The journey begins and first day on koh Samui

Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors in this text, I have slept for like 36  hours (Hey a Roxie 77-song)

Samui Palm beach resort, Bo Phut

Staff: Very friendly and service minded. Spoken English very good (for Thailand) J

Accomodation: De Luxe room – Big bedroom with sofa, table, tv and desk. Lot of floor space, not crowded.

Big bathroom with a separate bath, and separate shower, toilet and good sized table by the sink.
Haven’t tried to functionality of the shower yet, I’ll get back on that one.

Big closet, safety box and drawers.

Furnitures a bit old but functional.

Room was clean but the balcony had not been cleaned, bit of old paint on it.

Location: Right on Bo Phut beach, the beach itself is not cleaned regularly. Even during the day it is trash laying on the beach.
Not much happening around the hotel, tomorrow I think I’ll take a walk to Fishermans village in the afternoon. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s what the brochures says it is.

Environment: Hotel information asks you not to rent jetski’s, to put towels for washing in a certain way and think about your use of electronicty

Food: Squid with curry. Squid a bit chewy, and the curry sauce lacks of taste. Not spicy at all, would have needed a bit more kick to it. No seasoning offered on the side, a bit of extra chili and fish sauce might have turned this dish to an average instead of just boring. Vegetables a bit overdone. Rice over cooked and very bland.
But on the other hand my mum probably would have liked this dish (if it wasn’t for the overdone squid), it tasted of curry and have a tiny tiny hotness to it.
Not at all worth the price which is expensive even in Swedish measures. But after a +24 hours journey I really didn’t have the energy to go somewhere else.
I was given a mosquito spray, guess that is something J
The restaurant is really dead, almost no people here, the beach bar is also totally empty.

Ordered a Gin Fizz, got a Gin and Tonic… that is not the same thing at all!

The hotel overall seems pretty empty even during day time. Perhaps that is why the food is lacking in real taste or maybe it is because that this is a typical tourist place where they don’t dare to spice of the food, but then they really should offer seasoning on the side for us who like food with a bit more kick to it.

The food wasn’t nasty in any way, it tastes nice and is friendly to the ones who don’t like a lot a spice and flavors, but to bland for my liking, or boring J It tasted like squid in curry, which is good, but the lack of taste was disappointing. It tasted good, but I was starving so I don’t know what I would have felt if I’d been in Thailand for a while before tasting this.
It’s probably also due to my high expectations, after the curry squid I remember from New Heaven Restaurant on Koh Tao.

The portions are generous though.

The service is good before you have ordered but after it is not that attentive, but still very polite.
But very friendly staff, I think the lack of guests is the problem.
I don’t understand though why this place is so empty, maybe it is the price range, it can’t be the location, it’s right on the beach and for me that extra service goes a long way, and that is what I’ve been offered so far.

It will be interesting to sample their breakfast tomorrow. I wont be as dead tired then, I’m too old to not sleep for +24 hours J

Weather, the old important weather: It’s actually a bit chilly, I have trousers and long sleeves. I can imagine how cold it would feel for someone who’s living here.

The journey: Qatar Airways
Dreamliner from Arlanda-Doha, a lot of leg room, clean and fresh, food was good for an airplane,
Doha airport was ok, I walked around and stretched my legs.
Doha-Bangkok:Older plane with less legroom but service, food and entertainment was just as good as the first stretch.
Bangkok-Koh Samui: Short flight where you had time for breakfast and coffe. Went smooth.

Had ordered pick-up service from the hotel (500 TBH) that worked perfect. The driver drove calm and it was a very comfortable ride, highly recommend this, even if it’s more expensive than taking a cab at the airport.

A summary:
Qatar Airways – Recommend them, good service and friendly staff and for being stuck on an airplane pretty comfortable (it’s not their fault I can’t sleep on a plane)

Samui Palm Beach resort (only day one when I’m really tired), really service minded and helpful, gives that little bit of extra service that you really appreciate after a long flight.
I’ll get back on my review after tomorrow when I’ve seen a bit more of the surroundings.
I have a full day tomorrow here on Koh Samui before I finish my journey and arrive on Koh Tao.

Got my thai number today but didn’t charge it J Thought it was included in the pack, just like it is in Malaysia J Stupid of me, but I’ll get money on it tomorrow. Tried to do it online but didn’t understand a thing (surprise surprise) J

Know it’s time for a shower, a bear on the balcony (which is really big J) a good good and then sleep sleep lovely sleep.

Tomorrow I must fix my thai humber so I can call Bua Management on Koh Tao. It is extremely busy on Koh Tao so it’s not easy to find a good long term place to stay as it seems.

Pictures and more information to come….