Halfway through our journey in Southeast Asia, My Lady and I were caught in a massive storm, trapped on a flooded island.

It was supposed to be our first and only night on Koh Samui, Thailand. The small island was just a stopover on the way to Singapore. We wanted to spend one day in paradise, soaking up a little sun and resting in a swank resort. But when the plane landed that afternoon, it had already begun raining. In fact, it had been raining for days.

Even under the clouds, the beach looked beautiful. This is the view from the patio of our room at the resort (click on the pictures to view larger). It wasn’t raining hard and I hoped it would clear up by morning so we’d have a little time to look around the island. We walked around a bit in the rain, grabbed some food, and decided to go to bed early.

Soon the rain and wind picked up. It was just after dark. The storm began pounding the windows and roof of our room. Within a couple of hours, the roof began to leak. By midnight, we had to move the furniture away from the leaks and spread towels on the floor to soak up the puddles. It was tough to sleep, but we made it through the night.

As the sun came up, it looked like a river was flowing down the sidewalk outside our room. The ocean had turned from a crystal blue to a deep brown. See, this island is basically a small mountain. The rainwater naturally drained down toward the shore.

We checked out of the hotel and decided we should get to the airport as soon as possible. The roads were already covered in muddy water, and no one expected the rain to let up anytime soon.

The hotel arranged for a ride to the airport, but the driver knew it would be a challenge. Low lying areas were completely flooded. Roads were blocked, and power lines were down. It took us 20 minutes to get to the hotel the day before, and it ended up taking two hours to get back.

We arrived to discover all flights had been canceled. Instead of trying to get back to the hotel, we decided to stay at a cheaper place nearby. Two days passed before we were able to get on another flight out.

What was supposed to be one day in paradise ended up being three days in a soaking muddy mess.