Wednesday 16 July 2008

Met a couple from South Africa at breakfast. Invited them to join me on an island tour but they declined wanting to laze by the pool as they only had 2 days here, then off to Malaysia.

KOH SAMUI TOUR

I organised my own private tour with Chai a 27 yo Thai guy.

The Big Buddha

The Big Buddha is 12 metres high and painted in gold. Looks impressive and you have to climb stairs to get to him. Great view from the top and we rang bells for good luck. Back downstairs I donated 20 baht to build a temple and wrote my name on a brick.

Nathon shopping

Chai helped me buy 2 tee shirts - one a black singlet with DIOR written in silver and the other a pink Billabong tee shirt. Cost 400 baht ($12).

Namuang Falls and Zoo

The first waterfall didn't interest me at all. Very small and dirty water. At the entrance to the second waterfall, Chai asked me if I wanted my photo taken with a baby tiger and I excitedly answered "Yes". However when I saw the baby I had second thoughts. He looked like a large tiger to me. Chai said he was only 5 months old. I was very nervous by this stage and didn't think I could do it when a nice smiling Thai lady took my hand and said "Come, come". Next thing you know she has the tiger out of the cage and me sitting on a wooden platform and she gets the tiger in my lap with a bottle of milk and hands me the bottle and I'm feeding this very heavy tiger. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I'm so happy with the photo Chai took of me feeding Pha Ngan. What a blast!

We climbed up to the second waterfall and it was a big effort for little reward. It wasn't much of a waterfall and the water was dirty. I wouldn't swim in it.

The Mummified Monk

There is a dead monk's body sitting in a glass case with sunglasses on. It is the undecomposed body of Phra Khru Sammathakittikhun (Damg Piyasilo), the venerable ex abbott of Wat Khunaram. A native of Koh Samui he enjoyed a prosperous family life until he was 50 years old when he decided to devote his life to the monkhood. After being ordained in 1944, he became renowned for his meditation practice and for about 20 years had many disciples among Buddhist monks and laymen. He was also known for his ability to foresee his own death which happened when he was 79 years and 8 months old.

After his death his body remained undecomposed, so his relatives and disciples decided to place his body in an upright position within the glass casket as requested in his written instruction, to keep it as a symbol to inspire future generations to follow Buddhist teachings and be saved from suffering.

To me, it looks weird and peculiar. A living monk blessed us with water and tied white strings on both wrists for good luck.

Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks

I laughed when I saw Grandfather Rock because it looks like a rock penis. Grandmother Rock looks like a big slit in the rocks, supposed to represent a woman's genitalia. According to local legend the rocks represent two doomed lovers who drowned themselves in the sea here, because their families disapproved of their relationship. Chai took a photo of me with Grandfather Rock in the background and he thought that was very funny.

Restaurant on the cliff

We stopped at a restaurant on a cliff for lunch. Sweeping views of the ocean. I bought Chai a coke and I had a Campari and freshly squeezed orange juice. Robbie Williams was singing 'Angels' on the stereo system. They had a wide screen TV and Chai watched some show in Thai and I watched the view and this ladyboy with a middle aged Australian man. I thought she was a beautiful woman at first but then I thought no woman could have such well defined arms even if she worked out every day. She was watching the TV and virtually ignoring her man. He was continually looking at her. Chai told me she had cosmetic surgery and still had a penis.

Dinner at Olivio's

Had dinner with the South Africans. Who would have thought I would be eating Italian food in Thailand and with a chef called Luigi. The food here is the best. The Bruschetta with little balls of mozzarella is gorgeous and the gnocchi with gongonzola is divine and as for the creme brulee I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. Marina is unhappy living in South Africa and would give up her maid and Mercedes sports to live in Perth. Andreis doesn't want to leave because his money goes further in South Africa than in Australia. With affirmative action, whites can't get jobs and according to Marina violence is a major problem. She is worried about the future for her children.

I'm feeling grateful I live in Australia after dinner with the South Africans.