Entertainment Samui

Hubby dearest and I had started getting on each other’s nerves a little too often. Reason? Vacation addicts need their regular shots of vacation breaks (no matter how small), but our work schedules had kept us to the grindstone for more than a year and a half. So we decided to lighten our mood with a well-earned holiday.  Romantically, we decided on our honeymoon country – Thailand.  Phuket was a common destination, so we decided to give it a miss. We wanted someplace different, away from the maddening tourist crowd, maybe a bit funky.  Then we stumbled upon Koh Samui on the internet – I fell in love with the name instantaneously- it had a wine-like quality to it when it rolled off your tongue.  Koh Samui.  Some more research revealed some interesting facts – that it is the third largest island of Thailand, located at the Gulf of Thailand, and is surrounded by sixty other islands.  Photographs of white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, corals, swaying coconut trees (coconuts were the main cash crop) had me drooling.

Koh Samui boasts of many tourist attractions include Angthong National Marine Park, also known as the Golden Basin, where we could also indulge in snorkeling. The Samui Aquarium is a popular undersea world, while the Tiger Zoo Ko Samui is the proud host of Bengal tigers and leopards.  Wat Khunaram Ko Samui is the island’s famous temple where devotees throng to pay respects to the mummified former abbot of the temple, a meditation master.  Another important shrine on Ko Samui is the Laem Sor Pagoda Ko Samui whose yellow tiles give a golden glow to the shrine.  Koh Samui is also home to the Big Buddha, a 12-metre-high statue of the Budha at the Wat Phra Yai.

Apart from sight seeing, we could also take dance in the Full Moon Party, which is supposed to (according to the internet) the coolest and the hippest dance party ever.

Our search is over, and we are flying there next week, to get our batteries recharged.  Ciao

“Live music.” That common saying may contain some truth, but these days the word “live” is having less and less to do with music. For many people, a dj is their form of live music. Despite what dj’s would like to have you believe, musicians make excellent entertainment.

In the first place, people enjoy human performance. Many musicians like great athletes are multi-talented. They will croon on the tenor saxophone right to your soul, then turn around and chunk out a funky rhythm on a Fender Stratocaster. Can a dj play a turntable behind his head or with his teeth? Professional musicians love to sing and groove on just about any style of music from a Frank Sinatra to Outkast. They especially enjoy playing when the audience is responding to their performance.

In the second place, musicians are students of the arts. Musicians do not merely “push buttons.” They’ve had years of practice in their homes, and they do their thing on stage. Unlike dj’s musicians do not try to sing over or add other loud or strange noises to program music. Once a song starts it flows to the end and in the unfortunate event of a power shortage musicians can continue to entertain acoustically until power is restored. Even non-professional musicians usually understand “the show must go on” concept.

Lastly, one of the most attractive features of bands as entertainment is the affinity between them and their audience. Watching a great drummer is never boring because they’re constantly moving…feeling. An animated solo violinist playing an old wooden Stradivarius violin has a much greater chance of reaching into your soul and stirring your emotions than a dj with an array of magnetic speakers and digital amplifiers no matter how great his system sounds. It’s an apple trying to be an orange. It’s the difference between human blood and electricity.

Contrary to popular opinion, bands can be affordable. Just like with a dj, finding a band well in advance and securing them with a low down payment, the price can be negotiated to avoid costly or inadequate entertainment. Bands will even throw in a free cocktail hour or an extra half hour at the end to secure a date! Many bands are now offering “dj time.” This is when the musician hat comes off and the dj hat is put on to play the Techno, House, Hip-Hop, etc…Genres of today. People who have small parties should appreciate these characteristics of bands. However, many people who have large parties opt to have bands because they love the musician personality. In many ways, musicians are the ideal entertainers.

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Hat Chaweng beach, the most beautifull on the island!

Not that long ago Samui island was a favorite destination for adventure seeking sun worshippers. These seasoned travelers visited Koh Samui Thailand long before it was in the guide books. Seaside bungalows were available for as little as 150 baht per night, and you could count on spending day after sunny day on the beach in near perfect tranquility. These visitors found there was an almost mesmerizingly restful and carefree feel to the island that often kept them here long after they intended to return home.

Those who have known and loved Samui Island since those early days may not agree about the current pace of development in some areas, but for the most part they do agree on one thing. The island retains its sleepy magic and Ko Samui is still a tropical paradise. These days’ luxury Samui villas are popping up throughout the island and Ko Samui seems intent on catching up with its Andaman counterpart, Phuket in terms of development, infrastructure and the choice of Samui villas.

However, much of Koh Samui Island, especially south coast, remains largely undeveloped. A day spent on a motorbike or in a jeep exploring this lush terrain is a day of sheer serendipity. With its spectacular and astonishingly diverse flora, and its dozy little neighborhoods peopled by some of the world’s most amiable islanders, this kind of exploration is sure to provide the delights you imagined when you planned your holiday.

Short direct flights here now on Samui Island depart several times a day from Bangkok, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. You can also arrive by train, bus and boat.

The most obvious thing to do while holidaying on Koh Samui is to laze on one of the beautiful beaches, and swim or paddle in the warm tropical waters, but you will probably want to do other things as well, and there are lots and lots to do. Some of the more popular activities include Snorkeling. Snorkellers can accompany their diving companions on scuba dive trips, take a tour organized for snorkellers, a trip arranged by local fishermen to one of the many surrounding islands, or just snorkel from the beaches and rock formations dotted around the Island. Either way, the beauty of the coral and fish that can be seen through your mask is great.

Windsurfing equipment is available for rent from several water sport centers around the island. Lessons are available for beginner adults and children. Prices start from 300 baht per hour for equipment rental and from 500 baht for a one hour individual lesson (equipment included). The conditions for windsurfing are great, with good offshore winds throughout the year.

Scuba Diving is also very popular and the Gulf of Thailand offers a huge variety of dive sites suitable for all levels of diver. So whether you want to blow your very first bubbles underwater or you’re an experienced diver looking for something more challenging, there are plenty of options to choose from.

One of the things that makes Samui so appealing is the fact that you can still stop at a street cart for a 30 baht plate of Pad Thai or Fried Rice, while just around the corner a lavish buffet is being served on the beach. All the options are here, including several Thai vegetarian restaurants.

Entertainment Samui

There is lots of good entertainment in recent years an international community of entrepreneur restaurateurs have brought to Samui the cuisines of Japan, Italy, Germany, India, Brazilian, Switzerland, France, Sweden and Mexico, among others. Good Western cuisine can now be found in almost every village on the island. Need a “back home” style snack or a fast-food fix? There are excellent bakeries, ice cream parlours, McDonalds is in Chaweng and Lamai along with other well known pizza outlets.

If you stay long enough for your digestive system to begin to get acclimatized, you might try eating at one of the outdoor evening markets that locals frequent. Here you will find some of Samui’s most authentic (and spicy!) Thai food. The seating arrangements may be crude and the air filled with the noise of nearby locals relaxing after work with Karaoke, but the food will be hot, tasty and cheap.

A holiday to Thailand is incomplete without a trip to its well-known island, Koh Samui. This spectacular island offers everything from famous full moon parties to yoga and meditation!

Koi Samui

A holiday to Thailand is incomplete without a trip to its well-known island, Koh Samui. This spectacular island offers everything from famous full moon parties to yoga and meditation!

Koh Samui is a land of enchantment and mystery, waiting to be explored. It is bound to enthral you since it is forever buzzing with activity and a promise of adventure.

Koh Samui Attractions

Among the main Koi Samui attractions are gourmet Thai cuisine, beer bars, pubs, spa and massage parlours, classical Thai dancing, mud wrestling, even Thai women boxing, and so much more.

For the athletically inclined, there is the choice of sports like golf, diving, elephant trekking, snorkelling, kayaking, rock-climbing, sailing, bungee jumping, go-karting and Thai boxing.

For those who enjoy sightseeing, there are beautiful and unusual rock formations, waterfalls, lagoons, forests, butterfly garden and the native legendary grandfather and grandmother rocks (Hin Ta and Hin Yai).  Koh Samui is a Buddhist centre and home to many Buddhist pagodas, temples and artefacts. The north coast of the island is dominated by the sculpture of the huge seated Buddha overlooking the sea, which has become the island’s major landmark.

If you are a night bird, then Koi Samui is just the right place for you since it has a nightlife which has become a byword in the partying circuit, and you can live it up in one of its numerous pubs, beer bars, karaoke bars, lounge bars or dance clubs. Or you could just lie on the beach under the starlit sky with a cold beer in your hands and think lofty thoughts.