As promised and with thanks for our pre-holiday advice, here鈥檚 my report from a wonderful trip to Thailand. We (my husband and I) flew out from Heathrow to Bangkok with Eva Air on 11 March, travelling on to Koh Samui on 15 March. We returned to the UK on 26 March, flying from Koh Samui to Bangkok and then onward to Heathrow all in one day.
Our flight with Eva was largely uneventful although departure was delayed by an hour due to the presence of an inebriated passenger who had to be ejected from the aircraft. We did not experience the check in problems that others have reported.
I am not sure how much it would cost to upgrade from economy, but I think, having now experienced these flights, that we would definitely consider it in future. The plane was very full and not especially comfortable. The food and service were both acceptable but it seemed an awfully long time to be travelling. Regarding the inflight entertainment 鈥?well, take your ipod or a good book unless you have a taste for Beowulf or Dr Zhivago!
Particular praise is due to Diethelm travel, the agents used by Trailfinders for our transfers, they were excellent throughout the holiday, being prompt, polite and helpful. Unlike some other countries we have visited, the drivers did not seem to anticipate being tipped, and this was also refreshingly obvious throughout our stay in Thailand.
We were suitably impressed on arrival at the Millennium Hilton. It is a fantastically designed hotel, the staff are attentive without being too 鈥榠n your face鈥?and our room was lovely, with a fabulous view over the river and very comfortable, clean surroundings. The 360 degree bar at the top of the hotel really does have the 鈥榃ow鈥?factor and the skyline by night is amazing. We found the location ideal, with easy availability of the hotel鈥檚 shuttle boat.
After a wonderful meal in the hotel on our first night (superb steak in the Prime restaurant 鈥?expensive but worth it) we met with our guide, Jan, whom we had contacted after reading rave reviews about her on TA. Jan is quite simply a delightful and knowledgeable guide. She is very enthusiastic about Thailand in general and Bangkok in particular, and we were very glad to have her to show us around. We had two days with her, and after we had met up with her in the hotel lobby on our first day we took the public boat taxi to the Grand Palace, then a tuk tuk to the temple at Wat Pho. Having come from a cold wet UK, we were very tired and overheated quite quickly. Jan immediately picked up on this and we agreed to cut short our tour for the afternoon. She left us to chill out by the hotel pool for a couple of hours (great place for people watching!) before meeting up with us again in the evening and arranging for her equally pleasant husband, Mike, to chauffeur us to Silom Village. This is a definite touristy spot but we enjoyed wandering around and getting our first taste of Thai souvenir shopping. We had an unremarkable dinner, but this was compensated for by some lovely Thai dancing demonstrations at the restaurant. Our second day comprised of visits to Wat Arun (the Temple of the Dawn) and the Vimanmek teak mansion, interspersed with a relaxing jaunt on the river taxi to the end pier. This took us out of Bangkok and into Nonthaburi, where we sampled some sticky rice and mango. Finally we took a taxi to MBK which is a totally mind-boggling huge shopping mall. The Sky train delivered us back to the pier opposite the MH. We ate at Tala Thai that evening which is easily reached by the MH complimentary boat service.
We would recommend anyone to use Jan鈥檚 guide services, she is very friendly, bubbly and keen to show off as much as possible of Bangkok as one has time to see. In retrospect we wished we had had another day to acclimatise to the heat and culture shock of Bangkok so as to be able to enjoy more of the city. Jan鈥檚 charges are very reasonable and she will tailor your itinerary to suit you. Despite her nickname of 鈥楪eneral鈥?Jan, which amuses her greatly, she is very amenable and not at all bossy. We felt that we would not have found our way around without her help and appreciated her concern in phoning us after we had parted company to make sure we had arrived back safe and sound at the hotel. She can be contacted on noobo@yahoo.com
On Saturday 15 March we flew with Bankgok Airways to Koh Samui, a short hop of an hour or so. The airline has a very pleasant lounge with complimentary food, drink and internet access and the flight was on time. Koh Samui airport is very pretty and unusual, we loved the theme park style transfer buggies they use instead of airport buses. Transfer to the Bophut Resort and Spa took around 15 minutes. On arrival we were delighted to be told we had been upgraded from a 鈥楪arden view room鈥?to a 鈥楪arden View Villa鈥?which comprised of a semi-detached bungalow style room with its own patio and lush tropical garden. The bedroom was very large, as was the bed, and the adjoining bathroom also a very good size. The Bophut is a beautiful place to stay and we really could not fault it in any way. The staff were unfailingly pleasant and helpful, from the pool boys to the concierge nothing was too much trouble and we felt suitably pampered and cosseted throughout our stay. I loved the evening 鈥榯urndown鈥?when we returned to our room to find orchids on our pillows and some fragrant oil burning in the bathroom. An electric mosquito repellent was provided, as were bathrobes, complimentary slippers and flip flops and a very useful pool bag (sadly not complimentary!) Linen and towel changes were appropriate for the length of stay and the room was kept supplied with fresh flowers and fruit. The only thing I would not recommend is drinking the complimentary red wine 鈥?this would be more useful to strip paint or put on your chips鈥? In fact, wine is very expensive in Thailand, obviously it is all imported, but we developed instead a taste for Singha beer, which was more thirst quenching in the tropical heat.
It took us a while to find places to eat in Fisherman鈥檚 Village that suited, perhaps we are picky but we found the 鈥楬appy Elephant鈥?to be one of the worst places we tried. The service was indifferent and the fish I chose from the front of the restaurant did not appear to bear much resemblance to what ultimately arrived on the plate, minus the promised garlic and black pepper. We ate at the Smile House twice, the first time was excellent, the second disappointing. The Shack turns out a good steak, and my husband raved over the garlic mash. It takes about 15 minutes to walk into Fisherman鈥檚 Village 鈥?there is a useful shortcut (turn left by the Full Moon restaurant sign) but if you don鈥檛 want to walk, hop on to one of the tuk tuk style open vehicles that toot as you walk along. The price is variable though 鈥?the first time we paid 60 Baht, the second we were asked for 300 which we haggled down to 100!
We eventually found an excellent restaurant at the other end of the resort, (turn right out of the Bophut and walk for ten minutes or so 鈥?go past the wonderfully named 鈥楳r Poo鈥檚 BBQ鈥?and you will come to the Kingfisher restaurant opposite the Samui Palm Beach hotel. The restaurant is run by two brothers who are originally Dutch; one is married to a Thai and the menu is both Thai and European. I can heartily recommend the sole which was prepared with garlic butter and pepper, also lobster and king prawns were excellent. We ate here for half the price of the meals in Fishermans Village too. One evening we fancied something light and enjoyed very fresh Caesar and Tuna salads.
Being novices at Thai cuisine, we opted to try our hotel restaurant鈥檚 Thai banquet one evening. There were some interesting dishes, but overall we found that serving prawns, chicken, beef, pork and fish all in the same meal was a little overwhelming for us. The Thai dancing seemed very stilted compared to that we saw in Bangkok and the music was dire.
The Bophut offered other themed evenings directly on the beach, and went to a great deal of trouble to set up the tables, lights etc, but we did not try them so cannot comment. The food in general was very good, with a great selection at breakfast to cover all ethnic tastes from American waffles through dim sum to good old eggs and bacon. And the fresh fruit in particular was lovely, along with a refreshing Lassi drink.
Some lunchtimes we ordered the Bophut鈥檚 club sandwich and found that one between the two of us was enough, the heat curbing our appetites. There was a happy hour between 4.30 and 5.30, just the right time for a Singha beer, but this was not very well advertised and it took us a couple of days to cotton on!
On our last evening we dined at the Zazen Hotel which seems to be the 鈥榠n鈥?place in Bophut. We had a lovely meal, the menu is imaginative and the food beautifully presented. This was obviously reflected in the price, but like the steak at the MH, it was well worth it.
During our stay we took two trips. One was the round island tour which takes in the main sites of interest. We opted for the four hour version which was about right in the heat, and it was very well organised. A word of advice 鈥?book tours from one of the tour agents rather than through the hotel as they are much cheaper. We used New Yorker Mike, the first tour agent we came to as you turn right out of the hotel, he was very informative and did not try to steer us in any particular direction.
Our second trip was a boat trip that included snorkelling off Kao Tao, recommended for its clear waters. The trip was a good day out. The boat doubled as a ferry and it was fun to see the variety of passengers! I also had the best foot massage of my stay on the boat, it was an odd concept to be sitting on a deck in a comfortable reclining chair having reflexology with the sea breeze and sunshine, but it worked!
The Bophut spa is very expensive by Thai standards (although comparatively speaking the charges are about half what they would be in the UK). Another guest recommended the spa at the Peace resort directly opposite the Bophut and I spent a wonderful three hours of pampering for the equivalent of around 拢40. I have never before encountered a spa which offers one an individual steam room and Jacuzzi out in the open. It was absolutely lovely, as was the Thai massage and reflexology.
Massage is readily available along the beach also, and for around 拢6 it is possible to enjoy an invigorating hour of heavy duty Thai massage or the gentler equivalent where the masseuse uses jasmine oil in a more familiar aromatherapy type massage. When the sunburn kicks in it is also very good to have a massage with aloe vera gel.
The pool at the Bophut is kept very clean, there was never a shortage of pool beds or towels and the pool boys are well practised in moving the heavy umbrellas to give shade when it is required. Should you dare to try to do it yourself, they magically appear to do it for you.
The gardens at the hotel are beautiful and the whole environment is close to tropical paradise, with birds and butterflies flitting among the vibrant flowers, and we did not encounter wildlife any more sinister than the colourful lizards.
We had not expected much of the beach at the resort from various comments on TA, but actually it was fine. The sand is coarse but it is clean, and yes, the water is cloudy, but the beach shelves gradually and the water is very warm. One morning I was enthusiastic enough to get up to photograph the sun rise, and at the far end of the beach I spotted someone taking his cow 鈥?or perhaps a water buffalo 鈥?in to bathe. Didn鈥檛 go in the sea after that!
The beach vendors are omnipresent, but they are good natured and take 鈥榥o鈥?for an answer quite readily. After the first few days they tend to leave you alone, but if you do venture onto the beach to haggle for souvenirs, they cluster round like bees round a honeypot, hoping that some of your Baht will come their way. But it is all quite gently done and did not constitute the nuisance that we have encountered elsewhere. We were intrigued by the corn sellers, who hawk barbecued corn on the cob and fresh mango, both of which look very good, but we just didn鈥檛 get round to trying it.
All in all, we loved Koh Samui and all it has to offer. From the amount of building work that is evident, it may be that in a few years鈥?time it will lose its air of tranquillity, and I would recommend that if people are considering going, they should go sooner rather than later.
We took many photos and I will post them when time (and jet lag!) permit and will put a link here when they are on the net.
Regards to all
Andrea
Bo Phut Reort and Spa trip report (includes Bangkok)
Hi Andrea
Wonderful JBR! Thanks for taking the time to write it.Am off to Bophut in June so your restaurant comments will come in handy.
I have some questions. Did you book when you went to Zazen for dinner? Would you recommend it for a special birthday/romantic treat? My 50th.....eek!!
Also, what was the name of the ferry you went on for your trip to Koh Tao? How long did it take you to get there?
Looking forward to seeing your photos.
Cheers,
Roslyn.
Bo Phut Reort and Spa trip report (includes Bangkok)
Hi Andrea
Great report, we too had the same issues with ';Happy Elephant'; which was quite disappointing as we%26#39;d read so many good reports about the place. Glad you had a wonderful tip.
Lee
Hi Andrea,
What a great review, it%26#39;s especially useful to us as you%26#39;ve done more or less exactly what we%26#39;ll be doing in about 8 weeks for our honeymoon!
Could you tell me when you were returning home from Koh Samui did you have to collect your luggage at Bangkok airport then check it in again for the flight home? I%26#39;m just concerned about whether we%26#39;ve got enough time for this - think we%26#39;ve got about 2 hours in between. Someone has mentioned a transfer desk, is this what you used?
Many thanks for any help
Many thanks for your kind comments. To answer the specific questions:
Yes, we booked at Zazen, and would recommend it for a special event. So that we didnt arrive hot and bothered, we were lazy and took a taxi, even though it is only around a ten minute walk. Make sure also that you insist on the driver using his meter!
The ferry to Koh Tao is the Seatran Discovery link. It is a good size which we wanted to as to be able to move around and choose shade/sun etc. We were really impressed by the standard of the lunch buffet on board too, there was also plenty of cold water available, and the snorkelling equipment, though basic, was clean. The lifejackets they insist you wear are not the most comfortable tho!
We only had an hour and a half between our Koh Samui and Bangkok flights, which caused a bit of anxiety. However we checked with the Diethelm rep and she said that anything over an hour and a quarter would be fine. She was right, but it was still a bit tense. Luggage is checked in at Koh Samui all the way to Heathrow and the formalities are quick. However, we ended up walking the length of Bangkok airport (and it is big!) before we found the Eva Air checkin which seemed rather tucked away. Either we missed the correct signage, or it is poor, not sure which.
Hope this info helps
Regards
Andrea
Sorry,forgot one more thing. The Seatran takes around 2 and a half hours to reach the first snorkelling point, then its lunch before another opportunity to snorkel and head back to Samui. A
Hi Andrea,
Loved reading your trip report - they are too far and between on the Koh Samui forum. Glad you had such a lovely holiday - we look forward to returning to KS as well.
Cheers,
Sandy
No comments:
Post a Comment