Saturday July 22, 2006: 3 First Times

We woke up fairly early and booked a rental car for two days. It took way too long to arrive, and as a result, I was extremely antsy. We had a whole island to discover and we were sitting there, twiddling our thumbs in the open-air lobby of our resort.
The Honda finally arrived and I assumed the driver's position- on the RIGHT side of the car! [#1 first time] It was fun driving on the left side of the road, though taking turns was a bit tricky. Mostly you have to be really conscientious of where you're turning and which lanes you have to cross. The other thing that added to the difficulty was motorcyclists. They rule the roads! They are everywhere and don't really obey signs or laws- if they even exist. Also, the turn signals (directionals) are on the right side of the steering wheel, and on the left side is the windshield wipers. It's the opposite at home, so every time I wanted to turn, I put on the wipers instead. It was extremely frustrating because I felt like a fool!
We left Lawana Resort on the north side of the island, Bophut Beach, and headed east along the coast. We couldn't find anywhere to park along the busy beach called Chaweng; we actually couldn't see the beach because the town was so over-run with shops! All the buildings were one or two stories, but there were just too many and it was just too dense. The town was cute, but very touristy. We continued south and followed a little road to the water. We parked at a tiger zoo and found we were the only people on the beach. The sand was white and it was low tide so we had to do a bit of walking to get to hip-deep water. There was also quite a bit of coral, and it made walking difficult. We hung out, floating in the water for a good hour+. Liz took a walk down the beach while Todd and I soaked in the sun through an overcast sky.
We left the beach and continued around the island clockwise. Our next stop was Na Muang Falls, an area to view waterfalls and elephant trek. Todd and Liz shared an elephant while I rode my own. [#2 first time] My elephant's name was Bang. He could yell, lift his trunk, and maneuver all by commands of the manhout. Bang's manhout, who I named Tarzan, because he imitated Tarzan by holding onto vines in the jungle, was only 21. He told me Bang weighed 2.5 tons, was 25 years old, and had been working for 5 years. Tarzan rode Bang's neck while I sat in a little seat strapped to Bang's back. We walked through the jungle and crossed a stream. After Tarzan dismounted and took a bunch of pictures of me and Bang, he let me sit on Bang's neck while he sat in the seat.
He controlled Bang with loud commands, and sometimes had to use a tool with a hook on the end that pulled on Bang's ears to make sure directions were followed. Tarzan also used his heels to direct Bang, much like one would if riding a horse. It didn't seem to hurt Bang, as I assume it takes quite a bit to hurt a 2.5 ton animal.
We next walked a very short distance to a waterfall where kids were swimming and many people were taking photos. I climbed up on a large rock to enjoy the view. Then Liz and I went for a swim! [#3 first time] I've never been swimming in a waterfall pool before, so this was quite exciting, especially after riding on an elephant! We climbed into a little pool and cooled off for a bit. It was great to just lie along the rocks as water poured all around me and over my head.
We continued driving clockwise around Koh Samui and decided to pull to the side of the road and get a good panoramic view of the island.


We were also getting a little hungry, but decided we wanted to dine at sunset, so we settled for a few drinks instead. We had a tremendous view of the west coast of Koh Samui and the water. The sky had gotten a bit cloudy, so we couldn't really see the sun setting= very anti-climatic. We did go down onto the beach and skip stones however. I made good use of a 4-foot piece of bamboo and coconuts that lie on the beach, washed ashore. I'd stick the bamboo into an opening on the coconut and toss it into the Gulf, propelling the coconut over my head with the bamboo like it was a lacrosse stick. I was amused. Liz tried punting (drop kicking) a coconut but was unsuccessful. That was also amusing. We did play baseball with washed-up sea life, however. One drink turned into three, and three drinks led to a Tequila shot with my boss as the sun set. Liz doesn't drink, so she was happy to drive home. She did great- but had the same problem with the signals and wipers. I think she really liked driving on the left side of the road. In fact, she even tried off-roading once, but remained on the road the rest of the way after poor reviews from the passengers.
Once back at Lawana, we shared dinner at the resort down by the water. We actually had to move under the pavilion because a storm was rolling in. We sought cover just in time because the rain surely did come fast and hard. It was very late after dinner, and we had booked a tour the next morning, so we got to bed soon thereafter.