Last days in Thailand
After 6 months in Thailand, we finally decide to leave, because it has been raining non-stop since November 1st, and for several days, I haven’t even felt like leaving the apartment: the streets are flooded, there are insects everywhere, it’s humid everywhere.
My infections are back and I have to do another round of tests in Koh Samui. I can’t take it anymore! So after the Moderna booster we decided to get after our Janssen vaccine, we treat ourselves to 3 last nights in Koh Samui: 2 nights in a luxurious hotel, and one last night in a regular hotel in Chaweng, but not far from the airport – for practical reasons.
Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui
After receiving Gold Marriott Bonvoy status from our friend F., we walk through the doors of this brand with much more confidence 😀 it’s the first time we’ve experienced a Ritz and we don’t really know what to expect.
Well, I can tell you the service is top-notch. Unfortunately, this hotel also has the annoying flaw of being too big, and you absolutely have to call a buggy to get around the hotel. I’ll share some photos of the hotel with you. We had an offer: 2 nights for the price of one, which works out to €120/night, with breakfast. It feels good, especially since the Moderna vaccine completely wiped us out on the first day.
Part of our room (you can’t see the living room, the balcony & the desk in the photo)
Here’s a video of our room. Just before, we asked the housekeeper to prepare the bath. It took her 20 minutes! For once, JB finds a bathtub that fits his tall frame.
I absolutely love the hotel’s pools: the first one, hidden and rarely used, is at the spa level. Everyone can access it, without booking a treatment of course. And the pool facing the beach, with loungers with your feet in the water – where you can sip a lemonade while comparing the shades of blue of the sky, the water, the pool…
Apparently, you can see the sunset from the lobby, which is elevated, but unfortunately it was raining when we were there.
The unlimited breakfast is a must-try. Their croissant is perfectly crispy. I love it!
They showed us the most beautiful room in the hotel, with a private pool, a desk facing the ocean, and offered it to us for 4000 baht more, but JB said no :'( boohoo
And here’s the highest point of the hotel, a tea bar – empty due to Covid – which is only used as a viewpoint right now
The hotel offers other activities like mini-golf, gym… There are several restaurants on site. The evening restaurant is divinely good, but you have to choose your dish carefully – if the dish isn’t spicy, it’s delicious – but if it’s spicy, you’ll breathe fire.
Malibu Koh Samui
We end our stay in Thailand with a night at Malibu Koh Samui. The contrast is striking: after months of luxurious service in our little hotel Baan Tang resort cheap but cozy in Koh Phangan, and several luxury hotels, at Malibu, let’s face it: there is no service.
However, when night falls, the whole garden becomes extremely fragrant – a delicious smell from a flower that only opens in the evening. It reminds me of my hometown Hanoi, and it moves me so much that despite the lack of service, I’m delighted to have chosen this place to spend my last night in Thailand.
S. and L., super nice French expats we met via Instagram, meet us at a Japanese restaurant. They’re back from France, and in their suitcase, our reMarkable 2 tablet (so nice of them!!). JB can now study law with his own tablet. Thank you, thank you!! Oh right, I didn’t tell you: JB has enrolled at Paris II University, Law degree. He has to balance his studies with his freelance work, all while traveling. Not easy when there are only 24 hours in a day.
We meet I. and P. for breakfast before leaving the island. It’s so sad, we haven’t seen each other much since we arrived in Thailand, but the bond between us is very strong. I. gives us a bag of homemade cookies, so so good, before dropping us off at the airport.
Our PCR results from Bangkok Hospital arrive at 8am as expected: negative. We can go to Dubai without any problem.
Thailand is already over. From our 2 weeks of quarantine in Bangkok in May to our regular visits to either Koh Samui or Koh Phangan, we regret nothing. We found our little piece of paradise amidst the instability.
We make a stopover in Phuket – the view from the plane during descent is breathtaking. We spend half a night in a hotel near the airport that offers a free shuttle to and from the airport. We cram into the lounge at the airport – proof that mass tourism is back. And the next day, with half-closed eyes, we arrive in Dubai.
