Chilling out in Koh Samui

Cheng Yee had invited her younger brothers (ChengKai and ChengJie) to accompany her for a tour in Gold Coast during Nov/Dec holidays. She would be travelling with another 2 friends (who would be driving around in rented car, and staying in rented apartment, while in Gold Coast). Needless to say, the boys jumped on the proposal immediately. Tickets were booked and they were off to Melbourne on 27 Nov 2013 (immediately after ChengJie's return from Taipei Volleyball immersion trip).

With the two boys gone, we decided to take this opportunity to visit Koh Samui, the famed island of paradise for detox and wellness programs. My wife had been yearning for a detox therapy for a long time. There was no better time than now to fulfill her wishes with the boys gone. They would be bored to death should they tag along for this trip. For me, it would be a good time to chill out after never-ending and long hours of working. My wife signed up for the 5 days "Juice It" detox program (an introductory detox therapy, inclusive of two Colema sessions, steam bath, Thai massage, yoga, meditation and last but not least strict fasting). I had resisted all push/cajoling from my wife to follow suit with detox therapy.

Day 1
We flew into Koh Samui via Silkair, which departed at 8.40am. For once, we traveled light and took a MRT train to the airport. We left home quite early though, around 6 am. 

*Buggy ride to immigration counter on arrival at Koh Samui airport.

We booked into The Spa Resort, one of the pioneers of Detox and Wellness program in the island. It consists of Spa Beach and Spa Village. The world renowned Radiance Restaurant that offers one of the best health food is located in both the resorts. As the name implies, the former is located next to the beach, near the hustle bustle of town; the latter is built along the slope of mountainous terrains, in the midst of greenery. Both villages are quite far apart, but with shuttle bus plying to-and-fro at hourly interval. One of the tourists we met on the first day told us it took her 2 hours to walk from one place to another! (We discovered it was probably an exaggeration later, probably could be completed in less than one hour).

All wellness programs including yoga, Thai massages, steam bath can be done in either the Spa Village or Spa Beach interchangeably.

A-shaped Bungalow near the beach @ Spa Beach Resort

 

 * Swimming pool and Bungalow Suite at Spa Village

Radiance Restaurant at Spa Village

Radiance Restaurant at Spa Beach

We stayed at Spa Village resort, a good place for cleansing one mind and body, away from all temptations of life. The place exudes Zen-like calm and tranquility; and the air is free from worldly pollutants. As it was still off-peak season in early December, there were not many guests staying around (probably fewer than 6). The only grouse was that the bungalow suite was quite rustic, and the facilities provided were however quite basic. It provided only soap bars (no shampoo, shower lotion or hair conditioner), no coffee maker (what to expect, it is after all a detox centre), and the room was quite small for two persons. No shower screen in the bathroom (probably to create open space for DIY colema treatment). And, there were many mosquitoes around! 

Showers

I took Pad Thai ( Thai noodles) with tofu for lunch, and fried brown rice for dinner.  My wife took her detox diets which consist mainly of blended vegetables and fresh fruits. Wow, I was glad I did not sign up for the detox program - I wouldn't survive on those diet for 5 days.

Day 2 
It rained quite heavily overnight. The sky remained cloudy when we woke up in the morning. It showered again when we were about to go for our meditation classes.  Fortunately the resort provided umbrella in the room, in anticipation of frequent showers during the monsoon season in Dec. After the morning medication session with a Caucasian guide, I spent the rest of the morning lazing around and sleeping in the room. My wife went for her yoga session in late morning.  

We went for a steam bath (350 Baht), followed by Thai massage in the afternoon.

Steam Rock

The steam room was built in between two rocks. The room was imbued with herbal aroma, with temperature maintained around 40'C. We had the room all for ourselves throughout the session. Somehow, the herbs had some healing property - our bodies felt very relaxed after the steam bath. 

We proceeded to Thai massage after our steam bath. The Thai massage was quite an experience. The masseuse was very professional, applying firm to strong pressure over various acupressure points in our body. It felt like ripples of water rolling over our body, smoothing out all rough edges and knots. One felt quite relaxed after the massage, but somehow the effect did not last long.

The internet Wi-Fi service was down (because of recent thunderstorm), hence for once I am totally cut off from the "wired" world. This is a good place to escape from the hustle bustle of city life, to get close to nature, inhale the invigorating fresh air, listen to rustle of trees and chirping of birds.

Day 3
After completing our morning meditation session, we went to explore the small village about 1 km away from our resort. I wanted to take some local breakfast (my wife was on fasting program). But alas, the restaurants along the main road were either not open yet (already 9 am), or the few food stalls that clustered along small alleys of local market had already closed for business for the day. 

The road leading to our resort at the far end; the entangles mess of electric cables rekindles fond memory of my old town

The main road

We walked further away from the main road and local market, towards the direction of our resort (deeper into the woods). Fortunately, a food stall by the road stall was still open. It was quite a run down place, made up a few wooden huts, with some bamboo tables/chairs placed underneath. No fans. Traces of sands/pebbles could still be seen on the table tops. The floor was not tiled, and would probably turned muddy should it rain. A few wild dogs were loitering around the wooden huts. 

The only food stall that was still open for business

Traces of sands/pebbles on table

I ordered local Pad Thai, and a cup of coffee. The store owner had to dispatch her helper to local sundry stall to get a packet of fresh milk for my coffee. The Pad Thai was surprisingly quite tasty. 

We took a short walk back to our resort after my breakfast, in time for my wife's yoga.

Road leading to our Spa Village

Yoga session among the lush greenery

While my wife was having her Yoga session, I took the shuttle bus back to the Spa Beach. We decided to book a room in Poolsawat Villa for the rest of our trip. The hotel is fairly new (probably less than 1 year old), and located just next to Spa Beach. It offered better rates of 800 Baht (vs 1200 Baht at our current resort), was more spacious and had better basic amenities. 

Shuttle bus that plies to-and-fro between the two resorts

Poolsawat Villa

Beach in front of Poolsawat Villa/Spa Beach

 

The Wi-Fi was working in the beach resort.  Hence, I was able to Whatsapp Cheng Yee to find out how they were doing in Gold Coast. I had Tung Yam Goong with rice for lunch - rather mediocre in taste. The gravy was too diluted for my liking.

I missed the 12.30pm shuttle service,  and had to wait one hour for the next shuttle bus. Made it just in time for Thai oil massage. I dozed off and even snored briefly during the massage.  My wife was all in praise of the massage. She had been plagued by shoulder aches for umpteen years, and this was the rare occasion when she experienced a sense of great relief, as if a heavy load had been taken off her shoulder. The last time she had such feeling of wonder was after a local injection into her shoulder joint by an orthopedic surgeon many years back.

Then came the highlight of the trip, Colema treatment, the ultimate of the detox program!  We were shown a short video clip on how to perform Colema (on our own) in our bathroom. The chiropractor helped us to set up the system (as we are first timer). After he left, my wife immediately started the treatment. It was quite an experience. I wouldn't go into the details,  but suffix to say my wife vouched that it was exhilarating when the coffee solution flowed by gravity into her large intestine. She believed it helped in cleansing her large intestine of old fecal waste, which could be potentially toxic/carcinogenic to our body. Whatever it is, Colema treatment is definitely beyond me. I would not do it onto myself. 

Setting up for Colema treatment in bathroom

Colema treatment @ Spa Beach

The tubings for Colema therapy

                                                

Took stir fried vegetables with another plate of minced meat and salad (quite sour) for dinner.  My wife could not resist the temptation and took a few bites from those dishes.

Retired early at 10 pm, but somehow could not sleep well... the body felt rather warm throughout the night. I wondered if it was from the Thai balm used in the massage earlier!

Day 4
After meditation and breakfast, We went for a short swim in the swimming pool. The pool is quite small.  However, the surrounding natural enclaves that exudes heavenly and mesmerizing ambience more than makes up for inadequacy. The swim was quite refreshing. My wife went for her yoga session after that, while I walked around exploring the place and taking some photos.

 Spa Village - the surroundings

We checked out from the Spa Village at 2pm, and moved into the new hotel (Poolsawat Villa) next to Spa Beach for the rest of our journey.

We explored the neighborhood before dinner.  My wife, being a Minister of Home, bought some brown rice, oyster source and sweet potatoes flake at Tesco Lotus supermarket.  We took some snacks (peanut pancake,  roasted pork) on our way back to hotel. We inquired about bike rental from a shop near our hotel. The rate was 100baht lower from that qouted by our hotel.

Retired to sleep quite early at night.

Day 5
As usual, we attended the morning meditation class. After that, my wife went for her Yoga session,  while I went for a short swim in the pool. 

After lunch, we rented a bike for round island tour. It cost 150 baht (S$4) for 24 hours,  no driver license needed.  But I had to leave my passport with the owner as guarantee. The gasoline cost more. We paid for 5 liters of gasoline for the entire trip @ 40 baht / liter. And of course, there was no insurance cover - it was drive at your own risk. 

Bike rental company

Gasoline can be purchased by the road side 

Riding the bike

It had been a long time since I last drove a bike in my hometown Nibong Tebal. The bike ran on automatic gear, which was entirely new to me. But, just like driving an automatic car, it's much easier to drive once you were shown the way.

It took us about 2 hours to complete the island tour. I had a few tourist spots (Big Buddha and Lady Guangying with 18 arms) in mind. However, it was next to impossible to locate those places as the signboard was not clear or none at all. We drove pass Chaweng Beach along the way, and was struck by how busy the place was compared to Lamai Beach (where we stayed). We stopped at a viewing point to look at a strong waves pounding on the fabulous rocks lining the coast. 

Fortunately,  we were able to locate the Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks in late afternoon (by driving into a small lane sprouting from the main road, after noticing an inconspicuous signboard). Grandfather Rock  is very conspicuous in his presence, but Grandmother Rock can only be appreciated from a certain angle. We chanced upon a road side stall selling banana pancakes upon driving out from the small lane - the pancake was heavenly!

Grandfather Rock

Grandmother Rock

Fabulous pancake

We took a short break before driving out at night to visit the night scenes at Chaweng. What a difference the atmosphere was! The street was teeming with crowd, with life musics blasting away from some bars. The streets in Lamai Beach where we stayed were rather quiet and subdued, with only scattered tourists walking around. There were many shops lining both sides of the street in Chaweng. The tourists are mostly Caucasians though. We stopped for BBQ seafood in one of the restaurants,  ordered BBQ squid and salted fish. We had high expectations - but what a let down. Both dishes were quite bland, and not fresh at all. 

By the time we reached our hotel, it was almost 11 pm.

Day 6
Woke up in the morning, getting ready for second leg of our island tour - visiting Big Buddha and Wat Plai Laem (Lady Guangying Statue).

Before embarking on our journey,  We made a detour to recce Tamarind Springs just opposite our hotel. There were so many rave reviews in TripAdvisor on the spa / massage package offered by Tamarind Springs. We booked an appointment at 1 pm for a 4 hour Spa/Thai Massage package (costing 5000 baht each). 

We met with minor mishap at the slope immediately after missing the right exit leading to Tamarind Springs. I missed the tiny pebbled lane leading to Tamarind Springs. I tried to backtrack by reversing the bike down the slope. But alas, the bike went out of control sliding down the slope, flipped to the left and both my wife and I fell off the bike. Fortunately both of us were wearing jeans and helmets. My wife was unscathed, while I had minor scratches on my left knee. I pulled the bike to stand upright,  but inadvertently rammed up the accelerator located on the right handle (the engine was still running). The bike accelerated forward out of control and plunged into a narrow and dry drain nearby. I promptly turned off the engine, but had a hard time pulling the bike up to the main road. Fortunately a lady passerby came to my assistance. Luckily there was no major visible damage in the bike. Most important, it was still in working order.

After making our booking at Tamarind Springs, we embarked on our journey proper. I followed the signboard on the road vigilantly, made a brief stop at a fresh food market for breakfast (noodles soup ) but still didn't see any sign of the temples. We checked with a hotel security guard and realised that we had driven pass the spots. A kind lady motorcyclist led us to Big Buddha. Alas, I had seen the entrance leading to the temple earlier, but didn't think much of it as there was no signboard identifying the location at all. Learning from past mistake, I was more alert in looking out for external facade associated with places of worships, and managed to locate the Lady Guangying temple easily this time round.

Big Buddha

View from the top floor

Wat Plai Laem (Lady Guangying)

I was expecting a much larger statues in both temples, based on the photos portrayed in the brochure. They were impressive, but they were not as big as I expected. 

After visiting the two places of worships, we drove back and returned the bike to the rental company. I retrieve my passport and made our way to Tamarind Springs for our spa appointment. 

It was an eye opener. The Spa resort is nestled among the woods, with steam room and pools arranged in Zen-like serene atmosphere. The resort provided some delicious snacks in between our steam bath and massage. The massage was performed in a very controlled,  professional yet soothing manner by the masseuse, step by step lest certain acupoints are omitted. It was of course not cheap, compared to the price in The Spa Resort.

The pebble lane leading to the reception

The reception at Tamarind Springs

Day 7
We woke up early at 6am, went for a stroll at the beach hoping to catch sunrise.  But the sun was shielded by the cloud in the morning. Only could catch the glimpse of sun ray filtering through the crevices of the clouds. 

The stretch of beach just in front of our hotel was the birthing place for row of longtail boats (traditional boat in Southern Thailand), making the sea not conducive for swimming. We walked further south along the coastline of Lamai Beach, the sand was cleaner and brighter, and the sea more appealing there.We left the beach to get some breakfast (Thai style curry puffs and 油条), and strolled along the main street leading to Spa village. Then we chanced upon a massage cottage near the seaside on our way back to hotel. We pampered ourselves with an hour of Thai coconut oil massage at 250 baht each. The ladies were not so professional (chit-chatting among themselves while massaging), but the massaging skill was acceptable. They seemed to serve many local customers. 

Massage by the beach

Waiting for our turn for massage

Rested in our hotel after lunch.  On our purported way for dinner, we were distracted by a shop selling gardening decors / clay figurines.We bought a set of clay figurines costing 1400 baht in total. It was cheap, but no joke carrying two heavy loads of figurines (about 7 kg each) all the way for 1 km back to our hotel. 

We rested for a short while, then went out for dinner (fish, curry and squid). The fish and squids were much better and cheaper than those We had in Chaweng.

Day 8
We spend another day walking around the streets of Lamai Beach, had another session of massage by the beach. The weather changed drastically, from sunny morning to wailing wind followed by heavy downpour. We braved the rain all the way back to our hotel. My wife had another session of classic Thai massage at the Spa Resort while I rested in our room.

We had our dinner at Imchai restaurant, recommended by trip advisor. Apart from the fish, the Tom yum goong and green curry were not that good. The gravy was too diluted. After dinner, we sat at the deck of hotel pool facing the beach, listening to the waves and savouring the light touch of the winds, before returning to our hotel to pack our luggage. We would be departing from Koh Samui the next morning!

Glimpses of Koh Samui

Massage parlour by the beach

**Did not go for any snorkeling trip as my wife wanted to get as many sessions of Thai massage as possible to ease her shoulder aches. Furthermore, the weather forecast predicted heavy thunderstorms in the last 3 days of our trip. Hence, it might not be safe for snorkeling.  However, the heavy rain only appeared on the day before we left Koh Samui. Perhaps next time, I guess.

**Overall, it was a very relaxing trip for both my wife and I. It is an excellent place for massage and wellness program (particularly for detox program that included fasting/colema). The food offered in Radiance Restaurant at The Spa @ Samui was simply marvelous. Don't fancy any fanciful architectural wonders - just immerse yourself in the laid back, slow pace of rural livings! Imagine the clock turned back for 20-30 years from now - relieve your childhood once again!