Dear Steemit Friends:
Earlier this year, I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit one of Thailand's most beautiful islands. The island is none other than the island of Samui - third largest island in Thailand. My original reasoning for coming to visit Samui was actually very simple. I really loved the name of the island. But spending some time there, I realised that Samui had an uncanny similarity to a place i hold dearly.
Some of you might know, that I spend much of my childhood in Shenzhen. There, the weather was pretty similar to Samui. It was of tropical warmth all year round and it also had some of the best Coconut water around. Samui too has a good reputation for it's coconuts and coconut water. In fact, it is one of the main industries other than tourism still left on Samui. This is why according to urban legend, Coconut trees can be seen anywhere you look. As a person who loves coconuts, and coconut water, it's like a match made in heaven!
All across the island, I see palm tree's planted everywhere I look. Then again, a tropical paradise wouldn't be the same without it's abundance of palm trees. It's such a beautiful sight seeing the palm tree's with the blue skies and white clouds.
The land area of Samui is 247㎞² and is located about 560km south of the capital, Bangkok. Around the main island of Samui, there are 80 or so smaller islets that are mostly not inhabited by any humans.
From Bangkok, the flight time to Samui is only 1 hour. Very fast and convenient.
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Immediately after landing, I was finding it so difficult to hold back my emotions. I was just too excited to land here and I couldn't wait to explore and see all that Samui has to offer.
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Another thing I noticed after stepping off the plane, was the heatwaves immediately assaulting my senses. The luggage collection area makes use of a straw canopy which is obviously without air conditioning. So, the occasional cool breeze was very welcome, especially with such torrid heat.
Samui island is circular in shape and averages 15km across. At it's centre, there are alpine mountain forest ranges that are not inhabited by people. The highest point is around 635 meters above sea level.
If you take a look at the map, you'll notice the most built up area of Samui, the places with most hotels, most water activities and most restaurants is the Chaweng Beach. This crescent shaped beach runs for 6km. Quite a beautiful shape I think!
Since Chinese new year had just passed not too long ago, the airport still had all these bright red lanterns hanging below the airport sign. It's certain a nice way to welcome all the Chinese tourists that make their way here.
Every time I visit an island, one of my favourite activities has got to be taking a drive along the beach roads.
As you can see, there are quite a number of car rental companies at the exit of the airport.
Of course, making a car rental booking online before your visit is the best bet. This way you can get better pricing than if you rented a car directly at the airport. However, if you decided to rent a car on arrival (like me) then make sure you compare all the available car rental companies to see which give the best deal. Obviously, the choices at the airport will be more limited than if you pre-booked online.
As the overall cost of living is not very high in Thailand, the car rental fees at Samui are relatively cheap compared to other exotic island locations. Not only this, renting car will only set you back the same amount of money as renting two motorbikes. (Obviously a car is so much better for the air conditioning!)
With such deadly sun rays in Samui, a car really is the best option. You get the air conditioning, and also a bit more safety. Another important point is that a car really does take away the need for public transportation and does not limit you to travelling to places under unnecessary time constraints.
Sawadi Kap! Samui!
When you set off on the roads, you'll notice the many electric poles and wires hanging above. They're actually mostly really tidy. I think this is quite a distinguishing aspect of Thailand.
Knowing that Samui is a very popular touristy destination, I decided to stay my first night somewhere quiet and without much disturbance, Maenam Beach. The island is actually full of useful road signs helping a first timer like me find my way to the hotel. It's actually quite hard to get lost.
On this occasion, I decided to be daring and not skip over the hotels I usually dare not think of staying at. I decided to bite the bullet and stay at the W Hotel. On Samui, this Hotel is regarded as a 6 Star Hotel! From the airport, it was a very brisk 15 minute drive. When arriving, you can see the W hotel up on the hill side.
As you can imagine, I was super excited to stay at this hotel. As I drove up slowly up the drive way, I saw a member of security staff who stood at the road fork making sure people don't wander off to where they shouldn't be. It's small things like this that give me that extra sense of security.
I really like W Hotel's fashion conscious avant-garde style of design. The W logo uses tiny sequin like reflective silver tiles. It's like something from the future.
Aside from it's envious futuristic design language, the W Hotel also has some of the best service in the world. For instance, once I drove the car up to the front entrance, a member of staff would kindly help me unload my luggage and then drive the car off to a secure parking location. At the welcoming desk, we see some traditional Thai designs as well as a very bright and shiny head of a monkey. How odd, but ever so cool!
Of course, the staff will help you unload your luggage and then store it safely for you whilst you wait for your room.
This is probably my favourite area in the whole hotel. Alas, what you have here before your eyes is the Woobar. Check out those amazing sofa's on the water, and borderless swimming pool..
This is no doubt one of the most famous photo angles of the W hotel. Featured in so many magazines and websites that introduce this marvellous hotel.
A walk along side the Woobar promenade, you get to experience some of the most amazing views of the island.
It's really hard to put the camera away.
If you look in the distance behind me, you can make out the W Hotel's main swimming pool called WET.
It has the instantly recognisable W logo.
One of the most convenient aspects of the hotel, is their Anytime, Anywhere service, whenever you need to go from one part of the hotel to another, you can call a small transport buggy to take you. It's the quickest and easiest method of getting around.
And that concludes the first part of many blogs to come about Thailand, Samui, W Hotel and much more!
Stay tuned, and follow to not miss out!
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欢迎大家和我一起来到苏梅岛，这是泰国第三大岛屿。刚开始我选择来这里，是非常简单的原因。我觉得这个岛的名字好听，并且我小时候就是在深圳海边长大的，最喜欢喝椰子。椰子的生产是苏梅岛重要的经济来源，因此苏梅岛又被做椰子岛，听说岛上椰树随处可见，对于我这个酷爱椰子的人当然是最好的去处啦。岛上布满了棕榈树，谁不喜欢棕榈树下的蓝天白云？从曼谷坐飞机到苏梅岛，只要1个小时就到了，非常便捷。飞机才刚刚降落在小岛，我就难以抑制住激动的心情了，就想赶快跳下飞机把苏梅岛的美景尽收眼底。下了飞机就立刻感觉一大片热浪扑面而来，等行李的地方是一大片草棚，偶尔吹来的凉风也给这个酷热的天气降降温。苏梅岛是一个圆形，平均大约15公里宽，岛的中部基本是无人居住的高山树林（，最高点海拔635米。
可以从地图上看到，岛上最繁华，酒店最多，水上活动最丰富的是岛东部的查温海滩，这个月牙形的海滩绵延6公里，十分优美。刚刚过去的中国年，机场还挂着红彤彤的灯笼，好鲜艳的色彩。每次来到海岛，我最享受的事情就是沿着海边开车了，所以在机场的出口，就有很多柜台提供租车服务。当然在网络上提前预订会比现场租车便宜很多，如果没有提前预订，最好在现场比比每家租车公司的价格，当然现场车的选择要比网络少很多。这次我选择了相对游客比较少，非常安静的湄南海滩的酒店。岛上贴心的摆了很多标示牌，让初次来到苏梅岛自驾游的我能很快找到自己的酒店，不会迷路。
这一次我越过了平时旅游选酒店的界限，选择了苏梅岛的W酒店，被大家誉为苏梅岛的6星级酒店。大约开了15分钟，终于快到了，可以看到W酒店远远的在山坡上。我超级期待入住这家酒店，當車子缓缓开近，我发现道路上的转折处都有酒店的安保设施和工作人员，给人一种非常安全回家的感觉。我非常喜欢的是W酒店时尚前卫的设计装潢。W的logo用的是银色的反光材料，很有未来太空的感觉。酒店的服务也是最大的亮点，车子开到大堂门前，就有专人接过钥匙替你去停车。迎接柜台是由泰国的特色的图案。服务人员帮你把行李拿下车，为你寄存行李。这就是我最爱的空间了。Woobar终于出现在眼前了。水上的沙发，无边的泳池。这里是W酒店最有名气的拍摄角度了，曾经出现在无数杂志网站上。走过边上的长廊，风景美极了。想去到酒店的每一个空间，都会有车子接送，超级方便。今天的文章就写到这里吧，之后还有更多关于W酒店的探索等着和大家一起分享。
Beautiful pictures I'm taking notes from your blogs on where to travel and what foods to try next!
Good good! I'm glad i've given you some ideas!
不错，景美人也美！
谢谢哟: )
you're hotter than the weather there :D
have fun miss opinionated - looks like paradise where you are now -
traveling Thailand is indeed pretty affordable - the cost of living is pretty affordable and considerably cheap.
Lovely photos!
Thanks for showing us woobar. Interesting place to visit
blush
thanks englishtchrivy, of course you know this part of the world much better than me!
hahah the blush :D
no no no.. not really @sweetsssj - I haven't been to many places out there yet
Hello with such nice pictures its easy to earn steem.
Espacialy with the first one ;-)
Very beautiful... And 80 uninhabited Islets around Samui does captivate the mind too. I am very curious about what is there!
Those electrical lines are amazingly orderly compared with India where in some places one can hardly make out the snarl.
Agreed on the monkey head, very cool! :)
Hopefully i might demystify some of these in my upcoming posts !
@sweetsssj
Your travels have taken you to some amazing places and the pictures you've taken have helped to take us there, too! I've never been to Asia but I'm sure there are some incredible sites and some delicious food! Thanks for sharing your latest post with us! :)
Just upvoted ya!
thanks breakingtonight!
I am so happy that I can share my travels with people who are interested. Nowadays the world is so flat, and it feels like we can share our experiences with anyone in the world. So i'll do my best to give everyone my first person perspective on all my experiences!
You're welcome, @sweetsssj
Yes, it does seem that the world is much smaller than it has ever been. This type of interaction never would have been possible a few years ago. But with the advancement in technology like the internet, we can share so many wonderful experiences!
If you haven't had the chance, I invite you to also follow me @breakingtonight to catch my posts.
Have a great day! :)
I'm not sure if anyone has ever asked this before, but who takes the photos of you? They're very good! You have a pair of excellent photographers anywhere you go. Can't beat that.
These photos really make we want to be there, drinking coconut water in the borderless pool with the flamingo!
Aww thanks david, actually I don't have a set photographer that follows me around (as much as people think I do), I just set the settings on the camera, and show the photographer of the day what i'd like him to capture. Then, I take a decent number of pictures and choose the best ones ! I guess I'm gradually developing an eye for some good photography!
So these are taken by strangers? That's even better!
It also makes me wonder what's wrong with people where I live or where I travel. If I tried this, one of two things would happen:
Anyway...great post and amazing photos again! It's always a pleasure seeing where you've been. And it also makes me curious about how you get so much vacation time! I'm a little jealous...
You need to find a proper
victimcandidate for this :-) Look for people that are holding better / more expensive photo equipment than you. Preferably with a lot of bags filled with lenses and filters, a tripod, etc.gtg knows what's going on!
" with all those bags, cameras and lenses, it would be easier to catch them" - LOL!
I have always thought the same thing. I keep teasing her that she must be a billionaire as well. lol
Seriously. Traveling around the world isn't cheap. I bet she's probably descended from one of the royal families that has a secret gold and jewel stash buried beneath an ancient temple!
Am I close to being right, @sweetsssj?
you guys have quite the imagination, I suppose it'll all be revealed one day!
Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. Though I would never get a chance to visit the many places you've, I glad to have seen them through your photo. 🌸
You're welcome yoona, I'm sure you'll be able to visit many places one day too, but if not, i'll try my best to capture the moments as best I can for you!
I love your presentation and details... it shows us a lot of reasons to visit the place that you blogged about. Great work, congrats! Followed you... hope to see more of your posts.
thanks arnel, welcome !
really love koh samui,
got real good memories from 2 weeks holidays in there 10 years ago with @fabien ;)
I love Lamai / chaweng.
ekitcho, you are a very well travelled person! I'm impressed! I wasn't able to stay there for 2 weeks sadly, but I sure would have loved to.. You must have had an amazing time!!!
I share with your affirmation that island is a dream fulfilled, thank you very much lady @ sweetsss for this beautiful invitation, congratulations for this beautiful place, thank you very much for sharing these beautiful photos
Have a week liqueur
Thanks jlufer, it's a pleasure taking you there 'virtually'!
Your photos are breathtaking. I love all your travels. Looking at the beautiful scenery is like a mini vacation. Will be watching for more of your post.
thanks suzie, welcome 😊
hey :) Whats you dream country?
P.S. Your photos and story are so inspirational!
I have to say, my dream country is none other than my own - China! Might seem like a surprise at first, but i'll tell you why. It has such incredible diversity owing to it's very long history and rich traditional values. Because of this diversity, you can expect to see this trickle through many aspects of society in China, one example would be the distinctive architecture throughout the country. Another would be the endless numbers of languages and dialects. Even clothes attire are quite often localised. Geographically speaking, China occupies such a large piece of land, it offers nearly all the climates you can find in any part of the world but all in one country!
lol you should work for the Chinese ministry of Tourism...u are representing china very welll here on steemit ...lol but of course a chinese person will love China ...you are making Asia see very very attractive to us western steemiters! You should continue using your flawless genetic form to continue to bring people into steemit! Having teh ability to interact with you and talk with such an attractive and wealthy woman through this platform is quite the rush
Very interesting trip - love the photo of sofas in Woobar. The place looks amazing. Following.
Keep up the good work!
Best,
@velimir
thanks velimir, much appreciated!
In my eyes this was one of your best travel reports so far. The see view in some pics is incredible beautiful (and of course not only the sea looks great ;-) ).
thanks jaki01, the location being so beautiful really helps!
Added you to my vote bot - i wont miss anything anymore now ;)
likewise! Thanks kingscrown!!
Sorry to hijack your thread miss but I'm so tired of seeing chemtrails on every god damn pic, it's becoming the norm and this is really dangerous. If our kids start thinking these are natural clouds the world is in deep shit.
Natural clouds ( big nice round and puffy )
Artificals clouds ( aka stratospheric aerosols aka chemtrails aka poison/heavy metals)
Stratospheric aerosols injection admitted
Testimony from pilots,doctors and scientists
Thank you for alerting us to this. I can see this is quite an issue. I'll try not to take pictures of chem trails. They weren't the reason I took them above either.
Hi @sweetsssj, please don't get fooled by chem-trailers like this one, those are pretty much same guys like flat-earthers and other FUD spreading, attention seeking trolls.
Don't be mislead @sweetsssj, He's not talking about air pollution, but a global conspiracy where there's some kind of secret spraying program.
Those are normal condensation trails and that guy is just hijacking your thread to draw attention to his nonsense.
It's not conspiracy when obamas own former head of cia made very clear that aerosol injections do exist. He was basically confessing and I guess in hopes to gradually get the public to accept it through the guise of fighting climate change.
No no, you can of course take any pic you want. I was just explaining why I made this comment. From a purely aesthetic stand point though, pics with natural clouds looks a lot better.
Follow you!
Congratulations @sweetsssj!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following categories:
Really cool post, Koh Samui looks beautiful. As a frequent traveler myself, I actually disagree with one tiny thing.
To me this is a massive nuisance. I much prefer to self park even at super fancy hotels. I can't stand waiting for the valet to get my car every time I want to go somewhere. I love fancy hotels that let you park your own car. Another big reason why is normally when I pull up to park, anywhere, my car is like this (yes even rentals):
I mean seriously when you travel and you bring all your important luggage, Valet's become a nuisance not a benefit =>
Lulz. Great post though, the pictures are amazing.
to each their own! I get what you mean though..
@titusfrost, Your post made me laugh, still laughing... yeah big nuisance unloading that ;) bro
@sweetsssj hey sweet huge shoutout to you, thanks for sharing your wonderful trip, I'm about to go to Thailand soon. Im just got into the community and will have my post soon, Im looking forward to share with your guys my photo, travels, my thoughts and things i had learned in my life, come visit then
Sure that sounds fantastic, looking forward to your post! :D
Fantasy DID meet reality! Whoaaa... I'm still shaking my head at the sights. Thanks for sharing! I love the yellow glasses with the black top combo with the red lipstick, stylin'! Namaste :)
Thanks eric! Long time no see! You are attentive to detail as always! 😂
Vanilla girl! I Like!!!
Nice shot @sweetsssj)
#Follow You;)
thanks dimarss! :D
Beautiful pictures and beautiful girl!
thanks team101 , beautiful island!
looking cute and beautiful places :) @sweetsssj
Say "go", "journey", "everyone loves"!说走就走的旅行，人人爱！
谢谢，虽然是计划了很久的旅行，哈哈 ：）
good post ! keep it up 🙂
thanks anefirman! will do!
i love you pictures
Great Pics! =]
thanks thomas 😊
I look forward to your posts everyday. That is one beautiful island! Great pics and article. Keep up the great work! What a great post, very informative! Keep the great content coming!
I just wrote my 2nd article on Steemit: https://steemit.com/money/@jdawg/diversify-out-of-the-dollar
please vote and resteem!
Thanks jdawg!
I should say, this is perfect one @sweetssj
thanks jamhuery 😊
Welcome sweetssj
Real cutie! Woobar looks like a sweet place to visit.
Sweet indeed!
Another nice Episode of Adventure from the Queen of all Adventures!....Queen @sweetsssj
oh, that's a position I dare not take.. maybe in a few years!! hahah!
Beautiful photos. Such an amazing looking place!
doesn't it look like a snapshot from a dream?
It really does! Maybe one day I'll be able to travel there and experience it myself.
Beautiful photographs and you look very pretty.
thank you funnyman 😊
Awesome!
thanks dubi! (nice avatar!)
啊哈。美人鱼换地点了。
哈哈，恩，这里更适合：）
looks like you had a dream vacation
I'm still wondering whether I dreamt it up, or whether it actually happened!
great trip i wish to be there in your country,beautiful and luxury points in your country, thanks to share.
(I'm actually from China)
I like your photos, looks amazing. good job sist. lighting and shooting angles are good.
Incredible, hopefully continue to work well.
thanks, with so much sunshine, it's actually quite hard to take a bad photo. Good lighting everywhere!
I still think you are a billionaire! :-)
Sure would like to be 😊
Amazing post!
thanks sbartstv
Beautiful pics., and you looks great too!!..you must love travelling don't you?
Thanks jude, I do love travelling, it doesn't feel like I'm actually travelling all that often, but looking back, i've been quite a fair few places already. How time flies!
amzing
thanks john!
Cool post @sweetsssj! Cool pictures! I'll read it later.
thanks teamsteem, appreciated!
真好阿~等今年忙完希望明年我可以请个长假花两个月时间选个大洲好好逛逛
haha, 加油哦：）
Nice.
cheers siddartha!
胸看着好大∩_∩
hi Fairy Princess. you look pretty. In the future maybe i wanna be your photographer. just kidding.
very beutiful scenery and model
haha thank you.. who knows, you might bump into me one day on my travels and I might ask you to take a photo for me! :D
Amazing place especially that woman on the picture. You are gorgeous @sweetsssj. Asia has lots to offer to the world. Visit Asia.
Aww you're too kind! But you're right in that Asia has so much to offer, no wonder the west has been visiting it for so long!
And you as traveller have enjoyed a lot of it. It shows in your face, the traces of happiness.
nice...
Thanks: )