Journey to Thailand and Elephant Haven

On May 22, we took a taxi from Dambulla to the airport in Colombo in the afternoon. However, the three-hour drive turned into 4.5 hours because of heavy rain and flooding on some roads. The last three kilometers took the longest due to a traffic jam caused by a flooded road. The water suddenly rose so high that cars could barely get through and the scooters were submerged. Many people waded through the water on foot. You could hear the water sloshing against the car body. The whole thing was a bit scary. Especially since I had just told Simon a moment earlier that we could walk the last stretch, since it wasn’t far and we were running a bit short on time before the flight.

But everything worked out in the end, and we took off on time shortly after 11 p.m. local time and landed in Bangkok three and a half hours later.

The Air Asia plane was a slightly smaller model, so the seatback was a bit too short, and my knees were painfully bumping against the seat in front of me. We were still able to get a little sleep, propped up on the tray table with our foreheads resting against the seat in front.

Entering Thailand, however, went quickly and smoothly, since we had already applied for the visa online in advance.

We then took a taxi to Bangkok’s second airport to catch a small propeller plane to Koh Samui that morning. The view was truly beautiful, as we were flying at a low altitude.

The small airport on the island is really nicely designed; very open, pavilion-style with comfortable seating and ponds.

It was just a short drive to our accommodation, Reuan Phaolai, and after quickly grabbing some water at 7-Eleven, we were finally able to take a long nap to catch up on some sleep.

In the evening, we visited our first attraction here, Fisherman’s Village, a shopping street with many cafés and restaurants. It’s a great place to take a leisurely stroll.

Overall, Koh Samui is quite touristy, with many hotels and villas. But you can also find a café or snack bar on every corner, and restrooms are easy to come by. In Sri Lanka, everything was a bit more basic, but in return, you could marvel at a diverse array of flora and fauna there.

After a quiet and restful night, we set off for Samui Elephant Haven today. We didn’t leave until nine o’clock, which was unusual. In Sri Lanka, we were already on the road by 7:30 a.m. most days, since you can’t help but notice when the Sinhalese neighbors and dogs wake up at 6:30 a.m.

Despite the short hike up the hill, we were pretty out of breath; the humidity is quite a bit higher than in Sri Lanka and correspondingly more exhausting.

At Samui Elephant Haven, there’s also a café that surrounds an enclosure where one or two of the elephants are herded so that visitors can marvel at them. Here, the elephants are fed cut bamboo, or they can frolic in the water or let the waterfall drench them before treating themselves to a sand shower. The animals seemed very relaxed and playful.

The food and drinks aren’t exactly cheap, but they don’t differ much from the prices at other restaurants in the area. The proceeds go to the sanctuary. There’s a wide variety of coffees and cocktails, as well as dishes in all sorts of sizes. We had a very aromatic cappuccino, a peanut espresso, and a huge almond croissant. Everything was beautifully presented and delicious. And we could watch the elephants the whole time.

It was definitely worth it for us, and the other guests seemed to be having a good time too. We struck up a conversation with a German couple who are also planning to move abroad; they’d like to stay on Koh Samui permanently. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it works out for them. The bureaucratic hurdles are certainly a bit higher on both the German and Thai sides.

On the way back, we stopped at a small takeout café and enjoyed some nice, cold Thai milk tea and Thai coffee. The café cat let us pet it to our heart’s content. It was really very cute.

There seem to be a lot more cats than dogs on Koh Samui, and the dogs we’ve seen so far look more like potbellied pigs—they’re so well-fed.

Afterward, we stopped by a market and bought some fruit. It’s a great place to sample all the exotic fruits (mangosteen, rambutan).

We spent the afternoon at our accommodation. The Reuan Phaolai is quietly located on a side street and consists of several guest houses with green space, a pond, and even a small pool, which Simon tried out right away today.

The owner here is very nice and helpful and has already given us plenty of tips on where to eat well and affordably or what you absolutely must see on the island.