Table of contents:
- A little information about Koh Samui
- Where to look for housing, examples of houses and budget
- 1. Rent through an intermediary
- 2. Self-search for housing
2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
From the previous article in the series "How to live and work in Thailand", you learned what to do at the initial stage of planning your trip: how to get a visa and leave for Thailand. Finding accommodation in Thailand is the third most important issue after buying tickets and obtaining a visa.
The story will be based on the example of the island of Koh Samui, which is considered quite expensive compared to other places in Thailand that you can choose.
A little information about Koh Samui
The island of Koh Samui covers an area of 229 km², which is 4.5 times less than the area of Moscow and 4 times less than Kiev. There is a ring road around the island, the length of which is 52 km. That is, the island can be considered a fairly large city (in fact, Samui has been an independent city since 2008), and its settlements are districts. As in any city, Samui's "districts" differ from each other - each has its own face. The densely populated north is completely different from the wild and completely non-touristy south, and the east with its two largest cities - lively Lamai and never sleeping Chaweng is the exact opposite of the west with its beautiful bays for meeting sunsets and the port of Nathon.
At first glance, it is rather difficult to decide. Which one to prefer - the proximity of large supermarkets or the peaceful silence, a house with a view or a nice beach nearby? It is up to you to decide, guided by photographs and descriptions in advance or upon arrival on the island, having seen it with your own eyes. So, we come to the main question: "Where to look for housing?"
Where to look for housing, examples of houses and budget
There are two ways to find housing on Koh Samui (as well as in many other places in Asia):
1. Book in advance through the websites of intermediaries offering properties for rent throughout the island.
2. Arrive at the place and find a home to your liking yourself.
In both cases, there are a number of pros and cons.
1. Rent through an intermediary
+: it will be easier and safer for you to go to another country, knowing that you immediately have a place to live.
−: the house will cost more, you may not like the area, place or the house itself, but the month will have already been paid.
Searching for “rental homes Samui” you will not find many sites offering long-term rental housing. One of such sites is samuidays.ru. Thanks to him, three people from Kiev found themselves such a two-story house with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room combined with a kitchen, and a spacious veranda overlooking the sea.
The cost of such a house is 16,000 rubles ($ 520) per month. To this amount, you need to add another 1000 rubles ($ 32), which the guys pay monthly for water and electricity, as well as 700 rubles ($ 23) for the Internet.
Total per month: $ 575.
Another option found through an intermediary.
This house is practically the same in terms of content as the previous one (also 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a veranda), but the renovation and furnishings here are a little better, in the kitchen there are all kinds of household appliances, a good stove with an oven, outside there is a small garden and a large swimming pool, which is divided between 3 houses. Cost: 20,000 rubles ($ 650), 1,300 rubles ($ 42) - water and electricity, 1,500 rubles ($ 48) - internet.
Total per month: $ 740.
In addition to sites about Koh Samui, look for accommodation also on the booking service agoda.com, but most of the offers are there for daily rent.
Important! Don't be afraid of the word "mediator". Keep in mind that in Thailand the owner of the house pays a percentage of the deal to the agent, not the tenant (as we are used to)
2. Self-search for housing
This is a very interesting and tempting, in my opinion, housing selection option, which will be appreciated by open, courageous and certainly adventurous people.
+: independent choice of accommodation will allow you not only to save money, to choose exactly the part of the island that you like, but also to find out what life is like for a real average Thai - without air conditioning, swimming pools and hot water, but with vintage furniture, pets and kayaks on the shore (for some, this reason will be in the minuses).
−: spending at the beginning on daily rent, moving from place to place (although this can hardly be called a minus if you do not have 3 suitcases), the need to communicate with Thais in sign language or very (well, very) primitive English.
And here are 2 examples of such housing.
A small house right by the sea in a calm bay where fishermen live. The house has only one room, a bathroom, a summer kitchen with a minimum set of utensils and a large veranda with a huge table. Obviously, you won't come to live in such a house with your family, but for a lonely programmer it will do. House: 8000 rubles ($ 260), electricity, water, internet are included in the price of the house ($ 0).
Total for the month: $ 260.
And here is another version of the tie-style dwelling.
This type of house is called a shop-house. Such houses are more often located in settlements along the ring road, Thais live in them (on the second floor) and work - the doors-gates open and on the first floor there is a shop - groceries, souvenirs, various useful little things.
In the case of the house, which is rented by three guys, also from Kiev, instead of a store downstairs, there is a huge living space with a sofa, tables, wardrobes and everything that is necessary for life. On the second floor there are 2 rooms, fenced with wooden walls - simple and without a pretense.
Rent: 10,000 rubles ($ 325), electricity and water - 400 rubles ($ 13), internet - 400 rubles ($ 13).
Total for the month: $ 351.
With the second option of renting housing, you should not be afraid to go "nowhere". The main thing that needs to be done is to book a bungalow or a villa for rent in a hotel for a short period, and after arriving on the island, explore it on mopeds. In 7-10 days you will understand which part of the island you prefer and you will definitely find yourself a cozy place to live.
As an option for a house for daily rent for a large company (6 people), I recommend renting one large house / villa for a short period of time. Check out some good options at Airbnb.com. For example, such a 3-bedroom villa with a huge living room, kitchen, swimming pool, grill for $ 125 / day (640 rubles per person, if you live with six) is a great opportunity to live a short time in comfort and luxury (consider this period as a vacation), in order to immerse yourself into "normal" working life.
Well, that's all the main points about housing. The decision about the choice of location and rental method is yours.
Try to search for flights of interest using the Aviasales search, it is highly likely that you will immediately find the best deals. The search is performed on all popular booking systems at the same time!
Moscow - Bangkok
Kiev - Bangkok
Minsk - Bangkok
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