Ko Samui

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Our second day in Ko Samui was very fun filled and exciting! We rented a motorbike to take around the island from our resort. Helmets on and two maps and we were on our way! Our first stop was the Big Buddha temple/wat. I had on a tank top and women/lady boys are required to have their shoulders covered, so I wore one of the shawls provided to tourists. It was funny to see the sign that said lady or lady boy must wear the shawl. Scott informed me that Thailand is actually the only country that recognizes three genders; women, men & lady boys. Of course I wasn’t going to leave Thailand without riding an elephant, so after the temple we were off to a waterfall hike where you can also ride elephants. We got a 30 minute elephant ride through the jungle with Naem, our elephant driver on our elephant Hung Thung. Naem must have known I was a natural, so he hopped off with our camera and let me drive while he took pictures. It was pretty crazy to feel the elephant’s skin and spiky hair! After the elephant ride, we went to the waterfall. It was really crowded with tourists, so back on the bike to get away from the crowds. We drove to the far south end of the island and found a cute place to eat on the beach. While there, we met a couple from Canada that were traveling Southeast Asia for 6 WEEKS with 3 SMALL CHILDREN! We then headed to Hin Ta & Hin Yai (grandmother & grandfather rock) on Lamai Beach. These are two natural rock formations in the ocean that look like genitals. On our hike to the rocks, we stumbled upon a smoke bar built in the rocks. It was a Bob Marley atmosphere with about 15 young backpackers hanging out smoking weed. Very strange the things you come across traveling the world! While walking back to the car, Scott found us a great snack! It was coconut ice cream served out of a fresh coconut! This was definitely one of the highlights on the day! Back on the bike to check out Chaweng Beach. This, again was very crowded so we saw it and back on the bike. We then drove through Fisherman’s village in Bo Phut. This was a cute area on the shore with small shops and restaurants. We could have stayed there longer, but it was getting dark and the traffic was getting kind of busy and very scary on the motorbike. Before turning it in for the day, we had to try one more thing on the list of Thai food: banana pancake. There are street carts everywhere making them, so we found one along the way. It is a kind of crepe style pancake with bananas and Nutella with sweet milk on top! Another great Thai treat! Scott did amazing driving us around the island on the bike! They drive on the other side of the road, so I was constantly telling him in his ear, “left side, left side.” Back at the resort, we had dinner on the beach again which was amazing! The next morning was the start of our last day in Thailand so we decided that we would take it easy and just stay at the resort. The day on the bike was very exhausting, so it was nice to only have to worry about which lounge chair you wanted to sit in. Another amazing meal but this time at the Thai restaurant in our resort. We are now in Phuket waiting to board our flight to Bangkok, then we are off to Tokyo from there. Once in Tokyo, we spend tonight and tomorrow night there and then back to The States!

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Comments

[Marlene Dreesen]

YIKES
I like how Scott is hanging on for dear life on the elephant and you are just so relaxed laying across him.....must be all your horse back riding days....PLUS A FEW THOUSAND POUNDS!! So glad you having the time of your life. So many adventures....LOVE YOU!!