perkie173

I was not intending anyone to stand on the coral. I was just saying that the water is shallow and so perfect if you wanted to go snorkelling.

Me and the boyf have recently moved into the middle of nowhere near Nathon and are in desperate need of a motorbike in order to get around. Does anyone know where I can buy a second hand automatic like a Mio from on Samui? Our budget is about 15,000baht. We have been looking for about 2 weeks and are struggling to find anywhere to buy them. Hope you can help!

Hi I'm not sure at all where Koh Matlang is. Maybe ask in one of the tourist information centres if you are currently in Chaweng?

My boyfriend thinks Silver Beach near Lamai is good for snorkelling. It is quite rocky there and he says he has seen lots of fish just off the shore but I haven't been myself so not sure about the coral. If you are just after a day trip though it might be worth checking out?

I'm a scuba diver living on Samui and we often have snorkellers on the boats with us when we go. Typically Samui is not a good place for snorkelling and you would be better to go on a day trip (or stay over night on Koh Tao). I wouldn't even recommend the Marine Park as visibility is normally not more than 1 metre and so if you are going purely for snorkelling it would be a waste.

Koh Tao has some great snorkelling spots such as Ao Leuk and Mango Bay. It is also possible to get a boat to Koh Nangyuan which is my favourite place for snorkelling. The coral is about 10metres off the beach and the sea is shallow enough for you to still stand up in. There are lots of different fish to see.

The easiest and cheapest way would be to get the Sea Tran ferry to Koh Tao for a few days. Dive companies also do snorkelling trips to Koh Tao (take you there and bring you back same day) but tend to be more expensive - 2000bt per snorkeller. It depends on whether you fancy a few days away or just a good day of snorkelling.

We have a one year non immigrant O visa and this is our first visa run that we are doing. Would Penang be likely to not renew this then? If that is the case we might be better going to Kuala Lumpar as you suggest.

We are currently on Koh Samui doing scuba diving courses and so are trying to make the visa run as cheap as possible as until we have completed our training we are living off our savings. I had a look at going to Langkawi too but there are so many stops on the way my boyfriend is uncertain about doing this.

Has anyone on here done a visa run from Samui? What would you suggest would be the cheapest way?

Hey guys.

Me and the boyf have got to go on a visa run before the 6th September. We have been looking into going to Penang and are thinking about spending a week there. I have been looking online for train and ferry times from Samui to Penang but I am getting seriously confused. Can anyone please help me out? All I seem to be able to find online is blogs from people who have made this journey. If the information is not online does anyone know if there is anywhere in Samui where we can book this (no doubt at inflated costs). We have left the planning really late so I am forever in your debt if you can help.

Kind Regards

Laura

Thank you for your replies. At the moment flying is my last option as the times aren't fantastic when co-inciding with getting to Langkawi and it is also a lot more expensive. I have plenty of time so the bus/train is an idea for me. I am just trying to find out what information I have is correct. It seems that by doing it this way it will be a quarter of the price of flying.

Been doing a bit more research and it seems it is possible to travel from Satun in Thailand to Langkawi by ferry for around 600baht return. Can anyone confirm whether this is correct as it seems a much easier way than travelling by train through to Arau.

I have found that it is possible to get a bus from Koh Samui to Hat Yai and then from reading other posts on here a minibus from Hat Yai to Satun's ferry port is about 90 baht. I would love to hear if anyone has done even part of this journey before just for some confirmation that what I have found online is correct. I would also like to know if anyone has caught the mini bus from Hat Yai to Satun just to know approximate minibus times. Do you think this is possible to complete all in one day also? The last ferry from Satun to Langkawi is 4.30pm according to the website.

Thank you for any replies.

Hey.

Me and my boyfriend are currently planning our first visa run for September. We would really like to go from Koh Samui to Langkawi in Malaysia for the week but are trying to find out the cheapest options.

I checked out flights first and the cheapest I have found from 2-9 September is with firefly who fly from Samui to Subang and then Subang to Langkawi for approx £140 return. There is a one day stop in Subang on the way there and the way back though.

I then started looking at ferry's and trains and this is where I have got confused. I know that I can get a ferry from Koh Samui to Surat Thani. I also found out that the ferry for Langkawi leaves every 30mins from Kuala Perlis which is not far from Arau in Malaysia. This would cost about £15 return for the ferries. I have tried looking for a train from Surat Thani to Arau and this is where I am having trouble. It seems there is an overnight sleeper train from Surat Thani to Arau. The train is number 35 if I have read it right. I have been to the Malaysian site to try and book these tickets but the closest place I could get a train from is Hat Yai. Has anyone done this trip before and can anyone help me regards to travelling from Surat Thani to Arau by train.

Other questions I have is how far is the train station from the ferry port of Surat Thani? And on re-entering Thailand on the 9th September does somebody come aboard the train to restamp our passports or can this only be done by flying back into the country.

Thank you for any replies, I really hope someone can help!

Kind Regards

Laura

Hi Lola

Sorry I didnt get back to you my internet is a bit hit and miss at the moment. I went to Island Books yesterday and saw Paul. He says he thinks he could help you with ordering books etc. for the book club. He says it will take him about 6-8weeks so a list would be good so he knows what to order. I'm reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' at the moment by Khaled Hosseini... a fantastic novel, maybe we could start with that? Anyway I'm definitely up for the next meeting as long as im not on a visa run.

Speak soon!

Are we safe on Samui or does anyone know if floods are expected here too? The weather has been pretty bad since Saturday but not as bad as some of the pictures I've seen on Thai news pages. I went Scuba Diving on Saturday to Koh Tao. It took us over an hour longer to get there than normal because the sea was so rough. Is it time to stock up on bread and cheese just yet?

Can anyone on here confirm what places will be open today and tomorrow? I am not a big drinker but I did hear that places that sell food as well as drink are still allowed to open as normal. I only ask as the Ashes are starting tomorrow, and I was planning to go to the Outback bar in Lamai to watch it, if it is not open I am not sure where I will be able to watch it unless there are any restaurants in Lamai that are going to be showing it and also wouldnt mind us sitting in there from 4 til midnight.

Thanks

I think Britney Spears is heading here soon, and Rafael Nadal is meant to be coming too. Maybe its one of them?

Does any one know if there is anywhere to go Trampolining on Koh Samui or Phangan? Me and my friend were talking about it last night and its something we both used to love doing in the UK, just wondered if there is anywhere around here.

Thank you

There are two places to rent either side of our place. They are two bedroomed properties and look absolutely gorgeous from the outside. Its the same landlady that we have and when we came to look around I think she wanted 14,000 a month for them which is also really good! We chose the one bedroomed property but if you wanted somewhere very central in Lamai right next to the Tescos that is being built they are great properties. The other properties are rented by other Farrang, some of whom have been here for 3 years+ so its definitely worth checking out if you wanted to find somewhere cheaper. If you want more details send me a message and I will send you the phone number.

Laura

Close to Tesco (i barely know when they are building it) is not lamai center, it is very very far from Lamai beach, with a ring road very noisy and dangerous..

In an island i would like to get at least a place at max 5 minutes walk from the beach....the south part also is better....every place ON the beach unfortunaltely is out of reach.

But i think going around asking prices in december was not the best moment. Now in low season and no tourist, price must be down heavily.

Hmm it is not very very far from Lamai beach it is under a 10 minute walk and you do not hear any noise from the road at all. Fair enough though if it is a beach property you want unfortunately I cannot help.

Lamai Boomerang do the best pizzas in town with prices starting at 180baht, quite a lot cheaper than the 350 you suggest and also cooked by an Italian chef. I have never had a better pizza!

I also know of a few places that do a full english breakfast for 99baht, and that includes the whole lot! Samui is not too expensive if you know where to go.

Me and my boyfriend have recently moved to Samui. We have been here for 3 and a half weeks and are staying in Lamai. When we arrived we checked into a cheap hotel and looked around at the many rented properties (it is much better to do this in my opinion as there is not much choice online and you can speak to the landlords about what is included better than what websites tell you). Within a week we had found a nice western style house very close to the centre of Lamai for 10,000 per month. This as someone else has already said includes cable. We also had a hot shower, western style bathroom, kitchen units, a bed, tv, wardrobe and a table and chairs. We could have chosen to rent a similarly nice property for 7,000 baht a month close to the temple in Lamai but as we don't drive this is the best option for us.

That is really very cheap even adding utilities cost, when i went around in lamai last winter i only found place on the Lamai beach road with bar at the bottom or a bungalow with a nice asbestos roof or place up in the hill...

I ended up paying 25000 for a new bungalow all included, pool, cleaning, wifi...

I should check again this winter....

There are two places to rent either side of our place. They are two bedroomed properties and look absolutely gorgeous from the outside. Its the same landlady that we have and when we came to look around I think she wanted 14,000 a month for them which is also really good! We chose the one bedroomed property but if you wanted somewhere very central in Lamai right next to the Tescos that is being built they are great properties. The other properties are rented by other Farrang, some of whom have been here for 3 years+ so its definitely worth checking out if you wanted to find somewhere cheaper. If you want more details send me a message and I will send you the phone number.

Laura

Hi Nick 001

Me and my boyfriend have recently moved to Samui. We have been here for 3 and a half weeks and are staying in Lamai. When we arrived we checked into a cheap hotel and looked around at the many rented properties (it is much better to do this in my opinion as there is not much choice online and you can speak to the landlords about what is included better than what websites tell you). Within a week we had found a nice western style house very close to the centre of Lamai for 10,000 per month. This as someone else has already said includes cable. We also had a hot shower, western style bathroom, kitchen units, a bed, tv, wardrobe and a table and chairs. We could have chosen to rent a similarly nice property for 7,000 baht a month close to the temple in Lamai but as we don't drive this is the best option for us.

Where we live there is a thai food market right next door and the new tescos is also being built a 2 minute walk away. If you buy food from stalls, the food courts near the boxing ring or from the food market you can live very cheaply. A big box of fruit and veg from the food market costs under 100baht, fruit shakes cost 20baht (and are absolutely gorgeous), fish, chicken etc. is also a lot less than you would pay in the Western World. The food courts/stalls selling hot meals are also cheap with a huge bowl of pasta being around 50baht, rice 30baht, kebabs 20baht, etc. etc. Water is also very cheap especially if you buy in the 5ltr bottle sizes.

Tescos is in my opinion also ok. There are things in there more expensive than what you can get at markets but for example beef mince is 40 baht a pack, french sticks 25baht, cheese (a real luxury) is round about the same price as it is in England for a decent sized block 170baht. A good thing about there is that the price is the same for everybody and not higher for farrang. If you don't drink or smoke I dont think it will be too hard for you to live cheaply but well food and rent wise.

There is a bookshop (island books) close to us that sells second hand books at fair prices. I bought a triple story Shaun Hutson last week for 140baht and there are lots of bargains to be had if you dont buy new.

We have our internet with TOT. It is wireless and costs 700baht per month. I have heard different stories about their service though, sometimes it can take up to a month for them to fit it in for you and we also needed our landladys permission. The speed is very good though and is a lot better than what we paid for in the UK.

I bought a one to call sim when I came over here and topped up 300baht with it. I still have quite a bit of it left. Calling and texting other Thai sims is cheap in Thailand.

I can't help you with the other questions and most of my answers are based on living in Lamai, but I hope this helps a bit! Laura

Thanks guys for your replies! We will check out the 3 in Samui this week and if theres nothing suitable Suratthani it is!

Hey Guys!

Me and my boyfriend have just moved into a new appartment in Lamai, Koh Samui. We are in the process of doing the place up and making it look nice and inviting. One of the main things we need though are one maybe two comfy sofa's. Does anyone know of anywhere good on the Island where you can buy them or if there are any internet sites that deliver to Samui. We have been looking around but as of yet have not found anything.

Hope you can help!

How about a club of EC Comics fans?

What's that when it's at home then?

What's what when what's at home? I have totally lost the plot...

EC Comics. Not sure what they are?

Still waiting for those PMs as the moderators wouldn't allow me to post the email address for the book club....

Don't you mean DC comics?

I'm here in Lamai now, I was talking about the book club to a lady that owns the Ware 2 Be bar on Lamai Beach Road and she says she's interested in joining too!

Cool Ok sounds like a plan. Well I'm leaving England for Samui tomorrow so not sure when I'll next be online, but feel free to PM me Lola. Otherwise you'll probably find me in the Ska Bar or Bophut Diving School on the main beach road in Lamai. See you all soon

Haha.. I am such a geek! I've always wanted to start a book club but never got round to it!

Let's also watch Doctor Who and Star Track together! )) Great idea seruously, I would love to participate but move to Bali soon. I'll look for this thread if I decide to come back.

God... it's true - I am a geek.... I love Star Trek! Sorry you won't be joining the book club but spread the word anyway if you can think of anyone else who might be interested.

Lol me too then I love Doctor Who! I'll watch David Tennant any day of the week Let me know when its sorted then it sounds good! Any idea on what part of Samui you are going to hold it? I don't drive tis why I ask.

I'd love to join your book club. I'm moving over to Samui (Lamai) next week and it would be a great way to meet new friends

I'm thinking about booking in there next week. heres the website i found, including rates

http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/samui/hathai/

Thats the plane we're coming over on I think. Is it completely new then? We fly 9th June.