Koh Samui and Bangkok

We never made it in because both my wife and I were dressed inappropriately. We were short on time and didn't want to go buy new clothes. Don't know why this taxi kept wanting to send us to "borrow" clothes. Seemed kinda shady. But seeing things from the outside were fine for now.

Luxury silk store. Bought some great pillow cases.

Ended up here on a referral from the Oriental because the Oriental was fully booked. Prices were high for Thailand, but reasonable compared to good US spas. That was fine for a novice like me. For my wife, it was so so.

This is where the island paradise experience went south. Chaweng was overflowing with tourists. You couldn't walk on the sidewalk for more than a minute. Not that there were usable sidewalks to walk on. You have to fight through all the street vendors. The main drag is pretty much one big night market.

When jumping off the top of the boat into the water while screaming "cowabunga", remember to stop shouting and close your mouth before hitting the water. Else, you end up taking in a mouthfull of salt water. I learned this the hard way. Also, if there are no grippies on the swimming platform, get in the water gently. I ran and slipped and performed a bellyflop into the sea for everyone to see.

One of the best ever...claims my wife with much spa experience.

Good hike and swim. About a 1 hr hike to get some good altitude. Tricky path through rocks, trees, and water. Waterfall wasn't that spectacular (nothing like Maui's Oheo 7 Sacred Pools), but the views were. Most memorable moment was me slipping, grabbing onto a tree branch, and swinging 360.

Riding elephants is actually pretty rought but still fun. Each of their mammoth steps really jolts you. You gotta really hold on tight. The 30 minutes trek was just fine. No need to do the 1 hour trek. The 30 minute one drops you off closer to the waterfall for hiking.

Cut myself on some coral while diving and swimming in the sea. Got 6 gashes on my thigh.

We ended up here because ebookers lost my reservation to another hotel that was in a better location (they did give me my money back). Not that this place was bad, but it was so far south of central Chaweng and difficult to get anywhere. Luckily, we took a whole day doing our sea kayak excursion, so we didn't have to stay around that much.The room was decent. Sheets were a little dirty. Shower had no frontal curtain, but was clean. The bathroom actually looked brand new. It was nice that it was a bungalow right on the beach so that you could watch the sunset from your room. Completely opposite of the Le Meridien, but that's what you expect for the relatively low price of $160/night (for peak).

Absolutely amazing experience here. Service was remarkable. The best thing was that it was isolated from the throngs of tourist because it was located on it's own private property on the other side of the island. Only drawback was that you were pretty much trapped on the compound, not that that was bad. Food was great, private beach relaxing, and swimming in that pool gives you feeling like no other.