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Published: August 22nd 2010
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Samui
Lamai beach - my fav, so pretty, and quiet at this time of year Koh Samui is like a fantasy island - the sand is white, the sea is turquoise, the weather is balmy (and so are the people!). After our unfortunate rainy/sicky incident on Phuket it was like heaven to step out of our hotel into the brilliant sunshine and laze by the pool, and even more when we finally motivated ourselves to get to the beach!
We have had a thoroughly lazy time on Samui so I'm afraid there is not much to tell you! Our main day of activity was a day trip to Angthong Marine National park, a protected area made up of small deserted islands, which looked very similar to Halong Bay. It was a great day as we got to kayak around the islands and snorkel too (not that we saw anything other than sand) but it was way too hot to climb to the top of one of the islands which apparently provides an amazing view of the whole park. Saw it on a postcard though - it looked nice!
For me this was a week of relaxation, so I also went for a bit of self improvement after charging around in a sweaty daze for
David on Samui
Enjoying beautiful weather 4 weeks. This started with a haircut. As seems to be the case everywhere in Thailand there are massage/beauty parlours every 3rd door on Samui, so it wasn't hard finding somewhere that would cut and colour my hair for a good price. I was a bit apprehensive as I sat down, especially when the hairdresser said 'Same as last time?' to me! Now, I'm pretty sure I have never had my hair cut on Samui, so I was a bit shocked by this. I was even more shocked when she opened a magazine and pointed to a picture EXACTLY like the last haircut I had... well over 6 months ago! Because of this I sat back and let the psychic hairdresser have free reign of my head, which is when I discovered something I'd always suspected was true - you can tell a hairdresser to do anything to your hair, but they will always do what they want, and ignore what you have asked them for! So I now have purply-brown hair with a fringe, but thankfully the psychic hairdresser was good at her job and it looks lovely.
My next foray into the land of self improvement was
Green lagoon
A salt water lagoon the middle of one of the islands to get a tattoo (sorry Granny). Bamboo tattoos are a big deal in Thailand. Originally, as I am told, this art was learned in the monasteries and tattoo artists learned it from the monks. I don't believe all the tattooists on Samui learned it from monks, but I guess somewhere down the line a monk must have been involved. A bamboo tattoo is done freehand, and is manual - therefore takes longer and is more expensive than a machine tattoo.... and apparently hurts less. The pain was actually weird, sometimes it really hurt, but most of the time it was just uncomfortable, not unlike someone stabbing you repeatedly with a pen. I am now the proud owner of an orchid on my side (designed by me) and I think it's beautiful.
Other than these few incidents the week in Samui has passed in a bliss of suntan lotion and coconut shakes, and I am so sad to have left, not least because I am sat in one of the most disgusting towns known to man - Surat Thani. Don't come here! We're off to Bangkok in the morning to spend our last few days in the lap of luxury,
Angthong
The marine national park from a kayak and then we'll be home soon! Keep reading though, I'll probably write some more in the next few days.
Rachel x
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