We were all up bright and early to leave the hotel at 6:45 to catch a flight to the island called Ko Samui. It was smooth leaving Bangkok, and as we started to land, the plane made a sudden incline. The pilot told us that we couldn’t land because of the rain, so we circled for 10 min then everything was fine. We drove 20 min to the hotel, and it was not exactly what I expected. Since rooms weren’t ready, we walked to the beach, which was across the street, sat under a tiki hit, and ordered drinks. Because of the recent rain, the beaches were closed – high waves and jellyfish. But the sound of the waves breaking against the shore is such a soothing sound. Fortunately at 1pm we could get into our room. Then it started to rain again. Bowman and I found a few restaurants near by, so we walked to one. Funny part was Matt and Erika were at the restaurant right across the street from us.

We learned from Amy that our plans tomorrow had to change. We were supposed to go snorkeling but the three meter high waves are going to make that impossible. So instead she selected about 4 places for us to visit by van instead. So today is a wash…literally and figuratively. Rained all day, so not much to do, and Bowman did laundry. Were hoping not to have rain the entire time we’re here, but Ko Samui has an average of 526 millimeters of rain in November, or 21 inches. In Bangkok there’s only 57mm in November.

Buddhism side note. In Thailand, the type of Buddhism practiced by 95% of the People is Theravada. There are 30,000 temples, and over 300,000 monks. Every man in Thailand is required to become a monk for a period of time before the age of 20. Though the expected time length is about three months, some will stay as little as a day or two. We have enjoyed seeing the various spirit houses and shrines all over the place. A shrine typically has a Hindu god inside, whereas spirit house can be placed anywhere – residential or commercial. A spirit house is a dedicated structure to honor the guardians of the land. The house is intended to provide shelter to the spirits that could cause all manner of problems if not appeased. These little shrines often include images of people and animals. Votive offerings are left at the house on a daily basis to soothe the spirits. A common thing we’ve seen is red Fanta being placed by either.Thai people believe that if spirits are happy, their homes and workplaces will be safe and happy too, and keep them out of the house.