few health conscious restaurants, our favorites being Vikasa (more expensive), Pure Vegan Heaven (the best ever!!!), the Secret Brunch, Tamarind's Spa and Sweet Sisters Café.

We got around by scooter because using the Grab app is more expensive in Koh Samui.

The closest beach was by New Hut Bungalows (really cheap by the way, only $12/night if you are looking for a simple and affordable place to stay), but the water was too shallow. The nicest beach was Silver Beach, but we kept getting bit by some sort of tiny invisible bugs in the water. We have no idea what they were. We felt the bites but they did not leave a mark.

They had a few night markets right down the street, walking distance. One thing to keep in mind is that most places in Thailand do not accept credit cards, so it is important to carry some cash with you at all times.

Koh Samui is like one big European melting pot. Everywhere you go you hear a bunch of different languages. It also means you smell a lot of cigarette smoke when eating out or at the beach.

One example of Thai people being super hospitable is when we took a shuttle that was full and everyone made space, even if it meant sitting in someone's lap. That would never happen in Western culture. Another example is when I ordered some food at a restaurant and the waitress noticed I was picking the onions off, and she offered to take it back to the kitchen so they could pick them off for me. Now that's quality customer service!