Today we are in Ko Samui Thailand which is an Island on the western part of the Gulf of Thailand.
This is mostly a beach port with a small town at the end of the dock area.
Today we were anchored about 4 miles out which called for us to use ships tenders and Thai Tenders. Tending proved to be a problem because the seas were rough. We ended up with tender tickets 13 and be boarded one of the Thai Tenders. This was a much better option than the ships tender.
Rough tender ride
not much here
Location of Event and Geocache
The trip was about 40 minutes into the pier. Once ashore we headed into town and Claudia found a shop for a mani pedi which I left her at and continued around the town to do a Geocache and attend a Geocaching event. Interesting cache though as it had 2 caches at it. The interesting part was meeting a fellow cacher who attended an Event I held 12 years ago in Fiji.
Since this was a short stop due to the sea condition’s we decided to head back to the ship early.
We had to take one of the ships tenders and I decided to ride on the upper open deck of the tender. Well that poor tender took a beating cruising back to the ship. A few waves over the bow and we arrived very wet back at the ship.
It was time to shower and head to the Elite cocktails where they serve small bites at reduced cost. They have a Czech Pilsner Urquell beer that is $8.00 for a 500 ml can, which is a bargain onboard.
From here we just hung around until dinner at about 8:00 PM. The interesting thing is when we arrive at this time the dining room is almost empty. For a full ship where is everyone eating? The menu for tonight was not what the Princess App said it was. The real clue was the waiter saying I recommend the Surf and Turf? There was no Surf and Turf on the menu we looked at. The Princess App had it’s problems daily.
Once again we were the last table to leave the dining room. How is this possible every night? This isn’t a Holland America cruise? Considering you can arrive up to 9:00 PM it makes no sense?
After dinner it was back to the cabin to relax and prepare for tomorrows stop at Laem Chabang which is a port that is a 2hour bus ride to Bangkok. Sorry 2 hours there and 2 hours back is not in the cards for me.
Laem Chabang Thailand
This morning we docked early and were greeted by a Thai music/dance group.
We let the bulk of the passengers leave before we headed ashore just before 10:00 AM. We had decided that we wanted to go see the Nong Nooch Botanical Gardens and a floating market and one other site possibly. Claudia started talking to the cab drivers that were now left. Claudia got a rate for 5 hours and we were discussing it when 2 couples from Australia who we have had dinner with were there trying to do something as well. Claudia asked them if they would like to join us and they were game. Soon we had a very nice Toyota Bus/Van for $120 for 7 hours to take us where we wanted to go. That worked out to $20 a person. The ship wanted $50 a couple just to take you to the beach area in Pattaya City.
The group with the bus
The only thing was we had to pay to get into the various places we visited.
We went to this floating market first and spent about 2 hours there wandering around. While interesting it truly wasn’t the floating markets I have read about as the boats are fixed to the dock and don’t move.
Want to have fish eat your feet, plenty of opportunity for this. You want to eat local insects they are here. Next stall had BBQ Crocodile and it went from there.
Floating Market
need bugs or scorpions?
need a little crocodile?
At the market we all got schooled in the art of bartering with Claudia showing how it is done. At the end she got her price and a little more talking the vender was adding 2 silk scarfs to her bag. We were in greatness!
Bow to the Queen of closing the deal!
Once done here we boarded our bus and headed to the Gardens. The cost to get in was about $25.00 but well worth it. We took the bus option around the park and that was the wise move. There is even a car museum here that we had a quick look at.
a mini sized mini
On the way to catch the bus we passed a cactus garden then a bunch of Elephants giving rides around the park.
You get to get off the bus at 2 stops and then catch the next bus. The first stop looked like nothing until you walked into it. The were Orchids and other plants that looked amazing.
This place has it’s own green houses which we went through on the bus.
Dinosaur Land
Inukshuk? Why is this in Thailand, they are from the Canadian Arctic.
Once we were done here it was back to our bus and talk to the driver. We had decided that were would change our last stop and have her take us to a local place to eat. We also paid for her meal and she walked us through the ordering process. I can tell you I ordered and 2 minutes later my meal was in front of me. This was a wild little place where only the locals eat. It was some really good food. I heard the total bill for our group was $28.00.
lunch
This by far is one of the best experiences I have had travelling. I am not sure what the end cost is at the moment but lets say it was well worth and way cheaper than anything on the ship.
So dinner is in about 2 hours I am going to close so I can get this posted as tomorrow is a much needed Sea Day. The next stop is Vietnam. We had a port change here and no idea what to expect.