Koh Samui and Koh Tao
Koh means island in Thailand, but you knew that already. Mark and I had been staying on Koh Samui,which is one of his favorite islands. I went to see Women's Muay Thai boxing at one of the local clubs and it was much like mud wrestling with artificial mud. We went to see the famous rock called grandfather rock and another rock called grandmother rock: each remarkedly shaped like private parts. Lots of tourists go to see these rocks and have their pictures taken. There are European and Asia tourists. People from almost every country it seems but there are relatively few Americans staying here. There is also a big Budha statue on Koh Samu.

We left Koh Samui in a high speed ferry boat for the island of Koh Tao. We are staying in a place right on the beach. On this island are great beach restauants and lots of scuba diving. Mark and I rented a water taxi and went to several different snorkeling and dive sites. One outstandingly beautiful place is Koh Nangyuan which is like two ...no three small islands joined by stips of sand you can wade accross. Koh Nangyuan is just a short boatride from Koh Tao. The small islands are close enough together to go from one to the other. There is a hotel here on one island which is quite exclusive. People we met on the way over from Koh Samui on the ferry are staying here. Mark and I had lunch at this hotel and we spent the day snorkeling and climbing the hill on the other island. The colorful fish were abundant. I was snorkeling through schools of fish. I could hardly see for all the fish in front of my mask. As for the hill climb, it is a fairly long climb and the view is worth it. There are private properties on this second island.
Back to Koh Tao. There are fighting cocks in basket cages down the road from where we are staying. During the mornings the trainers teach them to fight. There has been a big bird flu scare and so we are keeping our distance from birds and chickens and having to make due eating bar-b-que shrimp that are each about 10 inches long and grilled fresh fish. At some of the restaurants outdoors on the beach the tables are like beds and you can lie down while waiting to be served your meal or after eating to listen to music and look at the stars.