01/29/2023 Waterfalls, Jungle, Mountain, Magic Garden, and Market in Koh Samui, Thailand

We cabbed to Silver Beach, a nice area on the island with a small intimate beach bordered off by massive rock walls on both sides. We fueled up with a hearty breakfast then hailed a cab and took a trip to the trail head of Na Muang waterfall. We made our way up a rather steep and advanced hike requiring rope and vine holds throughout until we reached an uninhabited waterfall and pool of water. We spent some time at this secluded spot we made our own, and since I didn’t join Morgan and Joseph’s new tattoo excursion in Bangkok, I was able to fully submerge and enjoy the refreshing and cool mountain runoff water. Under the waterfall was a small cave, and with some effort against a moderately powerful waterfall current, I was able to enter.

After spending some comfortable time relaxing at this spot, we then wanted to then visit the Tarnim Magic Garden located at the top of the mountain we had hiked most of the way up already. We were presented with two options: hike back down to the base of the waterfall trail and order a ride to take us on roads around and up a different side of the mountain to the entrance of the garden, or cut through uphill, off-trail jungle to the nearest road approximately a quarter of a mile away. Feeling adventurous and craving the jungle environment we had yet to experience in Thailand, and also as a potential way to save time, we opted to navigate through the overgrown jungle off-trail.

This journey through the jungle came with the largest bright colored spiders I have ever seen in my life, insects buzzing as loudly as an airplane passing overhead, and the sighting of a monkey swinging through the trees. Without machete, I used sticks I found along the way to clear the path from the spiderwebs homing the terrifyingly massive eight legged insects. We kept our spirits high and constantly laughed at the situation we had put ourselves in as we were deep in the middle of jungle where people don’t wander to. However, we eventually found trees and stone red markers that indicated there had in fact been humans on that same ground before, likely long ago. As I lead our expedition slowly battling our way through the jungle, I would encouragingly shout, “red marker!” This became our mantra to keep us laughing and from getting discouraged as we went through several periods of questioning our choice.

After about 45 minutes of navigating through jungle, we had reached the road we were searching for. At the top of the mountain, we stumbled upon an area with a shrine where we thanked Buddha for the red markers and safe passage, and a Giant Summit restaurant with seating over a cliff offering stunning views of all southern Koh Samui. We acknowledged and appreciated the fact we wouldn’t have found such place with its breathtaking views had we taken the easier option of hiking down and cabbing directly to the garden. Celebrating our triumph and journey through the jungle, we enjoyed smoothies and some light snacks before walking to the magic garden. The magic garden was a very serene and peaceful change of atmosphere from the jungle. Surrounded by small huts, ponds, and stone sculptures, we hopped around the garden, acting like kids at a playground with the many small attractions to explore and interact with.

We called the same cab driver who dropped us off at the waterfall to pick us up from the magic garden. Upon his arrival, he asked us if we had walked from the waterfall to the garden through the jungle, and when we responded yes, he shook his head repeatedly while giving us looks of concern and disapproval. We all shared a good laugh. He drove us to Lamai beach where we got food and drinks at the island’s nightly moving market. Here, we enjoyed some live music while we ate and drank. A solo traveler from Netherlands named Brent joined us at our table. Brent and I played a drinking game where I named a state in America and he had to point it out on the map, and vice versa for me with countries of Europe. When asked what he thinks of America/Americans, he mentioned that the rest of the world sees America similarly to how Americans views our state of Florida… I thought this comparison was funny, yet disappointing with its accuracy. During the live music set, a Thai boy rose salesman came to our table. Wanting to support this young entrepreneur who had fiery salesmanship, I bought a rose from him. Then, unprompted and out of nowhere, he grabbed the rose I bought and walked it over to a girl seated at a different table and gave it to her and pointed at me! While I respect the little man’s initiative to be a wingman, I was a bit embarrassed and reluctant when I later went over, introduced myself, and told them the story of what had happened. Thankfully they were a good sport and we were able to laugh about it.

After the market and cleaning myself up after the long adventurous day, I head back out to hit the town. This time, with Joseph and Morgan accompanying me. Having gone out the night before, I was able to lead us to the good spots and we shared drinks, dance floors, and laughs for a few hours. On our way back to the Air BnB, we grabbed some late night shawarma snack that was some of the best shawarma I’ve ever had. Walking along the shore back we stopped and enjoyed a bench swing hanging from a tree while laughing and saying to ourselves, “Koh Sam-Weeee!”