Choeng Mon

 

Choeng Mon is the name of a beach on the northeast peninsula of Koh Samui. It is an area that is blessed with some of the best and most peaceful beaches on the island. It is also an area that is ideally located near a number of good beaches, transport hubs and shopping areas. It is no surprise therefore that some of the best hotels in Koh Samui are located in Choeng Mon.

The beach at Choeng Mon is wide and sweeps in a crescent around a bay on the peninsula. It is blessed with the same fine white sand that is found at Chaweng and Lamai. Unlike many of the beaches in Koh Samui, especially in the south and west, the sea bed is sandy and free of dead corals that can cut the feet of swimmers.

The atmosphere of Choeng Mon is very different from the nearby beaches of Bophut and Chaweng. Despite the high quality of the beach the area is free of an urban center. There a few shops and bars but nothing that really qualifies as nightlife. This is not an area where men prowl for sex workers or young people go to listen to dance music. The peace and quiet along with the great beach are the great draw cards for Choeng Mon. Residents at Choeng Mon have the option to make the short journey to Chaweng or Bophut if they want bars, live music and other night diversions.

The location of Choeng Mon is another noteworthy point about the beach. Not only is it close to Chaweng and Bophut it is also just 10 minutes from Samui Airport. Other transport hubs nearby are Big Buddha pier (ferries to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao) and Maenam pier (ferries and speed boats to Haad Rin and Thong Nai Pan in Koh Phangan). Luckily Choeng Mon is not under the flight paths from the airport, unlike Big Buddha beach.

Choeng Mon is also not far away from Big C supermarket and Tesco Lotus supermarket that have a wide variety of products for sale at very reasonable prices. Tesco Lotus also has a cheap food court with lots of Thai dishes on offer.

Also Choeng is very close to the iconic Big Buddha statue in Bang Rak. It is a 12 meter high golden Buddha statue at the top of a wide staircase that has become one of the strongest symbols for Koh Samui.

Cheong Mon accommodation is some of the best in Koh Samui. The best hotel is the Sala Samui Resort and Spa that features some of the most stunning architecture and interior design on the island. Sala Samui has taken the best of modern Thai design to make an exclusive resort that features pool villas with open air baths. The resort has 2 communal swimming pools, a boardroom, floating massage salas and 80 meters of private beachfront.

Not as architecturally successful but very ambitious is the Imperial Boat House Beach Resort. The theme is rice barges. All the accommodations are shaped as boats. The large central pool is also in a boat shape. The effect is like a fishing fleet that has been flung into the jungle by a tidal wave.

Q Signature Samui is perched on a hill near the beach. It brings a touch of boutique style to its aesthetic using Thai sloping roofs. It is located at the southern end of Choeng Mon Bay.

For those on a budget Choengmon Buri Hotel is a 1 minute walk from the beach and has air-con rooms with hot water, fridge and TV starting at 680 Thai Baht a night.

For convenience, for tranquility, for quality of beach, for stylish accommodation it is hard to find better on Koh Samui than Choeng Mon.

Live Cheaply in Koh Samui

 

In the Past

There used to be lots of ex-pats living in Thailand, often on a very informal basis. Thailand is a country that has grown accustomed to over-charging tourists for everything from bottled water to Thai food to taxi journeys. Ex-pats have got around this problem by learning a few words of Thai and making local friends.

It used to be possible to get a series of tourist visas for Thailand by nipping over a border every 3 months. Foreigners worked in bars, dive shops and generally survived on a small budget in order to live next to a beach, in Bangkok or up in the north. Successive Thai governments have done a lot to clamp down on this. They have ordered their embassies in Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia to not renew tourist visas. They also made a few half-hearted efforts to raid dive shops.

Nowadays

Nowadays if you want to live in Thailand you have to marry a local, be sponsored by a company or get a pensioner visa. As a result many of the beaches in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan have lost many of their long term foreign residents.

Cheapest cost to live in Koh Samui

To live a basic life in Koh Samui you need a minimum of 15,000 Thai Baht. a month The cheapest rooms and bungalows have to be hunted out. They are normally privately owned places and can be had for between 3,000 and 5,000 Thai Baht a month.Most of these places are in the quieter south of the island. Don't expect to find them by searching on the internet!

As you can calculate, that leaves between 10,000 and 12,000 THB for living costs. The great thing about Koh Samui is that supermarkets such as Tesco Lotus make it possible to self-cater cheaply. The supermarkets charge everyone the same price.

If you have the funds to buy a moped (about $1,000) you can cut out most transport costs. Taxi drivers in Koh Samui never go on the meter. If you are on a budget they are out of the question.

On 15,000 THB a month it is still possible to go out occasionally to local bars and restaurants. Invaluable places for those on a tight budget are the numerous 7-11s on the island. They have cheap food, drinks and beer. They will also give you hot water if you want to eat a pot noodle.

Other than going to the beach most things in Chaweng and Lamai will be outside this budget.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Nathon has the best markets on the island. They are good places to shop for household goods and fresh produce.

The Hilton Arrives in Koh Samui

Introducing the Hilton to Koh Samui

Hilton / Conrad have recently opened their second hotel in Thailand. The first hotel is in Bangkok and this year (2011) Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa opened. This underlines the importance of Koh Samui as a destination for the affluent.

Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa is located in the Taling Ngam area of Koh Samui in the south-west. The resort consists of 80 free standing villas facing west and overlooking the tranquil beach of Aow Thai.

Private pool villas with sunset views

The villas are cleverly arranged to fan around a hillside so that they all have sea and sunset views. There are 65 one-bedroom villas, 14 two-bedroom villas and 1 Royal Thai Villa. All the villas feature private plunge pools with sea views.

As would be expected of a Conrad / Hilton each villa is stylishly appointed and feature LCD flat screen TV, iPod docking center and wireless internet. The rooms are in a contemporary Thai style with unique art work, Thai silk and tropical hardwood floors.

The Conrad Koh Samui has private cellar dining as well as cliff top dining at the Jahn Restaurant. There’s also Mediterranean dining at the Zest Restaurant. Sunset cocktails are available at the Glow Lounge.

The resort also features a cutting-edge designed spa that offers a range of holistic treatments, a fitness center and a floating pier.

The Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa is definitely one of the leading places to stay in Koh Samui. It is 28 kilometers from the airport.

The downside

The only downside to the Conrad Koh Samui is that the area of Taling Ngam is a quiet one with very little to offer in terms of nightlife. Moreover, the beach is nothing special. As with so many of the luxury hotels in Koh Samui they seem to be about trapping guests in remote spots so that the resort takes the lion’s share of the guests spending on food, drink, souvenirs etc.