Koh Samui -- Off the East Coast of Thailand

The living is good in Thailand.  Koh Samui is a small island that used to go un-noticed except for the backpackers that discovered it, and many never left to tell it's secrets.  Now there's an airport, and with it came lots of sprawling beach resorts.  But the beauty of the island remains intact.

Unfortunately we don't have any photos from the first night we arrived, as they served free beer.  Part of their 1 year anniversary party for the Long Island Resort, or something like that.  I do remember fireworks.

P-Man came out on this trip, and here's a nice photo of him and Sherrell paying for the previous night of going nuts at hangover hut.

We were tough and after breakfast at 2pm and a nap, and one more quick meal, we hit the town in force.  As Paul put it, "Nothing like riding a moped for the first time in a foreign country, on the left side of the road, after a long night of goin' nuts."

On our low-speed epic journey we saw elephants and an actual hill with a waterfall and a river. I tried to trade the guy with the elephant for my stupid moped. His eagerness to trade scared me off of the deal.

Since we were really there to do some diving off an island north of Koh Samui, called Koh Tao, we stayed off the sauce the next night, sat around the beach, and enjoyed a Thai dinner overlooking the water.

Here's some shots of the boat ride over to Koh Tao. Nice rainbow, but only a slight sprinkle.

Diving was fabulous. A trigger fish attacked our dive master, and for our amusement he turned into Bruce Lee trying to fend it off with his feet. We saw spotted blue rays, lots of fish and coral, some clams and a very strange thing that twisted its body to swim.

Once back ashore, we did the unthinkable. Went nuts. Sorry no public photos available.

The next day met us early because we had to catch a flight out at noon. We squeezed in a couple of fantasic curry dishes for breakfast. (The cook thought we were crazy, but you had to taste the food to understand).

While waiting for our plane we took a quick tour of the "Big Buddha." Thailand is very religious and has a proud history of freedom, as they were never colonized by anyone. In fact, the word Thai means free. The Thai people were the most polite and happy people we've met so far. Some people I've met are quick to judge Thailand based on hearsay. Well, last I looked, Las Vegas is still inside the U.S.

As part of their religion, they worship the Buddha image. Despite popular belief, there are many different Buddhas, not just the rounded belly happy man. In Koh Samui, the "Big Buddha" is big. About three stories tall. He makes an impression after hiking up 100 steps to the top of the temple.

Part of their dedication to Buddha is shown by bringing him wealth. The monks toil for months to make very thin sheets of gold from ocean water or river sediment, only to bring them to the images and press them onto the statues. Slowly over decades, the statues are covered with gold leaflets. One statue in Bangkok is estimated to have 80 million dollars of gold pressed onto it.

No trip to a temple would be complete without the standard Buddha image most westerners are familar with. However, this one seems a little happier than most.

On our way back to the airport, we snapped one final shot. If that doesn't make you want to come back for the 2nd anniversary of the Long Island Resort, what would? As Paul would say, "Mai pen lai, baby."