We left Bangkok for a four-day stint on the island of Koh Samui. We stayed at the Coral Bay Resort on the northern end of the busiest beach on the island, Chaweng. A five-minute cab ride from the nicest swath of the beach and the bar/restaurant area of central Chaweng, our resort was on the northern, quiet end of the beach.

We had the best of both worlds, five minutes from the energy of central Chaweng but smack in the middle of peace and tranquility. We had a beachfront family bungalow with two huge rooms, a connecting door, and a large deck overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. The restaurant had great food and views, the pool was warm and nestled amongst trees and flowers, and the resort had meandering gardens between the bungalows with a path that led right up to the beach. It was fabulous.

We took it easy on Koh Samui. We went to the beach during the day, drank Thai iced coffee, ate pad thai and mangoes and sticky rice, drank Sang Sum (Thai rum) and cokes at night, hit the various restaurants and bars when we felt like leaving the resort, and hit the pool for late night swimming when we didn't. It was seriously relaxing.

One day, Naresh and I rented motorbikes and rode around the northern part of the island. We landed at Big Buddha Island, just over a small bridge from Koh Samui, where we checked out a large golden Buddha overlooking the water. Later on, the girls mustered up the courage to ride with us, too.

The theme of the island time was largely eat, drink, swim, and relax. Naresh got two massages, of course, and he convinced all of us to join him on the last day. The only real drama we had came courtesy of a Japanese tourist at Swensen's. We had been jonesing (and by "we" I mean "me") for some ice cream after a night of drinking along the beach at the Ark Bar, and we landed at the building with some of the best air-con on the island, Swensen's.

We were about half way through our ice cream when a man and a woman came in carrying a frail looking woman. They sat her down, and we caught bits and pieces of the situation. We figured she was just having a heat stroke (it was a hot day and humid night), but no matter what they did, she didn't look any better. She started looking worse and worse, so Ms. Jen Q. Sunderraj, Super Nurse, went to the rescue. She asked a flurry of questions of the woman to assess the situation and realizing the woman felt like she would be sick, Jen asked the staff for a plastic bag, which she got over the woman's mouth just in time. The woman hurled while Jen held the bag. She is officially my hero!

The woman's husband came to the shop shortly thereafter, as he had run out to get their motorbike to take her home. The woman seemed to be feeling a little better, and she thanked Jen as we left. Surprisingly, we ran into her and her husband the very next day, and they told Jen that the woman has low blood pressure and thanked her profusely for her help.

Other than "the Swensen's Incident," we just whiled away the days and nights on Koh Samui, soaking up the beach atmosphere. We couldn't believe it, but suddenly it was time for Naresh and Jen to leave, and we had no plans!

The island was pretty expensive and it was time for us to return to budget accommodations. We found a room, and after we moved in, we realized we just weren't in Kansas anymore. I duked it out for ten minutes with an enormous roach in the bathroom, and emerging victorious with a ripped shirt and black eye, I told Bev that "this house is clean."

Shortly thereafter, as we prepared to pull the blanket up to go to sleep, another big monster scampered out from INSIDE the blanket, look up at me, screamed "bring it on, sucka," and took off behind the bed. I moved the beds, screamed like a girl, and killed roach number two. We miss Naresh and Jen, and the swank hotels and comfy air-con buses that come with them!

After a roach-free sleep, we confirmed our spots in a SCUBA class with Simple Life Divers, and caught the ferry to Koh Tao to begin a four-day diving certification class.