Today was another one of those awesome days. After getting a great sleep to the sound of the waves lapping a mere few metres from my head, I woke up refreshed and charged this morning. And feeling ballsy. I've been wanting to rent a scooter for days but on the other islands and in Bangkok, it seemed simply too dangerous. The roads on Koh Tao and Koh Phangan are nothing if not psychotic and I met a bunch of farang (westerners or whities) with bike wounds. But Koh Samui is far more built up and the roads are all perfectly paved and mostly flat. So, after a nice crepe breakfast, I turned in my passport and received an automatic scooter.
Damn it was fun. I drove over 60 kms today and went all over the island. There are not many roads so following a map was relatively simple. I checked out Chaweng, the bustling city just north of Lamai. I went into a modern mall and almost stuck around to see Mission Impossible 3, not for the film itself but rather to continue to indulge in the air conditioning for another few hours. But I thought better of it. I found an amazing Buddhist temple where I snapped some pix, fed catfish the size of cats, and hung out with a monk who spoke to me for a while and let me video him while he, strangely, busied himself burning documents. Yeah, weird, I know.
Drove and drove and drove more and found a great waterfall where they have elephant tours. Didn't do a tour but I did feed a baby elephant who grabbed my hand at one point and almost pulled me over the fence. That was fun and dirty. My hand smelled after that, I'll tell ya. Went down to the waterfall to wash it off. I also happened upon a beautiful resort that had a zoo. I shot videos of GIANT tigers and colorful birds and strange crying mammals that seemed like otters or something. The birds all seemed fine but none of the mammals were particularly pleased to be there. Not much I could do for them.
Anyway, loved trekking around by bike. The driving on the left side of the road is weird at first but once I got the hang of it it was a lot of fun. My friends Gavin and G-Sun sent me an email telling me where they are now that they've arrived in Lamai, so I'm going to go hunt them down and convince them to join me for the men's Muay Thai (kickboxing) event at Lamai Stadium tonight.
Oh, I'm feeling 100% better now. Thanks for the concern. It was just a bit of a cold and the sleep last night and tea got me over that little bit of discomfort. Back to normal now...
R*
Damn it was fun. I drove over 60 kms today and went all over the island. There are not many roads so following a map was relatively simple. I checked out Chaweng, the bustling city just north of Lamai. I went into a modern mall and almost stuck around to see Mission Impossible 3, not for the film itself but rather to continue to indulge in the air conditioning for another few hours. But I thought better of it. I found an amazing Buddhist temple where I snapped some pix, fed catfish the size of cats, and hung out with a monk who spoke to me for a while and let me video him while he, strangely, busied himself burning documents. Yeah, weird, I know.
Drove and drove and drove more and found a great waterfall where they have elephant tours. Didn't do a tour but I did feed a baby elephant who grabbed my hand at one point and almost pulled me over the fence. That was fun and dirty. My hand smelled after that, I'll tell ya. Went down to the waterfall to wash it off. I also happened upon a beautiful resort that had a zoo. I shot videos of GIANT tigers and colorful birds and strange crying mammals that seemed like otters or something. The birds all seemed fine but none of the mammals were particularly pleased to be there. Not much I could do for them.
Anyway, loved trekking around by bike. The driving on the left side of the road is weird at first but once I got the hang of it it was a lot of fun. My friends Gavin and G-Sun sent me an email telling me where they are now that they've arrived in Lamai, so I'm going to go hunt them down and convince them to join me for the men's Muay Thai (kickboxing) event at Lamai Stadium tonight.
Oh, I'm feeling 100% better now. Thanks for the concern. It was just a bit of a cold and the sleep last night and tea got me over that little bit of discomfort. Back to normal now...
R*
My Darling adventurer,
Once again, my morning has started with your wonderful words! Your words help me see this idyllic place that you are experiencing. Can't wait to see the videos!
Good to hear that you are feeling better.
Dad and I leave for Charleston, South Carolina today, so I am not sure when I will be able to communicate next. We will return after the long weekend, I am really looking forward to our mild little fling (compared to yours.)
In the meanwhhile, once again, enjoy, be safe, and know how much we love you,
Mom
You rock, Randal! Loving the daily blog - good on ya for taking the time to write every day. I so wish I was there cruising on a scooter with you. I rode those roads in Koh Phangan and in retrospect maybe it wsan't the best idea! That's where I got my "Thai tattoo". Keep enjoying and careful at the Muay Thai event. I've heard they really kick the crap out of each other (I was too weak-stomached to see it for myself).
P.S. We sold the condo :)
Congrats on the sale, Linner. Very happy for you.
Yeah, I would NEVER have had the nerve to rent a scooter in Koh Phangan. Using the word "roads" to explain the transportation routes there is a major insult to the noun. Totally different story on Samui. Still kinda hairy, but the roads are modern and efficient and zooming all over the islands was one of the most fun things I've done so far. If I wind up with a job downtown Toronto, I'm going to pick up a scooter there. As much as I hate to admit it, I absolutely LOVE motorcycle transport.