Saturday in Chaweng, Finally Some Sun!

Finally, just a little bit of sun!  It's still windy, but much better than the past two days have been.

This morning we took a taxi to the big supermarket, Tesco Lotus.  I think it's actually a UK owned chain, but we have seen them each city we've been to here.  For some odd reason, we find grocery stores in foreign countries very interesting, and this one was no exception.  It had everything from sauerkraut to fish sauce, from mangosteen juice to Campbells' soup!  It was more like a big Walmart, having clothing and housewares.

We stocked up of some drinks and snacks at Tesco, then wandered streets around the market.  Didn't find much of interest, but we always enjoy looking.  A quick taxi ride back to our hotel, unload our groceries, and we found a small restaurant close by for a quick bite of lunch.

A note about Koh Samui--we're finding it's much more expensive here than Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Meals and drinks are more, but the main difference is the cost and availability of transportation.  On the island, the different beach/dining/shopping areas are far apart, and it's been a challenge to get around. We've seen just one tuk-tuk in the two days we've been here, and songthaews are scarce.  There are many taxis, both regular taxis and scooter taxis.  It costs at least 3 times as much for a taxi ride here!  Still not a major expense, but relative to Bangkok and especially Chiang Mai, it surprised us.

After our quick lunch, we came back to our bungalow and changed into our swimsuits--it's finally nice enough to lay by the pool.   The sea is still much too rough for us, but we relaxed in the sun and read, and even got a little tan!

After that hard work we took a nice, long nap--and then it was happy hour!  We walked up the beach to a nice beach side bar and enjoyed a couple of cold drinks.  There's just something about sunset on the beach.........

Our plan for the evening was to go see a lady-boy cabaret show, so we walked to the main drag to catch a songthaew.  We negotiate a fair price with the driver, and off we go.  What he failed to mention was that he was first taking the other passenger to his hotel, which was waaaaay out of town.  We had a long, round about ride to Central Chaweng, and ended up being too late to catch the show!  We did see the "lady-boys" on the street, however, here they are in all their glory:

We weren't terribly disappointed, as that area of Chaweng was great fun to explore.   Lots of restaurants to choose from, fun shops to explore,  and packed with people.  It was hoppin'!  We ate a very tasty dinner at a tiny Indian restaurant, and just strolled around enjoying the busy scene.

We were lucky and found a songthaew easily, and our return ride was much shorter.

Another relaxing day on Koh Samui, so relaxing that I only took a couple of pictures!