Trapped in Paradise in a Monsoon

The last time we were in Thailand was just as Covid was emerging. We hunkered down on the small island of Koh Samui, thinking we could ride out the pandemic. Reality set in and we had to cut our stay short. In March 2020 we got the last flight out before the airport was shut down. We were anxious to get back to reacquaint ourselves with this beautiful island.

Koh Samui

As a change of pace from our usual hectic travels, we booked six weeks. We got a great deal on a private villa with its own pool, close to the beach. We probably should have checked the weather before booking. It turns out November is the worst monsoon season in Koh Samui, explaining the bargain price.

Every day we got a torrential downpour which topped up our pool. The 30 degree heat of the day evaporated gallons of water. Each day the cycle repeated itself. Fortunately the rain came in short spurts so we were still able to get out and enjoy our stay. We walked and ran each morning, followed by coffee at a cafe on the main street. In the afternoons we indulged in happy hours on the beach, often accompanied by foot massages or excruciating Thai massages.

By early December the monsoon subsided. We saw less rain and more sunshine. Maria’s sister visited for two weeks, her first visit to Thailand. We had fun showing her the island, trucking off for jungle tours, visiting an elephant sanctuary, snorkeling and island-hopping.  

The Monsoon Rains

Soi Dogs

Those of you who have been to Thailand will be familiar with the many stray street (or soi) dogs. We went to Samui expecting to be feeding hungry packs of dogs each day. We were pleasantly surprised to find significantly fewer strays. The remaining soi dogs, at least in our area, had collars, indicating they had been neutered. The dogs are well cared for by locals. Except for a few elderly or sick dogs, most are well fed and happy. It was nice to see their lot in life has improved. Of course, since there were fewer dogs, that just meant Maria could spoil the rest even more!

A Glimpse of Our Beach

Koh Phanang

A short boat trip from Koh Samui is Koh Phanang, famous for its all-night full-moon beach parties. Not meeting the demographic for that, we headed over for a day tour instead. The island has a chill hippy vibe to it. We saw a lot of burned-out hippies that came for a party and forgot to leave many moons ago. Most of our time was spent wandering the beaches, strolling the market street, drinking coffee and quaffing beer watching the throngs of backpackers coming and going.

We hired a songtheaw (pick-up truck taxi) for an island tour. George’s Thai not being what it should be after all the lessons he’s taken, we had to point at the map to show where we wanted to go. Our fat fingers pointed at the wrong place. We ended up at the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The local family was bemused with the foreigners who’d come to visit. They showed us how to reach their little beach, gave us some much-needed water and invited us to join them for lunch (we politely declined).

Koh Madsum

A short speedboat ride off Koh Samui is Koh Madsum – “Pig Island”. It’s known for its semi-wild pigs living on the beach. It’s become a huge tourist destination. There are two stories of how the pigs got there. One is they swam from a nearby island. The second is that a local saw four skinny pigs at a market on the mainland. He felt sorry for them so bought them and released them on Koh Madsum.

Whatever the origin, it’s a great business model. Tourists pay to visit the island; they pay for food and beer from vendors; and, they buy copious amounts of food for the pigs to get photo-ops. The pigs get fat and multiply. The tourist brochures don’t mention it, but we’re pretty sure that when the piglets get fattened it’s off to the market.

Bangkok

Bangkok is one of our favourite cities. Over the years we’ve spent many months in Bangkok enjoying the endless variety the city has to offer. Unfortunately this visit was a short one.

Maria’s sister Connie joined us for part of the time. It was fun to show her the city and have a chance to re-visit some of the iconic sights. Sights that we took for granted were novel for her. She likely won’t forget her first time going the wrong way in rush hour traffic in a tuk-tuk.

We had a few days to ourselves in the city. Having been to Bangkok many times, we felt no pressure to run around and see all the sights. This visit was mostly spent relaxing and absorbing the city’s energy. We ran and walked in Lumphini Park each day, cruised up and down the Chao Phraya river a few times, savoured expensive cocktails at the 61st floor rooftop Moon Bar, and spent too much time in the ridiculously opulent shopping malls.

Thailand’s Amazing Food

Thailand is famous for its food, especially street food. We took a lot of food pictures, too many to include here. Instead we created a separate gallery for those of you who love food pictures. Click here to see some of the flavours of Thailand. Be warned, some pictures are not suitable for all viewers! Flavours of Thailand Gallery.

We also did a short (two minute) video walking tour of the Fisherman’s Village Night in Koh Samui. Night markets in Thailand sell practically anything you might want, including Samsung Bud2 Pro earbuds for $20 (not that we bought any of course). Mostly though, they are about food. Check it out by clicking here.