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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

Thailand: Ko Samui

Ko Samui beach scene
Underneath the thick veneer of tourism, Ko Samui is a very beautiful island

Sunday saw us scrabbling to get to Ko Samui in time to find a room for Christmas. The journey was long and hot, but by early evening Charlie and I were ensconced in a beach bungalow on Samui's east coast, within earshot of the beach, and just a five-minute walk from the bustling tourist Mecca of Lamai. Ah, Christmas in paradise. Again.

Charlie relaxing on Lamai Beach
Charlie relaxing on Lamai Beach
Piles of plastic bottles
Ko Samui has a problem coping with all the detritus of tourism, especially when it comes to plastic water bottles

Christmas in the Sun

Mark posing in the sun
Mmm, what a beautiful sight... and the view of Chaweng Beach ain't bad either

Christmas itself went with a bang. Abandoning myself to the vices early on Christmas Eve, I managed to get startlingly drunk as the evening progressed, dancing my legs down to the knees at the main nightclub while drinking 60 baht (80p) piña coladas. I eventually staggered home at 4.30am while the party continued on without me.

Fishing boats at Na Thon
Fishing boats at the port of Na Thon
A distant view of Chaweng Beach
Looking towards Chaweng Beach

1 The Thai calendar is based on Buddha, not Christ, so they're 543 years ahead of the West. Presumably they won't be celebrating the end of the millennium in 2543...

2 Chillies get me incredibly high. I am not alone in this, as people get addicted to curries for this very reason, but give me a few dangerously hot chillies, and I'll float off to the sky for a couple of minutes. So Thailand, with its pot of serious chillies on every restaurant table, was considerably entertaining at meal times. At least, I think it was...