Onward to Ko Samui!

We had to get up early because Jan was going out for his last dive on our final day here at Big Fish Resort. He needed to be ready by 7:30 AM when the boat was set to leave. I would have loved to join him for some snorkeling, but I couldn’t, as the group was taking a different boat since our captain was at a funeral. On this last dive, they encountered a triggerfish, which can be quite aggressive. It goes after earlobes or the relatively thin fins, making it capable of biting. The instructor had to position himself between the fish and the students to guide it away. Due to low visibility, they couldn’t see the instructor, who was gone for about 15 minutes, wrestling with the fish that just wouldn’t let go. He even had to use his knife against it, but because of its thick skin, he couldn’t hurt it. There were rumors on the island that a Japanese man had drowned the day before. He was a student at another diving school on Koh Tao and had gone out for his first dive. Just like our first time, he was supposed to swim around the boat three times, but the problem was that he couldn’t swim, and the instructor wasn’t keeping an eye on his new students. Jan got his certification and can now officially say he’s a diver. It was time to say goodbye to the others since we had to catch the boat at 3 PM to Koh Samui. We didn’t need to rush, though, as the boat was delayed by 40 minutes. The actual trip to Koh Samui only took 1 hour and 45 minutes. The boat rocked so violently that we were lifted from our seats every time it jumped over the waves. This time, we had taken seasickness pills, so we were prepared for the choppy waters. By chance, we ran into the English guys from Bangkok again. We had been on Koh Tao at the same time without realizing it. They were now heading to Ko Pha-Ngan. Finally, we arrived in Koh Samui, where we were immediately shanghaied by a taxi. We were tired and let ourselves be convinced to get a ride to a hotel. Of course, the taxi driver took us to a hotel where he could earn a commission. We decided to stay one night at Aloha Hotel for 2500 baht and then find a cheaper place tomorrow. In the evening, we wanted to explore the town. We had chosen to stay in the largest town, Lamai, on Koh Samui. We found a slightly nicer restaurant to eat at. The owner of the restaurant went around greeting all the guests, which made him seem like a bit of a slave driver. We could see he was strict with the staff but overly friendly with us. Naturally, we had to check out a few bars, as there’s a massive selection here on the island. We discovered that it’s normal for each bar to have around 14 girls employed to lure in customers, get them to drink, play pool, and so on.