March 10, 2024 Koh Samui, Thailand 56 days left of 138

 What a beautiful day in Koh Samui pronounced as one word KoSume. We did the beach excursion.

This is a tender port, and for the first time we used local tenders to transport us back and forth to the dock. These were pretty primitive, the table seats were a mixed match, and the wood was dry rotting away. Our gang plank was moving on us more that when we use our equipment, and the cleanliness was non existent. We did enter to one deck, and then exit from the other deck. This made it difficult for some of the passengers that are less mobile. Mike realized this and stood at the top of the stairs, and was offering his assistance. You got to love him, he has a heart for serving others.

We took a bus ride to a beach town, the McDonalds, really that was our drop off. We walked a short 2 blocks to the beach. Here we could walk the beach, rent beach chairs, and go into the water. We were hoping for some snorkeling, but the surf was too rough. So we walked the beach, and found beach chairs in partial shade to enjoy the morning. It was a beautiful spot, and a relaxing day. We left our spot to check out the town and mall. We did not buy anything, but on the beach any number of vendors were out there with a pole full of clothes, surrounded by inflatables, a board with necklace and bracelets, and many with beautiful cloths, I think were to be used as a sarong.

They were giving massages on the beach, and many massage businesses in the town. Someone says they got a full body massage for $20. Wow, I should have checked this out more carefully.

You may remember that Thailand was hit by a Tsunami in 2004. The island we visited was not affected. This was the mainland that was hit, and it hit the West coast of Thailand. Mike's brother Terry let s know he was there 6 days before the event, and the hotel he had stayed at was destroyed. Wow talk about fate.

We came back to the ship ate lunch and hit the pool. There is never enough of time in the sun. LOL Mike has come to the conclusion that it takes about 2 months in the sun for my transparent legs to take on a tan.

Our time is growing near with our friends who will be leaving us in Singapore. We are trying to enjoy our last few days, and celebrate our world cruise friendships we have developed.

We elected to watch the entertainment from our room, and it was a good decision. When we returned to our room our Africa and Europe excursions were in our room for us to make selections from. These are due tomorrow morning at 7 - 9 am. When we turn them in they will be time stamped and it is a first come first serve. This was not an easy selection, as we had 16 pages of excursions to review and select our top 3. The excursion staff will attempt to schedule our excursions, and make us all happy. Not an easy undertaking.