(From top) A traditional Thai fisherman’s lunch; a rock juts out of the sea at the Anthong Marine Park; the Namuang Sanctuary Elephant Station

The experience starts even before you arrive when you climb into a rainbow-hued turboprop that flies you into what looks like a tropical resort, with thatched roofs and open golf-carts… no, wait, that’s Koh Samui Airport!

The ride to the resort on the opposite end of Koh Samui Island is in a killer four-wheel-drive truck that zips through the island at 90kmph so that we reach in just a few minutes. After the hectic ride we spend the first evening, just relaxing at Thong Krut beach, strolling and watching the sun go down into a maze of tiny islands off the coast.

The only practical — and flexible — way to get around the island is to hire a bike. There’s an awesome range of choices. Small gearless mopeds are about 200 baht (approx. Rs 282); you can also, if you like, hire cruisers, dirt bikes, racing superbikes and Harleys.

Koh Samui’s a beach paradise in Thailand and, inevitably, all the action is along the coastline. The restaurants, shops, clubs and watersports are all along the beaches. Chaweng and Lamai are the established beaches, where most of the action takes places. The other beaches are less crowded — and the further you go, the cleaner and quieter they are likely to be.

We decide to leave the beaches for later, and start further inland. There are a series of waterfalls, trekking trails, and there’s also the Namuang Sanctuary. That’s where we met up with and went for a ride on Nuona — a beautiful 20-year-old Thai elephant.

Since we were brimming with energy, we then set off on a two-hour walk up to the top of Namuang Waterfall, where our guide showed us a secluded, calm pool where you can leap off an overhanging rock down 25ft into the water, swim under the waterfall, and into a small cave.

There’s also a series of cable-rides where you can get into a harness, clip yourself onto cables between the tall trees, and go sliding through the air, sometimes hanging upside-down — if you have the guts to, that is.

Next was a full-day trip to Anthong Marine Park, reachable only by boat. It’s a collection of dozens of islands, carved by the wind and the sea into fantastic shapes — huge vertical standing rocks hundreds of feet tall.

You can do this by ferry, but I strongly recommend the (slightly) more expensive speedboat option. It’s far more enjoyable, and you get to see a lot more, not counting the speedboat experience itself. I sat right up front, sipping a Singha, as the boat reached top speed across the azure ocean. Amazing speed, the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, while waves skim past at 90kmph a few feet away.

At Anthong, we made four major stops. The first was to go snorkelling around a coral reef at Koh Wao Lai. It was my first time snorkelling and the mouthpiece takes a lot of getting used to before you’re ready to actually relax and enjoy the sun-dappled world below. It’s a world filled with little quicksilver flashes as the local fauna comes up to investigate this strange new shape splashing about in their ‘sky’. I went a small distance away from everyone else where the water was clearer and there was more to see.

Our second stop was the Green Lagoon at Koh Mae Koh, an inland lake, gleaming emerald against the surrounding sapphire seas. The walk up to the lagoon — and a lookout point above it — is from a series of wooden walkways and ladders. The lookout itself is just a small platform, but the view is to die for — a bird’s-eye view of the archipelago, a panorama of green islands dreaming in the sun, spread all around.

Then we stopped for lunch at a small fishing village at the island of Koh Paluay and had a traditional fisherman’s lunch — giant freshly caught shrimp, rice, vegetables and fresh fruit.

Finally, after we had rested, there was a long halt at Koh Lak, where the locals brought out a couple of kayaks. Some of us went rowing around the island to explore more marine caves, and others lazed around on the pristine white-sand beach or played in the surf.

Our day ended with a long ripping ride back along the island’s northern beaches, which were glowing in the setting sun. I might have been roasted like tandoori chicken, but this was one of our best days there.

We had kept a day for roaming around the island and we took a look at the aquarium and zoo, (where I got to touch a giant manta ray as it swam past) and a touristy, but still fun, bird and tiger show. Also, we dropped in at a few temples, including Wat Khunaram, which has the several hundred-year-old mummified body of a Buddhist monk on display. Then, we stopped at the Grandfather-Grandmother rocks (rock formations that bear a remarkable resemblance to human genitalia and could have been celebrated as a tourist attraction only in Thailand). Another interesting discovery in Chaweng was a shooting gallery, where I tried out a .45 automatic and turned out to be a surprisingly good shot.

We wrapped up with a look around Lamai’s nightlife, stopping at the karaoke bars, a rocking Irish pub, and taking part in the general revelry.

Towards the end of the holiday, we moved to Lamai, and spent some time just hanging out on the beaches. The evenings is when Lamai’s real character comes out. Hundreds of multi-coloured lamps, lanterns and lights illuminate the sands, deck chairs get replaced by tables and there are open-air displays of the days’ catch on ice.

You can sit with a drink and watch dozens of ‘good-luck lanterns’ — rice-paper balloons with a lamp suspended inside — rising into the night sky. The effect is magical. It’s as though the land, having so much beauty, has decided to give some away to the heavens, and is sending little coloured stars sailing up to add to the night sky.

Under these stars, barefoot in soft, cool sand, to the faint music — the ubiquitous beach anthem by Bob Marley — and the ever-present soft crashing of the waves, I raised a toast to a small experience of paradise.

Ready reckoner

Getting there: Thai Airways operates daily flights to Koh Samui, stopping over at Bangkok, from Calcutta, Mumbai and Delhi.

Staying there: Accommodation to suit all pockets is available. The luxurious Coconut Villa Resort & Spa on Thong Krut Beach is an excellent option at 2,200 baht per night. The Lamai Coconut Resort on the Lamai Beach is also good at 1,200 baht per night.

Exchange rate: 1 THB = 1.41 INR