Thailand

Thailand

Nathan, Koh Samui, Thailand              February 16, 2017

What a beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand. Koh (Island) Samui is known for it's white sand beaches, towering coconut trees, azure waters and lush tropical vegetation.  Our adventure began with a tender boat taking us ashore to the town of Nathan.

We walked into the bustling town past a lot of local cab drivers and tour guides.

About three blocks into the town we found a place to rent a scooter for under $7.00 for 24 hours. What a bargain!

Larry and I jumped on the bike and took off driving on the left side of the road to the island's famous waterfall that was about 20 minutes down the road.

Once we arrived we walked down a path of local vendors to the falls….gorgeous, cool and refreshing….climbed over the rocks and had a little lunch.

Tourism is the main source of income for the inhabitants…with five star resorts and upscale restaurants.

                       Some of the  tourist were taking elephant rides up to the falls.  The last time that we rode an elephant was in northern Thailand several years ago....it was a fantastic experience!

The island boasts an average temperature of 82 degrees year round....today was closer to 90 degrees.

We were fortunate to completely circumnavigate the whole island before returning the scooter back to the shop.  What a fabulous ride! The main road was actually not completed around the island until the 1970’s. It was completely built up with businesses most of the trip around.

The area had lots of Hindu religious temples.

                             We found nice beaches on the northern side of the island.

It was a quick visit with our ship pulling anchor at 3:00pm.

                                                   So long to  Koh Samui !

Laem Chabang, Thailand                             February 17, 2017

The ship docked in Laem Chabang, a very industrial port with lots of container ships loading and unloading its cargo. It was impossible to walk out of the port because it was so busy. Laem Chabang is the gateway to  Bangkok...a three hour bus ride.

We decided to pass on the long bus ride and took a local shuttle ($12.00) into the beach town of Pattaya, a 45 minute drive.

Traffic galore.... Motorbikes, Tuk-tuks, and Scooters….we were informed that it was dangerous to ride a scooter in the area.  The shuttle dropped us off at Mike’s Mall where we scooted through a somewhat modern shopping mall and walked out on to the gorgious beach.

Here we spotted dozens of para-sailers being pulled around the bay….so dangerous looking because there were so many in such a small area.  Fishing boats, jet skis, and tour boats were puttering amongst them as well.

We walked the beach and several streets to watch the locals cook their lunch right on the sidewalk. This town was loaded with numerous expats and foreign vacationers.

We passed several temples and pictures of the local governing official proudly displayed in many places. .

A typical side street in Pattaya.... tattoo parlors, message parlors and bars....lots to look at.

We enjoyed stopping for some cool air in a couple of western spots….McDonald’s, and Hooters. The local restaurants and bars were wide open to the heat outside and  had no air conditioning.







Upon returning to the ship we certainly felt spoiled to have such a cool comfortable room.

During the evening we enjoyed a show of the old Thailand traditional music and dance.  We will never be able to figure out how the lady dancers were able to bend their hands back to their whist while they were dancing.