Alone In Paradise

Feasting, lazing and partying at Samujana Villas, the best of Koh Samui.

- Hannah Choo

I’M NOT READY for this. I am on a rocky outcrop located at the south end of Lamai Bay on Koh Samui and I’m in flip-flops. The ground is slippery and full of cracks; one wrong step will definitely send me flying to my grave. I could die from the fall or from embarrassment, but death is the last thing on my mind. I am here for the same reason everyone else is: Hin Ta (Grandfather Rock) and Hin Yai (Grandmother Rock), two rock formations that pay tribute to a man’s and woman’s genitalia. It’s amusing for a second or two and the cracks make sense.

Of course, there is more to Samui than giant depictions of sexual organs. Just a quick two-hour flight on Bangkok Airways from Singapore, Thailand’s second largest island provides more than enough rest and relaxation to take the edge off yet another stressful month. Think of it as a smaller Phuket (it’s about half its size) that’s a lot less busy and a lot more relaxed. Set in the Gulf of Thailand, daytime Samui is a gleaming jewel; bright and sunny, surrounded by the varying blues of the ocean and filled with white sandy beaches and the lush greens of the forests. The nights can be spent at a bar or market in Chaweng, or one of those famous full moon parties on Koh Phangan, 15km north of Samui by ferry.