Since I wasn’t home for Christmas, spending it on a beach on Koh Samui was a great alternative to a snowy, cold, white Christmas. I was also able to meet so many awesome people and spend the holiday surrounded by other travelers.
After a relaxing four days on Koh Phangan, I got on a ferry to make the quick journey to the neighboring island of Koh Samui. Once on Koh Samui, I got a motorbike taxi to my hostel and not long after getting into my room I met Olive and Sophia, two other solo travelers in my room. That evening we went out to a night market for dinner and met up with other people that they each knew. It was a really fun evening and a great start to the upcoming holidays. The next morning, when eating breakfast at the hostel and making plans for the day, Olive, Sophia, and I met a guy who came to our hostel for breakfast. It was his first time traveling solo and he was asking us about solo travel. We invited him to join us on our day's plans and he accepted, so not long later the four of us got on two motorbikes and headed to our first stop of the day which was Tarnim Magic Garden. Tarnim Magic Garden was at the top of the mountain on the island and as we were trying to get up the mountain, the road quickly got super steep. The motorbikes were struggling to go up with two people on each so Sophia and I both got off since we were the passengers. We decided we would try to hitchhike the rest of the way to the top since there were a fair amount of cars going up. At first we had a hard time getting a ride since the first few vehicles were smaller cars which were also struggling to make it up the mountain, then we lucked out when we met a group of Russians who were in two Jeeps who were willing to take us. They had one spot in each car, so Sophia and I got in the cars and were able to make it to the top. Once there we saw the unique garden within the jungle. There was a small waterfall, small stone buildings, and different sculptures from turtles to buddhas. It was cool walking through the different areas within the jungle and across some of the rocks around the river.
Once we were done exploring the garden we headed back down the mountain. On the way down we stopped at the Wang Sao Thong waterfalls. The first waterfall we hiked to was the top one. Once there it was a beautiful area where we were able to swim in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. It was super peaceful and there weren’t many other people there which made it even better. After hiking back from the top waterfall we went to the bottom one which was different but was also just as cool. It was beautiful seeing how the water flowed down further across the rocks. That was the last stop of the day and it was a fun-filled day. That evening I video called my family and I was able to be there for the exchanging of Christmas presents. It was a really fun day and I was glad I was still able to be a part of Christmas activities at home.
The next day was Christmas Eve and it was another great day. At the start of the day six of us from my hostel got a tuk tuk and headed to Tan Rua waterfall. Once there we were joined by two others who had motorbikes. To get to the waterfall we first had to cross two different rope bridges after which we got to a great viewpoint and a place where you could go ziplining. After passing there we hiked down through the jungle to the waterfall. It was another beautiful waterfall with a rock filled pool area that led to a steep drop to another smaller waterfall. When we first got to the falls there were other tourists there but not long later they left and my group had it mostly to ourselves for a majority of the time we were there. At the end of our time at the waterfalls a bunch of other tourists came and it got crowded. Seeing this made me glad we came when we did and appreciate that we were able to have it almost all to ourselves.
After getting back from the waterfalls a group of eight of us girls headed to the beach to hang out for the rest of the afternoon before heading to a pool party at a hostel for a short time. It was a lot of fun spending Christmas Eve on a beach, although it didn’t feel very festive since I’m used to a snowy cold Christmas. After spending time on the beach and at a pool party most of the group headed back to the hostel to shower and get ready for dinner. The hostel I was staying at was hosting a special Christmas Eve dinner with two different meal choices. I went with the meat option which was roasted pork and potatoes with a rosemary sauce and grilled aubergine. There was also garlic bread, salad, and pop. Before arriving at my hostel I didn’t know that they had “family style” dinners and would be hosting a special Christmas Eve dinner, but I seriously lucked out with the hostel I booked because it was a really fun and special way to spend Christmas with other travelers, not to mention the food was delicious. After dinner, some of the people I was with during the day, met up with the others who didn’t go to the dinner and we went out for the evening. Overall it was a great Christmas Eve!
While Christmas Eve was full of activities, Christmas Day was quieter and not as busy. After a relaxing morning a group of us went to the beach to relax and hang out. The weather was beautiful and it was a nice, relaxing day. That evening Olive, Sophia, Sabrina, Louisa, Ainhoa, Marta, and I (people I had been doing different activities with while on Koh Samui) went out to dinner at a local restaurant. While at dinner we played a heads up celebrity guessing game and then we did a white elephant gift exchange. For the gift exchange, we all brought something from our backpacks that we weren’t using and then, using a dice app, we played a game to get the different presents. The only not fun part of the dinner was that our table had a cockroach problem. While sitting at dinner we had a cockroach that kept coming back; at one point it got on Sophia’s leg. A different time we lost it and not long later it was found right next to me on the wall. I have never run out of a seat so fast! We dealt with the cockroach coming to the table at least six to eight times. Overall though, it was a really great Christmas Day and dinner, minus the cockroach.
After a busy three days, I spent my fourth day on Koh Samui as an admin work day. That evening I went out to dinner with some of the people I had spent the last few days with and then went to a fire show on the beach. Fire shows are super popular on the Thai islands in touristy areas. They’re really cool; they do everything from jump roping with the fire to juggling and throwing flaming sticks around. At one point they opened up the jump roping with the flaming rope to anyone who wanted to try, so I decided to give it a go. It did not go well and I fell. They offered to let me try again but I decided making a fool of myself once in front of a large group was enough. The rest of the fire show was a lot of fun. On my final day in Koh Samui I booked an all day excursion with Louisa to go snorkeling and visit Koh Mat Sum, Pig Island. The first stop was a small island beach where we were given snorkeling gear. The water was super clear and we had a lot of fun swimming even though there wasn’t much to see. Next, we went to Koh Mat Sum which is also known as Pig Island; this was the main stop and where we spent the most time. The island was super touristy but it was a lot of fun walking around the beach area and seeing all of the pigs, there were a ton of them. Some were really big and then there were also baby pigs. The cutest one I saw was one laying in a small pool of water and blowing bubbles with his nose in the water. There was also a group of three laying all together. After getting a ton of photos of all of the pigs and the island, Louisa and I found an open table and put our stuff down before getting lunch provided by the tour. Once lunch was done we found a nice stretch of beach where we could lay out in the sun before having to leave. It was a great last day on Koh Samui.
While it was a different Christmas being on the other side of the world, away from family, and in a hot climate, I had a great time and met so many amazing people. I missed not being able to be with family, but being surrounded by other travelers and doing so many amazing activities made it easier.
“You don’t need magic to disappear, all you need is a destination and a great hostel!”
- Unknown
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