Chaweng - round two.

This morning we decided to take the shuttle and revisit Chaweng. The shuttle runs at 10.00am, Chaweng was still in lock down from partying hard until the wee hours and most businesses didn't seem to open up until at least 11.00am. It was good to have a look around in the day light and see another side to this destination. That said, it doesn't really improve first thing in the morning. For one, the smell is something that takes a bit of getting used to. The other thing is the hustlers trying to tout their business. The number of Indians calling "boss" to attract Franks attention so that he would get fitted for an "Armani" suit was beyond annoying. Then there are the people on motorcycles who zip up beside you looking cool then try to sell you a day trip or the like. We finally twigged that saying "thanks, but no thanks" was a better way of getting rid of them. Otherwise it was 20 Questions - where are you from? Are you from Australia? etc....it was incessant and never ending. Eventually I just told a white lie, saying "sorry, it's our last day" which it sort of was. Through it all we soaked up the atmosphere, drank lots of water, melted a little, and found one treasure to buy. All in all a good morning, then a swim and quiet afternoon at home. Post cards to write, bags to pack etc. Good bye Koh Samui as tomorrow we fly to Singapore on the homeward leg of our journey. 5.2.2013

Name that island!

The Marine Reserve islands are all named. Some gain their name from their resemblance to a specific thing. So, King Kong Island has a resemblance to a big gorilla, and Sleeping Buddha Island, as the name suggests looks a little like a sleeping Buddha. That said, not everyone has the creative vision necessary to "see" the resemblance so I will let you decide for yourself! King Kong Island, with a visual clue courtesy of my visit to Sydney Zoo.

Sleeping Buddha Island

Needless to say I then started seeing "faces" everywhere, rocky outcrops, clouds, much to Frank's amusement.

4.2.2013

Phalauy Seafood

Lunch was pretty amazing. We were taken by boat to a genuine fishing village on an island.

We selected our fish and seafood from the mornings catch, negotiated the price and how it was to be cooked, then walked through the village while our lunch was cooked. We saw, real fishermans huts, a pet monkey, pet tortoises, a couple of birds that I haven't yet seen since being in Thailand and got to try Jack Fruit for the first time. All before lunch!

The meal cooked for us was great. We were served a Thai style soup to start, then we had our grilled seafood and fish.

Yum yum. Funny how good food (or an elephant) can bring a smile to my face! 4.2.2013

Monkey Island

Next island stop was "monkey" island within the Angthong Reserve.

This island is set up for paragliding, catamaran hire and camping, however if you are very lucky you might also see Thai monkeys in the wild. A nice change from the macaques chained up at the monkey show, or the tiny gibbon baby we saw in Chaweng. The scam there being to pay to have your photo taken with the sweet little baby. Ethical issue for me being that the baby was probably no more than six weeks old and should still have been with mum, not hanging off some tourist! Anyway, we didn't see any monkeys, however did see beautiful black butterflies with white detail, and red flashing from under their wings. So, even though I took a dive getting from the boat to the beach, the injury I sustained was worth it.

I had to get cleaned up at the camp site first aid hut and had to sign my name in the First Aid book. Not everyone gets to do that! 4.2.2013

Lake Island

We stopped at one island known for its interior lake. The challenge is the "staircase" you have to climb to access the top of the island to look down into a view the lake. I use the term staircase loosely. Ladder might be more appropriate. It was extremely steep, with rungs being a better description than steps. You even descended backwards as you would a ladder.

The lake looked amazing, but it is inaccessible, so you expend the effort to look only.

If you want to swim, you paddle at the ocean edge, navigating the tourists who arrive from larger boats via smaller traditional Thai longboats, packed to the gunnels with tourists. I was ever so thankful to have just the crew, Frank and I on our boat. Tourist pack mentality seems to ensure the loss of manners, which I find hard to tolerate.

4.1.2013

Marine Reserve

It is an incredible thing to swim with, and hand feed, fishes. This was just one of the highlights of our day. We took the opportunity to explore the Marine Reserve off Koh Samui so hired a boat for the day. Daeng, our local guide put us onto the Captain, who is a mate of his brothers. Given Daeng's brother manages a dive company, a good contact to have. The boat is available for diving tours or day trips. With 42 islands in the reserve, 17 of them are considered large. Many of them you visit for a specific purpose, like to snorkel or kayak. So, first stop for us this morning was within the cove of the best island for snorkelling. Hence the opportunity to feed the fishes. Daeng had very kindly stopped to get some bread on his way to pick us up, and it turned out to be the perfect thing to attract the fishes.

Using a mask and snorkel even I was able to see the fishes as they came right up to you, literally bumping into you in the frenzy to eat. Two main varieties were there in numbers, one a striped variety, the other a little less common was a spotted species. Not knowing my Thai fishes I am unable to identify the species at this stage. We did however have lots of fun and I am determined to try snorkelling again at some stage. 4.2.2013

Chaweng

Immediately you arrive in Koh Samui, the vibe is different and there are more tourists. I should have expected this, but am surprised still. Especially by the amount of tourists and their daredevil antics on motorbikes. At least the locals know what they are doing when they stack loads, extra people or children onto the motorbike with them. Unfortunately one gets the feeling that these idiots have never sat on a bike before let alone been let loose riding one. Many adopt the local custom of not wearing a helmet. Disaster waiting to happen.

We went to Chaweng to explore and have a look around. This action zone runs either side of the road for a kilometre or so. Many variations of the same restaurants, bars, massage places, cheap t-shirts, souvenirs and imports, including of course the obligatory fakes. You can buy Havianas, Rolex or Chanel as cheap as you like. I was interested to not that as we came through Koh Samui airport there was a sign warning that some European countries have stiff penalties for bringing fake designer goods in. Be warned. Actually Chaweng reminds me a little of Surfers Paradise. The place to be seen on the Gold Coast, but locals don't go there. Under the glitz and glamour it is a little tatty. Not my choice of destination, but you need to see it once, so we sat for a while with a cold beer in the famous "Bondi" Aussie Bar and watched the passing parade. Quite an eye opener. 2.2.2013

Koh Samui

We decided to explore Koh Samui as a whole today, so had a car and driver at our disposal. It really is a good way to get a feel for where you are visiting as local knowledge counts for a lot. Daeng our driver, is nicknamed "Red" and he certainly knew a lot about Samui generally, and is obviously a devote Buddhist.

He explained some of the basics to us without ramming his beliefs down our throat. Under his guidance we visited a number of shrines and temples, including Wat Plei Laem,

the Big Buddha,

Wat Khunaram to see the mummified Monk,

and Wat Chaweng overlooking the lake.

We also learnt the significance of striking the bells in the temple. Using a bamboo rod, you strike a specific point that is thickened for this specific purpose. If you strike the wrong part of the bell damage can occur. In the old days, different ring sequences would advice the village to come to a meeting, or alternately to come quickly to assist with putting out a fire. Now though, the bells are mainly rung for luck. In between we visited Namuang Waterfall Number 1, lots of markets here and there (in addition to those at each temple) and Nathon. The ferry across to the mainland departs from Nathon, so while it is an important place as far as access to the harbour goes, there are less tourists in evidence.

We also saw the Fisherman's Village area. Not quite what I visualised, rather another restaurant and shopping district. We have decided to return there for dinner this evening so will have a chance to look around further. The Happy Elephant is the restaurant recommended by Red. Nice coincidence. 3.2.2013