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Koh Samui's emerald lagoons and pink soup: Exploring Thailand's weird and wonderful island paradise

We boarded Scoot’s inaugural flight to the scenic Thai island and discovered naughty rock formations, exotic food and why you should make a girl grind coconuts before you think about marrying her.

Koh Samui's emerald lagoons and pink soup: Exploring Thailand's weird and wonderful island paradise

Azure skies and beautiful beaches of Koh Samui (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

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Business class is great and all, but have you had the thrill of being the first bum to occupy a brand new seat on a brand new airplane?

Those of us boarding Scoot’s fresh-off-the-production-line Embraer E190-E2s for six of the airline’s routes got to inhale that “new seat” smell and revel smugly in the knowledge that, in entirely scientific terms, the presence of other people’s leftover molecules was negligible.

As my posterior made contact with the cool smoothness of the seat’s pristine pleather, the singularity of that moment washed over me: How many people can say they have boldly gone where no bum has gone before?

I was on board Scoot’s inaugural flight to Koh Samui, one of the airline’s latest new destinations made possible by the acquisition of the Embraer E190-E2s – Singapore’s first planes from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer.

Aboard Scoot's Embraer E190-E2 aircraft (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

This particular plane had been christened Small Yella Fella (in lettering on the side of the plane) and, designed for short to medium routes, it is little with a huge advantage: Its 112 seats are in a two-by-two configuration, eliminating the dreaded middle seat.

A smooth two hours later, we touched down in Koh Samui, Thailand, to a welcoming fanfare of a water canon parade, officials holding a banner, and flower garlands placed around the necks of every single passenger.

This, combined with the powerful effect of Koh Samui’s al fresco airport designed to look like an 80s tropical resort complete with thatched roofs, bean bags and golf buggies, succeeded in immediately putting me in a holiday mood, in a destination widely known as a Thai island paradise.

One of many reasons Koh Samui is widely known as an island paradise (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

But I was, of course, here for work, and there was a full, structured itinerary of things the local tourism folks had appointed for me to see, do and write about, all requiring strict journalistic professionalism.

Such as the very first attraction they took me to: A rock shaped like a particular part of the male anatomy.

Hin Ta or "grandfather" rock, which may or may not remind you of something or other (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

This natural, coastal rock formation is known as “Hin Ta” or “grandfather” in Thai, and is a cylindrical column rising skywards that looks, from all angles, like a body part you would not want to think about in conjunction with your own grandfather.

But, as a metaphor for nature and how we are all children of the earth, it is quite poetic, especially because next to it is another rock formation known as “Hin Yai” or “grandmother”, which is quite hard to locate unless you know exactly where it is.

Other cultural monuments on the island have to do with Buddhism, like the picturesque 12m-tall Buddha at Wat Phra Yai, known as the Big Buddha Temple; or they have to do with the first Chinese settlers who arrived in the mid-1800s, like a 16m tall statue of general Guan Yu in a dedicated shrine.

However, judging by the comparatively large number of tourists at the Hin Ta Hin Yai rocks, it is quite clear which attraction wins the popularity contest.  

THE ISLANDER LIFE

But it is stunning beaches and beautiful blue-green waters that Koh Samui is known for, and there are beach resorts a-plenty to choose from, like The Sarann where I spent my first night, which offers rustic villas and chill vibes. Or, if you saved some money by flying here on a budget carrier, you could possibly justify splashing out on a swanky villa with a private pool at W Koh Samui, where I spent my next two nights; or a swish ocean-view room or villa at the newly opened, adults-only Explorar resort.

To immerse in sun, sea and sand, we headed to Ang Thong Marine National Park, a collection of around 40 small islands reached by speedboat, about 20km from Koh Samui.

On the main island, known as Ko Wua Ta Lab, you can hike the rocky Pha Jun Jaras Nature Trail for breathtaking views, but this is not for the physically unfit (I only made it to the 200m viewpoint before my thighs started crying at the thought of climbing back down; for context, the top of the mountain is 500m up).

View from the Pha Jun Jaras Nature Trail (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

The views of the emerald ocean from a vantage point are truly stunning though, and we even spotted beautiful wild dusky spectacled langurs in the trees. These primates aren’t scarily aggressive like the denizens of MacRitchie – local guides ensure tourists don’t feed them, so they don’t approach humans.

On Mae Ko island is a much easier (although still strenuous) climb up a series of very narrow steps to a viewpoint overlooking what’s known as the Blue Lagoon or Emerald Lake. It’s worth breaking a sweat for as the water is a deeply mesmerising shade of brilliant turquoise. Jumping in for a swim, tempting as it may be, is strictly prohibited. Not only is the drop dangerously steep, “We don’t know what might be living in the water,” our guide intoned.

Mae Ko island's Blue Lagoon, known as Ta Le Nai Lagoon in Thai (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

At Na Thap island, we pushed off from the shore in kayaks to explore the pretty coastline, gliding in and out of natural cave formations. And on our way back to Koh Samui, our boat stopped for a spot of snorkelling amid corals and fish.

COCONUT EVERYTHING

Before the tourism boom in Koh Samui, the island’s economy was built on coconuts. The family-run Coconut Museum is a small testament to its history of growing, harvesting and trading coconuts. In addition to a small museum display, the facility still farms and processes coconuts. Following traditional methods, the fruit of the tallest trees are picked by trained monkeys, owner Nuttapul Soralamb revealed; there is even a monkey training school.

He also told me that in the past, life was so coconut-intensive that the fruits were also instrumental in matchmaking. If you were a young man looking to settle down, it would be pretty hard to meet girls, as they were kept at home away from prying eyes such as your own. So, you would stand outside the kitchen area of an eligible bachelorette’s house and listen to the sounds of her de-husking and grinding coconuts. From this, you would learn whether she was a fast and efficient worker and would make a good wife, or was slacking off, dilly-dallying and doing her chores halfheartedly.

Soralamb did not say how you would be able to tell who was in fact doing the coconut grinding, but his parents and grandparents were all in the coconut business, so he’s living proof that it all worked out.

These days, he also makes products like extra virgin coconut oil for sale, and hosts coconut cooking classes. He and his family gave a demonstration on the making of kalamae, a traditional coconut caramel candy that Koh Samui is known for. Made from coconut milk, coconut sugar and glutinous rice flour, the chewy, sticky, pyramid-shaped sweet bears a family resemblance to the kalamay in the Philippines and the dodol in many Southeast Asian countries. Traditionally wrapped in banana leaf and shaped into a triangle, the sweet treat was enjoyed at new year and wedding celebrations. Today, you typically find it wrapped in plastic for sale – and as a dutiful tourist, I had to buy some – but it’s still a tasty snack.

Dining on the beach at sunset at Hug Samui (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

For a full meal, there’s no shortage of adorably charming beachfront restaurants, like family-run Hug Samui, where you dine against the backdrop of a stunning sunset, lapping waves and, if you’re lucky, a fire show on the beach after dark.

Koh Samui has 11 restaurants that have been listed in the Michelin Guide, like the beachside Baan Suan Lung Khai, which serves the freshest catch of the day from local fishermen; and Kapi Sator, where I discovered an eye-popping dish specific to the island: A species of local octopus, handpicked from sandy beaches, cooked in coconut milk.

Wai Khua is a dish local to Koh Samui. It is made with squid or octopus, coconut milk and lemongrass. (Photo: CNA/May Seah)

This dish stood out by a mile because it looks like, well, pink bubblegum soup. Its purplish-rose colour comes from the cooked octopus, and the sweet milkiness of the dish is balanced out by the addition of shrimp paste, fragrant lemongrass, chilli and, at this restaurant, pearl onions.

It was with some trepidation, thanks to the unnatural pastel hue, that I lifted the first spoonful to my lips. But, it turned out to be very tasty and undoubtedly the most memorable dish of the trip.
 
I left Koh Samui with a distended belly, a glowing tan and a deep, newfound respect for coconuts.

CNA Lifestyle was in Koh Samui at the invitation of Scoot, which flies there twice daily.
Source: CNA/my
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