A Taste of Koh Samui

Here I am just sitting in our hotel room in Bangkok... waiting for Jadyn to wake up from her nap so we can go see the city. Now is as good a time as any to share some of last week's adventures!

Tuesday night we flew to Bangkok, Thailand. We stayed the night and took a flight to Koh Samui Wednesday morning. By the time we were checked in and settled at our bungalow on the beach, all the tours were done for the day.
The weather wasn't great, so we opted to explore the island a little bit and shop in Nathon town for awhile, then grab some dinner.

We decided on a place called Baan Boran because I wanted to see their Thai puppet show. We arrived at 6:30. Apparently the show didn't start until 8:30. We ate slowly to kill time--which was easy because dinner was AMAZING--and listened to the beautiful Thai girl play beautiful music on a Thai kim. Even Jadyn enjoyed watching and listening to her (the girl kept smiling at Jadyn). Then finally the show started. It wasn't long before Jadyn was passed out on my lap (that is until the puppet came and woke her up). We stayed a little longer and decided we better call it a night. Next time we need a babysitter; the show was incredible and we really wanted to stay and watch!

Thursday we were ready early to catch our ride for the elephant trek and tour. The elephant ride was way cool, but one of the best parts was the "driver." He seemed to pay minimal attention to the elephant as he was too busy making us jewelry out of grass. He weaved us rings, bracelets, and necklaces--all while riding on the elephants neck!

After the elephant ride and a short elephant show, we watched some monkeys perform. We were with a very unenthusiastic crowd. No one wanted to pet the elephant or let the monkey sit on their lap...except of course for me (the best part was Jadyn's reactions: screaming because the elephant, or "opy" as she calls them, is too close and the glare she is giving the monkey as it is sharing my lap with her). The rest of the tour consisted of viewing Grandfather Rock (don't ask why it is called that, you really don't want to know), checking out an under-composed Buddhist Monk (with some pretty awesome sunglasses on), a short hike to and swim at Namuang waterfall, eating a delicious Thai lunch, and touring the Magic Gardens (soooo cool--they reminded me of the ancient hidden cities filled with treasure you see in movies, minus the treasure).