Thank You, Mother Nature!

Ko Samui is the largest of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand, and also the most developed. From what we saw, people typically come here for a week long vacation from Asia, Europe, and Australia - kind of like an Asian Hawaii. The beach was gorgeous, but we didn't spend a whole lot of time there because of our sight-seeing. We arrived around noon and spent the first day exploring the town and finding a place to stay for the night. We ended up staying in Chaweng, the busiest town with the best beach. Of course, we had to get some drinks at this converted Volkswagen bar/bus!


In the morning, we awoke at the crack of dawn to go on a day tour of Angthong National Marine Park. Our first stop was at Tale Nai, the green lagoon.


It is enclosed on all sides by giant walls of limestone and connects to the sea only through underwater caves. We hiked into the bowl to get a closer look. The color of the water is amazing.


We made our way out of the bowl to the outside of the island and were greeted by yet another fabulous beach.


Then we headed over to the island of Wua Ta Lap and climbed the most treacherous trail ever, in our flip flops, to the top of a mountain.


The views were more than worth the climb. Halfway there!


These rocks are really sharp! Almost to the top, though...





We made it!





We came down to cool off in the water,


and Mattie emerged from the jungle with her best Baywatch impression!


In addition to the planned stops, the views all day were also spectacular. Kayaking,


karsts aplenty,


Check out the parallel bedding, geologists!


More karsts








Heading out to sea.





It was the most incredible day of sight seeing yet, and none of the scenes were even man-made. Thank you, Mother Nature!

The following day, we again woke up before the sun was up so we could catch the first boat/bus to Phuket.

- Mattie and Julian

Location:Ko Samui, Thailand