140. | Best of Samui and the dry waterfalls

Exactly one week ago I went on my second motorbike tour of the island. I discovered more beautiful places on Koh Samui. This day also deserves to be remembered.

The morning after the motorbike tour described in the post “Ring Road of Koh Samui”, I went back to the scooter rental company and rented the little blue vehicle for another day. My main renter recommended a few attractions, I planned to spend a few more hours seeing some interesting places. By the end of the day, I ended up putting another 70 kilometers on the scooter.

Overlap Stone 2 – Best of Samui

My first stop was Overlap Stone 2. Two because there is one, not far from the other two. According to my host, it is not as spectacular as the other two and is more expensive. Yes, because you have to pay an entrance fee to these places. You don’t just go to see a rock! Based on this, I decided that visiting just one would be enough for me.

This stop is located a half-hour scooter ride from me. At the Wat Sila Ngu temple, which I introduced in the post “My first long walk in the tropics”, you don’t have to turn left towards the inside of the temple, but right, up the mountain. The road up is a real thrill. Especially if you go by scooter. I couldn’t find any information on the angle at which the roads rise, so I’m obviously exaggerating what I think, but I estimate the slope of the road to be 45 degrees. The road there is quite steep.

You can’t go all the way to the finish line, a few hundred meters below there are very strict signs warning that the further road is dangerous and entry is prohibited. Skulls and all! If I hadn’t wanted to park my vehicle, I would have had to do it here. I left my scooter there for 20 BHT, and in return they took me up to the finish line in an SUV. Along the way – but especially on the downhill section – it became clear why ordinary vehicles are prohibited here. The main reason is that it seems almost impossible for anything other than an SUV to come up here. For example, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to bring the car down in one go!

So after a short drive, I was up at the stone and the facilities built around it. The entrance fee is 200 BHT, but I also got an adhesive wristband for it!

The term overlap stone is used in Hungarian as a swinging stone. The Rocking Stone on the island of Koh Samui is a huge granite block that sits on a cliff ledge as if it could roll down into the valley at any moment. This natural wonder has stood there for thousands of years and is also revered by the locals as a sacred place.

From the stone, you can enjoy a stunning view of the sea, the hills of the island and the surrounding green landscape. The unique shape and location of the stone made me feel like this place represents the fragile yet eternal balance of nature.

If the ride up was exciting, I enjoyed the descent even more! I didn’t have to do anything but hold on to the brakes with both hands, and maybe even get nervous so that the brake pads wouldn’t catch fire. So, when I got back to normal altitude and saw the church, I thought it would be worth stopping in for a prayer of thanks. After all, I survived the journey!

Na Muang Waterfall 1

Yes, there are one and two of these. You don’t need to buy an entrance ticket here. Not only that, but I decided to see both of them. I paid 20 BHT for parking the motorbike and went to admire the water falling down.

The water thought differently, so it didn’t fall. The waterfall was closed that day. So, I could admire the place where water usually falls, but now it had other things to do. This fact didn’t cause me any mental breakdown. On the one hand, the place was still beautiful, and on the other hand, I decided that I would come back here during the rainy season that was starting soon. Then there would definitely be water.

The place was peaceful and quiet. Until a group of Germans arrived, let’s say they disturbed the silence of the place quite a bit with their unreasonable shouting. Fortunately, they weren’t there for long. I wasn’t bothered by their presence, I was more ashamed of myself for them.

While enjoying the peace and quiet, I sat down and ate some grilled corn and drank from a coconut. I was suspicious of this coconut, so I asked the AI: “I drank the juice of the fruit in the picture, and I ate the thin layer that can be scraped off the inside. It was sold as a coconut, but I have a feeling that it’s not a coconut, but something else. Am I right or wrong?”

He diplomatically didn’t say a word that I was wrong, even though that was the truth. I learned that it was indeed a coconut, just not the brown, hard-shelled, fully ripe variety that we usually see in Europe.

Coconuts can be found in stores and on the streets of tropical countries in two forms: young (green) coconuts and mature (brown) coconuts. Young coconut: The fruit, harvested while still young, has a green shell and contains abundant, refreshing coconut water inside. On the inner wall, only a thin, soft, gelatinous layer of coconut meat forms, which can be easily scooped out with a spoon. In Thailand and other tropical countries, they are sold freshly cut, with a straw and spoon. Mature coconut: This is the fully ripe version, with a thick, fibrous and hard brown shell. There is only a little liquid left inside, but the coconut meat is thick, hard and oily – this is what makes grated coconut, coconut milk or coconut oil.

I met – quiet – European people in the parking lot. They asked me where the waterfall was, it wasn’t hard to tell them that it was 100 meters from where we were standing, but I also told them that there was no water in it. I also told them that I was planning to go to Na Muang Waterfall 2, but they told me that there was no water there either. This information changed my plans and I chose another destination. I decided to visit Khun Si Waterfall.

Wat Khunaram (Phra Wihan Luang Pho Daeng)

Since I happened to pass Wat Khunaram on my way, I quickly pulled the handlebars of my motorbike and checked out this beautiful place. Behind the temple part there is a school, where there is a beautiful courtyard between the buildings. They were preparing for a concert, the equipment was already set up on the stage. However, I still caught the quiet moments.

It was not in vain to stop!

Khun Si Waterfall

I’m telling you in advance! There was no water here either! So, if you want to see amazing pictures of a working waterfall, you should look for them on the Internet.

I enjoyed getting to know this place even though the waterfall was turned off.

First of all, I had to get to the location on deserted forest roads. I passed two or three houses along the road in the forest. Yes, there were people living there! Here I thought that even such an island at the end of the world has its own end-of-the-world corner. Looking through the windows of these houses – a poetic image, I didn’t really discover a window! – I didn’t see the light of the big screen that enchanted everyone. I can also say that I inevitably thought about what the phrase “I live a minimalist life” would mean here…

I knew that a restaurant would be waiting at the top of the mountain. A small forest restaurant. Or rather a pub. I don’t know, because I didn’t visit it, I just parked my motorbike there. On the short road leading here, I was accompanied by two dogs, they were actively interested in riding a motorbike, I felt like they wanted to ride alongside me.

After parking the motorbike, I had to go up to an abandoned(?) house on top of a hill. I immediately looked for a stick, learning from the previous day’s experiences. On the short road leading up, I smelled wonderful scents, thanks to a tree with flowers I had never seen before. I learned from AI that the tree is a temple tree or also known as frangipani (Plumeria). It is a very common ornamental tree in Thailand, especially on the island of Koh Samui. The frangipani flower is used in many places in temples, for decoration, and for perfumes, and is one of the most well-known tropical tree flowers in Southeast Asia. Plumeria flowers are famous for attracting pollinators (especially nocturnal sphinx moths) with their scent, but they do not produce nectar. I thought about being a sphinx moth…

The house on the top of the hill was a buffet area that had seen better days. As the only guest, I rested here for a while. I imagined how many good conversations the trees under which I was sleeping must have seen. I remembered my friend, with whom I had slept in the forest several times this year. In this place, we might have said together and at the same time that this was an excellent place to sleep.

From here I had to walk down to the third waterfall in a 10-minute walk. After yesterday’s snake show, I was not at ease. Especially after looking down at the trees from the Overlap stone, about 5 meters below me, a snake was squirming on the top of a tree, and the courage that had put the reptile around my neck yesterday immediately faded. At the stone, I realized that I would not like to hike here just like that. Let’s just say that on the way to the waterfall, the thought kept running through my mind that there could be a living creature under any stone here that I wouldn’t like to meet – outside of a show.

The gloomy thoughts were compensated by the fact that there was a banana tree next to the road, from which I picked a fruit and ate it. It was a little unripe, but that didn’t take anything away from the experience.

I looked at the next waterfall. I imagined that where I was standing, I probably wouldn’t be able to stand if the tap were open.

I headed back to the snack bar, then to the motorbike. I dodged the routine dog interest, and after a half-hour ride I reached my own neighborhood. I had dinner there, then bought some groceries and ended the day’s wandering and motorbike riding.

It was an exciting day with the two dried-up waterfalls, the elephants, the grilled corn and coconuts, the dogs, the rickety houses, the buffet, the Plumeria flowers, the beautiful view, the off-road tour, the motorbike experience. I won’t continue this list because my fingers are getting tired. It’s easier to say that I’m grateful for this day too!