Another holiday and more pages to catch up on – same old story. This time we’ve just got back from a trip to Ko Samui. First time I’ve been there actually. It has often been billed in the past as a paradise island and famed like many of Thailand’s beauty spots as having beaches of the purest white sands and skirted by gently waving palm trees. Well the beaches are still as beautiful, but I’m afraid many of the trees have been uprooted and the ones that remain stand between hotels and condos. Off the beaches are main drags packed with MacDonalds and Starbucks. Any piece of land that hasn’t been developed has a ‘For Sale’ sign on it or a large banner offering apartments for sale and guaranteed returns on their investments. The whole island has been blighted by rampant development and shows no sign of stopping.
Having said all that if you are in your hotel and just look forward to the sea and try not to look at all your concrete neighbours, you may still enjoy the view. We also managed to find a fairly quiet beach and get in some quality relaxing time. Ko Samui is definitely off our schedule for return visits though.
At least the break also allowed me to find time to complete the Kanchanaburi page of the website. I know we went there in March, but I’ve been busy. In addition to the Globalwanderings site, me and Jackie have been working on our new venture podcastsinenglish.com this will be a site for students to download podcasts of our interviews with all sorts of people and news stories to help with their English. Worksheets are also available to members who pay $30 a year. Anyway check out the site and see what you think.
