Getting up early in the morning is wonderful. Sitting on the terrace with a cup of coffee at the first rays of sunshine and sharing a small breakfast with the birds is wonderful fun. Since Alexandra regularly spreads bread, we have guests several times every day and enjoy the chirping company. Each of them has plenty to tell.
And when the bread is all gone, they loudly call attention to themselves and the plight of the empty buffets. This variety of natural sounds amazes us every day. Some of our visitors have meanwhile developed a clear trustfulness and are not disturbed by our presence. They hop and prance around and check out the surroundings.
They also come in and look all around. A few days ago, a little nectar sucker, one of the little sunbirds, came flying in and landed on the back of a chair opposite me. He looked at me, sang to me briefly, and took his leave again. I perceived this short friendly encounter as very inspiring experience.
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Today we had another appointment. At the southwestern end of the island, a longtail boat was waiting to take us on an island hopping tour with a snorkeling experience. Since we are in the northeastern area of Samui this is the longest distance Samui has to offer. It will take us about an hour of leisurely cruising.
Since there is one of the best coffee stalls on the island at Thong Krut Pier, we started early to have enough time for a leisurely latte macchiato. Even early in the morning you are not alone there, because many farang appreciate the delicious cup of coffee served there.
Around you, people are chatting in English, French and Italian. The sea shimmers and sparkles in different shades of turquoise and we enjoyed this moment. A few meters away, our boat was waiting for us. A cheerful "Sawasdee" and we were off.
Boys Organic Coffee
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Alone with our captain and his boatman we chugged slowly over the crystal-clear water. Around us lots of fish. The splashing spray drenched us within seconds and clothes and sunglasses were obviously obsolete.
Puttering through the Gulf of Thailand on a longtail with a rattling engine and anextra-long exhaust in the sun under a cloudless sky is tremendously relaxing. The time of day doesn't matter. It's enough to know that it's early morning and the day still fully lies ahead. It's as simple as that.
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Our captain was a very considerate boatman. He spared us the unpleasant deep dive into the wave troughs followed by the ride over the crests of the waves. He sensitively played the gas and let the boat glide gently and slowly over the waves. Having experienced this in other ways we appreciated the gentleness of this trip and enjoyed it all the more.
After an hour we reached Ko Rap, a small island with a stunningly beautiful beach. Ko Rap is inhabited only by a group of rangers who live here in a few tents and take care of the nature reserve and protect it from mischief. For a fee of 50 THB we were given access and a small bottle of water.
Loungers are prepared on the beach and cold drinks and small snacks are available at a small bar. Lounge music plays in the background, inviting you to chill out. Free from obligations you can hang out here, walk around the island, go snorkeling, look at the sea in the sand or on the lounger and enjoy the moment. You stay as long as you want.
At some point you are no longer alone, because more long tails and also one or two small yachts bring visitors to the island. Nevertheless, the number of people remains very manageable. But even the few became too many for us and we headed off to Ko Madsum.
Ko Madsum is known for its pig colony. We didn't necessarily associate pigs with an island in the Gulf of Thailand, but Ko Madsum has been home to dark domestic pigs for some time. According to legend, they got fed up with human company at some point and swam from Ko Taen to the island Ko Madsum for self-isolation.
Since then, the mainly lie lazily on the beach and keep a small group of human personnel to care for them. Now the whole thing is sold as "swimming with pigs" highlight to the tourists. However, we have seen no swimming pigs also not tried to animate them.
We took some pictures of them and left them alone. They just lie next to you and snooze away. We were thinking about roast pork the whole time. My wife spontaneously got a mighty appetite.
Ko Madsum has beautiful beaches with very fine sand and absolutely clear water. A vacation for the eyes. In addition, there is the aroma of pigsty and as background music a contented grunt. An experience for the senses.
For snorkeling we went to Ko Taen. There is a small reef off the island with a lively fish population. From sergeant fish to garfish and tufted perch to rays, everything was represented. A great snorkeling spot.
The length of the trip can be arranged individually. In our experience five to six hours is a very good time. However, next time we will start about two hours earlier. It is worth to be there before the others. The Early Birds have these beautiful spots to themselves and move on before any other people show up.
By the way, we did this trip with TK Tour. (T.K. Tour operates a tour based on an ecotourism concept. We also use local longtail boats in our daily operation. This helps to ensure that revenue is returned to the local community or people. All crews are professionally trained).