Koh Samui forum: Ban Kao Tropical Boutique Residence & Spa hotel Surat Thani

... bowls outside so you lather up with soap and scoop yourself clean. The water was very cold; unfortunately men and women stay in separate dorms so i didn’t have my lovely girlfriend there to heat it up for me, lol. In the evening, after tea time, we were given time to hit up the hot springs. The monastery is smack dab in the middle of nature; several natural hot springs are found there. The men and women use different hot springs; the men have 2 to choose from. The first day I went ...

... gutted we missed them. The four of us stayed up
drinking, discovered a huge frog in the toilets and eventually found
our way back to our treehouse via torchlight at around 1am – long
day trekking through the rain forest tomorrow, need to be awake to
run away from Dinosaurs!

After a good night sleep, Michelle
dragged Dean out of bed to go down for breakfast before our day of
jungle trekking. At 9am, our guide collected us, handed us our
packed ...

... There was a small scare of missing the train when our taxis got stuck in the traffic - thankfully we made it on time and the drivers didn't even have to resort to rally driver tactics. The first impressions of the train were "it's not like in the photos..." - we had chosen the train as a more comfortable option than an overnight bus. It would have been more than enough for just us (even luxury!) but keeping in mind that Gerard has a bad back, hmmm ...

... are collapsing and young men are vomiting. But at least there is no glass on the beach. This is the best advert for the legalization of ecstasy and the highly restricted sale of alcohol I have ever seen. We cut our losses and run, prepared to pay twenty quid for a taxi out of Dantes inferno. Amazingly we get one for eight quid, sharing with some Americans who, to their credit, are as appalled as we are. It feels like the best eight quid I have ever spent in my life.

... tour the following day. Surprisingly however, things quickly turned sour. The self-proclaimed 'Jungle Em' (arf) showed herself to be more Bruce Forsyth than Bruce Parry by failing to avoid a dozen or so leeches in a 10 minute period. Following this, she was reacquainted with her old pal Mr. Frog, who could not contain his excitement at this reunion and expressed his joy by jumping straight into Jungle Em's ...

... clothes, tattoos, and piercings. Most of them were actually well-to-do Europeans on their gap year and were trying too hard to portray the "backpacker image". This is all besides the point, other than it was just another thing I had to endure. Sure enough, as warned, there was theft on board the bus - most likely perpetrated by the bus operators. After having waited until people were asleep, someone was crawling down the isle reaching under ...

... you dont appreciate air con and hot water till you havent got it! Plus Im sick of looking like a cross between Tina Turner and Noddy Holder when I go out as straighteners dont work when you are trying to get ready in a sweltering room without air con. So the Full Moon Party was an adventure to say the least and we've spent all day sleeping round the pool and chilling out at the resort tonight. Were staying here again tomorrow and then onto Koh Tao on Friday morning ...

... get off and go for a swim in the small pool of a minor waterfall, but we opt, instead to spend the break playing with the elephant, since that's why we took the trip in the first place. When we arrive back we have the opportunity to feed the beast with about a buck's worth of bananas. He eats them, skins and all, thus our hands get covered in elephant goo. Yuk, yet, whoa! After a lunch break back at the lodge ...

... quickly cos our guide Kiam was soo cool! He showed us crazy leaves that cause water to form big droplets that look like aliens, gliding lizards (he made them jump by shaking the trees), how to drink the water inside a bamboo shoot (first using a bamboo straw, and then by just hacking the whole thing down with his machete and pouring :o) ), how to make hats from banana leaves... :oD Oh. and he can spot wildlife hidden up in trees a mile off, he has eyes like a hawk! He ...

Two hours before our train left, we collected our bags and had something to eat. We then went and sat on our backpacks in the middle of the station with some other Westerners who were doing the same thing. I felt the need to find the toilets and was surprised by the 10 baht admission fee. As soon as I paid I realised that it was a mistake. There was a woman mopping the floor, streaking it even more with muddy swipes. The toilets were full of girls and women of all ages. I ...