I Am Ruined

That's what Tim says anyway, mostly because in a twenty-four hour period I spent three of those hours in the spa having massages. Although, truth be told, I was ruined in China once I had Lena and Ayi.

Yesterday we decided it was time to tour around Samui on our own non-existent schedule so we rented a car and had a great day just roaming.

Tourism is huge on Samui so they make it very easy to do pretty much any activity you want. Renting a car is as simple as going to the front desk, selecting a vehicle from those listed on a sheet and letting the clerk know which one you want. She calls the company and within a half hour someone is there with the car. You fill out a simple yet thorough rental lease agreement and you are on your way. Then the fun starts!

In Thailand they drive on the left hand side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right. Since I volunteered to do the driving I was pleased to hear that they had cars with an automatic transmission. I can drive a standard but trying to shift with my left hand and stay on the right (as in "correct") side of the road may have been a little too much. And, although the driving isn't quite as bad here as it is in Shenyang, they don't have as many rules of the road as Canada. Thai people are much more curteous than the Chinese drivers, but there don't appear to be any speed limits and passing is done wherever someone pleases. The thing you really have to watch out for though is the scooters and motorbikes. They are driven by foreigners and locals (sometime with a family of four on one bike) and almost no one wears a helmet.

Anyway, we set out driving counter-clockwise around the island, mainly since that's the way our little Suzuki was pointed when we got in. It didn't take me too long to get comfortable with driving and after about twenty minutes we found a side street and stopped at a beach front restaurant for breakfast. I had oatmeal with bananas while Tim and the boys ate an American breakfast. It was all really tasty!

From here we continued on until we saw a sign for a set of waterfalls and decided to give it another go. We
parked near some food stands, a temple and an area where they were offering elephant rides, then started our trek into the jungle. I don't know why I always assume that it's going to be a simple stroll to get to these things because it never is. We hiked for a while up the path thinking that for sure the falls must be just around the next corner. They weren't. At one point Tim let out a holler for us to stop and right in front of our faces was a web with a huge black and yellow spider on it. And by huge I mean as big as my hand. I snapped some pictures of it then we very gingerly moved part of the web out of the way so we could duck under it. After that little discovery one of our group members (I won't say who it was; but it wasn't me, Nick, or Ryan) got a little freaked out. Since it was already incredibly hot and humid and we didn't know how much further we had to go, we decided to forget the falls and just stop along the river so the boys could throw rocks. They had fun and I got some neat pictures of the jungle trees then we headed back down the path, stopping for more pictures of the spider and a pretty butterfly along the way. At the bottom we threw some more rocks, climbed some big ones where I slipped and fell soaking my skirt in the process, saw an elephant bathing himself in the river, got ice cream for the boys then continued on our way.

Our next stop was for gas and a pee break. I went into a bathroom outside a 7-11 and got a chance to use a squatty potty, just like in China. Until then all the bathrooms I had used in Thailand had Western toilets. This one was a little peculiar though. Every bathroom I've seen in this country has a sprayer next to the toilet, either for cleaning the toilet or cleaning your bum, I'm not exactly sure. This potty though, had sort of like a mini bathtub next to it, filled with yellowish water and there was a dish sitting on the edge. I'm not sure if this was for washing the toilet when you finish using it or what. I couldn't even find a flusher anywhere so I just peed and left.

From here we drove around most of the island without stopping until we reached the big Tesco. This is a British grocery store chain very similar to Carrefour, although nicer here in Thailand. They have a large cinema and bowling as well as a little arcade with rides for the kids. Tim watched the boys play while I did some shopping.

From here we went for lunch at a place called The Frog and Gecko at Fisherman's Village. The food was pretty good but we were too hot to really enjoy it. Afterwards we came back to the hotel and while Ryan slept Tim and Nicholas swam in the pool and I had a Thai head, shoulder and back massage. This was an interesting experience as the lady climbed right up on top of the massage table and me to rub and push and cause some pain. It felt good though. She got down off the table for the head part of the massage but then climbed back up to streched and bend me. I'm not a very flexible person, never have been, but she tried. By the end of the day I was sore but relaxed.

Around supper time we headed out in the car again. This time we stopped at another Buddist site that has the Fat Man Buddha statue as well as the god with all the arms. A good blogger would look up the name of that god and explain what it exactly it was all about. Moving on...

Ryan was afraid of the Fat Man and didn't want to get close to any of the statues, but especially that one. We moved on and drove to Chewang Beach area. This is the party beach on Koh Samui and there is actually a young couple who, for several days, letf their resort on this beach to come have lunch and hang out at our hotel because it is so much quieter. I can see their point. The street along side the beach was busy and very noisy. We parked and walked around looking for some place to have supper. Before we could find a suitable restaurant, we came across a little shop offering fish massages. I have seen this before and wanted to try so with some encouragement from Nick and Ryan, I finally did. I had to rinse off my legs and sit on a bench with my feet dangling in an aquarium. As I did, these tiny fish came over and started nibbling on my feet. It actually felt very nice to me but wouldn't be good for someone with ticklish tootsies. They even wiggled their way in between my toes. After about ten minutes it started to feel like pins and needles when your feet "fall asleep". I stayed in for fifteen minutes then it was time to go eat. It felt good and supposedly they get rid of a lot of dead skin. I know there are places in China that do it so I will have to try again sometime.

Once that massage was done we still had to choose a place to eat out of the hundreds on Chewang Beach. We ended up picking an Italian place called La Dolce Vita right next door to the fish massage shop. I had a fantastic t-bone steak (I have been craving meat after eating vegetarian most of the week) and we also had Thai food. It was a fantastic supper.

By the time we were done eating and had made our way back to the hotel, we had enough time for a quick swim then it was off to bed. We were tired from our busy day of roaming.

We had discussed going on a tour to another smaller island where they have good snorkelling but since it would have involved three hours of travelling by boat to get there and back, we decided against it. I love snorkelling and I think Nicholas would enjoy it too, but he flat out said he would not get in the water for fear of sharks. He might have changed his mind but that's a long way to go if he wouldn't. Instead of doing that we decided to rent another vehicle. It is a 24 hour rental so this time, instead of getting it first thing in the morning, we asked to have it dropped off at 1pm. This morning the boys all swam in the pool while I wandered off to the spa on the beach for another massage. I asked for a one hour foot rub but it felt so good, when it was over, I asked for another hour on my face and head. It was heavenly and, as I said, I'm ruined.

At one o'clock our truck arrived (this time we opted for a pick-up) and the first stop was just down the road at another Italian restaurant. Tim has walked here several times this week to get pizza and pasta for the kids. They absolutely love it. For lunch I had another Australian t-bone and it was devine. I miss having good steak.

After lunch we continued on our drive and eventually ended up on one of the
most interesting beaches I've ever been on. First it was nice white sand but then turned into coral. Old, dead coral and seashells. I'm not sure how it got there but it almost looked like it had been dumped and built up to make a sort of wharf. It was really cool and I collected lots of shells while the boys threw the coral pieces in the water like they were rocks. We had a very relaxing stroll then sat and had a drink while talking to some of the locals. We watched an older lady cut and tie coconuts together so she could transport them on her scooter. In this area there were a lot of coconut farms or plantations and we saw several small pick up trucks loaded to capacity to deliver the coconuts somewhere, but we never did figure out where.

From here we took the long way (too long as it turned out) back to Fisherman's Village to a restaurant called the Friendly Frog for supper. This was the place we were trying to find the day before when we ended up at the Frog and Gecko place. The food here was much cheaper and was really tasty. Afterwards we picked up a couple souvenirs then came back to the hotel for another swim and now it is time for bed again. Tomorrow is our last full day here so we will take the truck and go somewhere for breakfast and lunch, then hang out at the pool for our last evening. We will still have all day Friday to vegetate before leaving at supper time for our three flights back to Shenyang. I'm sure it will be an enjoyable last day.

Again, the pictures are all mixed up and I can't do captions. Just use your imagination!