Elephant Trekking - Fun Fun Fun

Actually, I have nothing else to say about this adventure but fun fun fun. Elephant Trekking was actually part of the Island Tour I booked in Koh Samui. At first, I thought that the trek was only to roam around the village etc but oh Boy we went up hill. And it was really like, OMG and the guide, I mean the elephant rider assured me that its really okey and they have been doing this long time. So I just sit back and enjoy the ride, I mean the trek. Trekking up to the mountain was fun and not that nervous but when we went down, O gracious Lord it was really thrill and at the same time very nervous. Imagine, setting at the top of the elephant; I thought was not that high but when I was on the top and sit like a King - as in its kinda high like setting at the top of the cargo truck. How much more if you trek up to the mountain and so when we came down its really a thrill of a ride. I have fun but the most daring thing this elephant did was when this big jumbo tried to jump along the canal.. And it was like Huh No no and so the guide stop the elephant from doing so. Thus, I really recommend every one to try elephant trekking to the mountain.

Palace(s) in Different Places

Every country has its own historical spot(s) either monuments or grand palaces. Indeed, these remnants of the past are the living legends or testimonies that stand through test of times. Thus, in every places that I have been with;  there is always a palace(s) to visit as part of the tour or a must to go and see.

Below from Top to bottom are the palaces I have explored/toured and experienced:  1. Bangalore Palace - India 2. Dolmabachev Palace-Turkey  3 & 4. Vinmamek Palace-Thailand  5& 6.Mysore Palace- Mysore, India  7&8. Topkapi Palace-Turkey 9. Ciragan Palace-Turkey 10. Grand Palace - Bangkok, Thailand.

Loving Thai Massage

My cousin Kgandahan always tells me that among the massage(s) she had either Balinese, Indian/Sri Lanka Ayuverda, Hilot etc, Thai Massage is the best among. Well, before I brushed that idea off of Ganda or simply put I did not agree with her but when I had my Thai massage OMG! I super loved it!And Ganda is righty!!!

That day after I had my swimming, I went out and look for some massage spa. Right at the corner of that pavement road in Chaweng, I spotted this clean, decent spa. As I walked in to the spa, a Thai attendant greeted me with "Sawadee ka" and with an advised from her that I should removed my sleepers and dipped my feet to that plastic bowl half full of lukewarm water. Later on she rubbed my feet and clean it. Then after, she told me to go upstairs and change my clothes which I also followed.

As I laid down on back position she started me to massage and the rest of it are all worth memories and experience. But really, Thai massage is good for our body or any massage will do but Thai massage differs from the rests. It helps you relieve your pain and stress. In fact, Thai massage as per Google is also called Thai yoga massage, because the therapist uses his or her hands, knees, legs, and feet to move you into a series of yoga-like stretches. Many people say Thai massage is like doing yoga without any work. Muscle compression, joint mobilization, and acupressure are also used during treatment.

Thai massage is really both relaxing and energizing indeed thus I've had three Thai massages in different Spa and for just 200 baht why not try anyway:-)

An Island called "Koh Samui"

Due to I was really bit pressured, demotivated, discouraged and disappointed with my work and my company, I made a suicide decision of traveling abroad by myself and get away from this maddening and exhausting world. After a tedious and hurried research, I made up my mind to go to Thailand to grab the cheap thrills/deals over there. I came to know Koh Samui -  an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand's third largest island. It is rich with natural resources, white sandy beaches, coral reefs and coconut trees - through a travel blogs/etc and I was excited after reading/getting information about the island. And so right at that moment, I made a booking of my tickets and hotel and eventually ready to go.

   I thought the island was just around the corner after a one hour flight from Bangkok, but it was not the way around. I still made a shuttle from the airport to the pier for a one hour trip and right at the pier another one and half hour voyage to Koh Samui. And thus, I arrived at the island around 9 PM and its not just that,  you need to ride a tuktuk or van to your point of destination/area or to where your hotel is situated. A very tiring trip but worthy indeed.

A deep slept I made after arriving in my hotel(for an over nite only) and to my delight the receptionist is a Filipino and he was born and raised in the island. Very well said. Anyway, I woke up early the very next day which I hummed for a hearty breakfast but to my disappointment the island restos open only by 10 and it was still 7 am. So I decided to watch over and over their limited TV channels. And that day (to make the story short/concise/brief), I did a lot of things from having my breakfast to sauntering the streets of Chaweng, getting a thai massage  and heading to the beach and went for swimming by myself. Watta Day indeed! Infact I was fascinated by watching people from all walks of life doing their tans and snorkeling. Life's a beach anyway!

By 2pm, I made a check out because my hotel which I really booked for four nights was in another town called Lamai. And after arriving in that hotel, they pampered me by offering a welcome drinks and little of both hand and foot massage. They drove me to my villa and briefed me about my not so hitech room and right after that I made some photos of my room which I really like it and then later I head down to have sunset swimming in the pool. After swimming, I went up top reception to book myself for the next day once in a lifetime adventure which was the whole day Island tour(Elephant trekking, Mountain Safari, Water Safari, Etc (I will blog this next time).

 

Well, Koh Samui for me is a big island which comprises a lot of towns. Just like Bali, the island has a lot to offer not just swimming around the beach and partying but also a lot of different activities to offer. They have mountain climbing/trekking, mountain/forest safari tour, monkey/animal shows, elephant trekking, etc. Each town has a lot to offer. Chaweng which the most popular and most populated has more to offer from night clubs, restos and shopping sprees. Their beach front areas are populated with hotels which are side by side. Among the towns, Chaweng has the longest stretched beach. Lamai is the next. For me I love Lamai because of its serenity, clean and rocky. Well, the whole trip was very worthy, memorable and adventure. I made friends and what better way to treasure this trip was to leave nothing but footprints, pictures and of course the memories.

The Many Faces of Buddha

 Ever since I travel, Buddha or Buddhas is/are always part of my photos or shots if not all of my trips. Thus, I came up of writing an article about it but as I go search for the name Buddha in Google, Wikipedia described it all in leaps and bounds. Thus I have an excerpt below about Buddha according to Wikipedia:

The Buddha and his monks spent four months each year discussing and rehearsing his teachings, and after his death his monks set about preserving them. A council was held shortly after his death, and another was held a century later. At these councils the monks attempted to establish and authenticate the extant accounts of the life and teachings of the Buddha following systematic rules. They divided the teachings into distinct but overlapping bodies of material, and assigned specific monks to preserve each one. In some cases, essential aspects of teachings attributed to the Buddha were incorporated into stories and chants in an effort to preserve them accurately.


From then on, the teachings were transmitted orally. From internal evidence it seems clear that the oldest texts crystallized into their current form by the time of the second council or shortly after it. The scriptures were not written down until three or four hundred years after the Buddha's death. By this point, the monks had added or altered some material themselves, in particular magnifying the figure of the Buddha.