Choeng Mon Beach Guide, Koh Samui, Thailand

Choeng Mon beach is a 2km stretch of powdery white sand located on the far northeastern penninsular of Koh Samui island, Thailand. Popular with visitors for its shallow, rock-free, child-friendly waters with good all-year-round swimming and fantastic views, Choeng Mon's sands curve around from the rocky outcrops at the bay's far north end to the tiny island of Koh Fan Noi at the bay's southern end where native trees provide shaded areas just perfect for small children.

Looking southeast towards Koh Fan Noi

Looking northwards towards the rocky headland of Choeng Mon Bay

Like Choeng Mon's surrounding popular beach areas of Chaweng and Bophut, the beach is lined with a  choice of beachfront restaurants, bars, hotels and resorts each offering sunbeds which are free for visitor's use providing refreshments or food is ordered. The beach also offers watersports such as jet-ski rental, banana boats and waterskiing with two dive-centres (Searobin Dive Center and Easy Divers) where dives or diver training can be organised. Another fun activity is to explore the tiny island of Koh Fan Noi which is joined to the main beach by a shallow sand-bar that is exposed at low tides and waist-height at times of high tide.



Shallow, still, clear waters of Choeng Mon Beach 

Restaurants, bars, resorts and hotels line the idyllic, soft sands

Much more peaceful than nearby, crowded Chaweng Beach

Cheong Mon is a family friendly beach with sunbeds and shady umbrellas

For those who prefer a bit more relaxation, the beach is also lined with small bamboo massage pavilions which offer a large choice of different massage and beauty treatments.

Choeng Mon beach offers several budget and mid-range resorts such as (from north to south) Thana Resort, O'Soleil, PS Villa, Whitehouse, Cheong Mon Resort, Crystal Resort, Chat Kaeow, Samui Honey Resort and Kirati Resort which mingle with the luxurious Muang Samui, located in the center of the beach, and the Imperial Boat House Hotel which is situated to the south of the beach, overlooking Koh Fan Noi.

To the northwest of Choeng Mon beach, the coastline forms a number of smaller, picturesque bays which offer more luxurious accommodation options such as SALA Samui and the Tongsai Bay Hotel. To the southeast, lies the international tourist center of Chaweng.

The beach road, located 300 metres behind the beach, offers a large choice of restaurants, bars and tourist conveniences including banks, pharmacies, shops and stores.







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Plae Leam Temple, Koh Samui

Plai Laem Temple is without a doubt Koh Samui island's most beautiful temple with several brightly coloured Thai-style temple buildings and several impressive Chinese-style Buddha statues built amongst a large pond within beautiful landscaped gardens.

A spectacular Chinese style Buddha image in Plai Laem Temple, Koh Samui

Visitors are free to stroll around the temple grounds, taking photographs and admiring the tropical landcape and you can also take a look inside the temples where you can view wall paintings depicting the life and enlightment of the Buddha.

The temple's impressive statues, which depict characters from Thai mythology and Chinese-style  Buddha images, are a great backdrop for postcard- perfect souvenir shots.

The pagoda buildings in Plai Laem Temple show truly intricate detail

Several years ago, the temples large pond was packed full with large catfish and visitors could buy food to feed the fish, however over-feeding caused many of the fish to die and so visitors are no longer encouraged to do so.

Plai Laem temple is a beautiful Koh Samui tourist attraction, a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the island and well recommended for a 30 minute to 1 hour visit. After exploring the grounds, grab an ice-cream at the ice-cream vendors in the car park area to cool down while admiring the scenery and intricate detail of the temple buildings. 

Plai Laem Temple is located about 1km past Samui's Big Buddha statue as you are driving from Bangrak town. The large buildings and statues can be seen clearly from the main road and there are spaces for parking both cars and motorcyles within the temple grounds.

Visitors should dress politely though casually (shorts and T-shirt or vest is fine) and take care to remove shoes when entering temple buildings. Admittance to the temple is free though visitors are encouraged to make a small donation to support the termple.




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Big Buddha Statue & Temple, Bangrak, Koh Samui

Koh Samui's Big Buddha statue is one of the island's top tourist attractions and is located within Big Buddha temple ('wat pra-yai'), on a tiny island, on the far eastern side of Bangrak Bay.  Built in 1972, the impressive 12 meter high golden statue glistens in the tropical Samui sun and it is one of Koh Samui's best known landmarks as it can be seen from several kilometers away.

Koh Samui's Big Buddha statue, located in Bangrak, is one of the island's top tourist attractions

The access road to the Big Buddha Temple is located just after the fish market, next to the long established BBC restaurant and there are usually adequate spaces for parking in front of the entrance to the temple just after the first shops that you pass.

Next to the car park are several cheap Thai restaurants, several souvenir shops, ice-cream and refreshment stalls alongside a small selecton of chic boutiques and art shops which are worth a quick browse.

As you pass through the temple gates, a staircase leads up to the Big Buddha statue and at the base of the stairs are two pogodas where monks give blessing to the locals in exchange for offerings which include flowers, candles, food and water.

On the left, is a covered area where you can sign the underside of a temple roof tile (to be added to temple roofs in future building projects) in exchange for a small donation of Thai baht.

To the right are fortune telling machines. To tell your fortune, you first need to work out the day of the week that you were born on. Place a ten baht coin in the machine of the day of your birth (there are 7 in total, one for each day), read the number that is shown when the lights stop spinning and then read the fortune that corresponds to this number which are displayed on the wall in both Thai and English.

At the base of the Big Buddha statue is where locals to pay their respect to the Buddha

Up the staircase brings you to the base of the Big Buddha statue itself. In front of the statue is a small shrine where locals give offering for Buddha, and around the statue are a number of bells which can be rung for good luck using the pices of wood provided at the top of the staircase. This is also a very good spot to take some snaps of the stunning sea and island views which surround the temple.

Big Buddha is well worth a visit to soak up some local culture, take some nice photos and enjpy the views. Please note that visitors are requested to dress politely (i.e. no bikini or thongs). 


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Koh Samui Aquarium and Tiger Show

The Samui Aquarium and Tiger Show is located on the southeastern coast of Koh Samui and offers an aquarium, tiger zoo and show, bird zoo and show, sea lion show and otter show.

Samui Aquarium and Tiger Show, Koh Samui Island, Thailand

The aquarium is open every day from 9am with bird and tiger shows starting each afternoon from 1.30pm, so make sure you arrive at least an hour before that to allow yourself time to get through the aquarium and take a look around the bird zoo. The aquarium itself has a reasonable selection of sea life to admire including some species of sharks and large sea turtles which you can feed. Though it is not a modern aquarium and certainly not up to the standards set by large, modern aquariums around the world, it is quite nice to see Thailand's indiginous sea-life up close and personal.

After lunch, the show is kicked off with a Bengal Tiger show. This involves the tigers jumping through burning hoops, walking across various obstacles and sitting nicely in formation. I have to admit that I thought the show was a little uncomfortable to watch as the tigers seem quite aggressive towards the trainers, the trainers looked extremely nervous and I just don't really like to see large, wild animals outside their natural environment. In saying that, my son, who was about 4 years old when he first saw the show enjoyed it tremendously.

Next the bird show, which I enjoyed a lot more than the tiger show. Parrots show off their intellect by riding bicycles and playing games, large eagles grab objects from the trainers' hands in mid-flight (or from volunteers' hands!). Both myself and the family really enjoyed the bird show, especially the kids. After the show is over, kids can go to the stage and have the birds sit on their heads or shoulders (take care as obviously the big bird's claws are large and sharp).


Once you have taken in the aquarium, tiger show and bird show you can have a look at the sea lion and otter shows or just take a stroll and admire the bird species which are kept in large cages in the gardens of the aquarium. You can also pay a fee to have your photo taken with a Bengal Tiger, though I would have to argue that both this and the Tiger Show step a bit over the line and I don't really agree with this practice.

All in all the show is reasonably entertaining for adults and very entertaining for children. If you don't like seeing big animals locked up or people taking pictures of themselves with baby tigers then this is definitely not the place for you. A visit to the Samui Aquarium and Tiger Show will take up about 3 hours of your day and is a good family day out.

Samui Aquarium and Tiger Show is situated next to the Samui Orchid Resort and ticket costs are 450 THB for children and 750THB for adults which gives you access to the aquarium and all shows.

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Coco Splash Waterpark, Koh Samui, Thailand

Coco Splash is a petite waterpark with several waterslides, a bar and a restaurant with child-friendly, shallow pools. Located in Lamai, on the eastern coast of Koh Samui, the waterpark has been opened since the start of 2011 and is already making a big splash with island locals and tourists alike.

Coco Splash Waterpark and Restaurant Grill

The largest, yellow slide and the kid's slide

There are three different slides in the park; the largest yellow slide, a small blue kid's slide and an intermediate slide towards the rear of the park. The largest slide might not look like much in the photo but it definitely gets your heart pounding as you pick up speed and slam into the shallow pool at the bottom! The kid's slide is very slow and good for young kids and the curving intermediate slide is good fun for older children.

Sun-beds and covered bamboo salahs with table and chairs

Coco Splash Waterpark, Koh Samui Island, Thailand

The restaurant offers snacks and meals at reasonable prices and free wifi is available. Coco Splash has an entrance fee of 200 THB per person. Entry is free if you don't want to use the pools and slides.

I would highly recommend Coco Splash. My son (7 year old) loved it and didn't stop for the whole afternoon we were there The park has life guards on the larger pools but please remember to supervise your children at all times, especially young children.

To get to Coco Splash, turn from the island ring road at Lamai onto the McDonald's road (see McD sign at junction). Follow the road for about 300 meters and then take the sharp right at the small bridge. The waterpark is 100 meters along this road.





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Loy Kratong Festival, November (annual Thai Festival)

The Loy Kratong Festival occurs during the full moon of the twelfth lunar month and falls in November each year (but on a different calender date each year). The festival is thought to be Brahmin (which forms part of Hinduism) in origin and the purpose of the festival if to thank the water Gods and to float away any problems or bad luck you may have and start afresh  'Loy' is the Thai word for float and 'kratong' is the name for the float itself which is constructed from banana plant stalk and leaves.

Kratongs are made from banana stalk and leaves with flowers, candles and joss sticks

The kratongs are decorated with flowers, delicately folded banana leaves, candles and joss sticks with some coins for good luck. In the south of Thailand people also often add tufts of their hair or pieces of fingernails to the kratong though this practice is unheard of in the rest of Thailand.

When the moon is full, hundreds of thousands of people all over the country float their kratongs on ponds, rivers, canals and beaches (but check the tides as they may cause the kratong to come back which is not good luck!). Loy Kratong is traditionally a time of quiet contemplation and reflection for Thai people to think about the past year and look to the future.

Popular places on Koh Samui to float your kratong are Plai Laem temple and Chaweng lakeside.



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Bangrak, Koh Samui - A Tourist Guide to Bangrak Beach and Town

Bangrak Beach and Town lies on the busy, northeastern coastline of the beautiful, tropical island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand.  The town is about 5 minutes' drive to popular Fisherman's Village in Bophut, 5-10 minutes' drive to idyllic Cheong Mon Beach and 10-15 minutes' drive to the bright lights of Chaweng, Koh Samui's most popular and busy beach area.

Bangrak is relatively quiet compared to it's neighbouring town of Chaweng though the area has been becoming steadily more popular in recent times. Bangrak's magnificent sea views, towards the neighbouring island of Koh Phan Ngan, and convenience of location has made it a popular area for holiday rental properties and there is a wide choice of rental properties and villas dotted around the hillsides and the beach. The town also offers several low to medium-budget hotels and several beach front, luxury Spa resorts.

Bangrak Bay and town, Koh Samui, Thailand

Bangrak Beach has fantastic sea views towards the neighbouring island of Koh han Ngan, Koh Samui, Thailand

Bangrak Town, Koh Samui, Thailand

Bangrak Beach, Koh Samui Island, Thailand

The beach itself is quiet and picturesque with the best swimming spots towards the east of the bay as the wetern end is quite rocky. Towards the eastern end of the beach is a choice of small beach front resorts, bars and restaurants. Some of the beach resorts and spas, such as Samui Pier and Saboey,  offer sunbeds on the beach.

There are a number of rickety, wooden piers along the eastern end of the beach where you can catch speedboats to Koh Phan Ngan Island. These piers are very busy during the monthly Full-Moon parties on Koh Phan Ngan when speedboat taxis run throughout the night. The far eastern end of the beach is where you will find the large, concrete pier which has ferry services to neighbouring islands.

Bangrak has a good choice of bars and restaurants offering both Thai and International cuisine. Bars stay open to 1am, but during busy periods they may stay open later as long as there are enough paying customers. The most popular bars are M & M's, Cosmic Bar and The Premiere Sports Bar. There are no nightclubs in Bangrak but if you want nighlife, Chaweng is only 10 minutes away.

Bangrak's Big Buddha statue, Koh Samui Island, Thailand

At the far eastern end of the Bay you will find Bangrak's largest landmark,  the Big Buddha statue. This  huge, golden Buddha statue is built within the grounds of a temple and toursits are more than welcome to take a look around (polite clothes should be worn). There is a plethora of shops around the base of the statue and you can climb the steps to the statue to see great views. Locals believe that walking around the staute, ringing the bells, will bring good luck.A few hundred metres east of the Big Buddha ststue you will find Plai Laem Temple, with its own impressive statues and beautiful temple buildings

Bangrak's Fresh Market is found next to the Big Buddha Statue and here you will find fresh seafood straight from the fishermen's boats as well as meat, fresh fruit and vegetables.



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Paradise Park Farm

I have visited Paradise Farm several times over the past few years and thoroughly enjoyed every visit. Of all the day trips to be reommended on Koh Samui, this is definitely up in the top 3 of the best Koh Samui family days out.

Exceptional views from the Farm's mountain-top infinity pool

Paradise Park Farm is arranged on about 18 acres of mountain-top land, deep in the mountainous interior of Koh Samui and is one of the highest points on Samui at about 600 meters above sea-level. The Park contains many different species of animals including rabbits, Gibbon monkeys, deer, emu, parrots and cockatoos to name but a few. Paradise Park is very well maintained and the animals appear to be looked after very well by the large number of very friendly and helpful staff.

Mountainous jungle Views

As you enter the park, you will be greeted by the Gibbons who are extremely friendly and curious. Soon they will be up on your shoulder or lying down for a tickle. The hardest part of the day is saying goodbye to them as you will want to take them home with you!

Parrots and many more large, colourful birds. Be careful, some of them bite!

Next to the Farm's restaurant you will find many large, colourful birds inlcuding parrots and cockatoos. The staff will let you know which birds to stay away from as some of them do bite!

The Farm's deer

The fenced interior of the park contains deer, emus, goats and avaries containing many species of birds.

Gibbons have got to be the cutest of all monkeys!

After all the hard work and walking around you can relax in the park's restaurant and bar or at the mountain-top infinity-edged swimming pool which must have the best sea views in all of Koh Samui. Paradise Park Farm is a must for all visiting families to Koh Samui. Absoutely fantastic.

For more info, photos and directions click this link to visit the Paradise Park Farm homepage.




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Koh Samui Snake Farm & Show

If you're looking to add a bit of excitement to your trip to Koh Samui, try the Samui Snake Show located in the South of the Island.  Not only will you be impressed by the handler's ability with the Cobras and Pythons, he handles the scorpions and centipedes pretty well, too.

The Thai Cobra

The Cobra pit and handler

After the show you can get to know the snakes better

Scorpions

Most of the action accurs in the snake pit with Thai Cobras, Giant Pythons, centipedes and scorpions. When I asked if they had King Cobras, they replied that they used to, but they were too big so they "sometimes got out during the show".

The handler will show you the snakes, scorpions and centipedes up close and will show you the centipede's jaws as they bite him. He explains that once you are bitten about 50 or 100 times, your body becomes immune to the poison - but the inch long teeth still hurt!

Wait for the finale, invloving the centipedes he ate at the start of the show!

The snakes appear to be kept in relatively good conditions and you can have a look at them all before or after the show in the farm's small Reptile Zoo. After the show, guests can handle the snakes and take photos with the Python.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Samui Snake Farm and would definitely recommend it to visitors to Koh Samui, though I think it's a once in a lifetime type of show and I doubt if I will be back again for a second show!

Visit the Samui Snake Farm homepage for more information and directions.

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Koh Samui Fishing Tour - A Great Family Day Out

A few weeks ago, myself and some friends who were visiting from the UK decided to go on fishing trip for the day. The weather was fine, the beer was flowing and the fish were biting. Altogether a fantastic family day out and well recommended.

Taking our motion sickness medicine (just in case!) and setting off for sea

We got picked up at the 7-11 in Bangrak around 8.30am, arrived in the Plai Laem dock a few minutes later and then we boarded the boat to set off. The pickup went smoothly and staff very friendly and welcoming.
As we set off, the boat driver gave us a run down of waht we would be doing. The plan was to do some fishing near the big rock between Choeng Mon Beach and Koh Phan Ngan, then eat a prepared lunch on the boat (hopefully with some fried fish!). Next, relax for an hour  and do some swimming on a small deserted beach. The rest of the afternoon would be spent searching for more fish.

Getting the bait on - and getting on the beer!!!

And so, the rods, bait (squid) and beers were brought out and the fishing began.

Soon the first fish were being reeled in. Several small Groupers and a small White Snapper were the catch of the morning and were freshly fried on the boat for lunch. I have to admit that my group and I did not catch any fish in the morning. I think we were on the wrong side of the boat as all the fish were caught from the other side!

We soon stopped for a fine lunch of fresh fish, fried rice, salad, spring rolls and fruit salad and the last of the beer. Then it was off to moor the boat near a deserted beach for some swimming and relaxation.

Deserted beach

Show offs

Soon we headed back out to sea for some more fishing around some rocky outcrops not far from Samui's NE peninsula. Our group got more than a few bites this time and soon we had a few more Grouper fish in the bag.

Soon, it was time to head back to port and we were given an opportunity to buy a tacky printed dinner plate with our photo (I did wonder why they took our family picture as we boarded the boat). I have to admit, I did buy it but I sent it home to my mother in UK to put on her mantelpiece! We were then dropped back off at the 7-11 around 4.30pm with our bag of fish and walked back to our home showing our catch off to our very impressed neighbours. We didn't tell them that we didn't catch them ourselves and showed them off with huge, satisfied smiles.

Our competitors!

Life jackets are available, but may not fit the children!

Our after lunch swim

All in all, a great day out. If you are a serious fisherman, you will probably be disappointed at the size of fish caught - especially when you look at all the huge fish on the brochure. Better you try the night fishing trip where you can catch live squid which you use as bait to catch larger fish including Barracuda, Cobia, Shark, Mackeral, Sailfish, Snapper, Grouper and Trevally. We did see one Baracuda chasing some fish early in the afternoon but these are much more easily caught at night when they feed.

Prices for the fishing trip are 1,500 Thai Baht (around $50 USD) per person including lunch, fishing supplies and soft drinks. Book with us for discounts!

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