Koh Samui was my final stop. I spent four nights on the island. One day I rented a motorbike and went exploring. It took me about half the day to ride around the island. I stopped along the way at various viewpoints and markets. I hiked to a few waterfalls (photos) and weaved around back roads across the mountainous island. Samui is a relaxed place with happy people and plenty of tourists.
I stayed at Lamai beach. To the south is a rock formation known as the Grandfather and Grandmother. These pictures should tell you why.
The Grandfather:
And the Grandmother:
The story goes that the two were on a boat on their way to Samui to visit their daughter. There was a storm, their boat sank and their bodies washed up on shore here.
Everyone rides motorbikes.
I spent a lot of time laying around by the pool and beach just doing nothing. It was fun. I read two books. “Sunstorm” by Arthur C. Clarke and “The Bourne Betrayal” a book from the Bourne movies. I found these in Beijing and Bangkok, respectively, in the limited selection of English bookstores. “The Bourne Betrayal” had the worst writing I’ve ever come across in a novel. Here’s a quote as CIA spy Jason Bourne heads into an abandoned insane asylum and the author makes an attempt at describing what’s inside: “The interior was farily bare; clearly it was unused now. However, evidence of its grisly past was evident.” I almost threw the book down. It should be noted that Robert Ludlum, the author of the first three Bourne novels (all made into movies) didn’t write this one. Eric Van Lustbader did.
