Koh Samui (Part 3 - The Croccodile Farm)

On our last day we ventured out to the Samui Croccodile Farm (and mini zoo), saw lots of animals, watched a guy pick up a croccodile, sit on a croccodile, and put his head in a croccodile`s mouth!! It was less kinky than it sounds...










SNAKE ON MY SHOULDER!!

Koh Samui (Part 2)

Most of these pictures are from a tour of Koh Samui that Ulala and i took on our second last day on the island.

Golden Monkeys never brought ME any fruit....


In front of the very aptly named "Big Buddha":


Wat Plai Laem, one of newest temples (and tourist attractions) on Samui.


And again with the pointy things....


Ulala in front of the many armed giant statue at Wat Plai Laem:


Near Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks (not as interesting as people seem to think):


MONKEY ON MY SHOULDER!!


Inside Wat Khunaram:


hiking through the jungle near Namuang:


Elephant trekking near Namuang:


In Chaweng:


In Bang Rak:


The Samui Airport, which is really just a series of open, thatched-roof pavillions. When we checked in before we flew out we were directed to the "International Terminal" and i almost laughed out loud right there at the check-in counter. But then Ulala and i walked across the road and lo and behold, there was another pavillion with a small white sign hung in front that read "Terminal 2: International."

Koh Samui (Part1)

Here are a few pictures from Koh Samui. The diving was awesome, the sunsets were spectacular, and the food was delicious!

Bangkok (Part2)

These pictures are of Wat Pho (the second largest temple in Bangkok) and more shots of our time in the city. Wat Pho is famous for its massive golden reclining Buddha statue. Those little covered-bike-taxi-things are called tuk-tuks (because of the noise they make. I enjoyed the tuk-yuks immensely but was somewhat less fond of the drivers, who were generally aggressive and obnoxious and would literally try to harrass you into using their service. Thailand as a whole seems to have a very different approach to "customer service," which is to say none whatsoever. It`s a sad state of affairs for the so-called "Land of Smiles" that by the end of the trip everytime a Thai person said hello to me i was safe in assuming that they only wanted to speak to my wallet. Fortunately, on Koh Samui we met a few Thai people who helped balance that poor impression with positive experiences. =)

Ulala making new friends:


tuk-tuks:


Now that`s a Big Buddha!


You know what they say about Buddhas with big feet...


More pointy things. They do love their pointy things...


Either the ancient art of Thai torture or Thai massage: "same same."


We ate lunch at this restaurant with a beautiful river view of Wat Arun, the last major temple of the three major temples of Bangkok:








We almost got caught in a sudden squal that soaked the streets (and the tuk-tuks), but we managed to get back to our hotel bar in time and sat under the canopy and watched the rain on KhaoSan Road. The rain only lasted about an hour but it was pretty intense. From what i understand this is a pretty regular thing in September in Thailand.


Street vendors selling fresh fruit in KhaoSan Road:

Bangkok (Part1)

These are pictures from our trip to Thailand (or as i like to call it - "Land of the Pointy Things"). Sorry it took so long to post them (but thank you to the people who`ve shown interest in seeing them!). I`ve got so many pictures that i want to post that i figure i`ll divide them into sections. This first section is from Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and a few shots from around Bangkok. While i loved the temples and the sight-seeing, i found Bangkok to be quite loud, dirty and smelly. But hey, i just hung around the touristy areas... The whole trip overall was amazing! We spent one night in Bangkok (true! - not just an 80`s pop-culture reference), and then we went to Koh Samui for five days for scuba diving. Enjoy the pictures!