Dear Steemit Friends:

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Thailand and discover a whole new culture very different to my own. Aside from visiting the typical touristy places such as the Grand Palace, I was also very fortunate to make a trip to the 3rd largest island belonging to Thailand - Samui which is the perfect escape from the winter blues of China with it's wonderful beaches and exotic Thai infused food. Samui is located south of the capital, Bangkok and is known for it's high quality natural environments. Samui's sea is a very light blue, you might even consider it a tint of green. Like Saipan, it's waters are extremely clear except in Saipan the sea seems to be distinctively blue-er than Samui.

One of the most amazing experiences for me, is a candle lit dinner by the beach at night. Since during the day, the average temperatures can sore way above 28 degrees and thus be almost too hot to sit outside, it is a relief to welcome the sunset in the evening and enjoy a couple of hours of cooler temperature.

We stayed in the northern part of the island in a coastal town called Mae Nam which is just a short drive away from the main city called Chaweng where all the entertainment and night life activities are. I thought it would be best to visit Chaweng's restaurants and bars in the evening, so we drove around 30 minutes from Mae Name to Cha Weng even catching the sunset on route. The skies were a very pretty pink as the sun began it's descent to the west.

When we arrived in Cha Weng, it was a little difficult to find parking at first. At this point I realised why most other people rented motorbikes instead for their convenience. However, we found a spot just by the Chaweng walking street night market then set course for the beach following the signs.

Even though it was still fairly early, many tourists had already started their search for food.

Along the coast, there was a lovely stretch of restaurants which were brightly lit with lanterns.

With so many restaurants, it was hard to choose, but I ended up choosing a restaurant belonging to the hotel called Buri Rasa Village.

Out of all the restaurants, this one stood out becacuse of the silk tents framing each table. It was certainly very romantic.

I heard that this was a four star hotel and also one of the most popular hotels on the island. Of course, their location gives them many bonus points.

Even though the restaurant area for Buri Rasa is not too large, almost all the tables were full. Each table is candle lit, so combined with the exclusive tables with the tents, the restaurant atmosphere exudes romance.

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This is me sitting inside the tent enjoying the subtle sounds of the waves and getting ready to enjoy dinner.

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At the entrance of the restaurant, there are some freshly caught fish on display. I'm pretty sure this drew the attention of many hungry people walking by.

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First, lets take a look at the menu.

These are the set meals.

Desserts.

Drinks menu.

To my surprise, there was also a menu in Chinese.

Now let's see what I ordered!

This cocktail had coconut milk added to it, it was really great!

A large number of people who work on Samui are in the farming business and coconuts are an important and large part of their business. This is another cocktail which is made with real coconut juice inside an actual coconut.

Samui is sometimes known as the coconut island because coconut trees can be seen everywhere. The "meat" of this coconut has absorbed a lot of the alcohol and tastes absolutely delicious!

Bread Appetizers.

This is a Thai speciality mini platter composed of : Spring Rolls, Chicken Skewers, minced chicken on cucumber and Thai style fried fish.

This baked pancake came with a variety of dips. It has a crispy texture.

Even though I'm not particularly fond of eating spicy food, this sweet and spicy sauce subdued me to try.

Green curry chicken. In Thailand, you really have to try their various curries which they're very well known for across the world. Some of them are spicy but even still, once I started eating, I honestly couldn't stop!

Here is the BBQ Seafood platter.

The platter has oysters, prawns, crab, squid and salmon. Of course, they're exceptionally fresh, especially the prawns which I found to be the most aromatic.

A vegetable dish with broccoli, cauliflower, baby corn and carrots helps balance out the meal and help reduce the taste of grease from other dishes.

This is the Thai Pineapple fried rice. This seemed to be something I ordered almost every meal in Thailand. The pineapple fried rice in Thailand is not too sweet, in fact it's slightly salty. It must be some kind of seasoning that the Thai people like to add, but it tastes wonderful either way.

Next up are the side dishes. Fries are always nice to nibble on, especially when they're crunchy!

Fresh Salad.

Steamed Jasmin Rice.

Yes, you're right, for a person with a mild appetite, it seems like i've ordered a bit too much. As the waitress brought the last dishes over, she said that she hopes we can finish it all..

Of course, we lived up to her expectations and managed to eat it all! It helps that we didn't have any lunch.

After a very filling dinner, all I wanted to do was lie down on these chairs and rest, but alas, a bit of exercise always help kick start digestion so let's take a walk around this coastal village and check out the scenery.

There are lots of pretty trees here.

Borderless swimming pool.

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A peaceful path leading us out.

This is the bar by the pool.

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This hotel specializes in individual Villas, at night, the lights turn on to reveal the path. It reminds me of The Wizard of Oz, setting a romantic tone and mood.

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Tonights moon was very round!

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This is the hotels lobby and front desk.

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And that's it for now! Hope everyone enjoyed the romantic candle lit dinner on the truly romantic island Samui. More blogs on Thailand and many others coming soon!


今天我想带大家去泰国的第三大岛屿---苏梅岛，品尝一下美妙的沙滩晚宴。苏梅岛位于首都曼谷再往南的位置，以优质的自然环境而出名，如果说我之前去过的塞班岛的水很蓝，那苏梅岛的水则是清澈的绿色，别有一番风味呢。我们住在苏梅岛北海岸的湄南海滩，却一直听说岛上大部分的娱乐活动都集中在查汶海滩，海滩旁的沙滩上开满餐厅和酒吧。查汶海滩的餐厅种类也不少，除了地道的泰菜，还有意大利、德国等菜系。所以我们不怕辛苦的开了半个小时，路上还看到了夕阳西下后留下的粉色天空。我选择了这家装修很别致的酒店餐厅——布里拉沙乡村饭店。

这个鸡尾酒里也加了椰子奶，好喝极了。这个是岛上特有的椰子酒，因为苏梅岛当地人民以务农为主，生产椰子的是他们重要的经济来源。在苏梅岛上，椰树随处可见，所以苏梅岛又被称为“椰子岛”。被酒泡过的椰子肉也一样好吃呢。开胃餐的面包。这个是泰国特色的小吃拼盘，有春卷，鸡肉串，放在黄瓜上切碎的肌肉沙拉，泰式炸鱼。烤饼配有各种酱汁，吃起来好脆。虽然我不爱吃辣的，但是泰式的甜辣酱征服了我。绿咖喱鸡，到了泰国，一定要尝尝泰式各种不同口味的咖喱鸡，虽然有些辣，但是吃起来，真的是停不下来。搭配漂亮的BBQ海鲜拼盘，有牡蛎，烤虾。还有烤螃蟹，烤鱿鱼和烤鱼。海鲜的味道太新鲜了，尤其是这个烤虾，烤得非常香。蔬菜拼盘，吃了很多烧烤油炸的东西，当然要配上清淡的蔬菜，才不会觉得腻。泰国的菠萝饭，好像慢慢变成了我在泰国吃饭每顿必点的主食。泰国的菠萝饭没有特别甜，反而有点咸，好像是加了些独特的调料，让味道变的别样的好吃。所以我就中了菠萝饭的毒。接下来是一些配菜，炸薯条。蔬菜沙拉。蒸茉莉香米饭。是的，对于食量一般的我好像点多了，服务员上菜的时候，说希望我们能够吃完。但是最后我们真的没有辜负他们的期望，全部吃完，当然这也是因为我们没有吃中午饭。

吃饱了的我其实好想在躺椅上休息，不过运动才有助于消化，下面我们就来欣赏下这个海边村庄的风景吧。这里有很多漂亮的树。无边的游泳池。幽静的小路。这里的酒店，都是一栋栋独立的villa，晚上灯光亮起，就好像绿野仙踪一样，特别有情调。希望大家喜欢我这篇苏梅岛的沙滩烛光晚宴和海边酒店漫步，之后还有更都关于苏梅岛的游记等着和大家分享。