135. | Ring Road of Koh Samui

I went hiking on Saturday. On a motorbike! It was a really exciting day, every minute of which was enjoyable. I saw a lot of beautiful places during the trip, until I completely circled the island of Koh Samui.

I will tell you the story of the day.

Google Maps

The tour started with planning at home. I came across this circular tour in one of the videos I watched. The first picture shows the route shown there, and the second and third pictures show the actual route I took, on a motorbike.

 

 

 

 

 

Why isn’t my route in one picture? Apparently, I’ve never planned a route with more than 10 destinations using Google Maps. So it came as a surprise that this is the maximum number of destinations that can be placed on the map during a route. That’s why I had to plan my trip in two parts. The planning was very simple, the route I learned is along a main road, so I simply marked interesting points along the way on the map. And I also made a few detours. So a total of 18 markers were placed on the two maps.

The Scooter

It’s really easy to rent a scooter here, and you can do it cheaply. The day before, the rental company had just come along, so I got informed about what would be needed. So on Saturday morning, after making the itinerary, I set off with a comfortable backpack to start the transaction.

The two guys were very relaxed, but it seemed like they were working in an orderly manner. As soon as I sat down, I already had the paper, on which the boss had marked what I had to fill out, and given me a pen. Name, address, date. That’s about all the information I needed. The address is an interesting question here, because they always assume that I live in a hotel, where I have a room number. I don’t know the exact address of the apartment where I live. Let’s say, not even the exact one. I tried to look it up on Airbnb, but there too, only the district is listed. I couldn’t help but write this. It’s about It was as informative as if I said my exact address was Budapest. The guy looked at the address for a bit after I gave him the paper back, but then didn’t ask about it. I was really happy about that, because I can’t even fake an address here. What would I say? Koh Samui, Arany János Street 51.?

Renting a motorbike costs 200 BHT for a day, which is exactly 24 hours here. The paper accompanying the rental was also written in English and pretty well summarized the terms of the rental. It included the deposit amount, I signed it in two places, then tore the paper at the perforated part at the bottom of the page, and I had a copy. Perfect. A photo of my passport was also included in a mobile phone – okay, no GDPR here – and we were done with the paperwork.

The young man asked if I would deposit 3,000 BHT or leave my passport. Peace is better, I left money with him. When asked what kind of motorcycle I wanted, I told him the day before – using all my motorcycle knowledge – that I wanted a little one. Now another important question arose from my part: is there a mobile phone holder on the machine. Of course there is. I could choose a helmet for myself. There was no Batman one… The boss wished me a nice day, then handed it over to his colleague.

He introduced me to the mysteries of the motorcycle. For example, I asked if the motorcycle was automatic. It is. I asked how to start it, so I found out that too. You can lock the helmet under the seat and you can also lock the motorcycle with the ignition key. I forgot to ask what kind of fuel it needs, because this question only occurred to me after the start.

There was no great preparation for the trip, but I didn’t overcomplicate things either. I put on my helmet, started the motorcycle and set off with the determination of a professional. In the wrong direction, I realized this after about half a kilometer, but I didn’t despair.

These were my first meters in a country where they drive on the opposite side of the road to mine. As much as I was afraid of this, it was easy to get used to it. Once during the day I messed up a right turn. In this situation, I stop on the right side of my side at the dividing line, waiting for oncoming traffic. From there, you have to turn left on the road on the right, but with 32 years of driving experience, I turned right. Of course, a car came right in front of me. I thought, sorry, I think they meant stupid tourists, but nothing worse happened.

I haven’t ridden a motorbike since about 1994. At that time, I drove an automatic transmission miracle called Babetta – with great pleasure. I can say that these 31 years have passed without me falling out of the routine. The brilliance of this statement in my own eyes is not diminished by the fact that it is not a brain surgery to drive such a vehicle. You sit on it, pull the gas and the brakes.

Already in these 500 meters that I drove in the wrong direction, I felt that this was (also) my day! I enjoyed the freedom that motorcycling gives me immensely. By the end of the day, my teeth would definitely be full of muslin if there were such things here, because I drove so much that my mouth reached my ears. Maybe a few people noticed that a guy with a full face was driving a motorbike on the road, grinning. But it is also possible that they simply recorded that this one was going from some weed shop somewhere.

The point is that if I had done nothing else that day, except ride these 88 kilometers on the motorbike, it would have been worth it.

But that’s not all that happened.

Wat Phra Yai

Wat Phra Yai, known in English as the Big Buddha Temple, is a Buddhist temple on Ko Phan (also spelled Koh Fan or Koh Faan), a small island offshore from the northeastern area of Ko Samui, Thailand, connected to that island by a short causeway 3 kilometres north of Samui International Airport. As its name indicates, it is home to a giant, 12-metre-high gold-painted Buddha statue. Since being built in 1972, it has become one of Ko Samui’s main tourist attractions and a major landmark.

From this description I learned something I hadn’t noticed before, namely that this statue is on a small island. In fact, I was sitting on the causeway connecting Koh Fan to Koh Samui when I experienced what I wrote in the post “Lightning over the island”.

It was really nice to see this place. In this post, I will try to organize the galleries so that there are not too many, but at least the reader can have some idea of ​​what the place looks like.

The cavalcade of colors that appear everywhere next to the gold makes these places very atmospheric. Some of the onlookers are visitors like me. But here I saw a monk at work, and I saw a person meditating and getting lost in the right place. Not everyone behaved in accordance with the spirit of the place, but I think that is always the case.

Leaving the temple and its surroundings, I had a delicious brunch. The restaurant owner asked me with sincere interest how the food tasted. Then he asked a few questions. Where did I come from, where do I live on the island, whether I had seen the statue, whether I would see the other one. And of course, when presenting the wai, he wished me a very nice trip.

I haven’t left the place yet, going a little further from the main area, there are quite a few interesting sculptures on the beach. They are clearly visible from the embankment, so I decided to check them out last time.

Then I jumped on the scooter and rode a short kilometer.

Wat Plai Laem

Wat Plai Laem is a modern Buddhist temple. The temple’s design incorporates elements of Chinese and Thai traditions and was in part designed by distinguished Thai artist Jarit Phumdonming. Its main statue, which is in Chinese style, is not of Gautama Buddha. It is a form of the bodhisattva of compassion and mercy, Avalokiteśvara, called Cundi. This form of the deity is known in Chinese as “Guanyin with eighteen arms.

 

In addition to the main statue, there is also a white statue of Budai and smaller shrines dedicated to Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva and Sakka.

Although it is an open-air image, it is located within an elaborate ubosot (the most sacred area of ​​the Vats) on a platform-pavilion surrounded by a temple lake.

In the gallery shown here, I tried to show how beautiful the paints are on the statues shown here. Each building is a miracle in itself. I could spend hours looking at the small details. However, there were still many kilometers ahead of me.

I also had to refuel. Here you have two choices if you need fuel. The traditional gas station or the roadside vendors. As I left the temple, I came across one of these. That’s why I bought 5 bottles of gas. For a long time, I thought these bottles were some kind of brandy that was sold in these places. The price of a bottle of gas was 20 BHT, which – as it turned out – gave me enough gas to cover 70 kilometers on Sunday, and it was enough to take the vehicle back on Monday.

Thongson Beach

Most of the points marked for my tour were beaches. They were easy to mark on the map. They were all different. I arrived at the first one.

 

When I arrived, it was raining. By the time I left, the sun was shining. And it wasn’t because I spent so much time here. That’s the weather around here.

I didn’t just look at the sandy part. Turning a little to the left of the beach, I discovered a rocky part, so I climbed up these rocks. It was a completely different view from there. Among other things, I saw the next beach, but I didn’t know at the time that it was the Naturism Beach. Looking back, it’s as if I was wondering what a completely naked man was doing on the beach. Now I understand. The silence that I experience in such places is soothing. Let’s just say, I had no reason to calm down at all.

I really like this job, when I write these posts and the little details come to light that I can’t possibly know on site. Like now – it turned out while writing – I wandered into an area called the Geological Graveyard of Fossilized Corals (Paleonzoic Era). I saw such petrified corals, and I noted to myself how beautiful the stones were.

Incidentally, I also managed to mark markers with such sonorous names on the map, which – when I got there – turned out to be private areas. Once I arrived at a residential area closed off by a guard and a barrier. Here the guard stopped me, I asked if I could go in, and after receiving a negative answer, we said goodbye to each other with the greatest respect, smiles and wai. It was no problem at all that I had traveled several kilometers because of a barrier. After all, I enjoyed riding a motorbike.

Choeng Mon Beach

Looking back at my pictures of this beach, I realized that I can’t take fancy pictures like other people. I don’t really care about that part of it, I take pictures of what I see, maybe not what others want to show.

I’m only writing this because I wasn’t entirely sure I was even here. Although Google Maps says the place on my map as “recently visited”, and that was my marker, I was confused by how different my pictures were from what I see online. So for the first time in my life, I had to read the geographical coordinates from the photo I took.

In the case of one of the pictures, they look like this: GPSLatitude – 9 34 17.346359 (9.571485) GPSLongitude – 100 4 55.885078 (100.082190). It couldn’t be easier, I took the string “17.346359 55.885078” and copied it onto the map. I immediately knew that the picture was taken in the Arabian Sea under Oman. Well, that didn’t work. I thought maybe I was remembering the words wrong, so I swapped the two numbers (55.885078 17.346359). Then on the map I found myself in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Poland. I was wrong here too. But finally, using the numbers in brackets (9.571485 100.082190) it turned out that I was really on Choeng Mon Beach. Yay!

Here I stopped for a juice (watermelon smoothie – divine!) in a bar that I had only seen in good tropical movies. If I had wanted to, I could have asked for a massage here too. I can get one almost anywhere. I spent so much time here, enjoying a cold drink, that I even meditated for a moment. I meditated

Near Ko Mat Lang

The next stop was a random one. I wouldn’t even know where I was if I hadn’t tried this photo-information mapping first. So, I was cruising down the road on my little blue scooter and suddenly couldn’t resist the call of a small street from the main road. I went down some narrow winding roads to the beach, which doesn’t have a name on the map, but I managed to find out that I was right across from the island of Ko Mat Lang.

 

This is a tiny, uninhabited island, about 300 meters from the shore where I was standing. The island’s area is about 0.26 km², which means it’s so small that I haven’t even noticed it when looking at the map of Koh Samui.

Lamai Beach

This name may be familiar to more discerning readers. Yes, I was here in “My first long walk in the tropics”. This is where the Wat Sila Ngu temple presented there is located.

This is a very frequented beach, so in the few minutes that I wanted to quietly look around and take pictures, four people asked me if I wanted to rent a bed, or get a massage, or rent some water stuff. In the past few days, I have watched a lot of videos about India. Almost everyone there complains that they never have a moment of peace because they always want something from them. I thought for a moment that I could be in India with the frequency of this question.

By the way, it was a great experience for me to continue my journey from this beach on the same path that I had walked on before. It was great to recognize the details of the road, or find the two places where I had eaten and drunk the previous time. I stopped at the church just long enough to take a photo to remember that I was here again.

Buddha Footprint

Another unplanned stop followed. As I was heading towards the next stop, I happened to notice a sign that read “Buddha’s Footprint.” Without thinking, I pulled off the road and within moments I was standing there.

 

A Buddha footprint, or Buddhapada, is a sacred symbol and icon in Buddhism representing Gautama Buddha’s presence on Earth, used particularly in early Buddhism when his direct image was prohibited. These can be naturally occurring or artificial, found in stone or as man-made artifacts, often etched with auspicious symbols like the dharmachakra wheel and the swastika, signifying his spiritual path and perfections. Worshipers make pilgrimages to these sites, leaving offerings and paying homage to the footprints as a source of spiritual energy and a connection to the Buddha’s teachings.

There were 156 steps leading up to the building (I wasn’t the one who counted it!), which was a rather shabby building. Until that moment, I had no idea that such a place even existed, so I didn’t regret my eagle eye spotting the ladder. By the way, there was a very nice view from the cliff behind the building.

On the way down, I noticed a nice modern, abandoned-looking building, and since its upper floor was open, I checked that out too. I could see beautiful wood carvings on the empty building.

Wat Phra Chedi Laem Sor

Wat Phra Chedi, located on Koh Samui’s southern coast, is a lesser-known yet historically significant Buddhist temple, set against a scenic backdrop of the ocean and lush greenery. Unlike the more famous temples on the island, Wat Phra Chedi offers a peaceful and authentic experience, making it a great destination for those looking to explore Koh Samui’s hidden cultural gems.

The temple features a beautifully weathered chedi (stupa), ancient relics, and serene temple grounds, providing a glimpse into the island’s spiritual and architectural heritage. With ocean views, a quiet atmosphere, and a connection to Koh Samui’s Buddhist traditions, Wat Phra Chedi is a must-visit for those interested in history, culture, and off-the-beaten-path exploration.

It was a truly peaceful place. I took a break here after taking some photos. I even slept for a bit with my head bowed on one of the benches. Several visitors came here while I was there, but they were all Thai. Which is not true, because I met a guy at the Buddha’s footprint, with whom we greeted each other there, and here, for the pleasure of seeing each other again, we chatted for a bit. He was the only European in the place besides me. Hello Ed, from England!

The things you read in the description of the first two paragraphs are all true. The temple garden is still dignified in its abandonment. I even lingered in the garden for a while, looking for traces of better times. There was a building next to the garden, I would have liked to go in, but I didn’t want to start my burglary career here.

The stupa is also a majestic sight, its solitude in front of the sea is very strange. The park that belongs to the place is simply heavenly. When I rested for a while and was about to leave, I saw two Thai ladies in the parking lot with their motorbikes. One of them was selling grilled food, the smell of it spread very nicely in the park. I didn’t really care what it was, I bought a portion and ate it while sitting at one of the small tables. It was a handful of sausages, which I was given another handful of vegetables, and half a handful of hot peppers. It was a real challenge, but I ate it. Two dogs immediately came up to me, not when I sat down, but when I paid for the food. These were very trained dogs. They also understood how cute it was, so I didn’t have the heart not to give it to him, so in the end the three of us ate the grilled balls.

Kobra Show

The next stop was another detour from the ring road. I went to the Cobra Show attraction. Where it turned out that there would be no show for me today. The cashier said that if I was alone, then unfortunately there would be no show because it wouldn’t be worth it for one person. However, she offered me to see the snakes alone for a quarter of the price. I thought, don’t let the day pass without a reptile, I’ll see them alone. I jumped out to the motorbike, which I didn’t lock and then… Well, I’m lucky, I’ll write about it soon. Just then a Russian girl came with her son. So there were three of us, and the show started.

 

I couldn’t really take good pictures here. I was more into the experiences. First of all – I’ve never experienced anything like this before – when one of the snake charmers (as it turned out later, he was 18 years old) came, we exchanged a few words. About where I came from, who I was. Then he pressed a mini ice cream into my hand, saying I don’t want it? He has two pieces, give me this…

We had to wait a bit, while I looked carefully at the inhabitants of the terrariums. Then the three of us were ushered to the edge of the ring and the SHOW began!

It was really enjoyable, the oldest of the three human characters was the ringmaster. He started with education, he gave a very nice summary of the behavior of snakes. I can tell you that if I meet a snake in the future, I won’t run away. Then it won’t be a problem. Our training didn’t take long. Then he quickly showed me what he was talking about. He called a cobra to help with this. They say that this was bad to watch. So, when the cobra – which, being a snake, does not have a vocal organ, so it makes sounds with exhaled air during the lesson – jumps towards the man after continuous teasing, I shit myself instead. He calmly grabs the back of the cobra’s head, because the snake can’t see that movement. Nor his forehead.

The water hit him a couple of times during the first performance, even though I wasn’t on stage. There was a collection of pictures on the wall that the master’s doctor friend had given him. These pictures were of snakebite survivors. Seeing some of the pictures made me think that I hope I never see one like that in person.

The snake charmer profession can’t be easy. The two guys have been studying it for six years. We learned that if it weren’t for the two guys, there wouldn’t be a show right now, because the gentleman who was doing the main attraction was bitten by a snake 3 days ago, so he’s in the hospital now. Another friend of the master recently died in Japan, also due to professional injury.

There’s definitely blood in the guys’ pussies. The next act was the jumping snake, which can jump up to a meter. The production was that the snake was made to be extremely nervous and the boy always jumped out of its way when it attacked him. All this while lying down and sitting down. I don’t know how much money the guys get for this, but I’m not sure…

There were a few other small things, but then we moved on to the mongoose standing on the edge of the stage. His presence increased the tension of the stage, because the cobra is supposedly watching him with one eye. They wanted to show that you can safely put a snake and a mammal in a cage together, because if the mongoose is well-housed, it won’t hurt the snake. And it is fed properly. Well, the animal didn’t understand the theory. As soon as they put the reptile next to it, it immediately bit the cobra’s head. They took the snake out of the cage very urgently…

This little animal farm was a very good place by the way. I really liked the kindness with which they greeted him, the friendly, patient performance. Maybe I’ll come back here again.

Oh, and the cashier girl and the master, when they heard I was Hungarian, they both immediately said “thank you!”

Lipa Noi Beach

This place reminded me of when I was a little tired and I started to realize that it was getting dark. I had rained a few times during the day, I tried not to imagine what it would be like to drive in the dark and in the rain, because the rain was a bit heavy.

 

Nathon Beach

This was the most beautiful of all. Maybe it was the evening, the white sand, the shipwreck. I don’t know. I could have easily spent the night here.

Let’s say three dogs attacked me on the way back from the wreck, but that didn’t dampen my spirits.

I also stopped at the Nathon Night Food Market, which I came across just when I was hungry. I tried a garlic cookie-like Thai food. From there I headed home.

It was a tiring but very exciting day. On the way home, I passed through parts of the town that were not, to put it mildly, luxurious. And to do this, I only had to go a few streets behind the main road. I saw houses that I would think were used to keep chickens at home. Maybe my next tour will be for house-seeing purposes.

On Saturday, I went to bed with a grateful heart that I was sleeping in a good place and that I had the opportunity to gather excellent experiences during the day.