Trip to the islands

Ko Samed: Paradise Island

     I am pretty sure you all know by now that Jill and I decided to take the opportunity to travel a bit once we found out we wouldn't be starting school until November 4th. With a map full of destinations to choose from and the desire to see it all, we had a hard time choosing a place. Part of the visa process requires that we not travel outside the country until we have our work visa, so we didn't get too crazy with our first travel adventure. We spontaneously decided to jump on the band wagon and join Hanna and her friends for a trip to the closest island to our home, Ko Samed. P'Tit told us that the Thai people call this island Paradise Island and having been there, I couldn't agree more. We spent 3 days exploring the beaches in Ko Samed and soaking up the sun. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and I really had a great time on the island. It is funny how a beach is nothing new to me and yet it is still the most exciting. The Gulf of Thailand's water was perfect temperature and I spent hours on end just sitting in the water. Here are some photos to show you just how beautiful Ko Samed is.

The journey to Ko Samed:

Ban Phe port filled with lots of fishing boats

The group about to board the ferry from Ban Phe port to Ko Samed

The group on the ferry ride over.
(Left to right: Me, Jill, Hanna, Charmel(she broke the toilet of our hotel), Bordin(what a name right?), and Charles (funniest dance moves I have ever seen in my life)
Hey, they can't all be the cool kids can they?

Bye Bye mainland Thailand

Helloooo Ko Samed!

About to just jump in the water in my clothes and mostly happy to be in a tank top again.

We made it on land and this fine lady boy/demon statue was there to greet us. We followed suit with our best scowling impression.  

       The ferry ride over was very slow, but it was much cheaper than taking the speed boat over. Luckily Hanna's coordinator, P'Chol, offered to drive us from Klaeng to Ban Phe which took about 30 minutes. P'Chol also saved the day by helping us organize a cheaper ferry fare for the group. Turns out the perks to being a teacher in Thailand don't end with students and coworkers that love you, but also include half price ferry rides and entrances to national parks. 

         Once we got on the island we took a sweaty walk around trying to find a place to drop the bags, change in to swimsuits, and ultimately lay our heads at night. There are lots of amazing resorts on Ko Samed island, most costing around $30 a night for a room with 2 queen sized beds, so we had plenty of options. We decided on these cute little huts at Tok's Beachfront Hotel.

             

       As it turns out, Tok, who we later met and actually goes by the name Nopeepee, also runs a little restaurant on the beach. I will for sure consider Nopeepee when naming my future children. haha We were all quite hungry and thirsty after our adventure to find a place to stay, so we grabbed a quick snack before heading to the water.

The group at Tok's restaurant.

      

That's not all folks.... Tok also has a bar and a snorkeling company, which we took advantage of day two and loved, but I wanted to share with you what Tok's Full Service Bar consists of. There were lots of options and more alcohols to choose from then you could dream of....

Give Tok a break he is busy running a lot of businesses, ok? =)

        We were far more concerned with the beach and the warm weather than Tok's little bar, but it sure made us laugh. Here are some of the photos from the beach.

          After our lazy beach day we spent the evening roaming the island of Ko Samed and walking in the sand under the moonlight. We found ourselves behind a pack of tourists, even some people we knew from orientation, and once we pushed our way to the front this is what we found.

                                                             

A Fire Show!

Jill and I at the fire show

The other teachers we ran in to on the island. You may be wondering why the girl in the back has light up Mickey mouse ears on and I too wish I knew the answer to that question.

       Pictures don't really do justice to just how cool the fire show was and I did my best to get a video, but you all might have to visit Ko Samed one day (maybe a day I am still in Thailand? =) and witness the show in person.  It is crazy how talented these guys have to be in order to do the tricks they do with spinning fire. When they are spinning the fire sticks it is easy to forget that is real fire.  The guys in the show throw the sticks at each other and even drop them quite often. I am certain this isn't the safest of shows and we probably should have been farther back, but it was awesome. Here is the best video I recorded that night. 

      

        After our perfect beach day, we decided that day 2 we would spend snorkeling and visiting the islands surrounding the Ko Samed with none other than Tok's Snorkeling Tours. =) We went to 4 different snorkeling spots and visited 5 little islands. The trip also included an amazing BBQ chicken lunch, waters, and all of our snorkeling gear for the 5.5 hour tour. Most of you are probably thinking this couldn't have been a cheap excursion, but let me tell you it only cost us $17 each for the day. This was the best $17 I have spent in Thailand. The fish we saw were amazing. I really wish I had an underwater camera so I could show you all the colorful, stripped, and even odd looking fish that we saw. I could have spent the entire three days floating those waters and snorkeling around, but maybe not because I was swallowing a lot of salt water. I am not an expert snorkeler, but also my mouth piece had a little hole in it. Here are some of the photos from our snorkeling adventure, but Jill nor I brought our phones so we are still waiting on photos from others in the group. 

              We were all pretty beat after our exciting day of swimming, sun bathing, exploring, and snorkeling, but when we got back to the island we wanted to make the most of our night. We decided to go check out a few recommended places. We found one bar where the bartender played and beat me in jenga and another spot where the bartenders were part time fire spinners and eager to teach us their trade. 

 All of us out and about

Jenga bar!!

                                      

Practicing for my fire spinning debut. 

Watch out innocent bystanders! 

          Jill and I called it a night pretty early and made a quick stop to our friend selling crepes on the beach. I ordered a crepe with banana and Nutrella (yup I spelled it just like he did and the jar was right there).

I probably shouldn't have been eating bananas considering I already looked like I had three knee caps due to bites, but that crepe was too good to pass up.  I know you are all dying to see what my knee looked like, so here it is.

 Thanks mosquitos!

   The next morning Jill, Hanna, and I spent about an hour out by the water before catching the ferry back to Ban Phe. Here is my last picture from the trip to Ko Samed, but I am certain you will be hearing about many more weekend trips to paradise island. 

Two more cute picture before I go! =)

            

Love and miss you all! 

XO

Next stop: Kohn Kaen to visit the cool kids! =)