The Charms of Koh Samui

So as I alluded to, we are currently on Koh Samui, Thailand – Koh in Thai means “Island,” and it’s pretty small so it’s pretty commonly just called “Samui.”

When we got to the airport in Cambodia to go to Vietnam, we were informed at check-in that our lack of visa was a deal-breaker to get in Vietnam… news to us as Curt double-checked with the travel agent and websites that we didn’t need one to get in. Bummer – so our options were go somewhere else, stay in Cambodia, or stay in Cambodia and expedite a Vietnam visa which would cost more than we were willing to pay, so we checked flights and decided to go back to Thailand since we had so much fun and knew we could still get in some good diving there.

So hopped on a plane back to Bangkok, where we discussed where to from there (back to Phuket, or somewhere else), and opted for Samui since it was something different, and on the other side of Thailand (new waters!). When we got to the airport, we got our luggage, did the whole customs thing, and looked at the board to see what we had to choose from. Curt left me with the bags, and came back informing me we were on the next flight (less than an hour later) to Samui – yea! We quickly did a little searching on the web, called a dive shop who said he had a couple of close by hotels to refer us to and that he’d pick us up at the airport – I love how things work out like that!

So we got to Samui and knew immediately when we touched down it was a very fun place… the airport was an open air, cute little hut, so we were pumped! We settled on an adorable bungalow set paces off the beach that I love and could live in forever (despite it being tiny for real everyday living, but hey, I’m all about living minimally these days)!

We settled in, did a little exploring down the beach which is lined with restaurants on the sand, and ate dinner on Thai cushions just inches from the water – paradise!

The next day was pretty lazy – we lounged around our bungalow, I read, Curt worked on photos, we watched a movie, went on a couple errands (scheduled diving, etc.) and really just had a restful day, it was lovely! Had dinner at an English pub, then I chatted with Vicki and Jo for a good hour on Skype which was so wonderful – I am so thankful for technology sometimes it’s not even funny.

The day after was time for more diving! We woke up early to head out, got on a big speedboat with 20 other people and all of their dive masters, and headed out to Sail Rock. Our dive master was a little socially awkward but soon found out he was more at home underwater than above land – bless his heart! The diving was great, even though it was clear to us that we had been spoiled by Sea Bees, but it was awesome to be diving on the other side of the country… so now we’ve dived in the Gulf of Thailand (here) and the Indian Ocean (in Phuket) which I think is so fun!

The visibility was a little low at Sail Rock, but still amazing… we saw barracuda, huge jacks, large groupers, tiny shrimp, eels, lionfish, the biggest angels we’ve ever seen – both majestic and emperor which was AMAZING (really probably the size of a backpack compared to normal ones we’re used to that are like an 8x10 sheet of paper to give an idea). We were pretty sure that would be our last dive day, so I was just trying to soak in all of the soft corals, the HUGE anemones that I’m sure we’ll never see the likes of again (like carpet covering the rocks), and all the different kinds of fish life. We just love it…

We rode back in on the beautiful sea green ocean, got our stuff unpacked and washed, and spent the rest of the day exploring Samui on our scooter which was a ton of fun… we got caught in the afternoon rain shower (read: monsoon downpour) which was hilarious and a great excuse for a stop at Haagen Dazs, did some browsing and shopping, and enjoyed negotiating for a few purchases!

When we got back to the hotel, however, we realized Curt didn’t have our room key, so then we spent the next hour retracing our steps… ugh… the hazards of shallow pockets and bumpy roads of Thailand, maybe? We didn’t let it ruin our day though we’ll be charged for it, I’m sure, but thankfully it was an un-descript key so no one will come and rob us blind!

After that we got cleaned up and went for another lovely walk along the water and chose another on-the-beach restaurant that was delicious. During dinner, a man holding a monkey was strolling along (with his camera – pics with his monkey are his venture) and it was so cute. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to hold a monkey and so there was my chance, right? And it was the cutest thing ever (I’ll have to scan my Polaroid in when we get back to China)… it was a 1 year old black monkey with white on its face (I need to do more research to find out what kind it was).

I held it and it’s long arms went up around my neck while it was perched on my arms, and after a few seconds it started whining for his owner, the sound just melted my heart, it was so cute! We took our picture, I held it for another minute (a too-short minute) and then time to go… sigh. I know it’s wrong to own monkeys and take them out of the wild, but I kind of wish I could have one, for purely selfish reasons. As soon as they left Curt laughed at me and called me a sucker… it’s true, when it comes to animals, I am a sucker, I admit it.

Today is a beach day – we’re going to enjoy the water, maybe go snorkeling with some of our gear, get a massage, scooter around some more, and just relax. If all comes together, tomorrow might be a VERY exciting day but I’m not going to share doing what until it happens as it’s not set in stone… stay tuned!

Hope all is well with everyone!