Join Thor and me as we continue our quest Seeking Clarity in tropic realms with great snorkeling. Koh Samui didn’t fit the bill, but was a fascinating destination.
NOTE: “And now for something completely different.” Thor and I made our first trip to Asia — the beautiful country of Thailand. We were lucky to squeak through the pandemic flight closures in January/February of 2020 as we returned from our three-week trip. Since more travel has now become a distant prospect, we hope you’ll take a virtual vacation with us in the following weeks. (This blog series started on June 13 with Bangkok.)
The island of Koh Samui had been recommended as a tropic paradise — and fifty years ago, it was apparently just that for hippie travelers seeking beautiful beaches and thrifty accommodations. Thor and I have been exploring winter destinations where we could spend time warming our arthritic bones, snorkeling, and tickling our travel urges. Thailand is indeed breathtakingly beautiful, with gorgeous temples and incredibly sweet people, but most of the islands have just been loved to death with rampant over-development of tourism. Way too many people for us! But we enjoyed checking out the attractions, and did score a terrific condo rental for a very reasonable price. View from our private deck; on the distant far right is Wat Plai Laem, a temple complex we will visit in next week’s blog post.
As I discussed earlier, the Thais are devout Buddhists, their religion incorporating elements of Hinduism and Chinese art/beliefs. Everywhere are shrines where people “make merit” by leaving offerings. This rather elaborate shrine graced the entrance to our condo.
Beautiful blooms outside out door:
Thor bravely navigated our rental car through the labyrinths of narrow roads and mobs of motos (scooters) often carrying families of four in a free-for-all at intersections that never had traffic lights. (He said never again would he drive in Thailand.) We did find a lovely cove and beach near our condo, Cheong Mon Beach, though unfortunately the warm sea was murky and choked with nasty weeds. I suspect that pollution may be the culprit. Almost all the beaches are lined with inns and hotels as part of the push for Thai tourist development with little planning (as we were informed by a local), and sewage treatment may not be coping.
We did enjoy the Thai massages offered in pavilions on the beach. Ahhhhh….
After a delicious lunch of fresh fish and Thai beers at a beachside cafe, we visited the popular Big Buddha shrine at nearby Wat Phra Yai.
The shrine features a Naga stair with multi-headed guardian serpents on each side, a common feature at Wats.
The Nagas are revered in both Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. It’s said that a cobra protected the Buddha by flaring its hood as a shield from the rain.
At the top pavilion beside the statue, a lovely view of the bay:
One guidebook described the Wat complex as a mixture of awe-inspiring and cartoonish. Unlike the older, traditional wats we saw in Bangkok, this complex was built in 1972 and has a sort of Disney-world appeal. Pilgrims flock to it to enjoy and earn merit. I couldn’t find any information about this display in the courtyard below the statue. Anyone have a clue?
The courtyard below the Big Buddha is crowded with vendor stalls, offering everything from jewelry, sneakers, shade parasols, and lightweight cotton clothing. We found some gifts and perfect, cool clothing for the tropic heat. Thor said his shirt was like “wearing a breeze.”
After our boating day trip for, finally, some terrific snorkeling in the Angthong Marine Park islands (blog post of Aug. 29), we drove around the perimeter of Koh Samui to check out the other beaches. As in Bangkok, the street utility poles are festooned with tangles of electrical wiring that made me hope for efficient fire crews.
The zooming hordes of overloaded motos were truly alarming, with nonstop traffic on the main roads and no lanes or signals. At a crowded 3-way intersection that was a free-for-all of crisscrossing vehicles, we were right behind a moto with a tourist family of three (no helmets) that skidded and wiped out right in the midst of the traffic. Thankfully, other vehicles stopped to allow the parents to help their limping child off the road after he was thrown onto the pavement. The fatality rate for motor accidents, especially motos, is very high in Thailand — not surprising.
We caught our breaths are we rounded the busy north end and cruised along the less-developed west side, though the sea was rougher there, with few signs of good beaches.
At this nearly deserted beach, we watched a fisherman throw out a hand net.
Rounding onto the south side, development became even more congested, but we managed to spot a steep drive down to a lovely, rocky cove for snorkeling at a small resort beach. Again, the sea was murky and filled with seaweed, but we managed a decent swim. And lunch at the beachside cafe was delicious.
Another improvised shrine and offerings at a beach cafe:
*****
You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?” The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
Note: apologies for these truncated photos below — I had to split this long post into two parts, and can’t get rid of these extra photos. Stay tuned for these and more next week!
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