Day 87: Fishermans Village, Koh Samui

Claire: Today is a new day. And it’s lovely to wake up and be here in Samui without another day of travel. We checked out of our hotel as soon as we could and headed for breakfast with Frenchies (we always end in the same places as the French, we must share their style 😉). The owner, who was also French, explained how best we’d get from Mae Nam to Bophut (approx 2 miles) and roughly how much we’d expect to pay. Although we walked 1 min down the road and some guy offered to take us in his ‘taxi’ for a "better price", so we did. It definitely wasn’t a licensed taxi but it was easy, direct and cheap!

Our accommodation for the next 4 nights is White Cottage, which coincidentally is also owned by French. It’s a lovely little place and less than a minutes walk to Bophut beach.

Whilst exploring where to stay on the island this area had stuck out the most and we really like it. Just a 10 minute walk down the beach and we’re in Fishermans village, where all the old houses are now trendy restaurants and shops. It’s got a lovely laid back atmosphere and although it’s definitely geared towards tourists, the beautiful buildings mean it retains some charm and authenticity.

Gav's day 87 takeaway

87 days is a long time isn't it? Where's the time gone?
That's 125,280 minutes. That's a lot of minutes!
Although, I reckon we've spent a good few of those minutes glued to TripAdvisor attempting to ensure our next meal is decent.
However, on day 87, we ignored the rulebook and chose a restaurant without looking at any reviews!!!! Crazy I know!
Fortunately for us, we picked a restaurant called Red Moon where the bubbly French owner was able to inform us just how popular his restaurant was on TripAdvisor. Normally such a comment is sure sign that we should avoid this type of establishment. But he seemed fairly humble and honest, and besides we'd already sat down by this point. And being English, it would be terribly bad form to leave now that bridge has been passed.
So we continued with our very pleasant dining experience. The place was busy, the staff attentive and the food was decent. And whilst the owner continued to engage with us in a proudly friendly manner, his narrative started to shift from an honest and impartial assistant to rather more of a car salesman type, his tactics becoming ever more obvious and a little needy (in the nicest possible way).
Nevertheless, we left having enjoyed the experience... But I just couldn't help myself.
We got home that night and I snook onto TA to take a peek at that rating...
1,386 reviews...
#9 of 403 Restaurants in Bophut (All seems well)...
But it's not the good reviews that are interesting, it's the bad ones! And there were a few that mostly seemed to folk who seemed not to have taken to our bubbly restaurant owner too kindly.
- "The menu is very far overpriced for the meals and service. At the far east end of fisherman's village, not even worth the walk. The owner is way too pushy, overzealous and proud of his very mediocre food. He reminds me of the Indian tailors trying to sell a suit."
- "This here is rubbish! A shame for Thailand. The French owner is a strange person. I think a lot of the positive reviews are just fake."
- "Started well. Large group of us accommodated. The French manager/owner (not sure which) was very friendly until there was cause for us to make complaint about the meal. He certainly has no PR training and did not handle it at all well. We felt we had to get out asap before physical fighting occurred. Paid the bill and left. Will never return."
- And my personal favourite...
- "The manager/owner is beyond annoying as he tries to convince you that the food is extraordinary and his TripAdvisor rating is so high as a result. The fact is that the food is below par and the service is slow. If he spent as much time making sure that the quality was as good as he boasts, instead of spending all the time arguing with the staff, it might get three stars. Looking at all the great reviews I can only presume that we are not French enough to understand the subtleties of this restaurant or the French have absolutely no taste in food. I can neither say that I am surprised or disappointed as my expectations were low to start. The only good that came from this is that my partner has agreed to take me out somewhere else to make up for this disaster."