‘Beaching ain’t easy, but someone’s gotta do it. And I find myself in the enviable position of traveling around the world and getting to share my reviews, experiences, and, sometimes, confessions, with you, the intrepid reader.
And while you think that I should be fired immediately so you can take over my job (or, at least, certainly get a demotion and cut in salary), I’ll keep writing ‘em as long as they’ll let me.
That’s because, in my not-so-humble opinion, AllWorld.com is one of the best travel websites in the entire world. Not just because I say so – and certainly not because of my sophomoric musings in these reviews – but because the AllWorld editors operate by one and only one mandate: find cool and interesting places to travel to and then tell people the truth about them.
I really have no further restrictions than that, so, at the very least, you’ll know that my reviews are honest and uncensored.
Cheesy commercial aside, the reason I tell you this is because I’m going to share one of my favorite beaches in the world in one of the nicest places I’ve been: Silver Beach in KohSamui.
Located in the tropical vacation paradise of KohSamui (Koh means ‘island’ in Thai) in central Thailand, Silver Beach is slightly less touristy, crowded, and commercial than some of the bigger and more popular beaches here. In fact, it’s semi-private, which means its maintained and operated by the lineup of resorts and hotels that line the beachfront property. So, for instance, they will clean the beach of refuse any morning and vendors selling sunglasses, henna tattoos, massages, seafood, etc. that are so ubiquitous (and can get annoying) at other beaches in Thailand are prohibited from working at Silver Beach.
Actually, if we’re going to be accurate, we should call it by its local name: Thong Takhian Beach, although just about everyone calls it Silver Beach. And the good news is that even though you’re not staying at one of the high-priced resorts there, anyone is free to come and use the beach and spend a few hours or the whole day.
However, it’s best to bring your own blanket or bamboo matt and set up shop on the sand (or under the shade of a tree). But you can also rent a bamboo pavilion overlooking the sand and the water at Am Samui Place, or sit on the lounge chairs at the other hotels like Crystal Bay Resort, Silver Beach Resort, etc. They also have great food and drinks available at each of the outdoor seaside restaurants, and if you don’t like the food (or prices) at one, just move down to the next.
Located in a placid and always calm bay, Silver Beach can be described as white sand, with clear and clean water conducive to snorkeling. But the other highlight of this area is also the rounded and almost polished rock formations that dot the water’s edge. During low tide, far more are visible, and you can swim or walk out to them, climb on them, and play around. But even at high tide, there are a few of the rocks visible for you to enjoy. They also provide a fantastic backdrop for photos.
There’s plenty to see and do on KohSamui, but you’d be remiss not to visit Silver Beach at least for one day trip, as it’s one of my favorite beaches in the world!
About Norm Schriever
Norm Schriever is a blogger, Amazon best-sellling author, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. His work appears in the Huffington Post, Business.com, Good Morning America, The Anderson Cooper Show on CNN, NBC, MSN, Yahoo, Hotels.com, and media all around the world.
Norm grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut, where he was never accused of overstudying. After expatriating to Costa Rica in 2011, he started traveling the world and documenting what he saw. He now lives in Southeast Asia, writing his heart out and working with local charities.
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