Fun on Safari

Ray and me taking the plunge in the waterfall pool.

Enjoying our elephant trek with Colin as the intrepid "mahout".

Thursday 21 September

I didn’t make my early morning swim today – the alarm went off at 06.30, but by the time I roused myself it was almost 07.00 and breakfast was beckoning in half an hour. Not that I have a lot of breakfast – usually just fruit and maybe a slice of cheese on marmite toast – but for Colin breakfast is often the best meal of the day and he likes to have several courses at a sedate pace, so it takes a while.

But we were all ready and waiting for the jeep by 08.30 and it arrived soon after – an old and battered, dark green military jeep (we found out later it was a forty year old Nissan Patrol), complete with driver and guide. The six of us jumped in the back and off we sped (and I mean sped – weaving and overtaking other traffic) to Chaweng where we made two calls to other hotels to pick up four more participants in our jeep safari – two sat in the front and two others in the back with us. The guide stood in the middle at the back at this stage. We also stopped off at Lamai for water and ice to fill the cool box.

Our first stop was at the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks, just past Lamai, which are natural formations in the rocks that are very suggestive of body parts of men and women.
A whole village had grown up around these features selling the usual range of souvenirs including coconut toffee in what looked like banana leaf triangles with sesame seeds stuck to the outside. We only stayed here long enough to take a few piccys and then back on the jeep for a short ride to the Mummified Monk – a man was in his fifties when he decided to become a monk and do good works. When he died about twenty five years later, in 1973, and asked for his body to be left in the same position as when he died - the sitting Buddha position. There was no mention of embalming or other preserving processes and his body now, a light tan colour, is as if the skin has worn away, but the muscles and bones have all solidified. Apparently his eyes have worn away and he now ‘wears’ a pair of dark sunglasses. He has been encased in glass dome. There is a golden Buddha in front of him and a small altar with flowers and candles and offertory boxes fronted by a large mat on which to kneel to pray. This was all housed in a brown open sided almost shed-like structure with marble columns and floor, while across the car park was an ornate Buddhist temple, painted with gold, red and blue. Presumably the monk was sitting outside looking at the temple when he died. Beside the building with monk, was a large “gong” with a bubble in the middle that you rubbed – it was very shiny, so it had been rubbed lots of times. Some people, like our driver and Dave, could make it hum, very loudly and resonate, while the rest of us couldn’t even get a peep.

From here we went to the small zoo, containing monkeys, elephants and crocodiles. As we entered I was invited to sit on the back of a young five year old elephant - another first while being 60. While the elephant knelt down, I had to jump across its back and swing my leg over – not very elegant - but it got me sitting on the elephant’s back. As it stood up slowly, I wobbled and hung on tightly to the chain around its neck. It lumbered off, in a circle under the palm trees and because the spine is raised, you were “thrown” from side to side as it moves. I had the same feeling as when I was riding the Mongolian horse – aaah! – but at least it didn’t trot! – although of course, there was much further to fall. Getting down was a reverse of getting up, another inelegant “bum in the air” movement.

From here we wandered around the crocodile farm. There were lots of large dinosaur-type beasts, laying around in the sun, many with their mouths open – something they do in the sun apparently. They are not at all friendly looking animals, even when they are well away from reach and I find them rather scary. There was also a couple of monkeys in small cages, that didn’t look at all happy.

Next we went to the display ring, where a monkey on a chain climbed a palm tree just off to the side and sent three coconuts crashing down below. He was then brought back to the ring, to show us how he snapped the tendrils attaching the coconut to the tree, by spinning the nut round and round with its hands. It was then the turn of two elephants – the one I had ridden on and a three year old baby. They were made to do circus turns like sitting on a large stool, kicking a football towards a goal and swinging a hoop around its trunk. Not particularly spectacular, and the elephants all had chains on to stop them escaping. None the animals at this zoo looked particularly well-cared for, but as those working with them were also doing the caring only received about 100 bahts a day for their keep and the animals’, plus any tips they could entice people to pay, they probably felt they were doing the best they could.

It was then off to elephant trekking. We climbed a high staircase just to be able to clamber on to the seat for two on the elephant’s back. The ‘mahout’ sat on the elephant’s head and directed the animal with a long stick, which he prodded behind its ears. The elephant again lumbered along, this time round the edge of the crocodile farm and through the palm trees. The paths were rough and unmade and hilly and the seat on the top swayed with each plodding step. A little way round Colin was asked if he wanted to “drive” the elephant, and very awkwardly managed to scramble on to the elephant’s head. The ‘mahout’ meanwhile wandered on down the path in front of us. We were in a group of three elephants with Juz and Dave in front and Ray and Jean behind, and eventually all three men were “driving” their elephants back to the mounting block. Along the way all three ‘mahouts’ took pictures of us, using our cameras – an enterprising way to earn an extra 200 bahts each. The trek was about twenty minutes long and great fun, and another first for me.

We reloaded ourselves into the jeep and raced up the side of the mountain, some of the roads being concreted roads and others just rough terrain, to the base for the climb to the waterfall. It only took about ten minutes to reach the waterfall and pool, but the way was up over craggy rocks and boulders, the pathway very uneven and slippery at times. But the water fell from a great height, down the side of the mountain, bouncing and splashing off the rocks into a pool, about two metres deep and ten metres long. We were invited to swim for half an hour (other groups were there before us and already in the water, and others arrived after, obviously well programmed by the organisers) and Ray, Dave and I stripped off and “slid” off the side rocks into the water (we had been told to wear swimwear when we booked the trip). The water was cold but very invigorating, as we swam towards the waterfall. The current there was strong and pushed you away, and the only way I could get close was by creeping along the submerged rocks towards the torrent. The rest of the group paddled their feet in another pool below, or took the opportunity to take some more piccys.

Having dried ourselves off, it was a scramble down the hillside over the rocks to the jeep (this was probably more difficult than the climb up), and off to lunch at a mountaintop restaurant. The tracks were mostly unmade and we were bumped and shaken around in the back and had to hold on tight as the vehicle zoomed over large water-filled potholes and deep ruts. We also had to make sure those in the back stayed in the jeep. We felt quite unsteady as we left the jeep and went up the steps to the restaurant for lunch. The view was again spectacular – looking out over the southern coast, to the many small islands dotted around the coastline – including, we thought, the islands that are near Juz and Dave’s property. Lunch was a typical Thai meal of chicken and mushroom soup, with that special Thai flavour, green chicken curry, characteristic with its small aubergines, a mixed vegetable platter in a soy-like sauce and temperua vegetables. We all chose Singhas, and water was provided on the tables. Dessert was water melon and pineapple wedges. It was all very tasty provided the sustenance needed to survive the afternoon. There was a large pool of catfish in the grounds of the restaurant, which leapt out of the water and ate anything offered – one man was tempting them with his fingers and I think we were all hoping one fish would take a bite!

Onwards in the jeep for an afternoon “drive” up the mountain to the very top to look out on two sides of the island. The terrain was now even more rough and rutted, and we crashed and collided in the back as we struggled to hold on – there would be a few bruises tomorrow. The guide sat on the roof of the cab at this stage during the ride, brushing aside any low branches and on the lookout for anything interesting. We tried green peppercorns, on a stalk like weeny grapes, and small oranges picked from the trees along the tracks. When we stopped for a view across to Lamai beach, the guide cut large pillar-box red flowers, the size of agapanthus at home, for all the ladies. The petals were waxy and peeling away from a tight central “cone” of other closely packed petals, not yet opened. The stalk was like bamboo, very hard and unbending. There were other beautiful blossoms to smell along the way, similar to some we see at home, and other fruits to see and taste, such as a snow apple. We stopped by a huge spider’s web with a long, thin bodied black spider in the centre – his long angular legs wafting around like daddy-longlegs limbs, trying to entice small flying creatures into the web. Urggh – horrible. We kept climbing until we reached a plateau where we could see Chaweng Beach, the Cheong Mon peninsula and Bophut in one direction, and out over the west coast and islands in the other.

It was then time to return to the lower levels of Koh Samui to visit the Big Buddha. The track, and then road, meandered down the opposite side of the mountain back to civilization. The Big Buddha landmark can be seen from miles around and from the air as you fly in, and is a huge golden statue, approached by a long white marble stairway, midway along the Choeng Mon peninsula. The views from the top of the stairs were around Big Buddha Bay to Bophut and Maenam Beach and we could see the original “Milton Keynes”. Lots of stalls have been established at the base of the stairs, again selling all the usual trinkets and some holy souvenirs. You have to wonder how all these people actually manage to make living, even a poor one. Having stayed here for half an hour or so, it was time to make our way back to the hotels.

It had been a real fun day, and we had all enjoyed ourselves enormously. We, at Smile, were the first to be dropped off, and feeling extremely hot and sticky – the day had been very warm and sultry – we made immediately to the pool for a long swim to cool down. I then spent some time emailing and posting yesterday’s blog, before readying ourselves for the evening cocktails and banquet.

We met Juz and Dave in the Frog and Gecko, and Jen made us all some good cocktails tonight – I asked for extra Malibu in my Groggy Gecko, an ingredient that seemed to be missing the other evening. It was then time for food, and last night I had promised Juz another visit to Mr Tandoori tonight, so we braved “Adolph” once more – as the owner/manager (?) has become known due to his excessive hovering habits. He definitely does produce some of the tastiest food around, it is just his insistence on placing your orders quickly, hovering and clearing away almost before you have finished eating. But he is improving – or getting fed up with us. When we first went to eat there, nothing was too much trouble – any dish could be any spicy heat – not so now – he claims butter chicken can only be a mild dish – Colin could challenge him on this. There was no fish on the menu tonight (due to the Public Holiday – no one went fishing) and no Asian food (no one had been in to prepare it). But on consultation with the chef, Adolph did manage to provide a dish of sweet and sour pork for Colin. The rest of us ate Indian. Having also had a range of starters and a couple of bottles of wine, Singhas and gin and tonics to accompany the food, this was not the cheapest meal at over 5000 bahts, but very delicious.

By this time we were all feeling very weary after our day’s exertions and fell into bed to ready ourselves for another day tomorrow.