Buddha, Elephants and Finally Some Sunshine!

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I thought I would finally get round to typing up one of the final blogs from our travels!

Following the washout that was our first week in Ko Samui, we started the second week hoping and praying that the weather would improve and we could do some sightseeing and sunbathing.

Friday 5th November brought no rain, but also no sunshine, so we spent yet more time at the villa with Rachel job hunting and me working on some things for Emerald Seas Villa before we decided that we would head down to the small village of Bo Phut and look around the food market. It was a relatively small but lively market compared to the huge sweaty markets of Bangkok, but interesting nonetheless. We made a few little purchases to stock up the villa kitchen and then made our way home for an evening of homemade Thai food and dvd's.

On the Saturday, we actually ventured out of the villa for the dayand drove aorund the coast to another town, Lamai. This is the part of the island where Rachel's cousin and fiance will be getting married in July so we had a little nosy around there as we wont be at the wedding and then carried on further round the island to the imaginatively named Grandfather and Grandmother rocks. They are named like this due to their shape, the grandfather shaped like a rather large and grandiose penis and the grandmother rock is shaped like.... well you get the idea! After a nice leisurely lunch in Chaweng, Rach treated herself to a two hour Thai massage and scared herself silly by walking back to the villa in the pitch black whilst dogs barked and snakes slithered around nearby (well in Rachel's head they did!)

The next day or so were spent lounging around the villa and for Rachel some time jobhunting ready for our return to the bright lights of London (how mature and well prepared of us.) The weather yet again stopped us getting out and about much. Monday morning started with the obligatory thunderstorm but then cleared into a lovely sunny day, and we both took advantage of the rare sight of sun in different ways. Rachel took her long awaited walk along the beach whilst I lazed the morning away with my book, iPod and a sun lounger. The sun didnt last much past lunchtime so we spent the afternoon doing some work around the villa. The evening was a real treat as we visited a much publicised restaurant, called Orgasmic. A famous chef on the island, Wally, had recently opened this beachside restaurant and it lived up to the hype. Affordable (although expensive compared to usual Thai prices), delicious and in a beautiful setting, we had a lovely evening. Very full and very happy we made our way back to the villa to watch a dvd and were again kept awake by a particularly noisy thunderstorm.

We were treated to more and more torrential rain on the Tuesday and Wednesday and to say our spirits were being dampened (no pun intended) would have been an understatement. We knew our travels were drawing to a close and didnt want to spend the last few days and weeks cooped up inside whilst the rain poured down! Thankfully our silent please were answered as Thursday dawned with a little bit of sunshine and a welcome lack of rain! We spent some time at the Big Buddha complex and temple where there is a huge statue of Buddha (surprisingly given the name of the place) and other Buddhist areas. Out of respect, visitors remove their shoes and we climbed the tall and steep flight of stairs to look at the statues more closely. It was great to see the huge, ornate and dramatic religious icons everywhere we looked. The afternoon was spent driving round the island and getting up close and personal with some of the local wildlife. Firstly, we visited a very low key and shabby looking monkey sanctuary where we watched Rach's favourite animals. We watched the simians climbing trees, fetching coconuts and sitting on our shoulders. It was great to get so close to these animals but we did feel very guilty afterwards as the monkeys didnt seem very happy and the conditions they were kept in weren't great. After the monkeys we moved on to something altogether larger and more impressive; elephants! We started the tour on the seat on the back of the elephant feeling a little apprehensive as the huge pachyderm swayed through the shrub and kept bending down for a drink, letting us feel less than secure. After five minutes, the guide jumped down and offered to take a photo of us. For the photos he urged me to move forward and sit astride the huge neck whilst he snapped away. What I didn't expect was for the guide to then carry on the tour walking with our camera whilst I clung on for dear life on the elephant's neck and Rach relaxed in the 'comfy' seat. It was a little hair rasing as we swayed and plodded through the jungle with 'Lineker' the elephant (christened such because of his large ears and unpronounceable Thai name.) We reached the end in one piece and had thoroughly enjoyed our trip. It was another 'once in a lifetime' experience that would live with us forever.

Before we knew it, and after another couple of sunny days, were we sunbathed and explored the local town, it was time to head back to Pattaya for the last couple of weeks before we arrived back in the humdrum of England and work.

I promise that it wont be four months before I get the next blog (our two weeks in Pattaya) or the one after that (a summary of our/my favourite places and experiences whilst away) or even the one after that (my impending trip to Madrid, via Majorca for Spurs vs Real Madrid!)

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Comments

[Koh Samui Villas]

http://www.samuiislandvillas.com/
Fantastic photos! The elephant ride looks incredible!

[samui villa]

http://www.holiday-villa-samui.com/
Wow!! This villa is just like my dream. These are really cool pictures I am also planning to visit here with my wife. I am sure she will enjoyed she like this place very much.