Tuesday and Wednesday, March 9 and 10, 2010

Koh Samui

Dear readers, I have combined two days in this posting, since these are supposed to be our days for a much needed rest and relaxation on the beautiful island of Koh Samui in the beautiful Gulf of Thailand.

Our two-hour ferry ride passed many irregularly shaped mountainous islands in the Gulf was lovely, although carrying all of our luggage (the weight is increasing with each stop we make) up to the passenger level of the ferry was a bit arduous. The team very graciously all pitched in to help me up the narrow staircase.

Upon arrival at the Koh Samui dock we were greeted by our host for the next two days by Phillip Parker, an Englishman who moved to Thailand six years presvious with his wife Mun, a native Thai whom he had met while they were both working in London. They live in a gracious h house, just a few hundred yards from the Gulf, which had separate bedroom and bathroom facilities fore each of the women on our team. Kip and I shared a lovely bungalow which Phillip had rented for us, just a short walk from his own house.

As soon as we unpacked, we all headed for the beach and its wonderfully warm waters. I apologize that the waterproof camera that I brought down to the beach was unable to transfer images to the Blog, so you'll just have to imagine a Gaughin-like setting with palm trees swaying, mountains in the background and small native fishing boats bobbing near the shore attached to their moorings. I can't begin to tell you how rough this was for all of us.

After dinner we rode with Phillip and Colan, another English-born Rotarian into town to a restaurant owned by a Swiss-born ex-Rotarian who was having a gala buffet dinner to celebrate the twelfth anniversary of the restaurant's opening. There we met several other Rotarians -- none of whom were Thai. As a matter of fact, it was almost as if we had suddenly been moved to another country altogether, as we found out that there are NO Thais in the all-English speaking Rotary Club of Koh Samui. Phillip assured me that this was not for a lack of trying to recruit Thai members, but it certainly felt a bit strange. (Then again, how many of our clubs have Native American members?)

Nonetheless, Phillip was a wonderful host and he and his lovely wife extended us every courtesy and comfort.

We went to a local market and bought fruit for Wednesday's breakfast, including a wonderful looking green fruit with redish leaves called "dragon fruit". When we cut it open we found that it had bright white flesh, with tiny black specks that resembled poppy seeds. It had a slightly sweet but mild taste and was quite delicious.

The next day the team broke up into a true "free day". The women chose to go to the beach and then do some shopping, Kip went jogging and after resting up for most of the morning, I went sightseeing with Phillip and, despite a monsoon-like downpour, enjoyed seeing rock formations, panoramic views and a huge statue, known simply as "Big Buddha".

Tomorrow we head to Nakhon Si Thammarat, as we start out journey to the southern-most parts of Thailand.