Tropical waterfall
Elephant ride...
Beach at Four Seasons
Lunch on the beach (left to right): Judy, Jan, Jerry, Glenn, Nick, Gayle, and Leslyn
Buying a brick
Yellow tiled wat
Women fish sellers on sidewalksHave you ever heard of Koh Samui? It is a fabulous resort island off Thailand’s mainland boasting wonderful white sandy beaches, skin diving, and five-star resorts: vacationing at its best. Tourists from throughout the world come here to relax, soak up the sunshine, and enjoy the slowed-down atmosphere. We spent the entire day exploring the island with five other Cruise Specialists passengers in an air-conditioned van with a local driver.
Our talented tour escort for the day was our very own Cruise Specialists’ guest, Gayle Carter. Gayle went online to http://www.tripadvisor.com/ to secure the vehicle, as well as to map out our itinerary at www.kosamui.com/attractions.com. She’d given each couple twelve pages of possible things and places to see. We were traveling with Gayle and her husband Nick, Glenn and Judy Weirick, and Leslyn Ashdown (Cliff had to stay onboard the Mariner with an ailing back). Jan’s only request was that we not visit any place that featured snakes! Everyone else agreed, and we were off. (I mentioned Gayle’s websites to show that you can plan things like this for anywhere if you like.)
Our first stop was one of many elephant riding areas around the island, at the 105-foot high Nu Muang Water Falls. It was nice and cool among the jungled forest. We spent time at the falls, did a little “shopping” for our Cruise Specialists’ Halloween bags, and Jerry took photos of several elephants. No one wanted to ride elephants, so the two of us saved that adventure for Bangkok and moved on to the Four Seasons Resort which was build into a hillside (a 1000-foot drop to the beach complete with infinity pool, lovely restaurant, and guests sunbathing and swimming). We looked at some of the villas as we rode down the steep hillside on carts, but could only get glimpses because each one is behind a locked gate. The rent for the villas starts at $1000 U.S. per day. At the beach, we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch as we enjoyed the beautiful view.
Thailand has Buddhas, spirit houses, and wats (temples) everywhere. So, our next stop was Koh Fan with the Big Buddha. Judy and Jan supported the monks by buying a couple of bricks to be used in building their surrounding structures. As is the case with all tourist stops in Thailand, we did a little shopping and Jan bought a skirt (which she promptly threw away when she got back on the ship after decided that she didn’t like it).
Circling the island, we admired the coves, bays, and multitude of resorts. Our last stop was a tiled wat right on the beach. There were monks everywhere, most of them just lounging around (perhaps meditating?).
Returning to the pier to board the first ship’s tenders we have been on since Sitka, Alaska, we passed many women selling fish on the sidewalks (a great photo opportunity for Jerry). It was hot, humid, and we were exhausted. But it had been a great, if brief, stay on this lush island. Next: Bangkok and our last blog before returning home
P.S.—We visited Koh Samui in 1999, with Jan’s mom and step dad. On that trip, we watched the monkeys pick coconuts, but not this time. However, some of us did see one monkey from the van.
Our talented tour escort for the day was our very own Cruise Specialists’ guest, Gayle Carter. Gayle went online to http://www.tripadvisor.com/ to secure the vehicle, as well as to map out our itinerary at www.kosamui.com/attractions.com. She’d given each couple twelve pages of possible things and places to see. We were traveling with Gayle and her husband Nick, Glenn and Judy Weirick, and Leslyn Ashdown (Cliff had to stay onboard the Mariner with an ailing back). Jan’s only request was that we not visit any place that featured snakes! Everyone else agreed, and we were off. (I mentioned Gayle’s websites to show that you can plan things like this for anywhere if you like.)
Our first stop was one of many elephant riding areas around the island, at the 105-foot high Nu Muang Water Falls. It was nice and cool among the jungled forest. We spent time at the falls, did a little “shopping” for our Cruise Specialists’ Halloween bags, and Jerry took photos of several elephants. No one wanted to ride elephants, so the two of us saved that adventure for Bangkok and moved on to the Four Seasons Resort which was build into a hillside (a 1000-foot drop to the beach complete with infinity pool, lovely restaurant, and guests sunbathing and swimming). We looked at some of the villas as we rode down the steep hillside on carts, but could only get glimpses because each one is behind a locked gate. The rent for the villas starts at $1000 U.S. per day. At the beach, we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch as we enjoyed the beautiful view.
Thailand has Buddhas, spirit houses, and wats (temples) everywhere. So, our next stop was Koh Fan with the Big Buddha. Judy and Jan supported the monks by buying a couple of bricks to be used in building their surrounding structures. As is the case with all tourist stops in Thailand, we did a little shopping and Jan bought a skirt (which she promptly threw away when she got back on the ship after decided that she didn’t like it).
Circling the island, we admired the coves, bays, and multitude of resorts. Our last stop was a tiled wat right on the beach. There were monks everywhere, most of them just lounging around (perhaps meditating?).
Returning to the pier to board the first ship’s tenders we have been on since Sitka, Alaska, we passed many women selling fish on the sidewalks (a great photo opportunity for Jerry). It was hot, humid, and we were exhausted. But it had been a great, if brief, stay on this lush island. Next: Bangkok and our last blog before returning home
P.S.—We visited Koh Samui in 1999, with Jan’s mom and step dad. On that trip, we watched the monkeys pick coconuts, but not this time. However, some of us did see one monkey from the van.
2 comments:
Sounds like this Thai island is wonderful. Looking forward to your comments on Bangkok --shopping and Fish Market Resturant...We board our ship from Mumbai this afternoon.
Bill & Martha
Glad you're having such an amazing time. Will soon be ready for you to head East and come on home. We sure miss you!
Post a Comment