Koh Samui (by Josh)

We just left Koh Samui after spending 6 days there which ended up being a sweet little retreat even if it was somewhat lackluster.We stayed at Lemai Beach which wasn't an overly exciting place as a whole but had nice beaches with no crowds.
We are here during the rainy season so unfortunately only 2 of 6 days were sunny but we did enjoy our sun days and lounged on the beach and swam
in Samui's sparkling water.
However, it was a tad of a struggle at first when the rain started(and I'm talking pretty much all day downpour!)
to figure out what to do with ourselves. We have been on the road for over three months and this is the first time we have been in a situation where our destination wasn't exactly crawling with cultural or natural draws.
However to be fair, the rain did stop us from visiting the few draws the island offered,some popular waterfalls and other beaches. There is an elephant
park(of course!) but trying to be ethical travelers we had only read mixed reviews on the treatment of the elephants and after our experience
in India we are extra careful.
Fortunately, we did meet a fellow traveler named Laura who we instantly clicked with,and ended up enjoying many great conversations with her.
She is off to India as I write so we
enjoyed sharing our experiences
with her and offering up tips and she did the same having spent a few weeks on Samui.
She informed us of a good gym close by our hotel(the nice thing in Lemai is
nothing is far) and so we spent a few
rainy days sweating ourselves ragged:)
Our last night was surprisingly fun as we stumbled upon a Sunday night market(a staple in every Thai city!) and may have also stumbled upon a 1 dollar Mojito stand!!! Anyone who
knows us knows we both love Mojitos so we may have supported the Mojito man a little more than we should have!
(let's just say Niki did not enjoy the wavy ferry ride to Koh Phangan the next day!)
Additionally, we ended up meeting a group of three from Dubai(expats) who were an absolute blast. We ended up at a karaoke bar and with full throttle Mojito courage I entertained the crowd with some Michael Buble, AC\DC and Eagles!
I know, strange combo of songs but it was that kind of night!! Note to those
visiting Samui, I don't know what type of Rum our Mojito man used or how much but we only had 4 drinks each the whole night and we were burning the roof!! So beware, I have heard rumors in my travels of Popsicle stand bars using anything from homemade
Whisky to rubbing alcohol, last night may have been evidence!
All in all, Koh Samui slowed us down
and put us in an island pace. Places
like Turkey and India are a tough act
to follow and even Bangkok and the north were impressive in their own way. Samui wasn't overly interesting on a cultural or historical level but then
that isn't what going to a tropical island is all about.
The beach was idyllic though no better than others I have seen. But the slower
pace was good for us, it would be great if everyday in life was an adrenaline rush but life isn't like that and we do have to return to a regular pace eventually so Samui was a good moderator.
But in the end it's all about the people and we met some great people in Koh Samui, which made Samui great.
Peace:)