Ko Samui, Thaliand – February 4

mummified monk

a monk, not a Buddha - still HUGE

Who really knows about the weather…hot and sticky…again

This is first port where we tender to get to shore. Tendering, while once charming and different, is now tedious and a pain in the butt. Up until this point getting on and off of the boat for excursions has been a breeze and better than anything we’ve experienced in the past. Today things ground to a halt. It wasn’t the end of the world, but a 4 hour tour turned into a 5.5/6 hour tour once the tender ride to shore was factored in. Also, today the tour was 4 hours over lunch time, so by the time we got back to the boat at 3:30 we were ravenous. Needless to say it didn’t take too long to rustle up some food – I’m convinced I won’t starve anytime soon.

draining the coconut water

Once we make it to the bus we see a bit of the island before stopping at a small shrine to a mummified monk – that’s right a mummified monk. He died in 1973 and hasn’t decomposed much at all. It is one of the most bizarre places we’ve ever visited or seen. The sunglasses were almost the weirdest – apparently they are there because his eyes have decomposed and to see holes where his eyes belong would not be pleasant.

Big Buddha

Next we visit a coconut plantation where monkeys are trained to pick coconuts. I’m not so sure how I feel about that…the monkeys don’t seem to be there just for my entertainment – which always gives me that creepy feeling. They are made to seem like they are working animals, but maybe that’s BS and they are really there to entertain tourists. Either way…I had a bit of a creepy feeling and felt better when it was humans 'performing' to show me what they do with the coconuts – how they are husked, cracked shredded and how they get milk.

Our next stop is the “Big Buddha Temple” – I think most temples should be called this as they all have giant Buddahs – this one is a 36 foot golden statue. It is another temple where we climb to the top, only 88 steps this time.

We continue on to visit another temple which to me is more of a temple complex. I’m sure we could have spent half an hour or an hour here, but we basically make a sprint for the main attraction, hear about it and are still back late to the boat. No real big deal. I overheard someone say recently that they are 'sick of temples'. I'd never say that I'm sick of anything while on vacation, but I have seen a lot of temples. I should see if I could count how many.

We made a ‘comfort’ stop at a small road-side restaurant perched above some huge rocks in the ocean - a wonderfully clean and well-appointed washroom. I regret not taking a photo – this place was gorgeous, I could have spent the whole 4 hour tour there sipping a cocktail and listening to the waves crash on the rocks below!! Funny how I’m not so hot with a cold drink and a gentle breeze.

Ko Samui seems like a place that would be nice to hunker down at for a week or 2. There seems to be enough tourist infrastructure for it to be comfortable – nice hotels, restaurants, a million 7-11s, but not as touristy and party central as Phuket seemed.