Five Islands

The highlight of our day was visiting the Five Islands area on the South West Coast of Samui and stopping for lunch at the Five Islands Restaurant.

The food was incredibly good, cooked in an open kitchen with seafood supplied to the door by local fishermen, whose boats are moored nearby.

Absolute beachfront, with a view of the water, we pretty much had the place to ourselves with perhaps a dozen tourists total within the Restaurant and bar area. Quite, peaceful and naturally beautiful. On a clear day the Thai mainland is visible. Today, you could just make it out through the haze. The so called five islands however were easily spotted. Koh Malaeng Pong, Koh Mae Koh, Koh Chetta Mun, Koh Din and Koh Thalu.

These islands are a local source of the birds nests, collected from precarious cliff side locations and used in the specialty birds nest soup. Luckily this was not on today's menu. Five Islands, a little piece of paradise away from the main tourist path. Idyllic. 3.2.2013

Hin Ta and Hin Yai

There is an interesting natural formation just past Lamai that many visitors go to. Known as Hin Ta

and Hin Yai

which translates to Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks, the natural formation of these rocks suggest both the male and female genitals. Well, as much as rocks can. What interested me was the number of uncoordinated tourists wandering down into the area adjacent to the Grandmother rocks, trying to get a photo. With sea spray and rogue waves crashing up, it was far from a safe place to be....and the danger signs seemed not to deter people as they came by the bus load. 3.2.2013