Since we couldn’t go on our boat ride today, Amy arranged another activity. It required another ride in the van, and ended up being a hot, but good day. We visited the following sites: Grand Pa and Grand Ma rock, Mummy Monk, Na Mueang Water Falls, Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yia in in Bo Phut, and at Wat Plai Laem.

Our first stop, was a look out spot for us to see more of the island. It was a cloudy day, so the view was not great, but still interesting. Next we went to Grand Ma and Grand Pa rock, which seems like a very odd name for penis and vagina rock. Penis was easy to spot, but you had to be in just the right spot to see Grand Ma’s g-spot. Overall the enormous boulders were pretty, this was the first stop where we started to realize how hot it really was outside. It was the humidity that made us all sweat off a few pounds.

Our next stop, the mummy monk at Wat Khunaram which is a Buddhist temple. Luang Pho Daeng, who died in 1973 in a seated meditative position and directed that his body be put on display as a reminder of the transience of human existence. He is in a glass case with sun glasses on and we learned that no chemicals were used to preserve or mummify him. It was unusual and a little creepy, especially when Amy shared that his hair was still growing. On the wall outside of the temple there were doors shaped like houses with a shelf inside. This is where family members placed the cremated ashes of their loved ones.

We drove to Na Mueang waterfall, and there’s not much to say about it, it was a water fall with a lot of water passing through it. A few of the people in our group bought fun things like scarves and paintings in the market before the falls. I on the other hand headed back to the van early to get out of the heat.

We had about a 20 minute drive it our next stop, the first big Buddha. This majestic 12-metre tall golden statue sits on an elevated platform, adorned with dragons and traditional decor that visually dominates the landscape. This beautiful structure was built in 1972 and supposedly can be seen by plane when arriving in Samui.

We saw more impressive big statues at Wat Plai Laem. This was a very colorful temple and featured a large laughing Buddha and the eighteen armed Hindu god Guanyin. According to Chinese mythology, Guanyin is the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion. Her arms are reaching out to comfort, save and protect all sentient beings. There were other smaller Hindu gods but the two were the largest.

Erika and Matt did something a little different. They had a driver take them to penis rocks and two waterfalls. We drove back to the hotel and went separate ways for dinner. Erika and Matt were going to the Jungle club, and Bowman and I decided on Dr Frogs.