Laurie's World

I am going to blog about the Samui airport! Mostly because I want to remember how great it was! How often do you say that!!!!!

The Asia hotel shuttled us for free to the ferry terminal, then the ferry to Samui was uneventful (still freezing!), then we haggled the taxi guy down to 200 baht for ride to airport. GO US!!!

We had about 1.5 hours to wait for our flight and we certainly gained an appreciation for a nice airport in that time. Can’t say I thought too much about the place when we landed….but then it was late and we were tired and just grabbed shuttle to hotel and didn’t look about much. When you depart, there is a lot more time to appreciate or complain as the case may be….but for us..it was all appreciate!

Troy and Thomas in the departure lounge.

Just thought this was straight up funny outside the men’s bathroom.

The icing on the cake was the courtesy corner! Free coffee/tea/pastries and snacks!

It kind of reminded me of an airport in Hawaii, all open air and tropical feeling.

We are catching the shuttle to the ferry at 9am today, as we have to get ourselves back to Koh Samui for a 2:30pm flight to……WAIT FOR IT……Chiang Mai!!

The friend we met through Erica, Thomas, will be on the same travel path as us and he has booked nights at the same hotel as us in Chiang Mai, so I suspect you will be hearing more about him over the next few days. I think he will be leaving for Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Could not be more excited…..we will be updating as we land safely and get settled.

Til then….

Our last full day in Koh Tao turned out to be a great adventure! We had our eye on a “viewpoint” on the map of Koh Tao. We thought about a few different options, including a tuk tuk, maybe renting quads to get there, but ultimately felt we could walk there “maybe”. You know how we come to these conclusions….we say….”well we can always start and if we decide it is too much, we can turn around.” But anyone who reads my blog knows, we rarely (never) have turned around….

A quick stop at the front desk gives us the information that the walk will be a 2 hour walk one way. Don’t do the math for round trip-it is a staggering number! The other kicker is the map indicates it is 376 metres above sea level. And our hotel is at sea level.

But with our resolve in hand, and 3 water bottles, we set off! We were passed by many locals and tourists on scooters and motorbikes. We forged on….it was pretty much straight freakin’ uphill. It is the only way to get UP 376 metres.

These pix are not at the worst of it, but they do show the lane we were on….how pretty it was, how quiet and how dense the jungle.

About 9/10th of the way up, there was a pit stop (completely deserted) but for this cat
Sleeping in the basket. Took this one for you Erica!

There was also this monkey hanging out….it was on a chain, so clearly a pet or something…

We made it to the top…not that we didn’t consider turning around a few times. We came across 2 pit vipers (yes-poisonous) and more sweat than I can even explain. Sorry Jackie! Had to be mentioned, especially when you see the photo below. Troy was busy, so I took a selfie! I will add the obligatory couple picture when I get my hands on Troy’s camera.

But the view was unbelievable! Absolutely stunning! Yes, we climbed that far up (again!)

The was a little hut where you could get a refreshment! Of course ; )

It took the whole 2 hours the girl at the hotel said it would. The good news was that it took 50 minutes to get home! Gravity was working for us finally!!

We had plans to meet up with Erica at 6pm at the Tong Thai restaurant that we had such a great meal at the night before! Now here is the sad part….our friend Erica fell in love with Koh Tao and rock climbing and she has decided to stay put in Koh Tao while we go on ahead with our plans to go north to Chiang Mai. So this is our last meal together until hopefully she catches up with us. She may not however as she is thinking about staying here for the rest of her trip and maybe extending it a bit until mid August or so. So I put on a brave face for the photo but I was sad.

I would like to show a couple pictures of the lovely view from our room at the Asia Resort. I would like to say I had my morning coffee on the balcony, but alas, this room did not have coffee/tea service.

Well….Erica went off to stay at a hostel last night so we were on our own today as she had a rock climbing class planned for today and half of tomorrow.

So after a pretty slow morning, with the most burning question we could come up with being “how could you possibly ever make toast this dry?”, we decided to take a water taxi over to a small island near Koh Tao. It was a 10-15 minute ride to Nangyuen Island and cost 400 baht for 2 round trip.

Now, it became clear very quickly that this is one of those places that tour companies bring day trippers to in droves! Ya….we have been those people…..but it is super annoying to have flocks and flocks of people descending (with all their snorkelling gear) on what we thought was going to be a much quieter locale.

Anyway…it was spectacular and we had a short hike (with mostly stairs!) up to the top lookout point on one of the islands. No complaints about this hike….very easy except for the mosquitoes! Lots of mosquitoes. We are being super SUPER diligent with the bug spray this trip as there is a bit of a Dengue breakout at this time here. Hope that assurance makes my Mum feel better!

Me on the top pinnacle….

And the view from the top….

When we we sitting on the dock waiting for our ride back to Koh Tao, I took this picture of the island we hiked up….maybe if you look carefully, you can see the little people on the top. That is where I was when the previous picture was taken. Right on that pile of rocks at the VERY top. (Where I was king of the castle ; )

We also tried to do a little walk around the islands, but the path was sub par….now this is not usually enough to deter us…but at some point we even had to call it off…

For the record. These were the parts we totally crossed, the points we we stopped, I don’t have picture….maybe Troy took one, I will see.

I love love love how they do stuff like this here….their construction/safety standards are hysterical! But somehow it works….

Also found a boat out on the ocean for my father in law if he ever gets tried of his boat….check this out Grandpa Terry and let me know if you want me to see if it is for sale.

Yup, I saw it and thought of you….

I also thought this was funny, along one of the walkways from the dock, they wrote before each little step down….

So the adventure was great, the taxi came back and got us at exactly 4pm just like they said they would….they always do. It was a fun ride in along tail boat….always a zippy little way to get around….

So here is the bad part of the day….I may finally have gotten too much sun….the thighs haven’t seen the sun in a long time, and they were out today…..so I think I may pay a price for that. I may have also have underestimated the power of the base tan and overdone the rest of me too….sigh.

We discovered an awesome place for supper…..Thong Thai! It may even better than last nights stop at the Tik restaurant (and their super delish cashew chicken). We had stuffed omelette moo, panang curry gai and pad see ewe gai! I simply have to learn how to make the stuffed omelette! No pictures of the food tonight….I ate it too fast. We didn’t even stop for massage on way home as the food coma was setting in.

Catch you tomorrow….

Not too much to say today…it was always the plan for it to be a slow day, a quiet day. But we may have taken that to a new level of slow.

Wanted to show Ruby that I had garlic and pepper chicken for her! It was delish and it definitely would have passed with your approval!

Troy had Phad Thai and while he says it was not as good as Nina’s or Tee’s, he gave it a passing grade : ))

Spent some non trivial amount of time trying to book flights to Chiang Mai and a hotel room also…but I got that done, and we are all set to move up there on Thursday….could not be more excited!

Our hotel is called the Asia Resort. But the 100% compete focus of everything on this island here is diving, diving, diving. So the starfish (Patrick?) that sits out front is all dressed up in dive gear…kind of cute that Patrick is here diving in KohTao!

After we went for massage and supper, we were planning on walking to the beach to see what goes on there at night. We got about halfway down our street and felt a couple raindrops, then a couple more….we looked at each other and said…feels like rain…hmmmmmmm….in that nanosecond of time, the skies opened up into a monsoon that can’t really be described….we jumped to the side and ducked under a shop’s awning along with a handful of locals who were trying to close up said shop. The street became a river in less than 2 minutes…..

In 10 minutes, it was over and while the river still needed to clear out, the rain had stopped….so we decided to carry on with at least MY part of the plan which included stopping for a crepe at the bottom of our street.

Trying not to talk about food too much….but these crepes were something we had seen around a few times in Chiangmai mostly….so I was anxious to try. They are very good…not better than the banana pancake or the donuts with pandanus custard, but still quite tasty : ) I can see myself having another!!

The was still quite a bit of flooding at the bottom of the street….

Life just carries on through though!

We did decide to go down to beach just in case there was something cool as we had heard there is fire dancing sometimes…well as luck would have it, we did see some…

All is all, a great day in KohTao…hope the weather doesn’t tank! We have had fabulous weather so far!

Erica moved to a hostel down on the beach last night….she wants to hang out with the young people, which makes sense….although she met a friendly Irish guy here yesterday, so there are fun people at our hotel too ; ))

TTFN

Just in case my kids are reading….and I am sure they are….since they seem fascinated with the naked massage post (as we are now referring to it). I wanted to do a quick update on food.

This is how I feel about Thai food every day here….but I saw this sign last night and I was like YES!!!!!!

Ruby….I am going to have this today for you!!!! I took the picture last night on the menu after I already decided on on something else.

Jay…this is what I actually ordered! Nom nom nom….it was perfect…not spicy….just all Thom ka gai”y”. : ))))

BK….this was Daddy’s supper! Look familiar? You can show G’pa Terry too….he always appreciates a good plate of Larb.

After a freezing (who knew I would ever complain about this?) and I mean FREEZING 2 hour ferry ride, we made it to Koh Tao. The ferry people need to rev down on the air con!!

The animals came out for the ride…

BC ferries…you better up your game….this is a luxury speed boat passenger ferry in Thailand. 600 baht for a 2 hour ride ($20) ya…that seems like a lot….and the concession even had Pringles!!!!!!!! Hahahhahahahahahahahahha

Man I think I messed up on the hotel rooms. I think I panicked when I saw rooms disappearing before my eyes…..we have not been to Koh Tao before, so not familiar with the area. Erica had done some research and chosen a beach that looked fun! And let me just say….that part of the decision was a win! I love the area, but maybe not so much the hotel, my choice : (

First off….no in room safe…dang!! And Troy thinks the lock on the room is buggered…double dang. Plus it really has a strong mothball scent. It isn’t moth balls, but some Thai scent that is very similar, I don’t know what it is, I have smelled it here before, sometimes in shops. I think it might be musty smell? Not sure….anyway the room and especially the BR have strong smell. Also the thing that just might push me over the edge is no coffee/tea service in the room. Those of you who know me (and presumably that is everyone reading this blog) know you definitely don’t mess with my coffee in the morning and really shouldn’t with my tea in the evening. It messes with my chi!!!

I can’t believe I made that mistake…..

Plus it is pretty freaking noisy….our room backs onto a road that is non stop motorbike traffic….and apparently (cuz I didn’t hear it) it went on all night…..so my light sleeping friend did not rest well. At this point he has authorized whatever funds necessary to move to a quieter room (that is is HIS breaking point). I need to wrap my brain around the money part, cuz I don’t like to spend more than $30 a night….to stay here we were already mid $40s, so the next upgraded room is another 500baht a night ($18). The islands are just so much more expensive than other places we go here.

Oh Chiang Mai….I can’t wait for you!!!!!

Happy and well cared for : )

Another small scarring thing (for those of you who like a good laugh) is there is a mirror on the wall above the sink which is directly across from the shower in the bathroom. Lots of the BRs here are just an open room, no separate shower or shower curtain, they just tile the whole room and then you go for it….no big deal. BUT there is nothing good about having to watch yourself take a freaking shower….some stuff should just be left the way it is in my mind….

I will try to get a picture when I get back….I am in the breakfast room now, so that will have to wait. I seem to do some of my best blogging from the breakfast room don’t I? That and the balcony ; )

Here’s your photo…..

Seriously enjoyed the stay at Beach House Samui. It was a quiet friendly little boutique hotel on Bo Phut beach.

www.beachhouse-samui.com

So I already told you about the shower, but I had to chase down a coffee cup this morning….they get a little weird about things getting damaged and/or broken over here in Thailand. Girls…remember the kettle and the shampoo dispenser at the Raming Lodge back in 2009???

I often wander around with a coffee cup in hand, not unlike at home, and then I tend to set things down, or let things get cleaned up around me….so my coffee cup got shuttled away with the breakfast dishes a couple mornings ago. I knew it was going to be an issue when the next day after they cleaned the room, I was still down a cup. Obviously they weren’t going to replace it. So now my dilemma is to either spend a great deal of time (probably unsuccessfully) explaining all this to the nice fellow who works the front desk….or try to secure myself a cup BACK from the breakfast room before checking out today. I opted for the second choice due to my limited success in previous attempts at communicating with the desk guy on a couple other occasions. So this morning after breakfast, I simply brought a cup back up with me (stealth)!! But as soon as I got back in room, I realized the are 2 sizes of cups here in this hotel. Dang….FAIL!! So now, if I don’t want to have to buy a cup, I have to face the guy at the front desk. He is really nice and sure tries hard, but his English does not extend to discussions about coffee mugs for sure, but anyways through a long series of gestures and pointing and my talk about breakfast and my room number…he follows me to the breakfast room and then just tells me to pick a cup : )

Yay!!!!!

So that (hopefully) taken care of, I head off to try to secure a taxi ride to the ferry terminal so we can catch ferry to Koh Tao today at 1:30. As I finish checking in with Erica…I see the housekeeping (same as breakfast girl!) knocking on my door…..I fear I have completely confused the staff here and maybe they think we need our room cleaned? This lady speaks no English….so we shoo her away as we still have a couple hours until check out…..maybe she was coming to collect the cup she now knows I took from breakfast room!

I head down to the travel place that offered us “special discount” the other day for taxi to the ferry, 50 baht per person. Well different person there today and no discount, they want 100 baht per person today….nope! We can get taxi through our hotel for 200 baht, (that was one discussion I had with desk guy that we did understand each other on). So I come back….get that booked, negotiate a late check out, and discover quite happily I have time for one more coffee and some blog time.

This is the view from our hotel room : ))

The pool and the lobby….

Perhaps the best tour we have been on? Hard to say….but definitely top 3! Today was our day trip boat tour to the AngThong National Marine Park. The shuttle came to get us early this morning, so no breakfast.

But then we were off by 7:20 am to the pier to catch our “slow boat”. This is only in comparison to the option of taking a speed boat! We have always taken speed boats on these things…but now I definitely know I prefer the slow boat. Less packed in, less noise, less wind, more able to move around, lunch on the boat, YES….much better!

We got to the boat and there was a light breakfast served. A banana, a croissant and coffee or tea.

Here is our first view of the ocean as we headed out…

This was a very scenic day….so lots of photos…very difficult to make choices about which to include!!

But important to include the photo of Erica wasting no time making new friends….barely cleared the breakfast dishes away and she was off : )

Our very informative and always funny guides giving us the low down on everything…

I have a friend who always posts these fabulous pictures of her feet with pretty little painted toes and a glass of wine every scenic place she goes….so here is my tribute to Jen…minus the wine : )

So upon reaching our destination after about a 1.5 hour ride we first go kayaking….always fun! With three in the kayak, I was the lucky centre person who didn’t have to paddle. So that me the official photographer. I think I did ok!

This is what they call Grandfather rock….you figure it out….

Small hike (100metres) up some stairs to a viewpoint for a beautiful lagoon!

Then we had lunch! Wow….for buffet it was very very good! Massaman curry, rice, vegetables, fried chicken and fruit! I was starving and ate up! Then we went to our second portion of the day which was where we had a choice of activities. So as is always the case with Troy and I, we never shy away from a challenge when there is the lure of a scenic viewpoint involved. So we chose the hike to the viewpoint. The sign categorized this hike as “difficult”, and the guides all said it was a “difficult hike”, but we thought we could handle it. We have really done some hardcore hikes in the last 5 years, so felt were we up to at least trying.

Well, let me just say, this is far and away the most challenging hike we have attempted. It was a 500metre hike (sounds doable) with a 260m+ rise above sea level (UH???) A 1-2 hour hike in 90 degree plus weather. YA! It took the full 2 hours that we had available. The rub in all these hikes is whatever goes UP must come DOWN! I know I have said that before in other posts in years past, and it sounds trite, but it is ever so true! So we face this challenge again today…

Hard to capture the steepness in photos, but I tried. Yes, that is the TRAIL!

In a couple different places, I just stood in one spot and took a photo up the trail and then turned and took one down the trail.

Believe it or not there were folks attempting this in bare feet, in jelly shoes, in pretty little ballet slipper like shoes, flip flops….the list goes on and on. We wears Tevas to hike….and Erica had Keens on….that was the only way I would EVER attempt this. The last 50 meters or so was crazy, but I made it! And got so e great pictures, Erica also went all the way up!

Fortunately you can’t see in the picture but I am literally soaked in sweat…yes, I might as well tell you. Maybe never sweated so much in my life…but breathtaking views from up there. You can see what the rock was like at the end and how steep it was. I just dropped down into a crevice in the rocks so the islands could be in the background.

So all in all another great day!!!! Some pink shoulders and necks for some unnamed people (not me). Tomorrow we are moving to Koh Tao…catching ferry at 1:00pm I think….so will hopefully be spending at least 2 days doing nothing once we get there! Erica has big plans…but they won’t involve us….she is moving more towards the young person lifestyle in Thailand and we are staying with a slower pace for sure ; ))

I do love blogging/drinking coffee on my balcony first thing in the morning. We are up and at it early today due to our day trip to Ang Thong National Marine park. We are catching a boat that is going to take us all around, do some kayaking, snorkeling, some hiking…feed us lunch etc. should be a full day.

I wanted to tell about the shower here….it is the weirdest shower yet. Not really a shower so going to have to mention that in my Agoda review I suppose. It is an elevated bathtub, with a hand held shower wand, but the darn cord is only about 2 feet long…if that even, so you have to crouch down in the tub to get the wand high enough to rinse your hair. Plus the water pressure is quite high here (not complaining per se—but using a hand wand implies the water is much closer to your skin that a traditional shower head would be if it was on the wall) so it can get a little much sometimes.

The tub is also raised up a good 18 to 24 inches so it is a good hike in and a big step out when done….must always be paying attention I guess…

Anyway….the funny part of the story is that when I brought the topics up to Erica yesterday, she said, “oh, I have no problem with it, it reaches my head when I am standing up”. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

(She is short) so Erica and Jackie would have no problem with the shower here….the rest of us get sore thighs squatting down to rinse off….