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| From the reception deal of the W |
January 7-8, 2026
Koh Samui is about 470 kilometres due north across the Malay Peninsula from Penang. If you could fly direct, you it would be take about an hour to get from one island to the other. It would be a quick trip. Unfortunately, only Bangkok Airlines flies into Koh Samui and there are no flights from Penang by that airline. It was therefore necessary to connect at some other airport to make this journey. Our hero chose to connect in Phuket. Phuket turned out to be a very stressful choice.
After a 55-minute flight on the world-renowned Firefly Airlines, our hero and his lovely companion had a heck of a time making their way through Thai customs in Phuket. They then had to pick up their luggage to cross over to the domestic terminal and find the Bangkok Airlines desk. It took forever. They missed their scheduled flight and were rebooked on the next flight, two hours later. The aircraft they eventually boarded was some kind of ancient turbo-jet but the travellers were pretty smug because they had snagged two seats in the second row. Score! Right? But no, this plane loaded from the rear, like a Hercules military transport and the dynamic duo strapped into the front of the plane, surrounded by a bunch of Albanian rugby players. What Mr. G had hoped to be a smooth two-leg hop over to Samui had become a bit of a nightmare.
They did eventually arrive safely at Koh Samui, albeit after dark. A cab was arranged to take them to their resort. They would be setting up camp at the W, on the north shore of the island. The reservation was for seven nights. This was their second trip to Koh Samui. They explored the island thoroughly in 2023. That first trip they stayed at the Vana Belle Resort on the sunrise side of the island. This time they had moved over to the point on the western end of Bo Phut Beach and would have a decent view of the sunset.
As a destination, Ko Samui is very new to the game. Before Bangkok Airways built Koh Samui Airport in 1989, it was only backpackers that knew about this island. Prior to the airport, there were no highways connecting the villages on the island, there was really no infrastructure whatsoever. Today though, a highway of sorts circles the island and every hotel chain in the world has a resort here. In between the hotels are quaint roadside cafes run by the locals and in the towns and villages more sophisticated restaurants have been established by ex-pat entrepreneurs from all over the world. The white sand beaches are sandwiched between the blue azure seas and the emerald green flora that make for some great photos. Once you leave the busy highway and settle down at your accommodation you are one with the very favourable zen of Koh Samui.
Our travellers covered the island in detail in 2023, so they won't be doing much touristy stuff this time around. They are also coming off a very busy week exploring Penang and plan on dialling it down a bit to try and blend into the tropical calm.
Stay tuned.
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| The tropical calm |
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| Koh Samui used to be known as the Coconut Island |
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| Nice eh? |
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| We don’t see these in Calgary this time of year. |
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| The W motto |
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After they make up the room in the morning
The red teddy bear in our room wears a tie |
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| At night after turn down the bear wears a bath robe |
Wonderful sushi at Namu at the W
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| They got a seat at the sushi bar |
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There are 3 Sweet Spots on the property where guests can
Pick up ‘free’ ice cream bars 24 hours per day. |
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| The white sand beach |
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| Met sushi chef Son on his way to work, the next morning |
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