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

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

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

Buffalo butlers

The resort has its own water buffalo and "buffalo butlers" who look after their every need. A typical day in the life of the buffalo goes something like this. Start work at 8.00am, then have a bath.tour around the resort greeting guests and having photos taken. Allow an occasional guest to sit on you for a minute or two, and smile for the camera. Spend the rest of the morning nibbling some luscious grass under the shade of the buffalo hut. Work in the rice paddies for an hour is two. Munch some grass after all of the hard effort. Have another bath to wash off the mud from the rice paddies, then go with the buffalo butler for another meet and greet with guests until knock off time at 5.00pm.

Tong the albino buffalo is the newest addition to the buffalo herd. His mates are Tone and Thae (Thai for smart-looking). The rice paddies they work grow the Sanpatong variety of rice. Fields are planted and harvested on a staggered basis so that visitors can see all stages of growth. Any rice harvested is donated to local hill tribe villages though a Royal Project endorsed by the King of Thailand and overseen by Prince Bhisadej Rajani. 1.2.2103

Four Seasons Chiang Mai

Finally, in need of some rest and relaxation we decided to stay in for the day and enjoy all that the Four Seasons has to offer. We started the day with a leisurely breakfast in our room, then strolled down to the resort library. Open from 9.00 - 10.30 am each morning, or by appointment, the collection is small, but in a beautiful room which encourages you to sit and read. Computers and daily papers are available as well as select titles on Thai cuisine, arts and crafts, culture and nature. I spent some time looking at a great book "The vanishing tribes of Burma" and then finding a book on the birds of Thailand was able to identify a number of the birds we have seen so far. The bird watching list to date includes the following: Bittern (edge of rice paddies) olive backed sunbird (by the pool deck in the flowering shrubs) red whiskered bulbul (in cages everywhere kept as song birds) nutmeg mannikin (in flocks within the rice paddies), Thai green parrots (in cages at Baan Tong Luang) spotted dove and greater coucal (within the tropical gardens of the resort).

The resort is truly beautiful and the overnight rain has freshened things up. The gardens are gorgeous and very well maintained. We even saw staff sweeping both the top of the walls, in addition to the leaves of tall shrubs so that loose leaves were brushed down and within reach to be picked up and taken away. Such attention to detail is not often observed at home.

Late morning we spent some time poolside. The pool deck is gorgeous, and there is a lower deck area reserved for adults as opposed to families. This lower area hangs right over the edge of the rice paddies and as such is a relaxing place to while away the hours. After a swim and a drink poolside it was back to our room for lunch on our private deck, before heading off to the spa for the afternoon. Quite possibly a perfect day.

1.2.2013

Too beautiful not to include

Other hill tribes represented include the Lahu Shi Bala, also originally from an area near Tibet. I am not sure that I photographed someone from this tribe, so in the interests of trying to maintain accuracy, will just include some images from our visit that will help portray the feel of what we experienced, without allocating the images to a specific tribe in case I get it wrong.

31.1.2013