Koh Samui and Angthong National Park

We have spent the last three days in Koh Samui, and island just 20 mins south of Koh Panang. It was known as the island that started the backpacker, hippie beach movement to Thailand, although now has become the most touristy of the three islands, catering more to wealthy eastern European families than hippie backpackers. It is a 'large' island (well small, if we compare it to Vancouver Island), that has a number of beaches around it. The islands here are not flat, they are mountainous and covered in rich, green foliage. It is very hot and humid, I love it, although it doesn't instill a great urge in you to do anything other than lounge, eat, drink and swim.

Two days ago, we met up with Geoff's friend from back home, Mike and his girlfriend, Abra. We had a great day of, what else, eating, drinking, strolling and swimming. Yesterday, we spent an amazing day with them at Angthong National Marine Park about an hour and half west of Koh Samui. The park was absolutely beautiful, right out of a postcard. Pristine, clear, aqua blue waters, rugged mountains, lush, green jungle flora, and fine as dust white sand. We went hiking up and around a few viewpoints overlooking the green lagoon, went kayaking under limestone formations, and snorkeled at a small, isolated beach spot (with, of course, probably 100 other tourists, so not so isolated), as part of a tour. It was a beautiful and exhausting day.

Today, we spend another relaxing day at Koh Samui before heading across Thailand to the west coast town of Krabi. Geoff and I are in a bit of rough shape, him with plugged ears from yesterday's swims, and me with a cold and some weird burn/hickey looking reactions from being in contact with some plants a few ago (don't worry mom, they are fine, I'm not dying). Ahh the joys of backpacking. We have faired pretty well so far though, with only a few upset stomachs, no major food poisonings (knock on wood).

Southeast Asia has been interesting so far, we have received a bit more of the watered down version of Thai culture since being on these islands, but the trip has definitely provided some culture shocks along the way. There are many stray dogs in Cambodia and Thailand, we have seen a few with some very bad wounds, which has been very hard to see. We have also seen other animals being exploited for tourism, such as elephants and elephant trekking and the use of baby animals to obtain money (photos with young monkeys and dressed up dogs). I have signed up to donate to WSPA monthly after seeing many of the abuses down here. Humans, of course, are also treated poorly. People work long days and may not be provided with any time off. In Cambodia, we saw many victims of land mines and other war horrors. Children are used by parents/adults to sell small trinkets to tourists. In Cambodia, we saw a few protests and women with head scarves on yelling outside on the street (we later found out there is a garment strike happening there, in efforts to increase the wage of workers). Thailand is in political upheaval as the current Prime Minister of Thailand is being accused of being a puppet to her brother, the previous Prime Minister, who was convicted with corruption crimes and exiled from Thailand. Protests are planned in Bangkok in the next few days, so we will be keeping an eye on how that all unfolds.

We were amazed, however, at the resiliency of the Cambodian people after all that they have been through, and the genuine friendliness of the Thai people, after the sheer volume of tourists they see here (one might become quite jaded I would think). Cambodians make beautiful fabrics (silks, pashminas) and incredible sculptures. We have yet to go to a Thai museum to learn more about their ancient culture but know that they make, excellent, very spicy food (the green papaya salads are deadly!) :).

Anyways, I better get off of here to enjoy the day. I've included some of my favourite photos below but our FLICKR account has many more.

Bangkok

Koh Panang

Koh Samui