Sunday 4/6/2008- Monday 4/7/2008
The three hour flight to Koh Samui (wahoo! Back to Thailand! …but we miss Erin and Michael….) was everything we had come to expect from Bangkok Airways. Just as our Australian travel agent told us, we landed at what is easily the coolest airport we have ever seen. It was like a “boutique” airport, unlike any airport either of us had ever seen. Everything looked like tiki huts and nothing seemed like it should be in an airport….it was all open air and all of the signs and structures were very natural-looking.
After clearing customs and picking up our bags, we met our British driver who brought us to our home for the night “The Waterfront on Bophut Beach.” The place was very nice and the owner Robin was great. He welcomed us with the drink of our choice and chatted with us for about 20 minutes. He seemed very genuinely interested in our travels, and we felt sad that we could only stay one night. The hotel had a great vibe that you can’t get a typical corporate resort. Robin recommended that we go out to dinner at a place called Starfish and Coffee, so off we went. The Thai food was very good and the atmosphere was great, right on the ocean. After dinner we headed back to the room and watched “Running with Scissors” while we updated the blog and took advantage of the quick Internet connection.
The morning came too soon, as we woke up around 9:00 a.m., showered and headed to our complimentary breakfast. We spent some time on the beach, took a quick dip in the pool and then headed out into town for an hour before our complimentary shuttle ride back to the incredibly beautiful airport.
We checked our bags through to the Maldives and then sat in the beautiful International Departures lounge while we waited to board our flight; in typical Bangkok Airways fashion…had free drinks, snacks and Internet. We flew to Bangkok, had a one hour layover and then were on our way to the Maldives.