January 21,2025

We woke to mist and fog in the Bay of Thailand

We anchored off the coast of Koh Samui

Pastries and yogurt in our cabin

We tendered to shore just before noon

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Our guide Noona and her driver Tony were waiting for us…she sent us her photo via WhatsApp and we sent her a selfie. Made it easy to find each other. Gotta love technology.

On our short drive to visit a rum distillery – for a tasting and tour… we shared the road with bicycles, scooters and trucks.

The distillery is located in Na Mueang. The property is large and quite pretty.

The tasting took place in an open air structure

We tasted two rums and two non-alcoholic syrups.

Isan rum is produced in the tradition of agricultural rums from the French West Indies. It’s made from sugarcane peeled by hand and distilled in Nong Khai.

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Samui rum is made on the premises of the Samui distillery. It’s distilled from organic sugarcane molasses in a small copper pot.

We tasted both rums, then we added the syrups…little by little until we created the perfick taste.

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Both rums were quite strong and delicious.

After the tasting we walked over to a small building where the magic takes place.

This large vat is where the sugarcane molasses is combined with yeast until it’s ready to go into the copper pot.

Samples of the molasses and yeast…

So, yes, this is it…the rum making room.

The pink funnel drains the rum into the large bottle.

The process is very straightforward …less complex than wine making.

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Out side the distillery was this small altar.

Here’s some sugarcane.

After about 45 minutes we left to visit “Baan Boran” a traditional Thai house…where much merriment ensued.

Before entering the house we observed the wooden carvings on the exterior…then we removed our shoes upon entering.

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Bowls of water to wash your feet

The owner, Nuum shared the story of his ancestors home…Noona helped with translation.

Upon entering the home we were served Pandan juice and coconut custard.

The juice is really delicious and refreshing…made from pulverized pandan leaves and water.

Noona serving

The first of dozens of photos of us…Noona really likes snapping pics…almost as much as I do.

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We learned about various artifacts and their uses.

This is a child’s seat

Photos and drawings of Nuum’s ancestors adorn the walls.

The home has been lived in by six generations of the same family. Nuum and his wife Pha would like to eventually create a small museum.

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A girls bedroom

This is a trapdoor…in lieu of an outhouse.

The kitchen where Timmy and I will make “Ladyfinger Dumplings” a snack that’s only available here at Baan Boran.

To begin, we sat on the stools and shaved coconut into bowls.

This is an example of a correctly made dumpling.

Ingredients consist of coconut, rice flour, sugar and water.

Nuum demonstrated how to grate the coconut.

Scrape, twist, scrape…sounds and looks easy…until you try to execute

I think I executed slightly better than Timmy…

Noona took the coconut, added a bit of water and mixed

Here’s Pha, Nuum’s wife and a local chef…

She’s going to get us started…

Hands on means hands on

Here’s where the laughter began in earnest …twisting the dumplings into the proper shape required more coordination than either of us possess.

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Pha placing the dough into the wok

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Once the dumplings float, they are done.

As we waited for the dumplings to cook…Nuum proudly showed us a magazine article featuring Pha and Baan Boran House.

This is the magazine cover

The article showcased their home and Pha’s talents

Okay…here we go…

Not perfick looking…but really yummy…the coconut makes them chewy.

Such a wonderful couple…so welcoming and kind

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Nuum demonstrated his process for opening coconuts

Something Timmy said has us all laughing …I wish I could remember what it was.

No, we absolutely did not let Tim try opening the coconuts

Every bit of the coconut is used…the husks are burned for fuel and also used as fertilizer

Koh Samui has a population of about 70,000…and only 2 traffic lights…here’s one of them

On our way to the Plai Leam temple, we stopped for a photo op at Leam Koh viewpoint.

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Temperatures were in the high 80’s

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The drive to the temple took about 30 minutes, I snapped these pics as Noona gave us some history about the temple and the Goddess of Mercy.

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The scale is impressive

Guanyin…from the side

Dragons are protecting the entrance to Plai Leam

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These drawings were done by local folks in the community because they couldn’t afford to pay a professional artist.

In addition to altars and statues, temple walls have murals that tell a story

I took three photos, because I wanted to capture the scale and then the details

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Guanyin who has eighteen arms …brings health to children and protects sailors from danger

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This golden casket was built to protect the imprint of Buddha’s foot

I think it’s fitting to find a dove in such a peaceful setting

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The Laughing Buddha

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A woman is receiving a blessing from one of the temple monks

After a wonderful afternoon, Noona and Tony returned us to Symphony

We spent some time on our balcony enjoying the sunset

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Then drinks and snacks in the Cove.

Octopus carpaccio for starters

A very yummy curry for both of us

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Lemon meringue and mint ice cream

Black currant sorbet to end our day.

Our visit to Koh Samui was a terrific introduction to Thailand and Thai culture. We spent our day laughing and throughly enjoying our guide Noona. Thanks for following along 🩵