Koh Samui ( Nathon) Thailand

March 10, 2024 - Today was a very relaxing day on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand - despite some concerns we had during the port talk 2 days prior. We docked at the pier and boarded a small van (12 person) for our excursion - which was a beach day. The concerns were related to the multiple mentions of McDonald’s — as being our drop off/pick-up place as well as the spot for available toilets for this public beach. That made us a bit leery about the beach, but it was wonderful. It was a 45 minute ride to McDonald’s and when we arrived the guide brought us through to the street behind and walked us to the beach. Once we knew where it was, we opted to walk around the area before settling ourselves down on the beach. It was early so not a lot of activity on the street even though there were several “resorts” in the area. We quickly noticed that while there were a few shops and places to eat every other building offered massages and/or cannabis. We did not indulge in either. After a walk, we went to the beach and paid $3 to rent two chairs on the beach which were conveniently under some palm trees which offered great shade. The water was the perfect temperature and we had a great time jumping the waves (and getting knocked over once each as well). It was heaven. After swimming, as we were sitting on the beach, the locals came to sell to us tourists. There were a lot of scarves/sarongs, but the most interesting was the woman walking with a long metal ““T” bar on her one shoulder, with hangers on the vertical bar. And when she stopped to sell, she would plant the vertical bar in the sand —- just like an umbrella — and she had an instant shop. There were people with similar bars on their shoulder, that had food on one side and a mini grill on the other. They would drop their pole to the sand, and cook right in from of you. Amazing ingenuity. And, of course, the other amenity available on the beach was a Thai massage, with tables on a covered platform on the sand right at the entrance to the beach. We didn’t partake of any of the goods or services, but did enjoy the day immensely.