Bye BKK, hello Koh Samui

Bye Bye Bangkok, it was nice with you. We leave the hotel (http://www.booking.com/Share-6jSz69), decide against public transport and take a taxi.

The flight time is less than an hour, but Bangkok Airways doesn't skimp and offers food and water.

Koh Samui - we land at the smallest airport I have ever seen.

There is a luggage belt ☺️.

Our accommodation is nice, the weather, well, it's not raining, but the clouds cover everything. First, let's arrive (https://www.booking.com/hotel/th/sasitara-thai-villas.en-gb.html?aid=311984&label=sasitara-thai-villas-VMTpPkCGHtsPVVJdUKbzQASM237279586735%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atikwd-360981522436%3Alp9073363%3Ali%3Adem%3Adm%3Appccp%3DUmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YbSsBl3MCvHsD8UKUHIRFxY&sid=987daffe9743580f2885a6bfb33f4567&dist=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;type=total&) and enjoy the absolute silence. I admit, enjoying is difficult for me; after all the hustle and bustle in BKK, here I can listen to my own thoughts while circling.

I spend the evening sorting laundry, unpacking, reading a bit, looking at the water, and eating. During dinner - it's raining now - we decide how the next few days should look like.

The next morning, we set off on foot to the Big Buddha and unwind. It's so quiet, I have to get used to it. The big Buddha is 12m tall and you can see the golden statue from anywhere on the island. We stroll around the market, there's raw chicken with eggs inside, and the ventilation systems - plastic turning over the displays - amaze us and make us laugh a little. You have to be creative. We have an idea: let's rent a car. Because we need that for tomorrow anyway, as there's a yoga class about 20 minutes away from us at 7 o'clock in the morning.

Just before we give up finding a car rental, Karin sees one. The deal is quickly done. She still has a car, with the feather duster in hand, she goes to the car, looki looki, a bit of dusting off, sign a signature (no one wants to see a driver's license) and off we go for 1000 baht per day. Karin is doing well, I'm there for her. Since my driver's license is in Germany, I don't want to risk driving without it (until now).

With left-hand traffic, we are led to the grandmother and grandfather rock.

An old legend revolves around the formation of the bizarre rock formations. According to various information, the following tragic story is said to have happened. An older couple named Ta Kreng (Grandfather Kreng) and Yai Riem (Grandmother Riem) lived with their son in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

After their son reached the age of majority, it was time to get him married. They set out on a long journey to the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan with a sailing boat. They wanted to propose to the daughter of Ta Monglai. The family's boat was caught in a storm during the journey and capsized.

The old man and his wife were unable to swim ashore. They drowned in the rough sea. Their genitals transformed into the famous rocks we see today.

In English, the rocks are also called "Grandfather's Grandmother's Rocks". This is derived from the translation of the name Hin Ta Hin Yai. Hin translates to "rock" in English. The translation of the word "Ta" is "grandfather" and the translation of "Yai" is "grandmother".

After visiting the grandparents' genitals and taking a quick dip (😂) in the sea, we eat and Mother asks us, now that we have a car, to drive to the overlap stone, a viewpoint. If Karin had known what that meant for her as the driver, she would have said: no way! It's steep uphill and narrow. Parking? Where? No idea, I take over. Mother is already walking, Karin waits until I have parked, then we follow her - gradient 7000 percent.

Mother screams, we hurry - if you can call it that - to her. I'm sure she rolled down the slope and met her maker. But that's not the case. Abrasions, fallen, but still alive. She is prohibited from continuing at this point!

The view - and we haven't even reached the point yet - is amazing! Over the sea, but also over the dense forests.

On the way home, we pass a night market, the available horses (?) - hooves look so tempting, so we decide to take a walk before ending the day.

6.15 am - off to yoga (https://www.theyogardensamui.com/)

The class, with about 5 other people there, starts with the teacher, an older Thai man, inviting me to join him for some acroyoga exercises to see if I'm ready for his class. It was nice, and I was ready.

The hour is intense, he is focused, comes to each of us, either to demonstrate the exercise to me or the others, or to help us get into a better pose.

Now it's time to eat, perfect, because next to the yoga area is the café - I need a pancake with banana and peanut butter.

In an hour, Karin will also join the yoga with Bonnie.

Now, after 2 yoga classes, I don't want anything more than to jump into the warm sea, my body desperately needs water! The sea; the beach, the region is so beautiful, I will see if I can find accommodation here at another point in the journey.

But I have to say: my sore throat, which I have had since last night, is getting worse. So I will just relax and sleep today.

And then I get my first cold in years with a fever. I feel terrible, but the medication and the loving care of the family and personnel help.

You won't see me leaving my room for 2 or 3 days. Everything is brought to me, I just want to sleep.

I will be fit again for check-out on July 25, 2022.