Thailand Moped Gang Members
That takes guts
The snake hissed and snapped at him over and over
This guy was huge but basically harmless
Lots of time spent here by the pool at the Mermaid Bungalows
Our Speedboat for the Ang Thong day trip
Nicola and I on the beach at our first stop
The fisherman's village
Nicola chillin' at Patong beach
Nicola chillin' at Patong beach 
Patong Beach, where we will spend many afternoonsAs I sit here and write this blog it's at least 30 degrees outside and the sun has been cooking us all day long, yet when I check the weather at home it's -5 and there's at least a foot of snow on the ground! Oh yeah?!!? It's December! It's hard to believe that it's already December and that soon we will be returning home to what is supposed to be a very chilly Canadian winter. That being said, I'm actually pretty jealous of everyone at home with all their snow and wish I could be playing around in it right now, despite the great weather here. Nicola is quite the opposite, she hates the snow with a passion and does not look forward to seeing any of it.
Since the last post we've gone from Koh Phan Ngan to Koh Samui, and have now moved on to Phuket where we are staying at Patong Beach. Koh Samui was a fun island to stay on. It was about a 45 minute ferry ride from Koh Phan Ngan and we stayed at some bungalows on the outside of the town of Chewang. Certainly more established and definitely more touristy this island was still a cheap place to stay where we got to soak up the sun and relax for a week. We spent a good amount of our time by the pool, relaxing and reading. Once again we rented some mopeds which allowed us to boogie around the island and into town when needed to pick up a new book or some frozen yogurt. Getting lost on the island's crazy and confusing, yet limited road system is always a good way to spend an afternoon. One afternoon we took in a crocodile and snake show at the local crocodile farm where we saw some stuff I never thought was possible. Some very daring Thai guys working extremely hard for their tips got dangerously close to being bit by King Cobras and Crocodiles.
Another one of our days on Koh Samui was spent doing a day trip to Ang Thong National Marine Park. For those who have seen the movie 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio, this is where the film was based. The weather for the day was unfortunately a little bit overcast, but we still had a great time. We went on a nice new speed boat with triple 225 horse Honda outboards out to the park, then used a three man kayak (which we capsized) to get to our lunch destination. The kayaks would take us to a secluded fisherman's village in the middle of nowhere. Here we had a traditional Thai lunch with our group and hopped back in the speed boat. From lunch we set out in open waters to our next stop to do some snorkeling, however the seas had gotten quite rough at this point. Facing nearly 6 foot swells we had a very rocky ride that got most on the boat very wet. After a stop to do some snorkeling we faced the ride back home, which was supposed to be 35 minutes long.....An hour and 45 minutes later we had finally made it back to Koh Samui. The seas had gotten extremely rough but we had no choice but to push through the large waves using the power of the outboards to their full extent. In the open front section of the boat one man hit his head on his knee after the boat came down hard from a large wave. Unfortunately he also jammed his back in the process and would have to be carried to the back of the boat to lie down. This also happened to be where I was sitting, Nicola was midship where she would stay relatively dry. I moved to the very front where Nik and a few other of the young passengers were. The ride back was extremely rough and we even took on water (and a fish) from the bow of the boat on a few occasions. Meanwhile in the back section of the boat, fear and nausea had taken over the group. The front group enjoyed the thrill ride back with no problems but when we arrived Nicola informed us that half a dozen of the folks in the back had thrown up (some out in the open) and many of the others were in tears. Needless to say some enjoyed the day more than others.
Since the last post we've gone from Koh Phan Ngan to Koh Samui, and have now moved on to Phuket where we are staying at Patong Beach. Koh Samui was a fun island to stay on. It was about a 45 minute ferry ride from Koh Phan Ngan and we stayed at some bungalows on the outside of the town of Chewang. Certainly more established and definitely more touristy this island was still a cheap place to stay where we got to soak up the sun and relax for a week. We spent a good amount of our time by the pool, relaxing and reading. Once again we rented some mopeds which allowed us to boogie around the island and into town when needed to pick up a new book or some frozen yogurt. Getting lost on the island's crazy and confusing, yet limited road system is always a good way to spend an afternoon. One afternoon we took in a crocodile and snake show at the local crocodile farm where we saw some stuff I never thought was possible. Some very daring Thai guys working extremely hard for their tips got dangerously close to being bit by King Cobras and Crocodiles.
Another one of our days on Koh Samui was spent doing a day trip to Ang Thong National Marine Park. For those who have seen the movie 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio, this is where the film was based. The weather for the day was unfortunately a little bit overcast, but we still had a great time. We went on a nice new speed boat with triple 225 horse Honda outboards out to the park, then used a three man kayak (which we capsized) to get to our lunch destination. The kayaks would take us to a secluded fisherman's village in the middle of nowhere. Here we had a traditional Thai lunch with our group and hopped back in the speed boat. From lunch we set out in open waters to our next stop to do some snorkeling, however the seas had gotten quite rough at this point. Facing nearly 6 foot swells we had a very rocky ride that got most on the boat very wet. After a stop to do some snorkeling we faced the ride back home, which was supposed to be 35 minutes long.....An hour and 45 minutes later we had finally made it back to Koh Samui. The seas had gotten extremely rough but we had no choice but to push through the large waves using the power of the outboards to their full extent. In the open front section of the boat one man hit his head on his knee after the boat came down hard from a large wave. Unfortunately he also jammed his back in the process and would have to be carried to the back of the boat to lie down. This also happened to be where I was sitting, Nicola was midship where she would stay relatively dry. I moved to the very front where Nik and a few other of the young passengers were. The ride back was extremely rough and we even took on water (and a fish) from the bow of the boat on a few occasions. Meanwhile in the back section of the boat, fear and nausea had taken over the group. The front group enjoyed the thrill ride back with no problems but when we arrived Nicola informed us that half a dozen of the folks in the back had thrown up (some out in the open) and many of the others were in tears. Needless to say some enjoyed the day more than others.
As I mentioned earlier, we just recently took the bus and boat from Koh Samui to Phuket where we've found a great hotel near Patong Beach. The area is very touristy but also very nice and there is a lot to do around here (besides the beach which is reason enough to spend a couple weeks here). With tourism come the Lady-Boys and sexy massage ladies, in true Thailand fashion. Walking down certain streets, like the one we have to walk to get from the hotel to the beach, means that lone men will literally be draped with ladies and lady-boys stroking them and attempting to lure them into their massage parlours. Without exaggeration you literally need to push them away from you. Thankfully I have Nicola on my arm most of the time so they stay away from me, but 6'5" Nik is a prime target in this area, "Sexy man! you very tall! you come here I give you massage!" Tonight we will sort out some of our plans for the next little while which should hopefully include some fishing, snorkeling and trips out to Koh Phi Phi, an island renowned for its beauty off the coast of Phuket.
