Koh Samui Here We Come
Joining My Friends
Emotions went back and forth when my ex-colleagues invited
me to join them on their annual trip to Koh Samui.
Shall I, shall I not. I have never joined any of their annual trips.
Having been working with them for the past seven years;
reason, my 24/7 is fully taken up by work, family and sleep, no time to indulge
and pamper myself.
The opportunity and temptation to experience the
camaraderie, of being with friends on an exotic island was too much to resist.
Yes, I am going, I told them, from then onwards there was no looking back.
The Journey
Our outbound bus journey started at around 8 p.m. on 7th
Sept. 2011, with everyone very excited. Bags of belongings together with
personal comforting pillows were packed for a restful journey.
I personally could not get much sleep partly due to the hard
seats and partly due to my short legs.
The journey through the night was pretty uneventful, except
that we had to go
through 2 immigration points, one Malaysian and one Thai at the borders. We were guided by 2 Malaysian
tourist guides and 2 Thai tourist guides who humoured us and explained
everything.
We
arrived at Donsak Jetty in the early hours of the morning, boarded a ferry, had
a comfortable ride as the sea was calm and arrived at Koh Samui at around 7.30 am after
about one and half hours ride amidst the cool morning breezes and waves gushing
against the ferry and experienced a beautiful sunrise over the ocean.
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Sunrise when
approaching Koh Samui contributed by Ms. Ng
SL
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Sunrise at Koh Samui
contributed by Bosco Lai
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Sights and Sounds of Koh Samui
The island is idyllic. The sound of waves rolling on the
beaches, sun rising on the horizon, laughter and splashes on the beaches by
holiday makers create an irresistible relaxing atmosphere.
The two days were filled with sightseeing trips. We went visiting 3 Buddhist
temples, the Wat Phra Yai and Big Buddha, Wat Plai Laem &
18 Arms Buddha, Kunarama Temple
& Mummified Monk. We
or rather some of our colleagues rode on elephants, enjoyed durian treats at
the Wang Sao Thong Waterfall.
Wat Phra Yai
& Big Buddha, contributed by Ooi Chai Ying
|
 |
Group photo at
Hinta Hinyai Rocks contributed by Celine Goh
|
 | ||
Hinta Hinyai
Rocks contributed by Ooi CY
|
 |
Wang sao Thong
Falls contributed by Celine Goh
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Our sightseeing itinerary usually ends with us rushing back
to Weekender Hotel and getting ready for a splash or swim at the beach or hotel
pool.
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Lamai Beach, Koh Samui contributed by Ooi CY
|
 | ||
Weekender Hotel
Pool, contributed by Celine Goh
|
 |
Big Crab
Restaurant, contributed by Ooi CY
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After dinner we
would survey the night streets outside the Weekender Hotel which were lined
with traders hawking their wares, handicrafts, trinkets and souvenirs.
 |
Night Street at Koh Samui, contributed by Bosco
Lai
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Street Market,
contributed by Ooi CY
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The bright lights of the streets, the bars, dancing girls,
massage parlours, restaurants and street foods kept us entertained and happy
throughout the night.
 |
Fire Thrower,
Lamai Beach Party contributed by Ooi CY
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Bargaining to slash prices seemed more interesting than the
actual purchase as we
haggled with the vendor to buy whatever caught our eyes and fancy. Squeals of
excitement and shouts of satisfied glee were echoed when we have a good deal.
 | |
Colours of
Traders, contributed by Bosco Lai
|
Beautifully
Lights on Display, Koh
Samui, contributed
by Bosco Lai
|
We
were lucky to be able to join the Lamai Beach Party on Friday night where
guests were treated to displays by Fire Throwers, ‘Kung Ming’ lanterns, Limbo
Rock, fireworks, listening to music, making the night more exuberant and
excitingly vibrant. Drinks flowed throughout the night, spirits lifted and
elated. Everyone was happy as laughter rang through the night air.
Colors of art and handicraft beautifully captured in some of
my colleagues photos stay etched in my mind.
We
were all tired out as the holiday came to and end as we gathered outside the hotel one final
time, Saturday morning, boarded our bus with our now heavier bags filled with
products of Koh Samui, said our goodbyes and
proceeded to the jetty for our return journey.
Most of us were tired out, but we did not pass off the opportunity to take a
few more photos to carry home our memories.
Colors of art and handicrafts were beautifully
captured in the photos taken by my colleagues, which were
enthusiastically shared around, perused and discussed with delight . The sights
and sounds of Koh Samui stayed etched in my
mind.
As they say, ‘Pictures speak a 1000 words.’
We briefly stopped at Hatyai, to pick up some
more local products to share at home. The journey home was tinged with
nostalgia as our holiday ends and reminiscences of home.
My special thanks to all my friends for sharing with
me
a great holiday and those beautiful
pictures. leehwa
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