Koh Samui - 19th - 23rd April 2019

You probably think I was lazy to write. Lazy is true, but not for writing in particular. After my intensive sightseeing days in Hong Kong, I had forbidden myself from sightseeing for a few days here. And I stuck to it! I am taking these days very relaxed and enjoying the time to the fullest. So far, every day has started with 30 degrees and sunshine. I enjoy breakfast overlooking the sea, with freshly made omelette, fresh fruit, and I am already engrossed in my book in the morning. In the first few days, I spent my time lying on the sun lounger, reading, sleeping, and cooling off in the pool or sea. Although the sea is not really refreshing, because it is as warm as a bathtub. For even more relaxation, I have already enjoyed a few wellness treatments. But I had them done outside the hotel, as they charge exorbitant prices. I found a small beach hut 100 meters away from my hotel, where massages and other wellness treatments are offered, and they only charge 1/5 of the price charged in the hotel. I paid about 13€ for a one-hour Aloe Veda massage. For dinner, I found a really cute restaurant within a ten-minute walk from my hotel, where you can eat delicious Thai food and have great fruit cocktails. Both visually and taste-wise, every dinner is pure holiday feeling.

On Sunday morning, I moved away from the sun lounger and took the complimentary hotel shuttle to the town of Chaweng, which is twenty minutes away. This is one of the main tourist destinations on Koh Samui, where there seems to be quite a lot going on in the evenings and it can be compared to the Ballermann in Mallorca. During the day, there wasn't much happening, the bars, restaurants, and shops were empty. You could say that Chaweng was still asleep from the previous party night. I was able to successfully withdraw cash from an ATM as planned. Then I browsed through a supermarket and bought familiar candies in different flavors for my loved ones at home. Another reason why I wanted to go to Chaweng was that there is a Hard Rock Cafe on Koh Samui and I wanted to expand our glass collection. Unfortunately, I had the same experience here as we did in the Bahamas back then, that the standard glasses we collect were 'sold out'. Since I was so frustrated about that and it was very hot, I treated myself to a 40-minute foot and calf massage in an air-conditioned spa for 6€. That was my Easter gift ;-). After the massage, I took the hotel shuttle back to the hotel and recovered from my little trip on the sun lounger.

On Tuesday, the time had come to fulfill a big dream of mine, which is to be very close to elephants and be able to interact with them. I had already booked this tour in advance from Germany. After extensive research, I chose the provider or the area of Koh Samui Elephant Sanctuary. In my selection, it was important to me that the elephants can live their natural lives as much as possible and that there is no elephant riding or bathing with the elephants just to make tourists happy. The excursion to the elephants was very impressive and unforgettable, being so close to these magnificent creatures, being able to feed them and touch them. Since I left early in the morning for this tour, I was back at the hotel around noon and could let the unforgettable impressions sink in while sunbathing.

Half of my time on Koh Samui has already passed, and my thoughts are already drifting towards Bangkok and of course, home. Now I still have one more week before I stand at the check-in counter in Bangkok and my suitcase gets a sticker that says 'Frankfurt'.