More Bang for your Beach

Enough and more has been written about Thailands buzzy shopping malls,zany nightlife and its silver-sanded islands dotted with some of the best spas in the world. But theres nary a family vacation,one that involves a toddler or two,anywhere in the region.

Thais love kids and shower them with attention; you can barely cross the street without your child earning an engaging smile or a hair-tousle from a passerby. Of all the islands around Thailand,Koh Samui is the most relaxed and family-friendly.

Koh Samui,or simply Samui as the locals call it,is one of the worlds spa and massage hotspots. It is Thailands third largest island,and has a little over 50,000 people living in it. Its filled with natural resources,especially coconut and fish,dense coral reefs,and has clean,white sandy beaches along its coastline. Thats all I need to know to pack the family and some friends (with toddlers too) on to the next plane out.

The Bangkok Airways uniform is probably the most stylish garb I have seen on any flight attendant. Designed by hot-ticket Thai designer Polpat Asavaprapha,its cerulean and white,with marine prints,tailored as close to those fabulously skinny Thai bodies as possible. The aesthetic feast continues: the airline has also built Koh Samuis only airport. It is small,quaint and open-aired,cooled with wooden fans on its high ceilings. It looks like a small collection of high-end beach shacks and you know at once this vacanza will be special.

Funnily,for all its international popularity,Samui is a simple place. Only one main road takes you around the island and encircling the entire island takes just over an hour. Most areas are demarcated as districts or villages or tambon,but are known by the name of the nearest beach. The entire middle of the island is a largely uncultivated and hilly jungle.

We chose Mae Nam beach over the populated Chaweng or the backpacker-haven Lamai. Mae Nam is to the north-west of the island,close to the charming fishing town of Nathon,and home to some fine luxury resorts. The Passage Samui is probably the first hotel/ resort in the world that looks exactly as it does on its website: spectacular. Its small (less than 50 villas) and intimate,boasts of an excellent staff,three large pools and is smack on the beach.

We picked a beachfront villa with a private pool: it was capacious and sensual,comprising a bedroom,living room,garden and a decent-size pool. The garden gate opened to a beautiful gradual beach,so even if the kids ran out,theyd be safe for several feet into the water. All this for less than half the price of a room in a five-star hotel in Mumbai or Delhi.

More than any other beachside I have visited,Greece and the French Riviera included,Samui homes accept and respect the elements around it. The architecture is homage to the sea,the ceilings are high and thatched for the occasional shower,and everything is locally sourced and produced.

The Ang Thong National Marine Park is the biggest attraction here,its an hour from Samui by a very large speedboat. This beautiful and scenic archipelago is a snorkelling paradise and our under-five trio spent half the day trying to catch a clownfish or two in their little hands,screaming Nemo.

Besides a snake farm and a crocodile farm near the airport,Samui is also home to some child-oriented animal shows like tiger feeding and monkey theatres. But horrific stories of animal cruelty kept us away and the kids swimmingly happy. The south coast has an elephant ride to the two jungle waterfalls. And the Samui Butterfly Garden is so verdant,it makes you hope the children grow up to be lepidopterologists.

Samui is also a haven for scuba divers. Envious of the instructor-level husband,Ive wanted to dive myself. Paul Cooks CSI Samui,a highly recommended dive school (Tripadvisor),came to the rescue. They allowed me to take my son on the boat and organised a sitter for him whilst we were in the deep theres more,the sitter took him snorkelling while we were underwater. All this is safety-guaranteed and insured too. Cookie,as Cook is called,is a riotously funny Britisher who moved to Samui after he fell in love with a Thai girl on a vacation here. It took me three trips to get her on a date alone, he tells his favourite story to anyone who understands English. My starter dive was at the Mango Bay,at the north of Koh Tao,filled with large corals and glowing fish. The next was at Japanese Garden,a sloping sea bed with dense marine life.

Eating out is as pleasurable for kids as it is for adults,especially if you are mom to arguably the youngest foodie in the world (he taught himself to eat with chopsticks on this trip). A short walk on the beach led us to Garbo and Guitar,a very chic and truly delicious mom-and-pop joint that had the owners daughters and nieces serving some truly sumptuous food.

Much of Thai cuisine has its origins in Malaysian,Indonesian and Indian food,including a Muslim curry they call massaman. Thai food is spicy but you can get fried rice,fried noodles,pasta and roti almost anywhere. Plus,there are two Tescos on the island for the weak-kneed.

Big John restaurant,on Nicky Beach,is also popular with families. It has one of the best Thai curries in the world,but also a roped-off area in the sea for safe swimming.

Kids are allowed almost everywhere. We asked at Ark Bar,the most popular bar on Chaweng,and they invited my toddler in for a game of snooker.

The Margaritas here were superb too,as was the vibe and the view. But this time,all of that was just by the way.