Friday 22 November 2024

Nathon, Ko Samui, Thailand – Our ship was too large to dock in Nathon, so we were tendered to and from shore on large local boats. Our last expedition of this voyage was a visit to 4 Buddhist temples on this island in the Gulf of Thailand. We feared that we were templed-out already, but this tour was interesting and we learned a lot. The literature warned us that this would be a physically-difficult tour, but it wasn’t. We travelled in an 8-passenger Toyota van, with a skilled and helpful driver. It rained quite hard for a while early in the day and remained cloudy all day, which kept the temperature moderate.

First stop, Wat Khurmaran, honours a beloved monk whose body is on view in a glass box. At the next stop, our guide told us the story of Buddha, as it was depicted on the walls. 

Next was a busy place with a Buddhist shrine and also one to the Indian gods. Finally, we visited Wat Phra Yai, where a towering Buddha 

sits atop a long staircase. We decided not to climb up, but just to admire from benches below. Back on board we had a very late lunch on deck and I played trivia. Yesterday the team had 9 and had to break into 2. Today there were just 2 of us. Go figure. We didn’t exactly embarrass ourselves, but who could beat a team with a perfect score? So no tulips today. We had dinner with an interesting couple from London ON, and then enjoyed Megan and Gabriel’s music for awhile. Suddenly, the kitchen and serving staff were everywhere, handing out chocolate treats, which we enjoyed as we made our way to our stateroom, where we found even more chocolate treats. Turns out it was CHOCOLATE SURPRISE night!

Photos of the Day