Day 8 was very relaxing. Lieke, Kimsha, and another Dutch girl who was staying in our dorm had decided they were going to take a longtail to a different beach to go snorkeling. It was really beautiful - quite small but also quite empty which made it very serene. Essentially we spent the whole day just relaxing here. I finished the book I had been working on and napped a little in addition to snorkeling. Snorkeling after spending 4 days diving was kind of weird. I was so used to being able to go under water and breathe and it felt complicated when I couldn't do that snorkeling. That being said it was still fun and nice to get off Big Blue.
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| Me and Kimsha |
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| Lieke and B (the other Dutch girl) |
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| view on the ride over |
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| A little alcove of huts |
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| palm trees |
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| There were some little huts on our beach too |
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| Kimsha sitting happy |
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| there was some grass |
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| I found a bench to read on |
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| There was a swing! |
That night we went out for Indian food (and by "we" I mean a whole bunch of people from Big Blue - I don't think I actually caught all their names so even if I wanted to I couldn't tell you who they were). For me, the Indian food was mediocre. I've actually had some really good Indian food here but that was definitely Indian for farangs (foreigners) as it lacked both flavor and spice. But, it was still good and the company was good and we were all celebrating our last night on Ko Tao. After dinner I used the Internet for the first time since being on vacation (well, I borrowed Frankie's Ipad to let my mom know I was alive but that barely counts). I have to say, there is definitely something to be said for a vacation "unplugged." Don't get me wrong, I like the Internet as much as the next person and when I'm here in Chaiyaphum I definitely appreciate having Internet at school and at my apartment, but it was also nice to just read and talk with people instead of checking Facebook.
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| There were comfy bean bag chairs |
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| Frankie |
After using the internet I went back, started a new book, and fell asleep early despite my nap on the beach (all that diving had left me tired!). Day 9 started with a early-ish breakfast with Frankie to say goodbye as she was leaving on the morning ferry to catch a flight back to Dubai. After breakfast Lieke, Kimsha, and I checked out and then just hung out until it was time to go to the ferry. This time I successfully got on the taxi and it felt right. I definitely made the right decision about staying the extra days but I was also ready to leave Ko Tao and see some new islands.
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| Lieke - ready to leave! Also, check out the paint job on the boat behind her! |
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| This boat was named "Drag Queen" so I took a picture |
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| Me and Kimsha |
The ferry over to Ko Samui was really really choppy. Thankfully after my seasick adventures on the Big Blue boat Ant had given me a whole sheet of motion sickness pills (not Dramamine, but same idea) to use as I needed (I took one each time I was getting on a boat ;). So I had taken my little yellow pill and dude - those things are magic. I could feel how much the boat was rocking and knew without a doubt that I would have been leaning over the side the entire time if not for that little yellow pill. We do not make them like that in the U.S. Magic. Anyway... We finally arrived in Ko Samui and asked a taxi to take us to the hostel we had picked out from Lonely Planet. Unfortunately the taxi driver either didn't understand us or didn't know the hostel so I asked him to take us to one that looked like it was right next door on the little map in LP. When we got to that hostel it was on a little side road but our hostel wasn't there. I suggested that we ask someone so I went to a desk that had "apartments for rent" listed. While I was there I also asked how much a room for 3 people would be per night. When she said it was 700 baht (233 each) I called over Kimsha and Lieke and we went to take a look at the room. Well, the room was huge and since the woman said the other place was farther down the road we decided to take the room she offered.
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| My twin bed |
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| TV with a little table area behind it. The blue thing is our refrigerator. |
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| Our bathroom |
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| Lieke and Kimsha's bed |
The owner of this place was very friendly, spoke some English, and was very excited to find out I was a teacher in Thailand. After checking in and taking showers and all that jazz we walked up the street to find a place to eat. After dinner we found a little night market selling a lot of cheap tourist goods. After that we just went back to our room, found an English channel (!) on the TV, and went to bed.
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| We passed Piggy on the street |
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| Yum Yum Curry! (Lieke - Penang, Me - Massaman) |
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| (Kimsha - Green Curry) |
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| We also stopped for "Good Good Pancake" on our way home. Think: fried crepe |
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| Nutella! |
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| Our friendly pancake maker |
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| trying on bracelets at the market |
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| The Night Market |
The next day we had planned to go to the waterfall listed in LP so we went downstairs to ask the woman the best way to get there. She told us that it would be better for us to book a tour - hiring a taxi would cost as much as the tour did and the tour included more sites and there weren't any "public" transportation methods that would go to the waterfall. Unfortunately it was too late to book a tour for that day (yeah, we didn't rush getting ready in the morning) but we could book one for the next day and still be done in time to get the evening ferry to Ko Phan Ngang (pronouced: Ko penyang). So we booked both the tour and our spots on the ferry and then headed off to brunch. After our brunch we decided to go to the beach which was nice, but quite dirty with litter and trash. However, there were some medium sized waves that were fun to play in. We spent most of the day at the beach and then went back to the room to clean up and go to dinner. Before and after dinner we just walked up and down the street which was filled with shops - mostly selling neon colored t-shirts (you'll understand when I get to tales of Ko Phan Ngang). Kimsha found a photograph she liked (I may have encouraged the one of monk children smiling and showing "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" as all of these things are very important in Thailand). There wasn't really a party atmosphere on Ko Samui being more family-oriented so after we had gotten our fill of looking at bathingsuits and t-shirts we headed back to our room and hung out till bed!
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| The beach |
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| reading, per usual |
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| Dinner that night |
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| Pad Thai - Yum! |
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| This store was selling lots of lights so we asked a nice Indian couple to take a picture of us (we returned the favor, of course) |
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| Coconuts and Mango with Sticky Rice |
I think I'll leave off here for today - I'm so happy I was able to finish writing a blog post in one day! (As opposed to the almost 3 days the last one took). I'll tell you all about our tour and Ko Phan Ngang tomorrow :)
