Have I mentioned that my parents are the BEST? For their last trip to Thailand, they asked if there was anything we hadn't done yet that we really wanted to do. I said that everyone talks about how wonderful Koh Samui is, but the plane tickets cost twice as much as any other beach destination, so we haven't gone. They said, no worries, we're going to Koh Samui! I love them a lot.
We got up bright and early Thursday morning, headed to the airport, and took our first Bangkok Airways flight. It was nice that they included a bag per person, but they totally changed around the seats that we had picked, so we blocked the aisle for a while trying to figure out how to seat our group of seven (Young got to come too!). Luckily, it was a short flight.
The flight attendants gave the girls little sticker sheets with a background of the Samui airport to put them on. That's how we discovered that the airport has trolleys. Elena was thrilled about this, because Daniel Tiger has a trolley. There were also various anthropomorphized planes that she had fun making up stories about.
After the plane landed, it taxied to the parking area, and we could see a line of blue and white trolleys headed our way. Elena was so excited, and she was happy to get on one.
The airport is actually a series of open air huts, so while Jeff and Vivian went to get the luggage from the baggage claim hut, Elena ran around happily saying hello to her sticker planes brought to life.
We had arranged ahead of time for a driver to pick us up, and we found him easily. It was a short drive to the hotel, down the main street with lots of stores, restaurants, and tattoo parlors. We love Centara hotels, partially because the lobby is always nice. Jeff and the girls kicked back and relaxed, while my mom and I worked on the room arrangements.
They offered us an upgrade on one of the rooms, since we're good customers. It was a ground floor, pool suite. I figured my parents should take that, and they promised to let us try out the pool. The rooms weren't ready yet, but we had prepared for that, and kept our pool stuff easily accessible.
We went to change in the gym area, but first we had to survive the adventure walk from reception to the gym.
Elena managed the jump between stones like a champ. Then we all got settled in at the pool. We spent most of our time in this cool area that had plenty of palm tree shade. The girls really liked the fish that spewed water.
The next area of the pool had a basketball hoop, which we had fun with.
We also spent quite a bit of time at the swim up bar, which not only had alcoholic beverages for the adults, but also fruit smoothies and connect four for the kiddos.
By the afternoon of the first day, Elena was done with outside and was hanging with Young in the room.
Vivian had made some friends and was hanging out in the kids club, and the rest of us had found some great chairs with a water view to hang out and read.
It was fabulous. Occasionally we moved to the Coast restaurant they had right there on the beach. The food was good, and the view was great.
There was a Brazilian steakhouse, Zico's, a few minutes walk away that we wanted to try, but the first night they had a big group, so there was no indoor air conditioned seating. We made reservations for the next night, and headed back to Coast. Even in the dark it was lovely. I tried to get a picture.
If you're going to be a in a restaurant rut, this is a pretty nice view to have. The next night we went to Zico's. The food was good, but there was no view.
On the way to the bathroom, Vivian and I discovered where they were cooking the skewers of meat. It was quite an operation.
In between eating and lounging around, we got in some beach time. We went early in the morning, hoping to avoid the worst of the sun.
I had fun showing the girls how to write in the sand.
We were all impressed that the waves called Vivian by her nickname. It's hard to see in the picture, but the wave came in and broke right around her name to turn Vivian into Viv.
It was a beautiful beach.
My parents found a nice spot in the shade, and we went to sit with them. It was great for my mom, because people walk up and down the beach selling things, so she could shop from her lounge chair.
Mom and Dad even got a nap in.
It's good that they had time to rest, because their granddaughters require a lot of energy. The private pool ended up being a big hit.
The first day, Elena decided she was done with pools and asked for a bath. But when she saw how much fun everyone else was having, she reconsidered.
At that point, I had her floaty circle, but not her bathing suit, and it was a haul back to our room. I decided, well, what's the point of a private pool if you can't skinny dip? So, in she went.
The next day, we were better prepared.
It was great to have Young there for when Elena just wanted quiet time, but for the most part, Elena hung out with us. I think her favorite meal was pancakes for breakfast.
She was less impressed with lunch.
She complained that she couldn't see her screen. Jeff figured out that it was because it was so bright outside, so he came up with solution, which Vivian quickly took advantage of.
By that point, they had both gotten a lot of sun, so we figured a little shade break would be good for them. Plus, it freed up the adults to enjoy a nice meal.
It was so beautiful there. Since we were facing east, the sunrise was the more impressive than the sunset.
We were sad to go, but at least the airport provided some fun distractions.
We decided it was our favorite beach vacation, and we're so grateful to my parents for making it possible.
