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Koh Samui: Heaven on an Island
By Elina Fuhrman
Special Correspondent
KOH SAMUI, Thailand (CNN) -- Superlatives come quickly to
mind when talking about Koh Samui. But most visitors to
this island in the Gulf of Thailand simply call it "Heaven
on Earth."
But if luxury does not fit your budget, you can soak up
Samui's charm and sun for as little as $10 per day. The island
is filled with all sorts of accommodations in every price
range.
"Kids who stay at Charlie Huts go to the same bars,
restaurants and nightclubs as those who stay at the Meridien
and Santiburi," says Shelley
Poplack, the owner of Tamarind Retreat, a Samui spa and resort. "That's
the beauty of Samui."
A former financial public relations consultant from South
Africa, Poplack says she stumbled on Samui "by mistake
and stayed." Today, Tamarind Retreat is one of Samui's
most popular spas. "Nobody makes appointments here," says
Poplack. "People just turn up."
Tamarind's design is intended to break the barriers between
interiors and their natural surroundings. Ten Thai-style
individually appointed homes, settled in private gardens
and incorporating the huge stone formations dotting the hillside,
have fully furnished kitchens and almost no walls.
Taking a hot water shower there takes on a new meaning when
the showerhead is under a giant ficus tree, right in the
middle of your open-air bathroom. Just beyond: hibiscus,
whose stems teem with multicolored birds and butterflies.
Tamarind's prices begin at $98 per night in high season.
It also features a $44, four-hour spa treatment that includes
a 90-minute Thai massage, unlimited herbal steam, herbal
facial and wild mint foot massage.
For the full story on Samui see http://www.cnn.com/2000/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/07/18/thailand
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