Another island

Sunday 16th November - We got up early(ish) to take advantage of the free breakfast one last time and booked ourselves on the midday ferry to Koh Samui. It was only a short journey - in fact you could see the island quite clearly from where we were previously staying. We didn't have a plan of where to go this time so we just seeked advice from the first person who offered us a taxi. Our only request was somewhere quiet and less touristy where we'd be away from annoying holidaymakers!! We certainly got that as we were taken to a small bungalow resort away from any services. It was at least a 15 minute walk back up a long dirt track to get to anywhere. Still, it was what we asked for and we only planned on a brief stay of 2 nights anyway.

Our bungalow was a vast improvement on the previous place, in that it was actually a bungalow and not a shed. We soon realised that our toilet didn't work though. Rather than fix it, we were just given the key to next door to use for the duration of our stay. We didn't arrive to well into mid-afternoon at this place so after discovering just how far we were from civilization we just relaxed by the beach. The problem with being so close to the equator is it gets dark so early. The problem with it getting dark so early when you are in the middle of nowhere is that there's nothing much to do. So i managed to read a whole book in one night, and i was quite proud of myself so this is why i mention it here.

On the second day (and our only full day) i decided to do something constructive and see what there is to do on this island (that is free). I consulted the map and all there is, is a couple of waterfalls and some interesting rock formations to visit. I decided the waterfall would be more fun. I asked for a taxi but the woman who helped run the resort insisted on taking me. She was the worst driver i've ever seen. Not because she drives in a dangerous and reckless way, but because she just couldn't drive. She was one of those people that had to look at the gears when changing them, and then when she looked back up we were on a different side of the road. Still, i got there in one piece and the climb to the waterall took about half an hour. It was very steep and difficult to navigate and i was knackered by the time i got to the top. Once there i got a photo of the waterfall then realised theres not much else you can do so began my long trek back. On the route there was loads of huge caterpillars and spiders and the odd small snake, which at first i tried to take pictures of and then i realised i hated all these things so got out of there as quicky as i could. By the time i got to the bottom i was dripping with sweat so thought i'd just go home. I was wandering back until a taxi driver stopped and asked if i wanted to go anywhere. He insisted on taking me to see some rocks on the south of the island (opposite end to where i was staying) that looked like male and female genitalia. So i went and looked at these rocks and he was right. They did. This cost loads of money in fares especially as the driver decided to be my personal guide once we got there as well. On the way back he kept stopping at various sites (another waterfall, a temple, yet another waterfall) but i insisted i wanted to go home, and eventually took me but not before i got to meet his wife. We also at one point passed a kid who was sitting on a back of a motorbike (no helmets of course) eating ice-cream from a bowl, brilliant!

Once back, it was late so i relaxed again for the rest of the day. At one point i was laying on the bed staring at the fan above it and noticed a cockroach on it. I jumped up just minutes before the cockroach fell off and onto the bed. We both stood and discussed ways of getting rid of it for about 15 minutes and eventually i scooped it up with a soap box and squashed it on the beach.

The next morning we left for mainland Thailand, but didn't have a plan of where to go.

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