Off to the next island

From Koh Tao I continued my journey to the next island, Koh Samui. After I was dropped off at the pier by the taxi, I first had to pick up my ticket and then wait another hour for the ferry to arrive. It was extremely crowded at the pier and you could hear German voices everywhere. Even though it’s low season, I think there’s a lot going on sometimes. I don’t even want to imagine what it’s like during the high season.

When the ferry came and we were all allowed to get on the ferry, it was pretty full. The ferry I had taken to Koh Tao a few days earlier was less crowded. But this was probably because I took the ferry very early in the morning.

The ferry left with a delay of 20 minutes. First we made a stop on Koh Phan-gan, where some people got off. After 1.5 hours we arrived in Koh Samui. I had already booked a shuttle bus on the ferry for 150 Bath that would take me to the hostel. Luckily it wasn’t difficult to find it on the pier.

The drive across the island to my accommodation took another 30 minutes. What immediately struck me was that Koh Samui was much bigger than Koh Tao. Koh Samui didn’t seem like an island, but more like a small town. There were shops, large supermarkets and heavy traffic everywhere.

A Hostel room with a view

When I was dropped off at my hostel, it was almost dark. When I got out of the van I could just see that the sky had turned into a beautiful pink.

I was warmly welcomed at the hostel with a welcome drink and was then able to check in. I had a six-bed room with a large window that faced directly to the sea. So in the morning I would wake up right on the beach with a view of the sea. I think this was one of the best hostel rooms I’ve ever stayed in.

The hostel I was in and the area the hostel was in was pretty quiet. There were hardly any restaurants or anything else. So I bought my dinner at 7/11.

Exploring the island

The next morning it was a little cloudy when I woke up, but a few rays of sunshine came through. I then got ready first and finally borrowed a scooter. The hostel owner took me and another girl to the scooter rental on his scooter. After I got my scooter, I headed to my first stop, Lamai Beach. But first I went to 7/11 and bought something for breakfast there. I sat on the beach and had breakfast there.

Since it was cloudy, it didn’t matter to me whether I sat in the shade or the sun. But when the sun finally came out, it got pretty warm on the beach. The beach wasn’t really that special. Because it was cloudy, the water didn’t sparkle turquoise blue. So after my breakfast I drove on. I had to go back to the hostel because I forgot to pack clothes that would cover my knees and shoulders. My next stop was supposed to be the Big Buddha Temple.

Before I went to the Big Buddha, I went to Chaweng Beach. But since I couldn’t find a path that led to the beach, I quickly gave up the search and continued on to the Big Buddha. The Big Buddha was ultimately just a large Buddha statue that wasn’t that special. In the last few weeks I had seen much more spectacular temples.

Rainy days in paradise

From the Big Buddha I wanted to continue to the Maenam Viewpoint, which is on the beach. On the way there it started to rain. At first I didn’t let the rain bother me and continued driving. When I was on the way to the viewpoint and turned off the main road, I even saw a snake again. At the end of the street the road ended in the middle of nothing and there was no way to get to the viewpoint beyond. Next I actually planned to go to Namuang Waterfall. In the meantime the rain was bothering me a bit. So I decided to go back to the hostel first. Since it wasn’t far from the hostel to the waterfall, I was able to go there in the afternoon.

When I had driven through the rain for half an hour and had just arrived at the hostel, it suddenly stopped raining. The sun came through a little bit again. So I decided not to stay in the hostel at all but to drive straight on to Namuang Waterfall.

When I got there I had to pay 20 Bath parking fees. I could also see elephants behind a fence. But since these elephants were caged and carrying seats for tourists on their backs, it was absolutely not the same and totally unspectacular to see the elephants.

First I went to the waterfall. The waterfall wasn’t as beautiful now compared to other waterfalls I had seen in the last few weeks. I climbed around there a bit, took a few photos and that was about it. The waterfall was also not suitable for swimming because the water was brown and muddy.

The problem with animal Tourism

On the way back to my scooter I walked past the elephants. For an overpriced price, you could buy them bananas to feed them. Of course I didn’t do that. I absolutely do not support this type of animal cruelty. What I found worst was that the elephants were chained by their feet and could only move forward a maximum of one meter. Otherwise they could only stand in place. With many of the elephants you could tell from their behavior that they weren’t doing well.

I absolutely don’t understand why tourists pay money to feed or ride the elephants. It is in no way natural and involves so much suffering. I found the snake that I had seen the previous afternoon more exciting. Since I couldn’t look at the sad elephants any longer, I drove on.

Views from an overpriced viewpoint

My next stop was the Overlap Stone. This is a viewpoint that wasn’t far from the hostel. The path up there was pretty steep again. When I got to the top, I had a nice view over the sea, but I actually liked the viewpoints on Koh Tao a little better. When I had to pay 200 Bath to be able to walk 50 meters further to the Overlap Stone, I decided that it wasn’t worth the money and turned around again and rode my scooter back down the steep mountain.

It was already late afternoon, so I spent the rest of the afternoon in the hostel. At half past five I set off again to buy food for dinner later and to fill up the scooter and bring it back. At the hostel I later booked a tour for the next day to Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park. I had only heard about this national park a few days before. The pictures looked pretty good, which made me really want to see the national park.

When the weather is nice, the national park is of course much more beautiful because of the turquoise blue water. I didn’t know if it would be really nice the next day, so I just booked the tour and hoped it would be good.

On the way to the Mu Ko Ang Thong Nationalpark

When I woke up the next morning at 6.30 am., the first thing I did was to check what the weather was like outside. Like the day before, it was a bit cloudy, but there were also a few rays of sunshine. I then got ready and was there on time when I was picked up by the mini van at 7.30 am.

First we picked up a few other people and then we were let out at Nathon Pier. There everyone had to pay another fee of 300 Bath for the national park. After I paid, I was allowed to board the ferry. The ferry was quite large. Coffee, tea, muffins, cereal and fruit were served on board.

From Nathon Pier in Koh Samui we then drove 1.5 hours across the blue water towards the national park. I usually don’t like booking tours. However, the only way to visit the national park is with a tour. Plus, after all these weeks, it was relaxing not to have to plan or organize anything but just follow the crowd. One disadvantage, however, is that these tours are mostly booked by couples and especially older people. Finding other backpackers my age is a little more difficult.

Hiking in the heat

After about an hour we could already see the many different rocks of the national park in the water. We then drove past these for another half hour and finally stopped at our first stop on Koh Wua Ta Lap Island. We all had to take our safety vests and were then taken to the beach in a small boat. The water around us was beautifully blue and the sun was shining from behind the clouds.

We now had 2.5 hours on the island. We could either relax on the beach or go up to a viewpoint. The nice thing about this tour was that you had the flexibility to decide what you wanted to do and didn’t have to stay in a group the whole time. Like many others, I decided to walk up to the viewpoint, which was 500 meters high.

I was also glad that we didn’t have to stay in a group, as there were a lot of older people in the group. If I had had to wait for everyone else every few meters during the climb, I would probably have become annoyed. So I could set my own pace.

Even though the path was in the shade, it was incredibly warm and I started sweating very quickly. On the way up there was a viewpoint every 100 meters where you could stop and take a break. From all of these viewpoints you had a breathtaking view of the national park.

Incredible views over the national park

When I arrived at the top viewpoint after about 20 – 30 minutes, I was sweating wet, but the strenuous climb was worth it for the breathtaking view. Even though I’ve been traveling for so long now, there are always moments when I’m just so fascinated by how beautiful nature can be. At this viewpoint I had another moment where I didn’t want to leave and could enjoy the view forever. Knowing that I would be going home 9 days later and that there are less than 2 weeks until I am back in dreary Germany makes me appreciate such moments even more.

At the viewpoint I met an older man from Germany. He was on vacation with his wife on Koh Samui.

I spent a total of 45 minutes at the viewpoint before slowly making my way back down. On the way down I stopped at all the other viewpoints and spent some time there taking photos.

When I got back down to the beach it was only 10 minutes before we all had to get back on the boat. At 12.30 we were picked up again by the small boat and taken to the ferry. There everyone had lunch while we drove on to our next stop.

Views over the Emerald Blue Lagoon

Shortly after one o’clock we arrived at a bay where everyone who had also booked a kayak tour disembarked. But I saved the extra charge of 12€. I’ve also kayaked enough times in the last year and a half.

After everyone was let out, the ferry continued to Koh Mae Koh. There I and everyone else were picked up again by a small boat and driven to the beach at this bay. There was another viewpoint there, but it wasn’t quite as high. From there you should have a great view over the Emerald Blue Lagoon.

As soon as we arrived at the beach, I walked up the many steps to the viewpoint. In the meantime all the clouds had cleared and I had a fantastic view over the lagoon, the sea and the national park. On the other side where I came up you could also go down to the Lagoone. I went down the steps, but the further I went down, the more I noticed that the view from above was nicer. So I turned around before I got to the water of the lagoon and walked back up the stairs to the viewpoint.

At the viewpoint I met the older gentleman from Germany and his wife with whom I chatted.

Sun bathing on the ferry

Fifteen minutes before I got back on the ferry, I arrived back down at the beach. At three o’clock we were picked up again by the mini boat and taken back to the ferry. The day and the tour were now over. Now it was another 1.5 – 2 hour drive to the pier in Koh Samui. Since the sun was shining, I lay down in the sun on the upper deck of the ferry. Lying in the sun on the ferry is much more relaxing than on the beach. Because you have the wind all the time, you don’t feel the heat as much.

I lay on the upper deck of the ferry for 1.5 hours, listening to music and enjoying the view. When we got back to the pier in Koh Samui, we were picked up directly by the mini van that had taken us to the pier the morning before. On the drive back to the hostel I talked to the German couple again. When I was let out at the hostel, we said goodbye and I went back to the hostel.

Even though I wasn’t that happy with Koh Samui the day before, the national park was absolutely beautiful and it was still a good decision to come to Koh Samui. Above all, I was very lucky with the weather. The view over the national park simply couldn’t have been better.

Back at the hostel I was asked directly by the owner how the tour was. He told me that it had been raining on Koh Samui until an hour ago. So I had made absolutely the right decision to do the tour.

The last morning on Koh Samui

After the long day, I took a shower, packed my backpack and spent the rest of the evening in the hostel. In the meantime, I bought something for dinner at 7/11.

The next morning I continued my journey from Koh Samui to Krabi. But since I didn’t have to be picked up by the shuttle bus until 12 pm, I still had some time in the morning. First I tried to book my flight back to Germany. However, none of my cards were accepted when paying, which is why I couldn’t book the flight yet. It’s probably just not meant to be…

The sun also shone that morning. So I made my way to the Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks. These are rocks in the water right on Lamai Beach. From there I went back to the hostel, ate my food there, which I had previously bought at 7/11, and then waited for the taxi, which came at 12.30 pm.

If you would like to know what I experienced during my time in Krabi, please prepare my next blog post Rainy days in Krabi – Thailand Travel Diary.