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Category: Thailand

Tags: thailand holiday blogs, thialand holiday blogs, thailand holiday, thailand holiday reviews blog, panviman resort koh phangan, thailand, holiday, surat thani

A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Surat Thani, Thailand by TravelPod blogger Donzgray titled "Our Thailand Holiday". TravelPod is a company of TripAdvisor™. Donzgray's travel blog entry: "Two weeks ago our family set off for a holiday for 9 days to Koh Samui which is an island off the North East of Thailand. It's a small island measuring about 15 kilometres from one end to the other and it has a main road which runs around the coast. It's a popular tourist attraction as the beaches are beautiful and there are a number of very nice resorts which have sprung up in various locations. You can fly directly from Hong Kong in under 3 hours which was a consideration when we chose the location. Jack and Charlie were excited about getting on a plane again and because the flight was direct and relatively short it all felt very manageable. Jack to be fair, is at the age where he is taking everything in, Charlie however was restless and bored on the flight but it was short term pain for long term gain. When we got off the plane we were met by a lovely local driver in a smart 4x4 who gave us cool, peppermint infused towels to mop our brows for our 1/2 hour ride to our Rocky's resort. As we pulled into the drive (it was about 8.30pm and dark) it was all lit up with beautiful red lanterns and fairy lights - this detail continued throughout the resort with little touches everywhere. Rocky's is situated on a small rocky and beautiful beach and our room was right on the beachfront, after a few minor adjustments to fit the beds in better for the boys we settled in quickly. The room was typical Thai style with a pitched roof and exposed beams, dark, local furniture, beautiful lamps and statues and a lovely, large bathroom with fantastic fittings and kitted out with all the towels, body lotions and shampoos that anyone could need. It wasn't a big room/hut but you could forgive it because it had everything that you needed. We went to the Rocky's restaurant for most of our meals - mainly because why would you not, when the food was so good with local Thai food (my absolute favourite cuisine) mixed with yummy bistro type food. The Chefs and staff didn't really have an understanding of Gluten Free food but the head chef did his utmost to guide us on what was gluten free and what wasn't. We spent quite a bit of time at the pool which was pretty kiddy friendly and Jack and Charlie managed to find some new holiday friends to splash about with. When we weren't hanging around the resort we made time to see Lamai and Chaweng beaches so that we could swim in the warm ocean and play on the beaches. We also made time for other activities and took out a kayak one morning to explore some local beaches, went on a day trip on a local fishing boat another day, to swim and snorkle etc and we went to a national park and had a ride on an elephant, Rich and I had a couple of massages also which were heaven. I did a little shopping but found the market stalls pretty samey and because they are en masse - I found it overwhelming and ended up not buying much. Koh Samui itself, as you are driving through seems pretty typical Thai, its basic, a little bit smelly in parts with the market style shops and knock off designer clothes everywhere, but as you get to the coast it really is stunning, with gorgeous sandy beaches, rocky enclaves and blue, blue ocean as far as you can see. All in all we had a great mixture of relaxation and fun and I would definitely go back there given half the chance - the reality is, whilst we are living in Hong Kong we should probably go to a different location or country next time and take the opportunity of the shorter flights to see somewhere different. Rich was exhausted from a busy couple of weeks with work before he went but was considerably rested by the end, Charlie was definitely ready to come home at the end of it - he missed Hong Kong which really feels like home to him, whereas Jack would have been happier if he was going home to Sydney, but he soon settled back in and played with his toys for hours on end as ..." Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donzgray/1/1281205654/tpod.html Photos from this trip: 1. "Waiting for the plane" 2. "Our room/hut" 3. "Walking from our room" 4. "Lanterns in trees" 5. "Playing" 6. "Love these lanterns" 7. "Playing with holiday friend Maya" 8. "Hard life" 9. "Restaurant in the evening" 10. "Little touches round the resort" 11. "Outside tables" 12. "Pretty" 13. "Fishing trip day" 14. "Snorkling" 15. "Fishing boat" 16. "Attractive fishing boats" 17. "Refreshing swim?" 18. "Having a rest - again" 19. "Hop on Rich, we're off" 20. "Sharing a moment" 21. "Kids...

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