Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: Ko Samui

by Stephen Greenwood on

My ears are still ringing from the stacks of speakers that exhilarated Haad Rin all night. The lack of sleep is making my eyes heavy, but the lurching of the ferry refuses to let my body sleep.

I’m departing Ko Pha Ngan and am en route to Ko Samui – the largest island in the Surat Thani province, and the third largest island in Thailand. It’s a forty minute ride from the beaches of Haad Rin, and when we arrive, there is another entourage of taxi drivers and hotel workers with signs and suggestions for lodging.

The island was first inhabited by Malay and Chinese settlers, the name is thought to have come from a degeneracy of the Chinese word Saboey, which translates in English as “safe haven”. A welcome thought for those looking to escape the aftermath of a full moon party.
With a population of 50,000 people over an area of 228 km2, Samui is considerably more developed than Pha Ngan, and lacks the quaint charm of the smaller island.

Riding on a scooter through the town of Baan Chaweng, it’s easy to see that tourism is the island’s main source of income – especially in this area, which is known for attracting rowdy backpackers.

The streets are an overwhelming barrage of polychromatic signs that advertise hostels, restaurants and luxury beach resorts. I dodge a few bikini and boardshort-clad tourists, weave past tuk tuks congesting the road, and inhale the sharp scent of thai food being grilled up near the street.

I park the scooter near the sand and walk past countless oceanfront resorts. The establishments are guarded by sun-beds and banana-leaf umbrellas in neat rows. Older couples lie stretched out in the sunshine, eager to work on their tan. They thumb through paperback books, only to lay their head on the sun-bed and close their eyes.

There are fancy swimming pools. Security guards. Valet attendants. Buffet lunches. There are families here. It’s a vacation destination – a different vibe than the island across the channel.

But it wasn’t always this way. Until the 1940’s, there were no roads or cars on Samui. There was no outside influence. The inhabitants traveled everywhere by foot or by boat. Then, in the 1970’s, backpackers began to access the island by way of coconut boats. A handful of bungalows were created and travelers on the island began to increase.

By the 1990’s, ferries of passengers were arriving on the island, and investors began to build five-star resorts in order to compete with Phuket as a tourist destination. Once Bangkok Airways committed to fund and build the island’s only airport, Samui’s fate as a tourist destination was sealed.

It’s a great tourist destination at that. Beautiful, large beaches. Several waterfalls. Plenty of day-hiking & trekking. Golfing. Kayaking. Boxing. ATV’s. Elephant riding. Paintball. The list goes on – there is no shortage of things to do on the island. It’s just not the low-key hippy haven that it once was.

Parts of the island reminds me of Phuket – pockets of upscale resorts are interspersed with areas containing cheap bars and a more rowdy atmosphere. But my general feeling is that Samui is cleaner, less tacky, and more family friendly than Phuket. The beaches are just as beautiful, and Samui will still be less developed in 5 years than Phuket is now.

If I were forced to choose between the two for a week long vacation, there is absolutely no doubt that I would head to Samui over Phuket.

After a little over 36 hours on the island, I have to catch a flight back to Bangkok. As much as I would like to stay, I’m also looking forward to one more night in Bangkok, and on the Khao San.

I step into the welcome area of the tiny tropical airport, and any last doubts that I have between Phuket and Samui are completely gone. The airport is a beautiful, well laid out, and very easy to access from almost anywhere on the island. The waiting lounges feature comfortable couches under large wooden ceiling fans. There is live news broadcast on brand new TV’s. Free coffee, juice, chocolate rolls, and WIFI. After a long week of questionable toilets, ferries, buses, and train transit – it’s heaven…or in the least, a safe haven.

If you’ve missed the previous articles in this series, be sure to check out the entire Dim Sum Dialogues column for more on the road from Bangkok to Ko Pha Ngan.

Tweet yourself to Hawaii!

by Brenda Yun on

Talk about a sweet tweet deal: Marriott Resorts Hawaii is running a social media contest where 25 lucky winners will receive all-expense paid trips for two to a designated Marriott resort on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, or Hawaii’s Big Island.

You can enter the contest via Twitter, Facebook, and email. The winners are announced on Twitter, so you’ll need to sign up to follow @MarriottHawaii to see if you win.

Here is what the lucky winners will receive:

  • Roundtrip for two on Hawaiian Airlines from any of its ten U.S. West Coast gateway cities: Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.
  • A five-night stay at one of Marriott resorts in Hawaii: JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club, Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa or Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.
  • Rental car, courtesy of Hertz.
  • $100 per day resort dining credit.
  • Access to fun activities and attractions on all islands.
  • Please note: All trips must be completed by December 20, 2009. Winners will be announced on Facebook and Twitter, and also will be notified by email. Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize, or a new winner will be randomly selected.

If that’s tweeting sweetness, here’s an even sweeter deal: Submit a video on why you love Hawaii for a chance to win a TweetUp Trip for TWELVE! To enter this contest, submit your YouTube video link to www.marriotthawaiitweets.com by December 20, 2009. The public will be asked to judge their favorite from a selection of finalists. The one with the most votes will receive:

  • Roundtrip for winner and 11 friends/family, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines from any of its U.S. West Coast gateway cities
  • Seven-night stay at any two Marriott resorts in Hawaii
  • One luau dinner and show
  • A commemorative Hawaii state quarter
  • A keepsake group photo
  • 25,000 Marriott Rewards Points for the winner

The winner will be selected in January.

I’m loving all these “tweet” trip giveaways! You all know I’m from Hawaii, so it wouldn’t be right for me to enter, but I’m rooting for you all to join me in my tropical paradise!

Galley Gossip: Oahu, Hawaii – Ko Olina Beach Club timeshare vacation deal

by Heather Poole on

We were in Hawaii at the Ko Olina Beach Club in Oahu when the woman standing in front of the black board asked, “Do you honestly think you travel differently than everyone else? That what you’re looking for in a vacation is not what everyone else here wants.”

As I glanced at the others staying at the resort, most of whom were either families vacationing with children under the age of five, like myself, or senior citizens enjoying the fruits of their labor, I nodded my head. I do truly believe I travel differently than most people. I’m a flight attendant! And that’s what I told her.

Like most flight attendants, when I go on vacation I don’t want to stay anywhere that even remotely feels like a layover, which means I’m not a big fan of resort like properties with hundreds of rooms and thousands of guests milling about the pool. Regardless of how pretty that pool may be.

For the record, the pool at the the Ko Olina Beach Club is wonderful. My three year-old couldn’t stay out of it. The beach, a man made lagoon, is beautiful, so very relaxing at night under the stars. And the rooms, particularly the villas, are more than comfortable with their sunken tubs, full size kitchens, and a washer and dryer to boot. But that’s another story. This story is about how I’m a flight attendant and how flight attendants, not unlike most frequent fliers, do not want to spend their vacations in the same hotel-type room year after year. Even though this was our third year in a row at the resort. It was also the first time we’d agreed to partake in one those vacation club package deals.

Don’t ask.

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“Travel, for me, is an escape,” I said to the woman holding the chalk after she asked me what, exactly, I wanted to get out of my vacations. “When I go on vacation I just want to relax, eat good food, and let the vacation come to me.”

“So you’re telling me that you appreciate a quality hotel? That you want to know you’re getting the best you can get for your dollar when you’re on vacation? she asked.

“Umm…no…that’s not exactly what I said,” I said, and as I said that she drew two big columns on the board with a piece of chalk, the words RENT and OWN scribbled above each one.

“There’s no need to go there,” I said, watching her make a list of reasons to own, not rent. “Because when I go on vacation I really do like spending hours online searching for the perfect place to stay. I like the excitement of not knowing what to expect and the thrill of sliding the key card into the door and SURPRISE! Seeing what’s on the other side – whether it’s good or bad. Because sometimes you get the Calla Lily Inn in Palm Springs and other times you get the Villa Rosa in Positano. You see, that’s the fun part for me.”

“Are you telling me you don’t mind throwing money away?”

“I’m telling you that I’m a flight attendant and my husband travels more than I do,” I said, motioning to my husband who was just seconds from shoving an Ipod in his ear. “So when we travel it’s last minute travel. We can’t plan our vacations a year in advance. We can’t be bothered with trading our weeks. And we like change and diversity. No offense, but timeshares are just not for us.”

But the timeshare pool, on the other hand, was for us. Because that’s where we spent a good portion of our getaway discussing the pros and cons of owning a timeshare with a few of the owners in our complex. While none of these owners knew each other, they all had one thing in common, love for the timeshare. One woman told me that if I was really interested in purchasing one, not to bother with the sales people at the resort because there were some pretty amazing deals to be found on Ebay. That’s where she’d not only been snatching up quite a few timeshares, but had actually bought one for just $500! Not including the maintenance fees.

I actually tweeted that bit about timeshares being sold on ebay and two seconds later someone sent me a link to 10 Reasons Timeshares Are A Bad Deal. Of course I shared the 10 reasons with my husband over a magnificent sunset dinner in Waikiki. A woman sitting alone at a neighboring table who just so happened to be eavesdropping in on our conversation told us about redweek.com, the largest online marketplace for renting, buying, and selling timeshares. I told her I’d check it out.

As for renting a timeshare, sure, why not, great deals are out there and redweek.com is one of the best places to find one. When it comes to buying, I don’t think so. The best part about traveling, for me, is doing something different and getting outside the comfort zone, not making a second home. As far as selling a timeshare goes, good luck with that in this terrible economy. Because in order to sell, one must be willing to buy – regardless of what the really nice timeshare sales lady whose company stands to make a 40% commision on the resell says.

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The Accidental Chef Travels: St. Martin on a budget

by Kendra Bailey Morris on


It was just a few months ago that I found myself, once again, with itchy feet. I needed to go somewhere warm and tropical, and I needed to get there as soon as possible. I ran the idea by the hubby, who is always up for a last-minute jaunt, especially when we’re talking the Caribbean, and started the proverbial search for where and when.

This is where things started to get tricky, and to complicate things, we were on a major budget. While flights to just about anywhere were at an all-time low, itineraries to the Caribbean islands were all over the map from my hub, Richmond, Virginia, with several boasting multiple stops with exceptionally long layovers, some in excess of 24 hours. One itinerary, Richmond to Nevis, offered a whopping thirty-one hours travel time, which essentially negated the fact that I actually live on the east coast of the United States.
Islands were quickly narrowed down because of this, and it wasn’t long before I discovered the beauty of Charlotte Douglas Airport which serves as major hub to many Caribbean islands. Connecting through CLT was showing uber-cheap flights ($350 round trip on US Airways including taxes and fees from Richmond to St. Maarten. Toss in flexible travel days (a Saturday to Thursday stay, which offered the lowest fare) and I was sold. Estimated money saved, thanks to CLT, travel flexibility and banging low rates on US Airways, roughly $200 per ticket.

Yet, the budget challenge continued as we needed a week’s worth of accommodations, and of course, plenty of cash money for eats and drinks. Luckily, we were traveling during the off-season, which I highly recommend for a couple of reasons– it’s way cheaper and the beaches are less crowded. Traveling from mid-April through early December is a great way to take advantage of some crazy reduced hotel rates. Whether it’s a 7th night free offer, complimentary spa treatments, meal vouchers or just super-low rates in general, if you can swing traveling during this time (and don’t mind the heat or fear hurricanes) you can manage to score some amazing deals.

For example, we discovered a total gem of a hotel in Grand Case, French St. Martin, the Grand Case Beach Club, an oasis of calm, azure swimming holes, impeccable service on all fronts, oceanfront rooms with views of Anguilla, and incredible food and drinks to be enjoyed at the hotel’s waterfront Sunset Café. Our one bedroom oceanfront room came with a fully equipped kitchen, separate living area and a king size bedroom, where sliding glass doors opened to take in the breezes from off the bay.

Like all guests, we arrived to a complimentary bottle of wine, soft music playing from a rotating CD player in our room, and hibiscus flowers scattered about the bed and bath. A complimentary continental breakfast in true French St. Martin style (croissants, yogurt, French butter and dark roast coffee) was offered oceanfront every morning, all non-motorized water sports were free, and on Wednesday, a hosted manager’s reception was held hillside complete with hors d’oeuvres, rum punch and great conversation with the staff . The price for all this luxury? $200 bucks a night including a 5th night free offer. By comparison, in-season rates for February 2010 for the same exact room are showing $435 per night.

The lesson? Visit the Caribbean in the off-season, look for package deals such as free night offers, and try to go for hotels/resorts that offer guests more than simply a room. As a result, our total estimated savings was roughly $1,375 in accommodations alone with the little extras serving as priceless additions.

Now, the food part was easy. We were in French St. Martin, after all, home to some of the finest cuisine in the Caribbean. Yet, many of the restaurants in Grand Case, while amazingly good, didn’t come cheap and would have totally thrown us off budget. We managed to find financial solace in the many lolos that dot the streets of town, but we still wanted to have at least one “nice” meal out. In order to do this, we needed to cut costs in other areas. This is where our in-room kitchen came into play.

I figured, along with the continental breakfast, which was quite generous, we could cook our own lunches in the room. Within walking distance of the hotel was a fantastic local grocery store, the U.S. Supermarche, brimming with delicious French specialties (think tins of imported foie gras, local vegetables, homemade pizzas, freshly baked baquettes, gobs of gooey French cheeses and $3 bottles of wine). With delights like this, who would want to eat out?

Nearly every day, we packed our picnic lunch of French delights and enjoyed them either on the beach or overlooking the bay from our patio. Estimating that the average breakfast for two would cost $20/day with tax and tip, and lunches would hover around $40/day with tax a tip, we saved approximately $300 more dollars sans the small amount we spent on groceries, and we ate a whole heck of a lot better.

I can’t talk about budgeting a Caribbean vacation without mentioning booze. This stuff will bite you in the butt when traveling (and I’m not talking hangovers). Partaking of wine, beer or cocktails can throw your entire budget off in a matter of days, so be careful when hitting restaurants and bars, or when it comes to the Caribbean beaches, calling over the cabana boy a few too many times while lying face up in the sand. Don’t worry, I’m not going to recommend abstinence while on vacation, but I will recommend watching where those hooch dollars go.

One way to save big is by stocking up in your room. It’s the Caribbean for god’s sake, so go get a bottle of top quality rum, a few mixers and have at it beach side instead of tossing out fivers at the tiki bar all day. Lastly, while it may be tempting, step away from the mini bar. Mini bars are the red button you never want to press. I don’t care how much fun you’re still having at one in the morning. Grab a big bottle of water and go to bed.

We were lucky during our trip to St. Martin since we were surrounded by fine French wines as well as fantastic locally made rum, so drinks on the beach consisted of a quick trip upstairs to the room to fire up the blender. We also saved by having a pre-game cocktail before heading out to dinner, which was one less drink we paid top dollar for. Estimated booze savings by drinking in, roughly $150 for our entire trip.

The bottom line, is that with careful planning, you can have a great Caribbean vacation just about anywhere without breaking the bank, but it will probably involve some minor sacrifices, such as carefully researched off-season flights/hotel, a good amount of flexibility, along with less eating out and more eating in. Yet, there’s one constant that I will bequeath you from firsthand experience, and that’s when you’re actually in the Caribbean sipping rum jumbies poolside, the last thing you’ll be contemplating is sacrifice.

Got a great Caribbean budget travel tip to share? We’d love to hear it.

–Kendra

Indian company offers “divorce tourism” package to quarreling couples

by Katie Hammel on

For many happy couples, a trip is taken to commemorate joyful events, like a marriage or the impending birth of a child. Then there are other couples – the ones who certainly aren’t happy but who aren’t quite ready to rush off to Vegas for their divorce party. For them, there’s “divorce tourism”.

The Daily Mail reports that a company in India, called KV Tours and Travel, is offering packages to destinations like the Maldives aimed at helping couples on the brink of divorce to reconcile. India has typically had a very low divorce rate – only about one out of every 100 marriages end in divorce – but in India’s largest cities, it is becoming more common. The company offers a few different packages, ranging from local stays to more expensive exotic destinations. Vijesh Thakker, the company’s chief executive told the AP, “We’re trying to send them where they have not been before, where there are not many people – and no relatives”. For couples that don’t want to invest in saving their marriage, the company reaches out to family members and asks them to foot the bill on the couple’s behalf. Experienced marriage counselors accompany the couple on their trip and help them work through their issues and determine if they want to stay together or go their separate ways.

Can a seven-day vacation save a marriage? Not likely, which even the concept’s creator admits. “We’re not destiny changers,” Thakker said, but “we want them to treat the trip like a second honeymoon”.