Occasionally, we get a day off, and living on Koh Samui, we have a multitude of amazing cafes, bars and restaurants screaming for our attention. The choice is seemingly infinite.
Today we chose Hug Samui, which sits by the beach in Bang Por on the North of the island with views across the straits to Koh Phangan, home of the famous full-moon parties. We had company in the form of Kwan, son of the wife's best friend, who lived with us for eight years in Bangkok, and Champagne, daughter of our best friends, who were staying with us for a couple of weeks during their school holidays.
Hug Samui has a laid-back vibe and no cover charge, which is unusual for a venue by the beach with its own pool and facilities. There are a number of resorts such as this dotted about the island where you can hang out for the day, eat and drink whilst enjoying the day, swimming in the pool or the sea and avail of their showers and toilets. With no cover charge, the standard restaurant pricing is a little over the norm, but not enough to invoke shivers down the spine when the bill is due to arrive.
The food menu has plenty of choices of both Thai and Western food without overwhelming you with too many choices. Alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and cocktails are served, as is coffee and tea, and whether there for a meal, drinks or the whole day, you're not going to worry about finding something to suit the whole family.
The best time of day, of course, is sunset, and we just spent a wonderful couple of hours in the golden light as the sun dropped into the ocean once more.
Hug Samui is directly adjacent to the sea, and you can choose to sit in the resort itself or be served on the beach.
Choosing food. Guaranteed to make the wife smile.
We arrived at just the right time to bag the best seat in the house, which is on the narrow veranda, perched above the beach. It's still the quiet season here, so there are very few places that you need to fight for the best spot.
One of the tables set for a dinner party and a view of Koh Phangan on the horizon.
A significant advantage of this beach is that the numerous eating and drinking establishments that line it work diligently to keep the beach looking clean and tidy. Essential when the weather is poor and the sea washes up its flotsam and jetsam with each change of the tide.
The whole resort was immaculately clean with a relaxing, tropical, minimalist vibe.
There is also indoor seating, and as you can see, shades over the loungers which will keep the sun off, or the rain during our current season of inclement weather.
The food was nothing out of the ordinary, but really delicious, freshly cooked and hot.
For me, whether in a big city or by the beach, the real magic happens when the sun goes down!
Being directly North, you don't get to see the sun actually drop into the ocean, but you still get some amazing colours as the sun bounces its rays back into the clouds.
Who wouldn't want to sit by the sea on a warm, balmy evening and enjoy food and drinks with friends and family?
Coming alive as the sun goes down! The size of the venue is perfect with tables and loungers well spaced out, so even when it's busy, you wouldn't feel crowded out.
The bar area was clean and minimal, and such a fine example of design that combines both form and function perfectly. As you can see, lighting matters!
In Thailand, even in many decent restaurants and bars, the toilets can be anywhere from downright disgusting to bloody awful and everywhere in between, but here at Hug, they were clean, cool and immaculate!
Kids grow up so quickly. Kwan is now 14 and Champagne is 13. I can't wait to see them settle down and have families of their own, if I live that long!
That's it from me once more. Thank you so much for dropping by. 
Have a great week
