Thanks for those of you who sent your birthday wishes! It was a wonderful birthday! Started with a relaxing morning overlooking the beach and ocean, sitting across from a blond, blue-eyed cutie. Then a half day of super spa treatment in which I was rubbed with about every natural substance found on Koh Samui - coconut, coffee, banana, lime, to name a few. In between the various body rubs, masks, facials, and hair treatments, I lay lazily in the steam room. Then ended with a 2 hour full Thai body massage on a platform overlooking the lush green trees. Ahh. Peter surprised me by coordinating it. We then had dinner at the hotel... an amazing steamed fish in curry sauce... again while overlooking the ocean. We stayed up with drinks, and playing canasta.
The last few days were relaxing. We've had excellent weather.. I've managed to get my but to do a bit exercise a run or yoga. We start the day with a swim in the ocean, then the pool, then breakfast/lunch on the patio overlooking the ocean. Reading the newspaper or a book. Two days wwe spent the afternoon exploring the island on a rented motorcycle. Very interesting to see the other non-touristy sides of the island - The fishing villages, coconut farms, people sitting on platforms outside their houses and the occasional wats. There continue to be so many images that I want to burn on my brain so I don't forget them since I can not take photos of everything (although I do try my best :)..). I can not even write them all in my journal, nor will I try to do so here. BUt it is a curious how more open you are to seeing things around you when you are out of your daily routine, and in a new environment. Also, since we've been staying at the same bungalow guesthouse, we've also met more people. In particular chatted quite a bit and had dinner with another couple from England. They're traveling around for a year. Hmm my turn to be jealous!
Yesterday we went on a tour to the marine park islands between Koh Samui and the main land. The weather was beautiful. We caught a big boat to one of the main islands and hiked up to a view point. It was muddy and slippery, so although the distance was not long it was quite the work out holding on to the guide ropes and pulling ourselves up. Most people did not have good shoes, only flip-flops and tevas.. we heard much swearing and sighing on our way up. Luckily we had our hiking shoes, and in the end had the view point mainly for ourselves. You could see the various islands clustered in the marine park, with their high cliffs, uninterrupted green of the trees, and the green/blue water surrounding them. The water was so clear we could see the reefs near the coast line of the island we were on. On the way down, we stopped for a rest and were surprisingly entertained by a family of monkeys (including one baby monkey!) swinging in the tree cover above us. One stopped to demonstrate how to pee while sitting on a branch!
We had lunch on the boat. From there we took the boat to another island passing through the small bays/nooks created by the islands and seeing small pristine beaches occasionally peeking out from a rim of an island. The colors were vibrant in the sun. The secnd stop included a small walk up to see an emerald lake enclosed in a small island - beautiful but not as exciting as I would've expected from what I read (those of you in book club might understand). While most people went up to the lake, Peter and I stayed down on the beach and snorkled. It was interesting to see the fish and corral, but it wasn't as colorful and plentiful as I had hoped. I did see some fish I recognized from my Bermuda days (Sargent majors, squirel fish, fries) as well as others that I don't know. Still I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did Peter. we were nice and tired, sitting on the front of the boat enjoying the formations of the clouds, and the views during our 1 1/2 hour boat ride back to Koh Samui.
We are torn as what to do now. We had wanted to leave Thailand a week early so we could go to Northern India near Tibet (someone told us about a great place to stay in the town where the Dali Lama has his home base). However, we can not change our flight, no seats open. So we will keep you posted.
Take care, Patricia and Peter