#KohSamui #Thailand #MarellaDiscovery #EnchantingFarEast2

What to do was the question? The idea of going to a beach appealed but we were not sure we could last several hours in the sun. We had never done a 4x4 experience and the idea of visiting a local waterfall clinched the deal.

What we hadn't realised was that we would have to be up at 6am because it was a tender to shore.
Arriving at the harbour, we were escorted to our vehicle and along with six other people we were soon on our way. 
The first stop was described as a visit to a rubber plantation but proved to be a couple of stalls by the side of the main road. Here the traffic noise drowned out what could have been an interesting talk and demonstration. Interestingly, the man did all the talking and the woman all the hard work setting up the machines.

---

After this, we left the main road and went up the tracks, half concrete and with sections of rough ground. This proved to be quite amusing, in our vehicle, as we were bounced around, not so in the vehicle we saw in front of us. 
Our next stop was at the highest temple on the island, as well as being an impressive place there were excellent views over the area, including another temple that was being rebuilt. We also had a chance to sample, or buy, some of the local fruit from a couple of small stalls. I won't mention the toilet facilities here!

After another bumpy ride, we arrived at the waterfall; a superb natural area of beauty. I didn't have time to sketch this but did manage to collect some interesting images that I could use later. You could swim there, but we decided to explore further, as there was only a small swimming area and not many of our group decided to bathe there.  

---

This was another mode of transport crossed off our list! On the whole, an interesting experience. The 'rubber plantation' was a disappointment as we expected a tour of one. The temple was a unexpected treat and the waterfall was impressive. You could probably do these sites a lot cheaper by  local taxi but the off road experience enhanced it for us.

Getting back to the boat I decided to have a play with a sketch of the waterfall. I had used salt with watercolour before but had forgotten how messy it could be and it didn't seem to want to come off the paper when the paint dried. It did intertest one of the waiters though who then followed my sketching exploits later on in the cruise.

---