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Published: August 6th 2007
So much for popping into the water to cool off…it’s more of a bath really. Not that we’re complaining!
We spent out first week on Koh Samui Island, then the second on Koh Tao.
Ko Samui
We stayed right on Chaweng Beach - the busiest stretch of sand on the island. The sun shone down on leathery bodies every day - it’s insane how black some people become. For all of you who think I go dark…you should see this beach! I’d be very average in the colour stakes. You can spend hours just watching people - young kids making sand castles, men with big pot bellies drinking - yep you guessed it! - beer. Old topless ladies (sagging), young backpackers drinking cocktails (if you kept switching beach bars you could follow happy hour around all day) & pretty much everyone else you could imagine.
While you're eating at cafes on the beach people come around putting monkeys or commodores on you trying to earn money taking your picture. ($8 for 1 stingy-sized instant photo, i'm suprised so many tourists do it!). There were even girls challenging tourists to games of connect four - the best of 6 games
Shark Island waters
This was taken before a shark my size swam by! wins. If the tourist wins, they pay the girl $4 & likewise. You can imagine how many sneaky tricks the girls have up their sleeves! An imaginative way to make a few bucks though...I'd definitely award them a few brownie points for the idea!
Koh Tao
is a smaller, more isolated island, 1 1/2 hours by ferry from Koh Samui & is renowned for its diving. Another thing on my list of things to do...a diving course in Koh Tao next time I'm in South-east Asia!
We stayed at "Rocky Resort" in Shark Bay. Our bungalow was on stilts right over the sea. We could watch huge schools of black tipped reef sharks swim past - about 2m from our balcony - while we were scoffing fresh mangos for breakfast. I looked at them every day doubting I would have made friends with them if they were any bigger! Then on our last day we were out snorkelling & there was a shark as big as me!
They're meant to be harmless, but when their instincts kick in at night i'd be really wary of them. We met a spanish guy who had been fishing at night & on
the way back 10-15 sharks came at him because of the blood from his catch!
We hired a kayak for a day to explore other beaches not accessible by land & found heaps of gorgeous swimming spots, bungalows and cafes tucked into cute little bays. The kayak would have been older than my great great great grandmother if she was still alive. And the paddle was even more ancient! It was so heavy it could have been used by people doing benchpresses in the gym! But we did get a fantastic upper body workout, so we were happy!
We're flying to India in a few hours. Wish us luck - the lonely planet says you'd be "a mad dog" to travel through Rajasthan in the summer & average temps. are often around 45 degrees. Argh!
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Zane
non-member comment
looks fantastic
always great to read, please photograph hot chicks as well. thanks