Day 7 - Koh Samui/Siem Reap

Travel day.  Packed bags.  Had breakfast at the buffet.  Checked out.  Off to the airport.  The flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok is short.  The flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap seemed surprisingly shorter.  Immigration and customs were relatively quick... if you did e-visa beforehand.  We did.  Others who didn't spent a little more time in immigration.  The Anantara driver was waiting for us after baggage claim.  A short ride later and we were at Anantara Angkor Resort.  Painless check-in.  Good welcoming drink.  Room upgrade.  This was a good travel day.

One thing of note that we didn't know before we got here:  Cambodia accepts US currency.  I went to an ATM and it gave me US money.  Convenient.

Day 6 - Koh Samui

Tour day.  We scheduled a private van tour around the island.  We slept in late.  (Late for us anyway.)  Went to breakfast at Anantara Lawana Ocean Kiss  restaurant.  (Have I mentioned how awesome Anantara breakfast buffets are?)  After breakfast, we went on the tour.  Since it was just us, we went where we wanted and were on our own schedule.  I can't name the places we went,  but I did take photos.

We returned to the resort after the tour.  kumi returned to our suite, I walked around the resort to take more photos. The resort staff were having some kind of sports day.  I wasn't there for all of it so I wasn't too clear on what was going on.  But what little I saw was entertaining.

Later, pool bar, more plunge pool,  sleeping by plunge pool, sleeping in bed, then dinner at Ocean Kiss.

Day 5 - Koh Samui

We went diving again.  This time with Discovery Dive Centre. The main reason for diving with them was they could get us inside  Ang Thong National Marine Park.  The dive sites, in my opinion, were not good.  The boat was good.  The dive staff were great.  Poor visibility at both dive sites.  kumi, on the other hand, liked the dive sites.

After diving, we returned to the resort.  This time however, instead of doing our usual siesta and order room service, we actually walked to the restaurant for dinner.

Day 4 - Koh Samui

I slept in.  kumi went diving.  Lazy day for me.  I got up and had a late breakfast at one of the Anantara Lawana restaurants, Ocean Kiss.

As far as breakfast buffets are concerned, Anantara has my favorite.  There is a good variety of cuisine and large selection of food.  Ocean Kiss also has a very nice beachfront view.

After breakfast, I stopped by the spa to schedule a massage for the afternoon.  I went for the traditional Thai massage, 90 minutes.  It'sa dry massage, no oils, a lot of stretching.  I, surprisingly, was not as stiff as I thought I was.  The massage was great.

After the massage, I returned to our suite.  kumi had just returned from her dives.  We, of course, vegetated until dinner, at which time we did in-villa dining again.

Day 3 - Koh Samui

More diving.  Silent Divers again.  2 tank dive, both were very good.

We returned to Anantara after diving.  The plan was for me to stop by the spa to schedule a massage for the next day, and kumi would go back to the suite.  Both of us ended up going which resulted in us getting a couples massage within the following hour.  Neither of us particularly care for a couples massage, but it worked out well.  The massage was very good.  We were done for the rest of the day.  We ended up doing in-villa dining again.  Have I mentioned in-villa dining is awesome.

Day 2 - Koh Samui

We went diving.  We dove with Silent Divers.  They were great.  They picked us up from the resort.  All our gear was setup and waiting for us on the boat.  The boat itself held a surprisingly large number of people, both divers and snorkelers.  When it came time for our dive (we did 2), they helped us with our gear.  Between dives, they prepared an awesome lunch.

The dives themselves were ok.  The first one would have been good except there was a strong current.  The second one was good.

After the dives, we returned to the resort.  We had to decide whether to make the 100 meter walk to the restaurant for lunch, or return to our suite and do in-villa dining.  In-villa dining won out.  It was a great choice.  So much so that we did it again for dinner...  Laziness may have also influenced our decision.

Traveling Again

@kumimonster and I are traveling again in southeast Asia. Specifically, Thailand and Cambodia. We had an eventful time getting here. Lyft and Amtrak were good. BART had some issues with maintenance, bus transfer, train transfer, and a “security incident” at SFO BART. (Mental note: Probably not a good idea to be standing behind a cop with his gun drawn if the person he’s pointing his gun at also has a gun drawn.) The BART ride which should have been about an hour, took about 2 hours. Still plenty of time to catch the flight though. kumi was already there. Quick check-in, quick boarding.

The 13 hour flight to Taipei seemed short. Probably because I had a window row all to myself. I slept most of the flight. Long layover in Taipei, then off to Bangkok.

We arrived in Bangkok to find Bangkok Airways agents waiting for me. Seems I had a very short layover in Bangkok and they wanted to make sure I made the flight. We also found out that we had been put on different flights for the 3rd flight. kumi’s flight was an hour after mine. Minor inconvenience, but still ok.

I caught the flight and arrived in Koh Samui without issue. Anantara Lawana was there waiting for me. Since the resort close to the airport, the driver convinced me to drop off my bag, check-in, then we could come back to the airport to pickup kumi. That worked for me. Checked-in, welcoming drink. Got a free upgrade on our room to one with a plunge pool. Went back to the airport to pickup kumi. Returned. She got her welcoming drink. Then off to our suite. After more than 25 hours of travel, we made immediate use of the plunge pool.

Thailand - Day 17

"Do not much of anything" day.  Very nice day.  Mostly sunny.  A tad on the hot side.  (I was sweating from just walking around and taking pictures.)

After breakfast, I walked around more of the resort.  I found the tennis courts and the boxing ring.  From there, I went back to other side.  I walked around the pool, then went down to Mai Khao beach.  There was still some of the resort that I hadn't seen, but I was sweating so much, I decided to return to my villa.  I put my pool and outdoor shower to good use.

Lunch time, I walked down to Mai Khao Plaza. It's a nice place.  There are a few shops and a restaurant.  I stopped by a souvenir shop and bought some stuff.  Then I had lunch at Mai Khao Living Room.  A very nice restaurant with a good menu.  Also, it's much cheaper than the resort.

On my way back from lunch, I stopped by Turtle Village.  More shops, more restaurants, more stuff.  It's conveniently located next door to Anantara.

The rest of the day, I did relatively nothing.  I kicked back in pool for a bit.  From the pool, I moved to my Sala.  A little later, I went to Anantara's Tree House. I finished the day with a 90 minute Thai massage.

Thailand - Day 16

Beautiful day.  I spent all of it on a diving excursion.  I went with Sea Bees Diving.  I did the 1 day/2 dives package to the Similan islands.  They picked me up from the resort around 0640.  Then it was about a 45 minute ride to the pier.  There I, and a lot of other people, boarded a  very large catamaran.  Once everyone was onboard, we began our 3 hour trip to the Similan islands.  On the way there, the crew prepared a very nice breakfast for everyone.  After which, everyone settled in for the ride.

The dive sites were very nice.  Blue skies, calm waters, and about a 20 meter visibility underwater.  I think I got a lot of good pictures.

After the first dive, the crew prepared lunch.  Some time after lunch, dive 2.

Once the dives and snorkeling (there were snorkelers too) were done, everyone was back on the boat for the return trip.  The crew prepared more snacks.  I don't know about others, but after the snacks I found a place to lie down and get some sleep.

Back at the pier, transportation back resorts was waiting.  Funny thing, it started raining on the way back. It was a 45 ride back to the resort.  I got back around 1920.  Once there, I showered and got a drink. I barely finished my update and called it a night.  I was tired....

Thailand - Day 15

It's been raining on and off all day.  What's been nice is it really hasn't affected anything.  What's been really nice is it stops raining during my activities.

Today's activity was elephant trekking.  It took up the entire morning.  It was a nice drive there, during which it rained.  We (me and guests from other resorts) arrived, it stopped raining.  We got a tour of the place.  We were introduced to an elephant and his Mahout.  We went elephant trekking.  Some people bought some souvenirs after.  Then we were all driven back to our respective resorts.  During which it started raining again.

This is the fourth elephant I've been on.  Three times, I've been a passenger.  One time, I was a Mahout.  The other times, it was just a single elephant.  This time it was more of a caravan.  It had a different feel, but it was still good.

I got back to the resort around 2:00.  Lunch was still being served.  I didn't bother stopping by my villa, I just went straight to lunch.  Afterwards I walked around a little bit more of the resort.

Thailand - Day 14

Normally, the first day after I arrive at a resort, I walk around and take pictures.  Today wasn't a good day for that, so I just walked around and figured out where everything was.  The resort is big.  I walked around most of it today and still didn't see everything.

I also scheduled a few activities.  Today I had the obligatory massage.  Tomorrow is elephant trekking.  The next day will be diving.

Scheduling diving was a little bit of a chore.  The dive shop is in the JW Marriott.  It is not the Marriott Vacation Club...  Which is next door to Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas...  Which is across the street from Anantara Phuket Vacation Club.  JW Marriott is about a quarter mile down the road.  The dive shop is hidden away in back.  I took a buggy to get there and back.  (Buggies are awesome.)

I also figured out my dining plan for here.  I will do breakfast at Anantara's La Sala restaurant.  Lunch will be at Anantara's Sea Fire Salt restaurant (appetizers or sides).  Dinner will be at one of the local restaurants.  (Dinner at La Sala is expensive.  Much cheaper to eat at local restaurants.)

Oh, almost forgot, Happy Halloween!  They don't do Halloween here.

Thailand - Day 13

Travel day.  I had an afternoon flight, so I had time to enjoy breakfast.  Afterwards I returned to my villa to finish packing.  Just as I finished, two monkeys appeared outside.  I managed to get pictures of one of them.  On my way to check out, I saw two more.

Check out was quick, followed by a short boat ride to Kota Kinabalu.  From the boat, 20 minute car ride to the airport.  Then a 2 and half hour flight from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur.  Then a 1 hour 15 minute flight to Phuket.  I thought immigration was relatively quick.  When I got to baggage claim, my bag was coming out.  That never happens.  I'm guessing the slight detour I made to currency exchange may have contributed to my bag arriving so quickly.  Anyway, got my bag.  Anantara had a car waiting for me as I walked out.  A 20 minute car ride later, I arrived at Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas.

On a slightly different topic, I learned something today which has annoyed me all week. When I left the Philippines to come to Malaysia, my flight path was El Nido to Manila to Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu.  It's approximately 1500 miles from Manila to Kuala Lumpur.  From Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu is about 1000 miles.  But El Nido to Kota Kinabalu is about 400 miles.  When I booked my flight, there was no option to fly El Nido to Kota Kinabalu.  (Anyone who has seen El Nido airport would understand this as reasonable.) However, there is an option to fly from Puerto Princesa (the other end of Palawan). to Kota Kinabalu.  (AirAsia) Unfortunately, it's not everyday of the week.  So if you're going from El Nido to Kota Kinabalu and can be flexible with your travel plans, play around with dates to try to get the one from Puerto Princesa... Or you can take the "scenic" route that I took.