At 6am we woke up and withdrew the curtains after a broken night's sleep. As the attendant busied himself converting the bunks back to seating we waited for our stop.

As we got off at Surat Thani, a sleepy little town (maybe only sleepy because of the early hour?) we were directed by a couple of townspeople to a café opposite the train station. They indicated to us our bus but told us we still had to wait for another train-load of people, the message clearly being buy some food and drink while you wait.

When it was clear we weren't going to purchase anything from the café, we got shepherded onto the waiting bus and sat and waited (with a load of locals who had already been waiting onboard). Surat Thani is the stop-off point for both the islands in the East like Koh Samui as well as those on the West like Phuket and, because of this, there were two coaches waiting depending on the final destination.

After the next train arrived and everyone was safely on board (more heading for Phuket/Krabi than our way I noticed) we set off for the 60km drive to the ferry port. We both promptly fell asleep!

Before falling asleep we had shown our combined rail + bus ticket and received, in exchange, a ferry ticket which we used at the port. The ferries run every hour on the hour and after a very quick coffee it wasn't long before we were in the queue of foot passengers to board. Once on the ferry we had to wait a while for all the motor vehicles to get on but the views and the temperature made it an enjoyable wait.

An hour and a half later we arrived at Koh Samui port, Na Thon. For some unknown reason the ferry seemed to be full of Russian holidaymakers who left the ferry to get into waiting onward transport. We had nothing organised and were a little jealous as we walked past their air-conditioned minibuses with our packs on our backs!

At the port, we got into a shared taxi with destination Lamai and unsure precisely where to get off, got off a little too soon. However turning this slight negative into a positive we had a chance to look at some rooms and beach-side bungalows.

We found the experience a little dispiriting as the cheap rooms were uninhabitable and even those outside of our budget were awful! We spent a good long time looking as we knew we would be using the room for a long while and we both needed to be very comfortable with our choice.

On the very outskirts of town we found a posh looking hotel whose basic rooms were above our budget but we checked one out anyway and very happy and excited with what we saw decided to take the plunge. We figured if we're on holiday might as well go the whole hog!

After getting ourselves sorted we first had a wander down the main street and onto the beach before returning and spending the later afternoon lounging in and around the hotel pool.

Missing out on both breakfast and lunch we became hungry so set out towards the night market for some supper. This proved to be a very unwise decision as we immediately got caught in the rains without either a cagoule or the complimentary umbrellas in our room. Fortunately as quickly as they came the rains soon dissipated leaving puddles everywhere.

Not fancying the night market because of the wet seating and the threat of further rain, we opted for a local restaurant where Kirsty made a mistake ordering glutinous noodles which are not to our liking we've learned!

Afterwards we visited the night market and vowed to return later in the week when it is drier and, on the way back to the room, visited a pancake stall for an absolutely delicious fresh coconut and chocolate pancake. Or Bounty pancake if you prefer!

After complaining to the reception staff the following morning about the two horrible beetle-like creatures we shared our bathroom with (this is supposed to be a luxury resort…!), we were allowed to move rooms first thing. Once re-settled we got ourselves ready and headed out for the beach.

Ever mindful of the pennies we stopped at a 7 Eleven for some breakfast and some water before wandering to the beach and finding a spot to sunbathe. Unfortunately in all the commotion of the morning we hadn't applied suncream so had to do this at the beach which as everyone knows means a not such a thorough job is done.

The beach was quiet, Lamai is fairly quiet this time of year and the sky was patchy cloud, perfect to give a bit of respite from the sun beating down.

As the morning crept into the afternoon we decided a change of scene was in order and so returned to the hotel and enjoyed a couple of hours around the pool. The highlight of the afternoon being the fight the couple opposite had with an unwelcome spider. Later as the black clouds gathered overhead, Kirsty mentioned something about going inside but unfortunately I was a little slow to respond (you know what it's like when your wife is talking at you ;-)) and we got caught in the downpour.

Back in the room we showered and caught up on some internet bits and pieces until our stomachs decreed it was food time. A quick change of clothes and, learning our lesson from yesterday, a grab for the free umbrella and we were off out.

Our plan was to enjoy the night market offerings before visiting the pancake stall lady again for dessert. With it still raining, however, we first stopped for a pre-dinner drink. At the night market we selected a Massaman curry and vegetable tempura before grabbing some open-air seating (the rain had stopped) and enjoying the food. An after-dinner stroll followed and, with no sign of the pancake stall lady, we returned to our hotel.

A lovely long sleep under the covers in an air-conditioned room followed - this is finally beginning to feel like a proper holiday!

After this late start we went down to the beach via the 7 Eleven for some breakfast. We spent another couple of hours at the beach though conditions were mainly overcast but still plenty warm enough. At around 2 we strolled back again getting an ice-cream on the way. The afternoon was spent by the pool and was slightly sunnier as we lay on our loungers reading and chatting the day away.

The rains came after we had returned to the room but stayed for some time. Eventually we left around 7 as the hunger had got too much to head to the main road in the resort for something to eat. We were planning to return to the night market but had somewhere undercover in mind in case it started raining again.

What we saw when we got to the main road surprised us. Or maybe more accurately what we didn't see as there had obviously been a power cut. This power cut had not affected our hotel so we took the decision to turn back and climb the hill to the coast road at the top where hopefully power and light would be functioning fine and we'd find a restaurant.

As it turned out it was quite a walk to firstly find a restaurant and secondly to find electricity. We did find a local place on the corner equipped with the customary patio furniture. Here we ordered fried rice and pad thai, both excellent when they arrived.

As we'd missed out on the lady at the pancake stall again, we went for some ice-cream for dessert before returning to the room. Another day spent relaxing and sunbathing. Maybe a bit more pink and only one photograph taken all day!

The next day we had another lovely lie-in courtesy of the air-conditioning unit in our room! As we headed out to the beach we stopped at reception to pay for another night's accommodation and gladly received 10% discount. A nice gesture by the hotel and a nice boon for our budget J

We purchased some more suncream before assuming the position back on the beach. The sun was out leading to a lovely hot morning. As noontime passed we returned to the hotel grabbing a now customary ice-cream on the way.

Back in the room we planned to stay out the midday sun before spending the afternoon next to the pool. However the weather had other plans and it started to rain while we were indoors and continued for five to six hours. We spent the afternoon uploading photos and other bits and pieces.

With hungry bellies we finally decided to brave the rain and found some food in an Irish bar. Deciding the Sunday roast was outside our budget (oh how I miss my roast!) we opted for delicious burgers instead. After watching the Monaco Grand Prix on the TV screens we then returned home.

After another late start we headed down to the beach. It was overcast but nonetheless warm and we had decided to wander down to the Grandparent rocks, one of Koh Samui's famous landmarks. Once we had taken a few snaps around here we strolled along the beach before spots of rain and a big black cloud encouraged us to return to the hostel. With an ice-cream of course!

The rain lasted a few hours during which again we uploaded photos, watched a film and read our books before popping to the pool. Here we were joined by a number of other guests and enjoyed the heat of the afternoon. Unfortunately the rain didn't stay away so, when it returned, we all made a mad dash for cover.

We didn't venture out again until after 6 by which time the rains had gone for the day. We headed for the night market where we enjoyed some chicken and fried noodles and fish and prawn tempura. All cooked fresh in front of us. Delicious!

After a wander around some shops we returned home to finally make some decisions about our next destination.

A late start the next day put paid to our idea of travelling around the island and checking out other beaches. Instead, and taking full advantage of the sunny weather, we decided to stay by the pool all day.

While Kirsty went to pay for a further day's accommodation I went down to the main street to forage for some breakfast and we met up by the pool. The weather was a lot sunnier than it had been which meant not only that the poolside was busier but also several more dips in the pool were necessary to keep cool.

At around 3pm a few drops of rain arrived and missing our daily ice-cream fix we took advantage of the rain to actually get up and do something. So we went down to the village to buy an ice-cream each and some other snacks. Noticing the weather had improved again we returned and spent the next couple of hours poolside before boredom kicked in.

Returning to the room we showered and got ready to go out. Our first destination was a tour operator where we booked our combination bus-boat-bus tickets to Krabi, our next stop, in a couple of days's time.

We then went to the night market where we shared Massaman curry (definitely a favourite), tempura vegetables and tempura fish. Delicious but a struggle to eat thanks to our afternoon snacking!

We decided a walk was in order to try and walk off the bloated feeling and enjoy browsing the shops. We bought a Thailand bookmark and Kirsty bought a few pairs of earrings.

The alarm went off early. We ignored it. Eventually at just before 10 we crawled out of bed, got ourselves ready, paid for the room and went out to wait for a sawngthaew. The plan was to go to Chaweng beach to have a nose around.

After waiting a while we jumped onboard for the journey to Chaweng. Thinking it was just around the headland we were surprised to learn it was so far away! Not that I'm complaining, the coastal road was beautiful.

We disembarked and found the beach road easily enough. The beach was very impressive: a beachhead at each end, beautiful soft sand and the sea shimmering different hues of blue. Needless to say it was pretty busy.

We took off our shoes and wandered from one end to the other before heading inland for a coffee. We then walked down the main street before jumping on a pick-up and returning back to Lamai.

A slow torturous ride along the undulating coastal road followed (perhaps the engine was broken?) before back at Lamai, we had a couple of ice-creams on the way back to the hotel.

We then got ourselves ready for an afternoon by the pool. As we left the room however, the weather had other ideas. The sun had retreated and it was not looking promising. An hour later and our worse fears were confirmed as the heavens opened. So we returned to our room to wait it out before going back to the pool to enjoy our last afternoon in Koh Samui.

At just after 5 we got ready and we went out for some starters and pizza to follow, again, from the Irish pub. We then returned to pack our bags before our early start at 6.30 tomorrow.