HOTELS, RESORTS & SPAS KOH SAMUI DESTINATIONS W
ith my water pistol primed and ready, face dusted
with talcum powder, and clothes already dripping wet, I was ready to take on anyone – until I came face to face with a seven-year- old sporting a dual-barrel turbo water blaster almost as tall as he was. When it comes to a water fight, I guess size does matter. What led us to this soaking skirmish in the heart of a new luxury hotel, you might ask? It’s the only way to celebrate Songkran, the festival that draws exuberant crowds to the streets to see in the Thai new year by spraying each other with water. Having experienced Songkran in Chiang Mai on a budget backpacking trip 10 years ago, I wondered whether a five-star
resort would match up to those joyous street-side splashathons taking place all over Thailand. But The Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui, the YTL Hotels-owned resort that officially opened its doors last month, following a soft opening in October, is all about bringing Thai culture inside the hotel to connect guests with local life. And what a way to start…
w STREET FOOD Songkran is once a year, but there are plenty of other Thai touches that keep guests connected to the local area year-round. Each Saturday night, Baan Talat, an outdoor space in the centre of the resort, brings street food- style dining to the property with stalls serving pad Thai, spicy fish
I came face to face with a seven-year-old sporting a dual-barrel turbo water blaster almost as tall as him
and grilled chicken, with classic mango and sticky rice for afters. The food is more of a hit than the display of traditional Thai dancing and music that accompanies dinner, but together, they create an entirely different atmosphere from your average hotel restaurant. If that whets the appetite for
more, book a cooking class. Chef Coco takes small groups to a food market to wander past stalls piled high with juicy mangoes, aromatic herbs and fresh-grilled fishcakes, though the most bizarre sight had to be seeing skewers of ‘barbecued’ eggs served shish kebab-style in their shells. Having picked up a few fresh
ingredients for our cooking class – and via a detour to a nearby Buddhist temple – we headed back to the hotel to have a go at whipping up our own Thai green curry, albeit with ample assistance from a troop of apron-clad cooks. The Southern Gastronomic Journey starts at £80 per person – though be warned, dishes in this part of the country come with quite a fiery kick.
19 July 2018
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