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After leaving the quiet town of Nakhon Si Thammerat we travelled north towards the busier and more commercial island of Koh Samui. Famous for its beaches and full moon party on the neighbouring Koh Pha Ngan, Samui resembles a European beach resort and is very popular with tourists. Our hotel was located about fifteen minutes away from Chawang (the main tourist strip) and so was away from the razzamataz but only a short song-taew trip away from the bars and the boutiques. The facilites at the resort were great with a swimming pool and a beach all within 100 meters of our room.
On our first afternoon in Samui we were given a tour of the island. First on the list of local landmarks was the Big Budda or Budda on the beach. This is an impressive twelve meter high statue that lies at the top of ceremonial dragon steps at Wat Phra Yai (Wat is the Thai word for temple). Next up we headed along the coast to see the renound and rather explicit "Grandfather" and "Grandmother" rocks (think anatomy!). The rocks caused a great deal of amusement amongst the group with the girls positoning themselves for photos so it looked as though they were holding the "Grandfather"!
Another temple beckoned but this time with a twist. We visited Wat Khun Aram better known as the mummified monk. Here we were fascinated too see the mummified body of Luang Pho Daeng who died in mid-meditation 35 years ago. His body has been at the temple ever since and its quite a thing to see. His hair and skin are still in place but he wears a pair of ray-bans to cover up the loss of his eyes! From the temple we moved on to a nearby waterfall. When we got out of the mini-van to walk up to the waterfall someone asked Shannon why she was walking barefoot? When you visit temples you have to remove footwear and it turned out Shannon had complety forgot to but hers back on! The waterfall was a bit of a disapointment compared to the infamous one in Malaysia but there were elephants bathing in a nearby river which made up for it.
In the evening we went into to Chaweng to do a bit of shopping in the street of endless market stalls. On the way our driver hit a moped and it careered into a bush. We were all stunned in the back but the driver wound his window down, the guy on the moped turned himself around and they both laughed…Welcome to Thailand!
We ended the evening by visiting the local stadium to watch Thailands most famous sport, muay thai boxing. Muay thai is refered to as the art of eight limbs, as the hands, shins, elbows and knees are used extensively. It was intresting to watch as some of it resembles a cultural performance, although we were slightly taken aback when two young children came out to fight. However we still a great time watching the adult matches.
On the second day we took a two hour ferry to visit the Angthong national marine park, which comprises of 42 small islands known for their mountainous rainforests, secluded beaches and coral reefs. Once we arrived in the vacinity of the marine park we were extremely impressed with the beauty of the islands. They are remenisent of the island used in Jurrassic Park with towering cliff edges full of green forest.
At the marine park we visited two islands were we kayaked as well as snorkelled. The kayaking was great fun and we paddelled around a small island for about an hour. We twice hit into the rocks and argued at whose fault it was! We also saw a freaky looking sea spider running on the suface of the water which frightened Mandy and I've never seen her paddle so fast away from it!
After the kayaking we snorklled for about an hour but unfortunatly, like a lot of Thailand, the tourist industry has effected the environment and most of the coral around the island is dead and so there are not many fish. We still had a good swim though as the sun beamed down from a cloudless sky.
After a light lunch on the boat we sailed on to the next island. The highlight of this island was the Emerald Lake, which is a lagoon in the middle of the island. To get to the lake you had to manouve your way up a very steep set of steps, through a small gorge in a rock and finally up a set of bamboo ladders. Once you had climed to the top of the cliff the view was breathtaking. The crytal clear water of the Emerald Lake glistened below surrounded by the picturesque landscape that encompased the lagoon.
Refreshed from the activites of the day after sleeping on the return ferry journey, the whole group went out for our "big" night out before the first half of the tour ended (Mandy and I were the only two staying on for an extra week). We started off the evening at an all you can eat fondue restaurant which Mandy loved as the all you can eat included the ice-cream!
We then headed into Chaweng to see one of the Thailand is most famous for...a Thai ladyboy show. The show consisted of a caberet act put on by various ladyboys (some of which you could never tell!). It was quite entertaining but im not sure if I would ever go back!! Once the show was over we went to a club before returning to the hotel were Stuart and I went for a late night dip in the sea.
The next day we had a free day so we decieded to lounge around the pool and generally have a lazy and relaxing time. We needed this as the next day delays to the train we were travelling to Bangkok on meant we were travelling for over 24 hours!
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