Waterfalls and Hospitals - Koh Samui 2016

 After a couple of days in Koh Phangan where we experienced the Full Moon Party we headed off to Koh Samui early the day after Full Moon.  We stayed in a hostel outside of Chaweng in a place called Chaweng Noi.  Chaweng is the main town of Koh Samui and where we decided would be the best place to stay to be a part of all the action.

We moved into our room and had a nap which was well needed after the Full Moon Party the night before! The hostel staff drove us into the center of Chaweng for the evening and we explored a bit and got some food at the local food market.  It was amazing and I had a Vegetarian Thai Red Curry which was probably the best of the trip. Chaweng is very touristy and unlike the other destinations around Thailand seemed to be the one that was most Westernised.  There were huge resorts everywhere, a big shopping mall and everything seemed to be catering for the tourists and not the locals.  It was a bit of a shock to be in such a Westernised town after two weeks of more rustic Thailand and I didn't really enjoy it.  

The next day we decided to go see some of the sites on the island.  As it's such a large island getting transport was tough and expensive however we got someone from the hostel to take us to the Buddhist Garden or Secret Garden and some waterfalls that were nearby.  Both sites were smaller than we thought but I liked the Secret Garden which was covered in Buddhist statues and shrines.  The waterfall was great as the pond beneath it was swimmable so of course we had to have a dip! 

We headed back to the Hostel and booked a trip to Angthong National Marine Park for the next day.  We headed back into Town to try a new restaurant and got a massage on the way in as well.  It wasn't as good as the one on Koh Tao but was still pretty good!

The next day we woke up to a bit of a shock, Becca who had been struck with something for the last few days was lying across from us in our warm room in layers of clothing and was shivering.  She had the hottest temperature I had ever felt! We woke up a member of the hostel staff and pleaded with him to drive her to the hospital.  Once there she was put on an IV drip whilst they did numerous tests on her.  We stayed with her until she was settled into her own private room and then headed out to the beach to do some tanning and make the most of our last day in Koh Samui before we headed to Vietnam the next day.  At this point we didn't even know if we would be making it out of the country the next day as the doctor had warned us that Becca may not be able to fly.  Unfortunately I got very burnt on our little beach trip with the burn on my back being so bad that I had to cover it for the next week from the sun.  We headed back to the hospital where Becca seemed to be in a better shape and played some card games with her until the evening.  Me and Leonie went and got some pizza and went back to the hostel whilst Becca stayed the night in the hospital.  Luckily she was released the next day and in a better fit of health was able to fly. We Headed off the island to Surat Thani where we flew to Bangkok and then onto Hanoi, Vietnam.  It was a shame we never got to visit the Angthong National Marine Park as it is supposed to be beautiful however we did the right thing in making sure our friend was ok.  

Overall, Koh Samui didn't live up to my expectations.  Whilst it was beautiful it was overcrowded and the westernised feel of the island didn't appeal to me.  I may give it another chance one day but if you are planning a quick trip to the islands, I would say this is one that you can avoid and not miss out on too much unless to like overpriced food and a plethora of tourist attractions.