Koh Samet
Last weekend was a 3-day weekend due to a Thai holiday on Monday (sadly, I don't even know what it was about!), so me and 10 other teachers headed for the beach! We went to an island about 2 1/2-3 hours south of Bangkok called Koh Samet. It was quite a different experience than being at Khao Lak (on Phuket) with the MTW team last fall. It was a little less remote (although we took a speed boat out to the little beach where our resort was and the beach didn't have a pier, so we had to roll up our pant-legs and carry our lugguge on our backs or heads from the the boat to the shore), a little more busy and touristy and had a bit of a "party-town" feel to it. We had a very fun and relaxing time, though, and got some much needed rest.
Some highlights from the weekend...
*Sleeping in until 8:30 a.m. for 3 days in a row; lots of time to read my new book (sent to me from Dad via the Henrys: J. Hudson Taylor, God's Man in China) while lounging on beach chairs; swimming in clear, turquoise and blue colored water; and watching chick-flicks at night with my girl friends.
*Eating every meal on the beach while watching and hearing the ocean, either on patio furniture-type table and chairs or lounge chairs with a small table in between or on mats with Thai-triangular pillows to lean up against and a low Thai-style table to eat on. Most lunches we just ate on our beach chairs or mats, buying "snacks" from little stands or vendors who were walking up and down the beach: fresh tropical fruit, "chicken on a stick", som tum and sticky rice, crepes and roti (kind of a flat, dessert pancake - my favorite flavor was banana and chocolate). One nicer place we ate at on Sunday night was possibly the most beautiful, romantic restaraunt I've even been to, as we sat under trees decorated with white lights with the ocean beside us and a full moon above.
*Renting motorcyles and driving them up and down the main road of the island which ran right beside the coast. This was my first experience driving a "moto-cy" myself and the guys we rented from didn't have anymore automatics, so I got to learn how to shift gears! It was a little "lurchy" (gave me a new appreciation for the motorcycle taxi drivers I've ridden with!), but once I got to the 3rd and 4th gears I felt like I was soaring! What a thrill! I even took my first passenger (Jen) and we did not get in any wrecks (although we had some close calls with a chicken and a large truck).
*Playing pool in one of the restaraunt/bars on the beach. : )
*Taking a snorkling tour around the island. We circumvented the whole island in our boat, stopping at two different spots to snorkle and then to see a fish farm. The sea creatures and plants I saw under the water were so beautiful and brightly colored (deep blue, purple, turquoise, gold, black) - I just wish I knew what they were all called! At the second stop, one of the crew on the boat threw food out to the fish and in a few seconds there were hundreds around our boat. I went down and swam in the midst of them - how exciting! The fish farm - although I was doubtful at first - was also incredibly cool! I wish I could describe the way it was laid out with squares of net holding the different grouping of marine-life and narrow boards lining the nets that we walked along to view all the different kinds of fish, sharks, and sea turtles. I saw a giant grouper and could hear Clint's 4-year-old voice quoting his "Dangerous Sea Creatures" book: "Did you know that a giant grouper can swallow a man in one gulp?!" : ) It was very neat!
*Jumping, diving and attempting back-flips (still can't do one!) off the different levels of the boat. It's been a while since I've had a platform high enough and water deep enough to enjoy a true dive - and it was even more exciting diving off the edge of a boat as it was moving up and down in the waves into beautiful ocean water!
[The enjoyment of so many of these things, I discovered, was greatly enhanced by the absence of picky safetly regulations. It's so much more fun being in Thailand where no one requires you to wear a life-jacket while snorkling, cares if you jump off a boat or makes you wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle (actually, I couldn't have even if I had wanted one - they didn't have any!). It really made the whole weekend so much more "adventurous" feeling. : )]
Yes, very fun. Made it very hard to come back to Bangkok and go to work the next day!
posted by Catherine Rogers @ 4:42 AM
3 Comments:
I love it that it felt like an adventure! How refreshing and fun! Not that what you're doing is tame in any way, but it's so much fun to explore and try new things! -Love, Elizabeth
Catherine,
You just named most of my favorite Thai foods. Now I am really, REALLY hungry for some!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time and could just taste and smell and feel all that you saw and did.
helen
Sounds like fun to me! The beach has ALWAYS been a good cure for just about anything! Motorcycles....sounds like you had fun! :)
Oh, now I want to go to the beach. I am glad you are having so much fun!
Love ya,
rAcHeL O_o :) he he!
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