Thailand has always been a popular tourist destination for Israelis, but this summer it is more sought-after than ever. Many Israelis are vacationing in Thailand due to the decreasing popularity of European destinations, driven by rising anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli demonstrations. Thailand is reaping the benefits of this shift at Europe's expense.
Thailand offers something for everyone, whether looking for vibrant activities or peace and tranquility. The island is perfect for families with children, and equally suitable for singles, couples, and older adults. If you need a break from work pressures, the news, and the atmosphere in Israel, this is the ideal place for your vacation.
Thailand is renowned for its stunning beaches, water sports, full moon parties, shopping markets, elephant and monkey sanctuaries, Buddhist temples, and archaeological sites. Several tourist areas in Thailand offer these attractions, but each has its unique highlights. Koh Samui is one of the most popular areas. "Koh" in Thai means "island," and "Samui" means "perfection."
Samui is known for its beautiful beaches with white sands lined with palm and coconut trees. The seawater varies in shades of turquoise, and the sunsets on the beaches are breathtaking. Samui's beaches are narrow and long, about 5 kilometers long, and only 20-50 meters wide. On one side, there is the sea, and on the other, coconut and palm trees lean towards the water, their tops extending above it. Children often climb and slide along the horizontal trunks, joyfully splashing into the shallow waters.
Exploring Koh Samui's Beaches
The beaches on Koh Samui each offer unique experiences. Here’s an overview:
Chaweng Beach is the largest, most popular, and liveliest on the island. It boasts soft white sands and calm turquoise waters with almost no waves. The water is very shallow, allowing you to walk dozens of meters from the shoreline while the water only reaches your knees. This makes it a safe spot for children to play without the fear of drowning. Lounge chairs are scattered along the beach, perfect for relaxing with a good book or a Daf Yomi, offering a taste of paradise.
The beach is bustling with water activities such as jet ski rentals, parasailing, and thrilling rides on an inflated "banana" dragged at high speeds behind a jet ski. While you won’t find vendors selling popsicles, you will encounter those grilling corn or fish skewers for vacationers. One unique vendor even sells swim rings and inflatable balls, approaching like a colorful truck.
Adjacent to the beach are hotels and resorts catering to all budgets, as well as bars, clubs, shops, tourist services, restaurants, and numerous attractions. Even if you stay at another beach, make sure to visit Chaweng Beach at least once. At night, the beach is even more vibrant. As darkness falls, fascinating fire shows light up the beach, and at 10 PM, full-moon parties with energetic and loud music kick off. Alcohol flows freely, and many young people dance wildly until dawn. Chaweng Beach is always bustling.
Lamai Beach, about a 20-minute drive north, is my personal favorite because it’s quieter. Not crowded. You can hear only the gentle sound of small waves lapping the shore. Lamai is also known for its breathtaking sunrises. If you’re staying in Lamai, it’s worth waking up early at least once to witness this beauty.
Silver Beach is another must-visit spot for its beauty, though less so for swimming. The beach is adorned with large, stunning basalt rocks that lend it the charm of a tropical paradise. Along the beach, there are cafes and ice cream shops with large terraces where you can relax with a tropical shake and gaze at the sea. However, swimming can be less enjoyable due to rocks protruding above the sand underwater, making walking difficult.
Lipa Noi Beach is highly recommended for its unique tidal effect. The beach’s gentle slope creates a dramatic difference between high and low tide. In the evening, the waterline is close to the coconut trees on the beach, but by morning, it retreats 2-3 km away from the beach. It’s an amazing sight.
Bophut Beach, in the north of the island, used to be a fishing village. Near the beach, you’ll find a fish and food market, as well as an interesting and large night market. The night market stands offer a variety of goods at very cheap prices, from cotton dresses to tourist souvenirs, along with stalls selling tropical fruit shakes and various types of Thai food.
You can even find a stall offering fried cockroaches and chocolate-coated scorpions. The cockroaches, larvae, and worms are served fried or alive, still moving on the plate. Yuck!
In the market’s alleys, you’ll hear Hebrew more than any other language. There’s even a kosher steakhouse called "Baraca" in the night market.
Mae Nam Beach, located in the north of the island, is currently very quiet. On clear days, you can see Koh Phangan from here. The Mae Nam area is experiencing a construction boom of hotels and shopping centers, making it a potential "next big hit" on Koh Samui. Many Israelis of Russian origin who have left Israel live in this town. On the beach is the Chao Eng Sae Chinese temple, a small and beautiful temple with a skillfully carved and painted dragon.
Overall, all the beaches in Koh Samui are quite beautiful, even the one closest to your hotel.
Tourist Sites on Koh Samui
Koh Samui offers much more than just beautiful beaches. Chaweng is not only a beach but a vibrant district on the island. It is also the name of the main street where many tourists and locals stroll back and forth. It’s surprising to see many people wearing various types of kippahs on this street.
It is no coincidence that the Chabad House is located in the heart of Chaweng Street, the hub for Israelis. On the second floor, there is a synagogue where prayers with a minyan are held three times a day (Shacharit at 9:30 AM). There is also a kosher restaurant and a mini-market with kosher products. The Chabad House serves not only as a religious center but also as a hub for travelers. It is a place where Israeli tourists exchange opinions and impressions from their journeys on the island.
On the ground floor near the entrance to the Chabad House, there are some shops and businesses owned by Israelis, including a kosher pizzeria, a kosher Italian restaurant, scooter rentals, a travel agency, laundry, and more. It almost feels like home.
The sidewalks in Chaweng are very narrow, and alongside them, there are numerous shops for tourists, travel agencies, money changers, ice cream stalls, restaurants, and tailors. It is peculiar to see Hebrew signs on some of the shops and food stalls. Surprisingly, Hebrew is the third most common language on shop signs, after Thai and English, with French and Russian far behind, if they appear at all.
In Koh Samui, you can find many bargains. Everything here is significantly cheaper compared to prices in Israel. Clothing and cell phones are sold at about half the price in Israel, as are other electrical appliances. The main street is lined with tailor shops that create suits and other garments tailored overnight to your measurements, all at a quarter of the price in Israel. (This comes from personal experience).
There is a common misconception that a vacation in the Far East, specifically Thailand, is more expensive than a vacation in nearby Europe. This is not true! Although the flights to Thailand are longer and more costly than flights to Athens or Prague, all other holiday components, such as hotels, food, and entertainment, are cheaper. This offsets the differences. Ultimately, a 10-day vacation in Greece and Thailand can cost very similar amounts.
Among the shops on the street, you will also find Thai massage parlors. Thais love massages, and on every street corner and even on the beach, there are ladies offering various massages at reasonable prices. The simplest and most popular is the foot massage, highly recommended for those who have walked a lot on various tours and also before the flight back to Israel. The price is only about 30 shekels. There are also more expensive massages available.
It is surprising to see that shops in Koh Samui openly sell drugs like marijuana and cannabis, as it is legal here. The image of a marijuana leaf is prominent on the shop fronts. There is even a chain of drug shops called "Library."
Tip: Before entering a shop or private house, it is customary here to remove your shoes, leave them outside, and enter barefoot. Entering a shop while wearing shoes can be considered disrespectful to the business owner, who may then be reluctant to serve you. Entering a private house with shoes is insulting to the homeowners.
Nature lovers will enjoy touring the many national parks on the island. One of the natural attractions used to be beautiful waterfalls in the mountains, but in the past two years, most have dried up due to a lack of rain. Currently, there is nothing to see there.
Thai Architecture and Attractions
The Thai architectural style is unique, featuring steeply sloped roofs ending in pointed spires. This is especially evident in the colorful and grand temples. While we do not enter places of idol worship, we can admire their beauty from the outside.
Statues of Buddha are almost ubiquitous. The island also has two special temples, one of which houses the statue of the Big Buddha.
Nearby is the Lotus Temple (Plai Laem), built within a lake and surrounded by a giant lotus flower.
At its center is the statue of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and Compassion, with 18 arms.
There are many attractions for families with children, including elephant rehabilitation farms where you can interact with these giant animals, a monkey center, snake farms, ATV tours into the jungle, Thai boxing shows, and much more.
Another tourist attraction is the "Grandfather Rock" and "Grandmother Rock." In one area with concentrations of lava rocks on the beach, there are naturally formed rocks that resemble human private parts—both male and female. This amuses tourists, especially female tourists, who come to take photos against the phallic rock, with some even trying to climb it. It's better to come here without children. Here's the Grandfather Rock, and as for the Grandmother Rock, I'll leave that to your wild imagination, or you can come see it for yourself.
In the courtyards of almost every private house and office building, you will see a small Buddhist altar like in the picture.
This is called a "spirit house." It serves the locals similarly to how a mezuzah protects a Jewish home. Buddhists believe that spirits of the dead who lived in or visited the house, return and curse it. To prevent this, Buddhists build a special house for the spirits so they stay inside it and do not enter their home. Some believers even bring offerings and food to the spirit house.
Getting Around the Island
The most convenient way to get around the island is by renting scooters, which are available at laughably low prices starting at 15-20 shekels per day. Renting a car is not recommended due to parking difficulties. Note that driving is on the left side, like in England. Those who are concerned about this can hire a taxi driver for the whole day or join an organized tour. You can circle the entire island in about an hour on the ring road, which is lined with all the main attractions.
The ring road, inaugurated in the 1990s, has seen the development of residential and commercial neighborhoods, as well as tourist sites along its length. Before this, most of the area was a jungle of tall coconut trees interspersed with tropical trees and bananas. In the center of the island, this is still the case. The ring road is convenient and wide, with four lanes almost all the way.
In contrast, the urban roads in Koh Samui are mostly narrow and bumpy, resembling those in third-world countries. Most of the vehicles are scooters and motorcycles, which I estimate outnumber cars ten to one. Sometimes, you can see an entire family riding on one scooter: the father driving, his wife sitting behind him, two children between them, and a toddler standing between the father's legs. It is also common to see elderly, hunched grandmothers speeding along on motorcycles.
Day Trip to Nearby Islands
Taking boat trips to nearby islands such as Pig Island, Koh Phangan, or Koh Tao is highly recommended.
One day should be dedicated to a trip to the Ang Thong National Marine Park, which comprises 42 islands. These islands have been declared a marine nature reserve, and none of them are inhabited. A tourism company vehicle will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the departure dock. From there, you will set off on a full-day cruise from Koh Samui on a special boat that also anchors at a clear coral reef, where you can snorkel alongside colorful fish, just like in an aquarium but larger, some even the size of carp.
The tour passes many islands in the reserve and stops at five of them. On the islands of Ko Mae, Thale Nai, and Ko Wua Ta Lap, you disembark to white beaches and visit islands that are stunningly beautiful.
Another sea tour is to Pig Island, a very small island where small pigs roam freely among the visitors. Once, a man lived on this tiny island and ran a small restaurant. On one of his trips to the main island to buy supplies for the restaurant, he saw a family of pigs being led to slaughter. Feeling sorry for them, he bought them all, took them on his boat, and returned to the island. Over the years, the pig family multiplied, and they got used to humans feeding them. Today, there are hundreds of pigs roaming the small island.
A popular sea tour is to Koh Tan, a small and peaceful island where the jungle forest reaches the water's edge. On Koh Tan, there are areas where colorful fish leisurely swim close to the shore and do not flee from snorkel-wearing visitors. A calming silence prevails there.
Tickets for a wide variety of cruises and tourist attractions can be obtained at the numerous travel agencies scattered along the main streets.
