Ko Samui 01/22 – 01/26

The trek around the waterfall.  Not much time for pictures.

Resting at one of the beaches.  

The view from our ride. 

Every day is an adventure when you are on you own trying to get from place to place and explore without going on any organized tourist tours. We arrived to Surat Thani by plane and had no idea how we would get to Chaweng Beach on the island of Ko Samui other than some advice from wikitravel. But, there was a bus awaiting our plane at the airport so we hopped on that and it shuttled us to a ferry which took us to the main pier of the island. We then took a “songthaew” to the beach town and it was a pretty fun ride. A “songthaew” is basically an open pickup with some seats and a roof added on. The crazy driver swerved through the twisting hilly streets and we almost collided with other motorists several times. We almost fell out as well. I wondered how our backpacks, which were thrown on top of the roof, would make it. On arrival we walked the streets searching for a decent hotel and exploring the neighborhood.

Although it is not supposed to be monsoon time in Thailand, we learned that there are slight variations along the east and west coasts with a north and a south monsoon hitting the different coasts at different times of the year, so the weather was fairly gloomy and rainy. No beach time for us. Instead we rented a scooter and explored the island's towns and hilly terrain as well as took in some nightlife.

Our first day scooting around the island, we headed over to a nearby waterfall. There was also elephant trekking and a monkey show...but of course we would never indulge in such silly tourist attractions. No, we decided to hike up the muddy, slick mountain to see the waterfall from the top. There was a trail and plenty of jungle vines to help us along the way. But, we must have climbed way past where we were supposed to because we ended up at the top of the mountain and there was no way I would be able to make it down the slippery slope. It was too steep and slippery, soon to be dark, and it took us far too long to make it to the top. So, we decided to find a road and make our way down a more sensible way. We met some men at the top of the hill digging ditches and asked them for directions. They told us that they would give us a ride, but they still had much work to do. So, off we went. I was angry by that point, exhausted and hungry and wondering why in the world I let Peter talk me into such things. We walked and walked for what seemed like a very long time, our calf muscles burning from the constant up and down trekking when the nice men from the ditches finally picked us up and gave us a lift back to our scooter. The elephant park was closed by then and there were elephants roaming everywhere, eating and taking baths, resting from a full day of work.

The following day we did more scooting through the hills. The terrain was beautiful with lush groves of palm trees and hills full of tropical jungles and tiny villages. We got lost quite a bit. But, it wasn't our fault. The roads on the map (which were shown as large and paved) sometimes ended or were muddy dirt ditches filled with rain puddles. Most of the roads through the hills weren't even on the map. We spent all day on the bike and returned to our hotel exhausted with stiff legs and achy butts.

Hip bar on the island.

Today we are on our way to Phuket along Thailand's west coast. Thinking that it would save us hassle to book the trip (which includes transfer to the ferry, ferry ride, bus to Phuket Town, and then transfer to Patong Beach) through a travel agency, we were reminded once again what a trap the tourist trips are. They take you from one bus to another, shuttle you between minivans and busses, and basically take much longer to get anywhere than necessary. Also, our bus almost broke down on a steep incline through the hills. Everyone sat with wide eyes wondering when we would all make it to Phuket as we sat waiting in silence, the smell of burning engine in the air. Then, the bus turned into a commuter bus stopping at every bus stop picking and dropping people off. These people had to stand and they packed them in real good. But, at least they get you there at some point. We would have done each step of the way ourselves, but there are no songthaews available in town in the mornings, so we would have had to take a very expensive taxi. Ah, such a luxury does not exist in our very strict budget much less the very convenient 1 hour direct flight from Ko Samui to Phuket. I guess that is what we signed up for.

Fishing boats leaving for work as we depart Ko Samui.

The bus ride with local commuters.