Day 13: Advanced Scootering

Now that we were basically professionals at driving scooters, we decided to rent them again for our last day in Koh Samui to drive from the southeast corner of the island where we were staying to the northeast corner. We had a lot left to see before our flight back to Bangkok this evening. Our first stop was Khun Si waterfall. To get there, we scootered about 8 kilometers up a windy mountain road and another couple kilometers on a really rocky dirt road. After that, we had to hike about a quarter mile through the jungle. The cicadas were so loud we could barely hear each other. It was no easy feat, but we finally made it and the views along the way were epic.  

Next, we continued north to Bophut Fisherman's Village and had lunch at a small thai restaurant. We cleared out of the village just as they were setting up an afternoon market. After lunch, we headed east to Big Buddha temple (Wat Phra Yai) which is home to a giant, gold painted Buddha. The Buddha statue appears calm and peaceful, having overcome temptation and fear sent by Mara, Lord of illusion.

We continued east to Wat Plai Laem. In this temple, the main statue is of Guanyin, goddess of compassion and mercy. There is also a giant laughing Buddha statue.

We had successfully reached the northeast corner of the island, and it was time to head back to our B&B and say farewell to Samui. But first - one last pit stop to enjoy a celebratory snack.

Goodbye Samui and goodbye Jack!

Day 12: Adventures at Angthong National Marine Park

Having explored Koh Samui yesterday by moto, we decided to visit some other islands in Angthong National Marine Park. We woke up to yet another delicious breakfast prepared by Caroline and François, and then we were off! The shuttle arrived at 9 AM to take us to our ship, the Blue Dragon.

Since Angthong National Marine Park is located 1.5 hours to the west of Koh Samui, we opted for the “luxury” cruise to enjoy our time in transit. When we boarded, everyone on the tour grabbed a comfy bean bag chair and listened as Ron, our captain, outlined the activities and meals for the day. Yes, meals. Our boat had a full kitchen plus chef and we started out the trip with breakfast #2. We had fruit, juice, croissants, and surprisingly awesome chicken sausage.

Haddas in her bean bag chair

For our first activity, we visited the Five Islands for our kayak tour. Hads and I grabbed a double and powered ahead to the front of the group. Ron showed us a rock formation shaped like a dragon’s head and we kayaked into caves formed by waves crashing into the islands. We also stopped at a secluded beach for a quick swim to cool off. The sights were incredible.

Drew jumping from the deck of the Red Dragon

Haddas swimming near Ron's favorite secluded beach

After kayaking, we wasted no time and were off to snorkel at Koh Wao, another island in the Angthong National Marine Park. Because we were experts from our snorkeling days in Cartegena, Hads and I dove right in. We saw probably a dozen different types of fish but our favorites were the parrot fish. They were brightly colored (some blue, some yellow) with mouths shaped distinctly like, you guessed it, parrot beaks. To make things more interesting, at some point Ron jumped in with a bag of bread and it was feeding time. We each grabbed a slice and watched as thousands of fish swarmed the group. Ron used the opportunity to take some epic underwater pics.

While we were out kayaking and snorkeling, the cook was hard at work. When we returned to the ship after our snorkel, we found a delicious spread waiting for us. There was chicken satay, pad thai, sea bass, vegetable stir fry, panko chicken, fried rice, and sauces to go with each dish. We dined like royalty and chatted with a family from Singapore as we cruised to our final destination, the Emerald Lake.

Haddas and Drew sailing past Koh Wao

When we arrived at Koh Thai Plao, Ron joked that this island completed his new workout routine from giving tours: kayak for upper body, snorkel for endurance, and now stairs for legs. The climb wasn't too far but each step probably could have been replaced with two. At the top, we had a tremendous view of Angthong National Marine Park’s Emerald Lake. In truth, it wasn't really a lake since it's connected to the surrounding ocean via underwater caverns. It was formed when stone beneath the island deteriorated and land on top collapsed. After a quick photo op, we descended back to our ship.

Haddas and Drew at Emerald Lake

We took a selfie too

We were now ready for the 1.5 hour return trip to Koh Samui. After the busy day, just about everyone nestled back into their bean bag chairs for a nap - Hads went out like a light. When we had almost reached our destination, we looked back to find a sunset over the dim silhouette of Angthong National Marine Park.

Sunset over Angthong National Marine Park

After returning to the Samui Pink House, Haddas and I took some time to nurse our sunburns and then went out to grab dinner. Since we were scooter pros from yesterday, we decided to cruise over to Live India on Had Lamai. It was a bit scary driving at night (this time with two on the same scooter) but we made it back safely. Dinner was delicious and we were ready for sleep.

Day 11: Learning to Scooter

We woke up this morning to a delicious breakfast prepared by our French hosts, Caroline and Francois. It felt like home when Jack, the owners' adorable Jack Russell Terrier, sat under the table between our feet hoping we'd drop some crumbs on the ground.

We didn't have any specific plan for today, but knew we needed to figure out a convenient way to get around. Koh Samui is rather large and spread out and taxis are somewhat expensive on the island. Our hosts rented us two scooters and after a quick lesson (in Frenglish) we were technically "ready" to ride. It took some time before we felt fully comfortable and it certainly didn't help that cars here drive on the opposite side of the road, but eventually we got the hang of it.

We decided our first stop would be Na Muang Waterfall 2 (Na Muang Waterfall 1 was supposedly less exciting). We reached the park entrance, enjoyed some fresh coconut water, and then hiked about 15 minutes straight uphill. The crazy heat made a dip in the pool at the base of the waterfall extra rewarding. 

Next, we scooted to Hin Yai & Hin Ta (known by tourists as grandmother and grandfather rocks, respectively). I'll let you guys google image these for photos.

After a late lunch, we took a the scenic route back to our B&B in order to avoid traffic on the main road. We really enjoyed the quiet drive through the mountains with palm trees and banana trees on either side of us. At one point, we pulled over to take a photo and a pack of the cutest but mangiest dogs I've ever seen sprinted over to us.

In the evening, Francois recommended we go see a fire show at Ark Bar in Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui's biggest and busiest town. Since it was dark and we didn't feel feel like riding our scooters, we took a songthaew instead. A popular choice for both tourists and locals in Thailand, songthaews are small red trucks that drive along main roads and pick-up any passengers who are looking to go the same direction. Before the fire show, we grabbed dinner at Basilicom, the "best Israeli restaurant in Thailand" per tripadvisor (spoiler alert - it wasn't that good). We ordered shakshuka, fried cauliflower, and chicken shawarma to share.

We arrived at Ark Bar early enough to snag a beach chair and order a drink. The fire show was fun to watch (we can send you a video if you're interested) and by the end we were ready to head back home.

Day 10: Chiang Mai to Koh Samui

After four excellent days in Chiang Mai, it was time to say farewell and begin the third leg of our Southeast Asia adventure, Koh Samui. We packed our things and went to explore the city one last time before heading to the airport. At this point we had already had our fill of temples and decided to visit the nearby Nong Buak Hard Public Park. There we found a pretty lake, walking trails, playgrounds, and children chasing after hundreds of pigeons. Hads had a photo shoot and then we left for the airport.

Drew sitting in a hut

Random thai child chasing after pigeons

The flight was short and we arrived in Koh Samui in just over an hour and a half. We were really impressed with Bangkok Airways and the view from the airplane was awesome.

Our view from the airplane

When we arrived at the hotel, we wasted no time before heading down to the beach. While we were staying in Lamai Beach, the owner of our hotel recommended we taxi a bit north to Thong Takien Beach. What a great recommendation! The view was beautiful, the water was warm, and the sand was pearly white. I had a good read while Hads explored.

Thong Takien Beach

We've been relying heavily on Trip Advisor throughout our travels and it has yet to steer us wrong. About halfway between the hotel and Thong Takien Beach, Haddas and I found a highly recommended Italian restaurant called the Romantic Bamboo. We knew it would be delicious when the waiter refused to accept any modifications to his menu. We ordered gnocchi and pasta to share (of course) and after eating we went back to the hotel to relax.

At night, we continued to explore the Lamai Beach area. We took a long walk to the downtown area on Had Lamai Road and decided to continue with our Italian binge by devouring a whole pizza. Finally, we closed out the night with a warm brownie sunday and were off to bed.

Day 9: Escaping The City

For our last day in Chiang Mai, we decided to leave the city and head north for some hiking. With the help of our hostel, Drew found an awesome trek in Chiang Dao National Park that doesn't see too many tourists, probably because of it's distance from the city. Our guide, Dechawat, (who we accidentally called Aisha all day because we misheard him introduce himself), drove us about 72km from our hostel to Chiang Dao. On the way, we stopped at his friend's restaurant to pick up lunch for later, coffee, and some snacks. He also bought us some hot corn on the cob from a street vendor to munch on during the drive. As we drove deeper into the forest, we learned about the different villages in the area, and Dechawat seemed to know everyone around.

We parked the car, soaked ourselves in sunscreen and bug spray, and started to hike - we were promised a beautiful waterfall about an hour away. On the way, we saw sky-high bamboo shoots, banana trees, coffee plants, tea plants, and tons of butterflies. We reached the waterfall and Dechawat suggested we "take a shower" before lunch, so we swam around for a little while. At one point we turned around and saw our guide actually scrubbing down with a bar of soap and brushing his teeth. After swimming around and eating our lunch (basil chicken and rice with a fried egg - not your typical picnic lunch), we hiked back to the car.

On our drive back to the hostel, Dechawat pulled over a few times to buy groceries from some vendors on the side of the highway - He lives in the city and prices out by the mountains are less expensive. We stopped three or four times - once for bananas, once for passion fruit, and the other two times we weren't completely sure why he stopped. After about an hour and a half, we were back at our hostel.

We rested a bit and then headed out to dinner at Swan, a highly rated Burmese restaurant. Given our obsession with Kyusu (a Burmese restaurant back home) we were excited to see what Burmese food tasted like a few hours from the Thai-Myanmar border. We were happy to discover that while tonight's dinner was perhaps more authentic, Kyusu just couldn't be beat. The night concluded with mojitos at THC Lounge, a Rastafarian themed bar in the city center. 

Day 8: Burritos and Blue Waters

After two busy days in Chiang Mai, Haddas and I decided we wanted to keep things low key. We allowed ourselves to sleep in and then rented a taxi to drive us to Chiang Mai's "Grand Canyon". Unlike the one in our country, Chiang Mai's Grand Canyon was not formed naturally - it was once a quarry. However, over time the quarry gradually filled with rain water, resulting in an enormous crystal clear lake. Today, the water is over 40 meters deep and due to the canyon's steep walls, it has become a popular destination for cliff jumping. The drive took us just over a half hour and we were happy to be some of the first visitors for the day.

Drew and Haddas at Chiang Mai's Grand Canyon

We brought the selfie stick too

We rented a tube, went for a swim, and eventually built up enough courage to jump!

Drew leaping from a 12 foot cliff

We had an excellent morning relaxing by the water and decided to head back into Chiang Mai for lunch. At this point, we were a bit tired from all the Thai cuisine and went for burritos to have some variety. After fruit smoothes and mexican food, we hung out at the hostel and then went to visit Sunday night market for shopping. We ate, bought souvenirs, played cards, and called it a night.

Haddas and Drew enjoying coconut ice cream at the market

Day 7: Elephant Nature Park

While thailand has been awesome, I was looking forward to today the most. We were picked up from our hostel at 8:30am and driven about an hour to Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants located in the Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai. On our way there, we were shown a really depressing but informational video (think: Sarah McLachlan animal cruelty commercial but half an hour long). We learned that 80% of tourists in Thailand choose to ride elephants. Not only is the 500 kilo on their backs (if you add up the weight of the iron chair, human, etc.) painful for them, but the abuse involved in training elephants for this type of work is horrific. Elephants are also often used in logging, circus shows, and festivals - all of which require them to be chained up, separated from their families, and often emotionally/physically abused. Sorry to ruin your day. 

Fortunately, Elephant Nature Park (ENP) has rescued 70 elephants from these abusive environments and given them a sanctuary where they can roam freely with 400 dogs (rescued after the tsunami in 2004) a bunch of cats, monkeys, and water buffalo. 

Our first task of the day was to feed our new friends. The blue basket below (my feet included for size comparison) is just a small snack for these gentle giants, and every few minutes tourists and park volunteers come by to feed each of them another basket-worth of food. The elephants at the sanctuary eat watermelon, bananas, and sticky rice. If you have food, they're also perfectly happy to pose for a photo with you.

The elephants at ENP often hang out in families which they are allowed to choose for themselves. This photo shows family meal time. If you look closely you can see a little baby elephant in the middle.

We walked around for a few hours and learned about the different elephants at ENP. Below is a picture of Habu. She is about 30 years old and was recently rescued from the Thailand-Myanmar border were she was being used for logging. As you can see, she suffered a severe dislocation to her leg, but our guide reassured us she no longer feels any pain (you can tell if an elephant is in pain by the noises they make) and is happy at ENP.

After an amazing Thai lunch provided to us by ENP, we got to watch the elephants bathe in the river and play in the mud. This baby elephant rolling around in the mud was probably the highlight of our day. He was also completely stoked to get sprayed in the face by a water hose.

We then got to help bathe the older elephants who weren't strong enough to bathe themselves by throwing buckets of water on them. Some of the elephants will only agree to get bathed if they are simultaneously getting fed - Mom, don't get any ideas, Nappy is spoiled enough as it is ;). 

Sadly, ENP is usually forced to pay off abusive owners for their elephants ($2000-4500 per elephant). ENP is often contacted by loggers, circuses, etc. when an elephant gets injured or is too old to work, and the money the owners receive is often used to buy baby elephants for the same work - it's a vicious cycle. But we hope that over time, through ENP's work tourists will become more educated and fewer elephants will be forced into this type of work. 

We had an awesome day learning about these gentle giants and hanging out with them in an environment where we knew they were happy and well cared for.

In the evening, my friend Alyssa who's spending a few days with us in Chiang Mai took us to Saturday Walking Street, an even bigger and more bustling market than the ones we've seen so far. It's just one street wide but goes on for about a mile. We thought we would just have a quick peak but ended up spending 2.5 hours there snacking on different foods and buying various items. Before we knew it, we had shopped the length of the entire market. 

Finally, we wrapped up our night with a beer in the Nimmanhemin neighborhood near Chiang Mai University. The vibe was much more local and the bars were filled with uni students on their summer vacation. 

We were thankful to have Alyssa with us to help translate - she's only been here a year but her Thai is excellent. We went with her to the grocery store to buy peanut butter, bread, and crackers - all foods she can't get in her small village (a 4.5 hr bus ride from Chiang Mai), and then finally took a tuk-tuk home.