This is a panoramic view just outside of our hotel- our breakfast view.  After breakfast we got into our suits and headed into town to rent some snorkels and go snorkeling.  Our dive shop told us where we should go- we all hopped into a taxi:

Not your normal taxi- benches in the back of a pick up.  We bumped around up and down the mountain to Mae Hat beach.  It was beautiful-

A half moon bay with reefs on both sides.  The beach hosted 2 small restaurants and chairs to sit on with umbrellas.  We spent the first 2 hours swimming around the left side.  Lots of healthy coral, beautiful fish.  Kept hearing motor boats- every time I looked up there was another big boat of divers and snorkelers being dropped off.  There was plenty of room.  Snorkeling and diving are so solitary- it’s almost meditative, no it is meditative.

We caught lunch at one of the restaurants, it was yummy Thai food- back into the sea after lunch to explore the right side of the bay.  More healthy coral and tons of fish.  We’d pre paid the taxi driver to come get us 4 hours later- and he came back! The Thai people are so beautiful- quick to smile and offer help.

We finished packing and took our bags downstairs to take the hotel tuc tuc to the pier.  All of a sudden the tiny grandma who gave Rob his nighty massage came over and wanted a picure- of course we wanted one too.  She also gave us a bag of banana leaf wrapped home made treats.

Tried them on the ferry and well…….they tasted like soap.

It was miserable down at the pier- felt like 1000 degrees and NO wind.  We sat and sweated on the dock for about 30 min.  Finally got on- blessed A/C for the 2 hour ride to Koh Samui.  Had booked our hotel  yesterday and it ended up being literally next door to the pier- we dropped our bags, got back into our suits and went down to the pool.  Zach and I fried our backs today snorkeling.  Not very smart- mine will turn brown in a day and Zach being a Ginger and all will peel.

Kids wanted to eat at the hotel so Rob and I walked down a way to a great little restaurant – yummy Thai food.

When you enter a building, be it a temple or small shop, you take your shoes off and leave them outside.  Sometimes there is a whole pile of shoes.  But everyone takes their own.  I once slipped on someone else back flip flops, but immediately could tell they were not mine.

Saw this little business on our walk home from dinner-