Orchid Suites Surat Thani

... Thailand to the north and east, Chumphon Province to the north, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Krabi Provinces to the south, Phang-Nga and Ranong Provinces to the west and Nakhon Si Thammarat Province to the east.<br><br><br> High plateaus and forested mountains are located to the west of the province, while there are low ...

... into the caves. Inside the caves, large buddha's were placed where thai people were praying and visiting the beautiful reclining and seated buddha statues. From Petchaburi our next stop was a very 'Thai' seaside resort called Cha-am. A bit like the Thai's version of scarborough! A very peaceful resort (not like scarborough at all in that respect) and plenty of thai's enjoying playing in inflatable rings in the sea.. thai style - they were all fully clothed in ...

... Info company. In the end, she said it costs only several hundreds, not a thousand. Dreamy Ferry Ride The sun almost set when we got into the boat. There were orange-purple skies with a glimpse of bluish grey. The night was coming and we were happy that we chose this transportation not the 'sleeping cargo boat' that Ae suggested. That sleeping boat can be rather dangerous because of the monsoon since it often rains during the ...

... caused much amusement by telling the driver he wanted to go to 'phi phi hotel' (wrong hotel, wrong island). We're not sure what happened to him and his mate as we were dropped off first. Judging by the look of the cab driver, I suspect he would have thrown them out somewhere in the middle of Ko Samui and would have just driven off. 40 mins later, we were finally checked into our hotel and in search of a well earned drink.

... shellfish were firmly in the "high risk of food poisoning" category. I applauded his kahones but settled for some simple pad Thai myself. Now, speaking of unkosher though... upon meeting back up, we passed an old lady selling roast insects in bulk: "I'll eat a cricket if you will," I half joked. "Okay, sure!" came Jeff's too serious response. He asked the lady how much three crickets would cost, but since she was selling them bulk she just gave them to us ...

... still lying on the table.Despite the room having been cleaned, by the staff the money was there, untouched!! I went down the market place and after a while returned with a few purchases to find my wife and daugher waiting at the door of the hotel as I had taken the keys with me... Later in the evening we visited the Siam Centre which is a shopper's paradise. 19 May 08-Chinatown! Chinatown is a wonderful place but the only problem is that you have to ...

... up being absolutely packed with tourists heading to the eastern islands, plus some were continuing on to Bangkok. This was a very crowded bus, with the hot afternoon sun streaming in to keep us cooking nicely. Unforunately, the air con wasn't working too well, so by the time we arrived in Surat Thani it was getting a bit stinky! It's also always amusing on Thai (and Cambodia) busses - as ...

... chanting for a couple of hours, watched by the nuns. All very special experiences. Didn't enjoy the packs of semi-stray dogs though. They get freaked out by the crazy noises made by the insects and seem to turn into wolves! Jonathan got charged and almost bitten by one on way to breakfast! Seems to still be quite sexist - the difference between monks and nuns. Realised possibility of why this is once, after a brief early morning meditation session in the ...

Another odd night's sleep in spite of our exhaustion and medication. At a certain point one must self-assess and determine preferences and leanings. Julie, for her part, is far more apt to initiate adventure travel while Steve, a classic urban pantie waist, is indulgent but largely (self described) unenthusiastic. Today is a good example. Julie had decided that in spite of the encounter with leeches, she is ...

... of the bend, and then jumped into the current and floated back downstream :o) After 30mins we carried on walking. (wearing trousers over wet bikini isnt a great look!) It got gradually harder as we went on, as the hills got steeper and more frequent, and the sun got hotter so we were pretty glad when we saw the marker for 1km to go. So we pushed on, adn the last 1km was killer! Who needs a gym when you have a jungle?! Lots of big steps up and down tree roots, climbing and scrambling ...