Koh Samui, Thailand. July 2023
While running in the golden sand beaches of Koh Samui, the ones that inspired the book and movie “The beach”, I recalled its famous quote: “Paradise is how you feel for a moment in your life when you are a part of something… and if you find that moment… it lasts forever”.
TLDR; “too long, didn’t read”
- I just want to run! Take me to RUN.
- I have 1 minute. Take me to USEFUL INFORMATION.
- Running is my excuse for travelling. Take me to TRIP.
- Running is my excuse for eating. Take me to CARBOLOADING.
- I want to know what to read in the plane. Take me to ONE BOOK.
🌍 The trip 📷: What to see in Koh Samui in a week
There are books that inspire a trip. In this case, “The beach”, the book by Alex Garland that was made into a blockbuster film in 2000, articulated our days in Koh Samui.
Although the beach that inspired the trip is supposedly located in the next island, Koh Phan gan, we flew to Koh Samui. It has an airport with flights from/to Bangkok and Phuket.
There, we enjoyed its pristine beaches and tried to immerse ourselves in its lifestyle.
The myth
A lifestyle that has evolved since the late 80s / early 90s that Alex Garland describes in his book, a fact that is very interesting in itself.
I couldn’t help but reflect on what that says about the changes in society, and about my own changes (I was a teenager during the 90s and the book made a huge impression on me). Back then, the zone attracted young people organizing rave parties (like the famous Full Moon party, still going strong), as well as an ‘alternative’ community, focused on wellness and spirituality, that Alex Garland was a part of.
The myth, now
Now, Koh Samui and Koh Phan gan attract all kinds of tourists. Still young backpackers “trying to do something different”, but also families with kids, wealthy retired people or weed connoisseurs. And you can see this, reflected in the businesses and the buildings, while you travel around the island, as we did, riding motorbikes. A motorbike is definitely the best option to travel: it takes less than a day to go round the whole island, and you can hop on and off your bike and swim in crystal waters and golden sand beaches. You see cafes to smoke weed (it is legal in Thailand), massage parlors, beauty salons, shooting ranges and all types of restaurants. Not only for Thai food: you can eat pizza, pasta, burgers or steaks.
Some of the beaches I really liked were Lipa Noi (long, idyllic and completely empty, since July is low season in Thailand) and Silver Beach, with beautiful scenery, rocks and tropical vegetation perching on its hills.
Temples
The temple Wat Khunaram, with the mummified remains of monk Phra Khru Samathakittikhun, who died in 1973, is an interesting visit that gives you some insight into the island’s spirituality.
We also took a half day trip with a long tail boat to do snorkeling in Koh Tean. 📝Tip: watch out for the coral reefs, they are dangerous as they are very sharp!
Pig Island!
We also visited Pig Island (Koh Mad Sum), a paradisiac island full of pigs fed by the tourists, with a curious story (apparently, a certain Mr. Kitt saw some pigs in a market: they were a family. He pitied them and decided to take them to his home on the island…).
But the highlight was, definitely, our visit to Ang Thong National Marine Park, an archipelago of 42 islands. You can do many activities, snorkeling or kayaking, swim in their amazing beaches (Tip: watch out for box jellyfish, they can be lethal, in fact, they are considered the most dangerous marine animal!), or my favorite: hike up Koh Wua Talap island and enjoy the most amazing view.
🍜 Carboloading 🍝: What to eat in Thailand if you are a runner
Regarding carbo loading, I could write a whole post just about the delicious Thai food. To start with, one of the most famous dishes, Pad Thai, is very high on carbohydrates 🤤 During our stay in Koh Samui not only we enjoyed the great variety and quality of restaurants that are filled with tourists, but we also ventured into small local restaurants in the roads, street stalls, and night markets. It is safe to eat there, it did not upset our stomachs, and it is very cheap. We bought fish, dried squid, fried kitchen, mangos and dragon fruits.
🍛 Thai Green Curry and Tom Yung soup, especially if they contain tofu, are high in protein for muscle recovery. Papaya salad became one of our favorite dishes, and it is very healthy.
🍨 And if you crave for some ice cream, do not worry: Koh Samui has it covered! I highly recommend “The freezy cow”, where we ate some ice creams that were tastier than many places in Italy!
If you have more time, Thailand is an amazing country. We had been to Thailand a couple of times before, and I recommend getting lost in vibrant and very special Bangkok (with its own post), visiting Chiang Mai and the wonderful Golden Triangle, or exploring the ancient temples of Ayutthaya.
🏃♀️ The run
Running in Koh Samui’s roads is not nice, and, most importantly, it is dangerous. Most of the roads do not have much space and the traffic is chaotic. We looked for routes that we could run, and researched a lot of web pages, but after touring the island for days on our motorbikes, we came to the same conclusion others had come to:
Definitely, running in Koh Samui is best done on its beaches 😜! There are many, and some are almost 10 kms long, so you can easily run a half marathon just doing one loop.
Etienne: One kilometer.
Françoise: Two.
Etienne: Richard?
Richard: I dunno; I’m American.
Etienne: So?
Richard: I think in miles, not kilometers.
Etienne: Okay, so how many miles do you think it is?
Richard: I dunno, but it looks like a long way away.
“The beach”, 2000
Starting in town
We started our runs trying our luck on the roads. As expected, you need to watch out for the traffic (which can get dangerously close to you), the pavement which is in very poor condition (in some areas, it is just inexistent) and the dogs. Although most of the dogs are accustomed to passers-by, you might find one that does not like the running, and you might end up between a rock and a hard place: cars on one side, angry dogs on the other.
We ran a couple of times, always starting very early. The roosters were crowing at high volume, almost metaphorically seeing us off.
Watch out!
It is very advisable to run when the sun rises, as the traffic is less intense and the heat is more tolerable. Running during the day means exposing yourself to the scorching sun: you need either a lot of sun cream, or run with all parts of your body covered (unless, unlike me, you are fortunate enough to have a skin that tans 😑). Bring hydration, as you will not find drinking fountains.
It is also highly possible that it will start raining unexpectedly: it happens almost every day.
After a couple of kilometers in the frantic roads, saying hello to smiling kids in uniforms and early shop owners cleaning their business, we reached the beaches.
Bangrak Beach
We ran first in Bangrak beach: very good for running. This is a long beach with golden sand, and it is firm near the water. We ran just after a storm that hit it at 6am, so the sand was just perfect. It is a little angled, so we made sure to run in one direction and then run the same length in the opposite direction. You only need to watch out for the mooring ropes of the small boats, but there are no pointy rocks or garbage. In fact we saw a few locals cleaning out the sand in front of their beach cafés.
Big Budha Temple
The first day, we went up the Big Budha temple, which is at the end of this beach and dominates the view with its beautifulness. To reach it, you need to go up the main road and traverse an elevated paved path. Also close there is the Koh Samui airport, so you can see planes departing or landing while you run. In the Big Budha temple we ran up and down the stairs, which makes for a good workout.
🙏 Since the temple is a sacred place, we opted for running very early, when there were no practicioners praying, out of respect. Plus, I made sure to cover my shoulders and knees.
Bo Phut beach
During our second run, we went to Bo Phut beach. This is a more rockier beach, which is important as it is firmer, although there are some parts with rocks that you will need to dodge over. It is also very good for a complete workout, especially of your lower body muscles. In general, running on sand has multiple benefits:
- It has less impact: since you run on a softer surface, there is less pounding, and thus less strain, especially in your lower body: knees, ankles and hips.
- It strengthens your weak links (smaller muscles), in your foot and your ankle. Since the surface is not stable, tendons and ligaments need to stabilize for balance!
- It’s a great resistance training! It has been studied that you burn 1.6x more calories 💪 running in the sand than on other surfaces.
Tips
However, 📝 take into account a few tips:
- Try to run on wet sand, the area between the sea and the softer sand, as it is firmer.
- This part is normally angled (like in our case in Koh Samui), so try to cover the same distance one way and then the other way around.
- If you are not used to running barefoot, use running shoes.
- ❗ Watch out for pointy rocks, or even garbage. In our case, we only found mooring ropes, but in some beaches, in the morning, there can be a lot of garage left out from night parties 😎
- Avoid if you have some injury in your ankle or plantar fasciitis.
After the run, you can even find fitness centers which offer protein shakes. And, definitely, go for a Thai massage.
Useful information
🏃♀️ Route along the beaches of Bangrag and Bo Phut in Koh Samui, Thailand.
⛰️ Difficulty Easy/ Medium: it is not hilly, but it requires running on sand, which is more difficult than running on other surfaces.
👟 Trail shoes. If you are used to running barefoot, then just go for it! 💪
✅ Good beaches to run: they are long and with streches of wet sand that allow for a firmer surface. Beautiful scenery as well.
❌ It can only be done very early in the morning, since the place is very touristy. In the evenings, when temperature allows it, there are many beach cafes and restaurants and activities on the sand.
Map
Alternative route in Koh Samui
🏃♀️ We also ventured into the hilly interior and discovered a possible route, 10k long, from Maenam beach to Khun Si waterfall and viewpoint.
⛰️ Difficulty Medium / High: Very hilly; it can become difficult if the sun is high.
✅ The route is almost all paved, and there is no traffic: makes for a refreshing change! As you advance, the course turns into unpaved trails amongst beautiful scenery, with jackfruit and durian (the king of fruits!) trees.
✅ As a bonus, at the end you have an amazing viewpoint of the island, and a local post selling sodas and water!
❌It is very hilly and there are no shadows, so do not venture during the hottest hour of the day or without hydration.
One book
| 📖 “Lord Jim”, by Joseph Condrad 📖 “The beach”, by Alex Garland 📖 “The orchid house” / “Hothouse flower”, by Lucinda Riley 🎬 “The beach”, Danny Boyle, 2000 |
“The beach”, directed by Danny Boyle, 2000.
Book by Alex Garland.
Very often defined as “a Lord of the Flies for Generation X”, after an opinion by Nick Hornby, it made a great impression on me, a member of Gen X myself.
The “beach” is inspired by a secluded little stretch of sand in Koh Pha Ngan island, at the time only reachable by boat or after a series of quite difficult hikes. Nowadays it is touristy and not difficult to get to, but the scenery is still beautiful and inspiring.
The book is a great novel. Full of sharp insights about society in the late 80s /early 90s. In the beginning it reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk’s prose, later, more of a modern Hemingway. The movie, by Danny Boyle, is worthy of the book, with a young Leonardo di Caprio and an excellent Robert Carlyle as Daffy. Special mention to Moby’s “Porcelain” in its OST.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Lord Jim”, by Joseph Conrad
I have been an admirer of Joseph Condrad for a long time, having read “Heart of Darkness” multiple times, and some say that “Lord Jim” is his best book.
It is a long novel that follows the redemption journey of Jim, who, full of shame because of an episode when he abandoned a sinking passenger ship, travels from port to port to escape his past, including Bangkok, where he gets into a fistfight. The book includes real events and is a testimony of Joseph Condrad’s love of sailors, and how life articulates around sea life. A sea life that takes them to islands like Koh Samui.
I loved Joseph Condrad’s insight, the way he describes life and his times, so different in appearance but so close in spirit. I include the book here because it describes very different times in the zone, overshadowed by the changes during the XX and early XXI centuries.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
