This was the view looking to the left from the beach in front of the place where we stayed in Ko Samui. Very nice.

Looking to the right was not quite as perfect, but none of the other hotels were particularly crowded. The water was warm and calm, the sun hot, but with a nice breeze - as close to paradise as I've ever been.

In the morning as we ate breakfast, our waiter would go out to that boat and catch the fish that we would later eat for dinner.

Everything in Ko Samui is open air, even the airport has no walls. It's just a bunch of thatch-roofed pavilions next to a runway.