How to make the most of Koh Samui on a Budget - Part 6
Travel

How to Get More Out of Koh Samui on a Budget – Part 6

Wait, I didn’t forget the essentials:

10. Use By-The-Kilo Launderettes

Clothes pile up quickly once you are on a vacation. If you are not carrying enough clothes for every outing on your trip, you would need to get them washed. Almost every hotel provides good laundry service in Samui but at a high cost.

Instead, I would suggest you to try out the coin-operated laundromats lining the streets of Samui. They are generally priced at 30 Baht per kilo. If you ask me, I’d say it’s a bargain.

However, I haven’t had a first-hand experience of these launderettes so I cannot say for sure how good they are. Here’s what we do:

  • Wash the essentials ourselves with the detergent we carry from home
  • Pair more than 2-3 top wear with 1 bottomwear so that we have enough to last the trip without taking up too much luggage space

This reduces costs considerably especially when you are travelling for an entire week.

11. Carry the Right Things on Your Day Trips

Considering the versatility of Thailand, you may find yourself soaking up the sun at some beach or visiting the beautiful temples with extraordinary viewpoints or even hiking up a rocky terrain to a waterfall. The point is, you never know what you might be doing on your outings in Thailand unless it’s a planned tour. Therefore, you need to carry the right things with you.

Soaking up the sun
Soaking up the sun

Hiking up the mountainsHiking up the mountains

Hiking up the mountains
Hiking up the mountains

To see a waterfallTo see a waterfall

Off-roading
Off-roading

Or riding an ATVOr riding an ATV

Why I say this is because there are certain rules you need to follow in some of the places especially in the temples. So here’s a list of essentials that I used to carry in my bag:

A shrug and sarong – if you are wearing shorts and shoulder-bared top, carry these when you visit temples, it’s a must to cover your shoulder and legs when you are in a temple. I remember I had to buy a sarong at a Bangkok temple on our first visit to Thailand.

Take a close look to see the brown wraps
Take a close look at the brown wraps – sarongs

Towels – so that you don’t have to buy these like I had to when we visited the Padang Padang beach in Bali. Since we returned from Bali, they used to sit in my wardrobe good as new until I took them to Koh Samui!

Sunscreen & aftersun spray – Trust me, the sun burns. And you would need these like crazy!

Powerbank & USB cable – You need your mobile phone to be switched on at all times if you want to access Google Maps to find your way around the island

Speedo and a change of undergarments (since we are a little conservative)

A copy of important documents (passport and hotel documents)

Money – I make sure that I carry enough money to at least reach the hotel in case Tathagata and I get separated somehow

These are absolutely important. If you want to carry anything else, you need to be sure that you can carry the weight around all day since you might have to do a bit of walking and running around lugging it.

12. Do Your Research

I think I’ve covered all of my budget-planning research and experience in this series. However, you might want to do some of your own according to your preferences.

I remember I used to stare at the Koh Samui map for hours on end trying to understand where everything is – our hotels, places we wanted to visit, eateries, the beaches, markets etc. By the time we were ready to leave, I had a good idea about the length and breadth of the island, the directions I would go and the routes I would take. This helped me immensely to draw up a rough day-by-day itinerary. I feel comfortable when I have that ready because it prevents us from roaming around aimlessly and wasting the day trying to understand where we want to be.

So here’s what I always suggest: Do your homework and do it well. When you know where you are and where you want to be, it becomes way easier, far less time-consuming and way too convenient to find your way around.

Mingle as much as you can
Mingle as much as you can

Thai people love a chatThai people love to chat

And they know how to have fun
And they know how to have fun

K from Krabi works at Hooters, Samui. And she was sweet enough to check in on me when TG was not at the table. K from Krabi works at Hooters, Samui. She was sweet enough to check in on me when TG was not at the table. That’s how the conversation started. And she remembered to hoot at us on our last evening at Chaweng.

Additionally, it’s wise to have an idea about the culture of the place that would welcome you and let you stay in. Know the do’s and don’ts to avoid any mishap on your trip. Always be careful of your belongings even though Thai people are extremely trustworthy. Trust is a currency in Thailand, so is respect. So be polite and treat people the way you want to be treated. Above all, be a responsible traveller and please, please, for the love of God, DO NOT LITTER.

And do not forget to smile – they don’t call Thailand ‘The Land of Smiles’ for nothing.

Happy tripping!

Read Part 1 here.

I love lazy afternoons, sunsets, tea, the smell of old books and oxblood staircases. I'm a bit of an old soul discovering life and adding more elements to my identity as I go.

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