Taking the Tuk Tuk Express - A Four Part Mini-Series (Part 3 of 4)

From last we left off, our hero was on his way to his next destination, Koh Samui. Riding on the fairy, enjoying the sun, the breeze, the view.

We arrived in Koh Samui at around 12 or 12:30. Of course, the usual drill ... bombarded by local people wanting you to rent a taxi, hotel, companion ... k, maybe not companion, but you get the idea. Luckily, we had arranged our transportation on the boat before we arrived. We actually realized that we got a smokin deal considering it took over half an hour to get to our hotel and it cost about 200 baht ($6). As we were driving along to our hotel, I was looking at what kind of place this was; quite spectacular. A little touristy of course, but we expected that.

The hotel was in a quieter area, which was nice. It was actually more of a resort hotel where we stayed in separate cabin's. They still looked like normal hotel rooms with the beds and washrooms, but we had our own little deck to sit and relax. As usual it was a sweltering day, probably over 35 C. Of course we were sweating bullets carrying our backpacks. All we wanted to do was check in and then head to the beach. When we were checking in, I couldn't help but notice the bell boy carrying 2 huge coconut drinks. I was saying to Leanne, wow whoever's getting those is very lucky. Before we knew it, this bell boy was coming our way and handing us those huge coconut drinks .... nice! Quite the service. So, we went to our cabin to dump off our luggage and preceded to explore the area ... basically wanting to know where that beach was. Well, to our pleasant surprise, it was only a short feet away. Man what a site ... crystal clear, turquoise water, white sand beach. It was a whole lot of heaven.

I think before we saw this little bit of paradise, we were planning on exploring this island, roaming around finding interesting sights. Experiencing everything they have to offer. Nahhhh .... there's always tomorrow. So, we pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon lieing on the beach, swimming in the ocean, (which felt wonderful I might add) , engrossing under the sun. Pretty much did what we've been doing the past week. I did, however, go walk around town to see what was there. I wanted to pick up some information on different tours for the next day. The town itself was a typical tourist town. Lots of foreigners, lots of shops selling souvenirs galore, restaurants, bars, etc. I went into a tourist office to pick up some information and got a brochure that certainly caught my eye ... Safari tours.

The next day, Leanne and I decided to do our own thing. She wanted to stick around and hang around the beach. Me? I wanted to experience the Safari like I never experienced it before. Going through the heart of the Jungle, driving through the rough roads where getting stuck is not an option. Then trekking through the pathless woods using nothing but a mashetti to get you to your destination of ... who knows? Living amongst the wild kingdom. Dining with monkeys, riding on elephants, swimming by the water falls with wild snakes, walking into the homes of spiders the size of beer cans. Ah yes, nothing like being a true Safari Adventurer ... Tarzan, eat your heart out! OK, so it's not exactly like that, but it was a fun day. I was with a group of 8 from different countries: Australia, France, Denmark and Belgium. We started off at a famous landmark called Grandpa Rock and Grandma Rock. Seeing these famous rocks gave me a feeling of of ... VIOLATION!!! These were the most phallic looking things I have ever seen and yes it is what you think and yes that is the reason why they were named GrandPA and GrandMA. It was interesting. Of course I had to take a pic. Our next stop was seeing the wild monkeys and watching one of them knock coconuts out of the tree. This particular animal was not the happiest of animals. All I can say is it was a good thing he was tied up otherwise we would've been hooped. At least he got some free coconut for us ... very kind of him. Continuing on with the wild animal theme, our next stop involved coming face to face with an elephant. Not only face to face, but on top of it ... for the first time, I experienced riding an elephant. I must say it wasn't the most exciting thing I've ever done. I could've swarn this thing fell asleep dozens of times while walking. There would be a constant, very slow motion then all of a sudden a stop ... then he would go again. I think I dozed off a few times. I don't see these beasts being in the next Queen's Plate. It was an interesting experience. Following that incredible *yawn* little trek, we drove through rough roads in the jungle to our next destination which was Samui Falls. Not much of a waterfall, but there was a section where you could go swimming near the falls which was so amazing. The water was absolutely perfect. If I had a choice, I would've ended the journey right there and just spend the entire day sitting by the falls. But, alas good things must come to an end, we moved on to our next destination which was another rough drive through the jungle (which I have to admit was very fun, four-wheeling through the woods, what more can you ask?). We arrived to a look out point which overlooked the entire island ... it was quite spectacular. As we were looking out, I heard a scream from one of the group members, our guide decided to giver her a close-up, one on one introduction to the biggest spider I've ever seen. I'd say this thing was bigger than my palm, harmless though ... so I was told. He was showing everyone this creature. Naturally, I wanted a nice close-up picture of this beast. After all I wanted to see how well my zoom lense worked. The next destination was ... lunch. They drove us up to a restaurant where we experienced the most amazing Thai food ever. I have to admit, these Thailand tours we've done have been very generous with their lunches. From the restaurant, there was another great view of the island. Again wanted to end the tour and just stay there forever. The next and final destination was to the giant Buddha. We went through another fun-filled drive through the woods and ended up back in town to see the Buddha. Actually, this was probably the worst part of the trip ... there wasn't much to see. The Buddha looked run down and dirty. It was actually a shame to see what was once very beautiful, was not taken care of. You can't blame the weather because, there are parts that could easily been taken care of, re-painted, etc. But, I digress! We didn't actually spend too much time there, so that was OK. As I said earlier, good things had to come to an end and this tour included. I was dropped off at the hotel at around 6.

I met up with Leanne shortly after and we decided on our next destination which was Phuket. Leanne informed me that there were 2 ways we could get there: another over-night bus or spend an extra $20 to fly there. Hmmmmmm ... decisions, decisions. Naturally, we decided to purchase a ticket to fly the next morning. The rest of the evening, we explored the town, found a nice little restaurant on the side streets, then went back to get ready for the next journey.

So, after a rough two days wrestling with monkeys, treking through the jungles on elephants and dodging poisonous spiders the size of a poodles, our hero got ready for his next destination ... Phuket. Tomorrow morning he will be on his way in his private jet.

To be continued (much sooner I promise) ..... I