I set out on my bicycle for Ban Phutsa and Wat Prang Torng and then decided to head over to Kam Talay Soh and Kok Kruat.
Planting rice.
Wat Prang Torng near Ban Phutsa. This is an 11th Century Khmer Prang (tower). Yes, the tower leans that far over.
The lintel depicts the Hindu god Indra riding his three headed elephant, Erawan.
Leaf shaped stones (Sema stones) are used to mark the sacred area of the ordination hall (ubosot) of a Buddhist temple (wat). There are many very old and worn Sema stones scattered around this wat.
Discarded spirit houses. When people discard a spirit house they tend to toss them in a place where they will be kept company by other discarded spirit houses.
This railway overpass has been under construction for three years. I finally got to ride over it today.
I got a nice view of the railway line from the top.
After three hours of riding, I needed a coffee break. This is old fashioned Thai coffee made with a filter shaped like a sock. It is usually sweetened with condensed milk and topped off with canned milk.
Rim Khuen restaurant in Samut Songkhram. We stopped for lunch. Good food. Good price. Very typical of roadside restaurants along Thai highways.
Baan Thew Talay
The condo. Work started in April. They are now up to the eighth floor. Our unit is on the 7th floor.
Abandoned boat on the beach.
The beach pool and club at Baan Thew Talay.
I've always wanted to stay in the old Railway Hotel in Hua Hin. It first opened in the 1920s, but fell into disrepair in the 60s. It was completely restored in the 80s and 90s and is now known as the Centara Grand. The hotel appears in the film, The Killing Fields.
The rooms are beautiful.
Great gardens.
Interesting topiary.
Including this giant topiary elephant.
Happy Hour at the beach.
The buffet breakfast is huge.
This is The Museum restaurant. The hotel lobby was originally here. It is now a tea and coffee shop decorated with mementos of the hotel's past.
I did a few days of diving at Losin and Koh Kra and then met up with Mam on Koh Samui for a few days of fun and relaxation.
Good Morning Losin!
Losin is the name of the rock with the lighthouse on top. It doesn't look like much from the surface, but the dive site is huge, with several submerged sea mounts that offer great diving. Almost no one comes here. We had the site all to oursleves.
This Thai fishing boat came to trade fuel for fish.
We had some lovely sashimi.
Koh Kra on the left, Hin Sung on the right with Hin Rue the small rock in front. This is also a rarely-visited, but very nice dive site.
Koh Kra has a nice beach which is a turtle nesting site.
The boat I was on is the Scuba Explorer run by Samui Diving Services. This is the lounge with tour leader Marcie in the blue t-shirt. This is a mainly Japanese operation. I've been out with them three times now. I'm usually the only Western customer.
Panorama of our approach to Koh Samui. This trip departed from Songkhla in Thailand's south and ended at Koh Samui, an island that is very popular with tourists.
Dive Trip Video
Losin and Koh Kra - July 2013
This is a brief (7 minute) video of the dive trip.
After the dive trip I met Mam on Koh Samui. We stayed at the Crystal Bay Beach Resort. This is the view from the room.
The hotel is right on the beach at Ao Thong Takien, one of the nicest beaches on Koh Samui. The sand is soft and clean. The water is clear. There are enough corals and fishes to make snorkeling interesting.
The beach is dotted with big boulders like this. The snorkeling is quite nice around these huge rocks.
Panorama of Ao Thong Takien.
That's our hotel, on the right.
Mam
Snorkeling Samui and Ang Thong
Short (3 minute) video of snorkeling on Koh Samui and at Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park.
