Luang Prabang to the Amazing Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand (pt 3 of 4)

We were leaving Luang Prabang at 12:15p. So we left the hotel around 10:00a. We flew Bangkok Airways, which had a really small lounge for all of its passengers and we were in it for about 5 minutes before they called the flight. We spent some time buying stuff in the terminal even though it must've been one of the smallest terminals I've ever been to with international service. The terminal in general was barely air conditioned and it was very warm. 

We were able to walk out to our plane, which wasn't particularly close. I've definitely been to airports in Southeast Asia where they would put you on a bus for a 100ft walk. Our ATR 72-600 was waiting without the air conditioning on, which was horrible. The plane didn't cool down until we took off. 

The plane was comfortable enough for a 2 hour flight to Bangkok, where we would change planes to Koh Samui.

 

The meal was pretty good and included in the airfare. That's the neat thing about Bangkok Airways--they feed you a full meal on every flight regardless of the length. They only cut back on the beverage service on short flights by limiting your choices. The flight was great and we landed a little early in Bangkok. Since we were on a prop plane I knew we were going to be bussed to the terminal and we were.

Some internalized oppression in a bottle anyone? Whitening your face won't get you the white privilege you seek.

After a 1.5 hour layover we were bussed out to our next plane. This A319 would get us to Samui in just about an hour.

The legroom was great.

Another meal on this short flight

Descending into Samui

The Samui airport is really cute. It's all open air, which is good and bad. But the cool thing is that there are trams that take you to and from your plane because they park far away. Instead of using large buses, this small airport uses little open air trams between the terminal and the planes. We booked a car to take us to the Conrad which is in a remote part of the island and it takes about 45 minutes by car from the airport. We had a Mercedes E250 and they had cold towels and snacks for the ride to the hotel. We arrived around 5pm and didn't get to the hotel until around 6p.

The hotel is located on a cliff and you drive all the way to the top of the hill and the arrival lobby and "front desk" are located at the top. The view from there is incredible. Then the rest of the resort goes down. There are tons of golf carts that they call buggies to take you where you need to go. Our room was on the 200 level, which is the 2nd row from the bottom/beach. It's a great level to be on because the main restaurant, called Zest, is on the same level and the pool is one level down. There are no steps, but many of the walk ways, which are also the roadways for the buggies, are very steep. In the heat and humidity, walking uphill can be a real chore. By the time we got to our room, it had been turned down and they leave a small treat on the bed along with any note or necessary information.

A fruit plate on arrival with a huge dragon fruit, my favorite

The gigantic bathroom was the size of most hotel rooms

The view of our private pool and 5 islands just after sunset

Our residence for 4 nights

No matter the time of day, this view never got old. Our room, 217, was pretty far down away from other villas and was very quiet. They said that the hotel was at capacity, which means 80 or so villas were occupied, but it never felt that way. We never saw any other person walking down our pathway. We only ever saw people at the restaurants during meal times.

Really low tide on the beach below the resort

We came down here every day and were the only people on the beach

I checked out a kayak every day too

That's me out there

The view never gets old

On our last full day here, we took the complimentary beach excursion provided by the hotel. They do this so that guests can have a true beach experience since their beach is not the greatest. The boat only holds 10 guests, so you have to sign up ahead of time. They do this 2-hour trip 3 times per day. We were on the first one at 10am. They picked us up from our villa and brought us to the main lobby at the top of the hill. Then we all piled into a van to the pier a few minutes away. Then we all piled into the speed boat and headed to a reef to the east of the the island. There were a bunch of other boats letting their guests snorkel. They dropped the anchor and we were able to snorkel for about 25 minutes.

This is the view of the resort from the speedboat

Leaving Koh Samui

My Finding Nemo moment

After snorkeling we went on to another island, called Koh Madsum. There were beach beds, umbrellas, and kayaks along the beach to hang out on for about 45 minutes. There was a small restaurant and cafe on the island too.

view from Madsum

selfie on Madsum

Our boat is the 2nd from the right

There's also pigs on the island. Apparently they aren't wild or local to the island. They were brought there and the people who run the restaurant take care of the pigs. No one lives on the island and its just a day trip place.

Heading back to the Conrad

If you look closely you can see some Conrad villas on the hill.

This one makes me laugh because you can't tell who we are

Our last Koh Samui sunset

We saved the nicest restaurant at the Conrad, Jahn, for our last dinner. They have 2 different tasting menus along with a regular menu. I chose the Tasting of Jahn menu. According to one of the hotel managers, Jahn is always rated as the best restaurant on Samui and one of the best in all of Thailand. We loved it and the 8 course meal was amazing. 

Hors d'oeuvres: chicken, prawn, and fish spring roll

Papaya salad with chicken in pandanus leaves

The cubes are chili oil to add spiciness to the soup

Tom yum goong: hot and sour soup, where the broth steeps and served table side

Palate cleanser: rosella sorbet

Wagyu beef is seared table side with sea salt and an iron

Massaman of wagyu beef. I'm not a beef person, but this was incredible.

Pre-dessert of Thai melon ice cream and midori

Sweet potato tart with apple compote, passion fruit coulis, and guava sorbet

Petit fours

The entire meal was incredible beginning to end. I've never had 3 dessert courses before, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. 

Last breakfast view from Zest

Our last breakfast on the island was kind of depressing, but still good. I guess you could say it was bittersweet. We were leaving the hotel around 9:30a to catch our flight to Bangkok at 11:45a. Since the hotel is about 45 minutes from the airport, we had to leave early. One of the managers bid us farewell upon check out and they gave us some departing gifts of local sweets and a Conrad sea turtle. We had the hotel car take us back and this time it was a Mercedes S300. It was huge and super luxurious and a great way to send us off on our way back home.

Stay tuned for the next post, getting home from Thailand through Bangkok, an overnight in Hong Kong, and a connection through Seoul.