Koh Samui

Before I write about what we have been up to, here are some much overdue pictures (I have figured out how to upload them here so i will likely be putting up more pictures as we go). Here are a couple from phi phi island. The first is during the boat trip to Ma Ya Bay, and the second is the day we left Phi Phi to go to Krabi. This is the view I had from my bungalow.

We arrived in Koh Samui last night around 6, took a minibus to a hotel on the beach (I wish this could be reality!) and called our friend Chris (from England, who we met in Singapore, which seems so long ago!)

This is in Koh Samui. The sunset is through the minibus windows, which were tinted.

After a fair bit of difficulty finding his hotel on a motorbike, we had an incredible dinner on the beach. We spoiled ourselves to a dinner of barracuda, mussels and crab. How ridiculous is that? Only in Thailand can you live such an incredible, affordable adventure. I know our trip to Australia and New Zealand will not be this extravagant, so we are enjoying it while we can.

Afterwards we went out to a few bars with Chris. At one point, we are walking and this guy put a baby gibbon on us! It's a scam to get money...they take a picture and then guilt you into buying it. We didn't buy it, but the monkey was soooo cute. I am always amazed at monkeys and how they are just like people. A short time later another guy was walking around with a bald eagle for pictures. Yes, a bald eagle. Only in Thailand...

Today we decided to take the bike out to explore, and ended up following signs to a crocodile farm. We met a nice Danish couple and hung out with them for the two animal shows. We saw a bunch of monkeys (sooo cute) and a large collection of snakes (Mom, you would have loved to see them). The first show was a crocodile show, where two guys were doing some crazy stuff with crocs. They started by trying to wake them up with bamboo sticks, then they were pulling them around by the tail (these are adult crocs by the way) and then they did tricks, like putting money in one croc's mouth and putting their hand in to pull it out. The show concluded with a guy putting his head in a crocodile's mouth.

Afterwards we saw a cobra show, which started with a huge snake (boa maybe?) that people could pose with. Jason was very brave and finally gave in to having his picture taken.

I couldn't have done it, of course. I mean, who would take the picture?? From there, the two guys doing crazy things continued to do crazy things, like kiss cobras.

Yes, kissing a cobra, a snake whose venom is so poisonous that you die within 20 minutes of being bitten. Who thinks of this crazy stuff?? It was really intense though. After the show, Jason paid to feed dead chickens to a pool of about 20 hungry adult crocs. The fun never ends in Thailand!

Afterwards, we went with our Danish friends to a beautiful waterfall. Here is a picture from the viewpoint on the way to the almost 2000 m waterfall.

It was a decent hike, and not one that should have been made with flip flops and a skirt, but hey, we don't plan too far ahead. On the way down, I took a nasty fall, but thankfully landed right on my bottom so no major damage done :)

At the site of the waterfall, you could also go on a trek with elephants. I have never seen so many elephants walking around!

So, that was our day...and it's not over yet. In a way, I almost wish that we would have ended our trip with Thailand because it just seems like such a dream. The weather, the sights, the food, the people, the buckets...Thailand definitely stimulates all of the senses!