31st August, 2009

Today's weather;

Today is already the last day of August 2009 so let's enjoy it. On Samui we start with overcast and a few blue patches. Current temp at 7 am is 27C.

Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine but there was also overcast all day long however without rain. Max temp reached 31.8C.

Camille

Goodbye to August 2009

Goodbye to August 2009

This month went by like a flash and there were some great ups for me but also a down part towards the end.

Weather wise it didn't start out that great, with some hard winds, heavy storms and a lot of rain at times and speedboat traffic had to be cancelled for a few days. This was all in the first week of August.

It was also family and friends visiting time this month. The day or rather the moment my friend and his family arrived at Nathon pier, the airplance crash that put Samui in the spotlight for a few days happened pretty much simultaneously.
Shortly after my friend arrived, my sister and her family arrived and it was a busy but a good time and the good times rolled indeed. I taught a PADI Open Water diver course to my friend and also had some Discover Scuba Diving experiences with the children of the respective families.

We also had some good fun going on a tour around the island one day with all 3 families and we had some good food during their stay as well.

During their stay we had fantastic weather with plenty of sunshine and the beach was a favorite spot for all of them most of the time.

All good times tend to end however and after both my friend and my sister and their respective families had left, it was back to work again and I started an IDC again.

Pretty simultaneously by when starting the IDC my son was admitted to a hospital with a suspect for Dengue fever and my wife was admitted as well during the same period. All are back home again though and my wife has blood being checked for Thyroid, result this coming Friday.

In the meantime, the weather has not maintained it's sunny side and last week saw the occasional shower again, hard(er) wind and a lot of overcast.

Hopefully things clear up again in September. Thanks for checking in, if you like my blog, sign up for the RSS feed and I hope to keep seeing you back here.

Camille

30th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A heavy overcast layer is over Samui with an occasional patch of blue in the distance. Current temp at 7am is 26.4C.

Yesterday was a lovely day with plenty of sunshine and an isolated quick shower in the early evening. Max temp reached 33.3C.

Camille

29th August, 2009

Today's weather;

It's looking a lot more likely that a sunny day is shaping up. There's just a thin cloud layer and plenty of blue visible already. Current temp at 7 am is 25.7C.

Yesterday saw a lot of sunshine already and it was dry all day long at the parts of the island where I was. Max temp reached 32C.

Camille

My son is back home again after his hospital visit

My son is back home again after his hospital visit

In contrast to what I wrote in my earlier review over Bandon International Hospital, my son ended up here and the treatment received by him was good.

The Doctors spoke good English and were helpful and it seems that the hospital has cleaned up it's act a little bit compared to what I saw and knew about it over the last few years.

In a nutshell, my son got hospitalized for suspicion on having contracted Dengue fever, after 2 days and a night of high fever, with a temperature drop on the third day, we visited the hospital gain and he was admitted. The next day in the hospital his blood tests were inconsistent with Dengue fever but the doctor still thought that he had contracted an animal (insect) bite that caused the fever and other symptoms.

The incubation time fits with the day's outing around the island when he participated in an elephant tracking ride, although it could be somewhere else altogether where he contracted the virus.

My son's hand, all bandaged up to keep the IV in place. He was not impressed by needle injections at all!

Although he's back home again which is very good and makes us all happy again, he still needs to take antibiotics and children paracetamol for a couple of more days.

Looking forward seeing him mess up the house again!

Camille

28th August, 2009

Today's weather;

There's overcast this morning and currently it looks like there's no blue sky break around. Current temp at 7 am is between 25 and 27 degrees Celsius.

Yesterday started out nice with blue skies and sunshine but soon this was overtaken around noon by overcast. Max temp reached 31.3C.

Camille

27th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A lot of blue sky is to be seen this morning with still a very strong wind blowing. Current temp is in the high twenties Celsius.

Yesterday saw overcast all day long with a trace of rain. Max temp reached the 30.6C.

Camille

26th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Samui sky shows overcast this morning but not too heavy at the moment, however, the wind has picked up seriously again this morning. Current temp at 7 am is in the higher twenties Celsius.

Today I'm starting another IDC and yesterday my son was admitted into hospital with Dengue fever, which is not very pleasant for a 4 year old. My daily updates may be infrequent since I'm running around between our house, the hospital and the IDC course.

Yesterday saw the wind almost being dropped completely and a rather sunny and dry day. Max temp reached around 31C.

Camille

Prize or fight buffalo?

Prize or fight buffalo?

Driving around the island today, I encountered for the first time a buffalo dressed up this way. I'm not quite sure where it was going or what it was doing, but it almost looked he was on his way to a buffalo fight! Something rather popular in the South of Thailand and especially on Samui. It could also be that he was on his way to be blessed by the monks, I couldn't figure it out.

The name of the buffalo, as written on his blanket, is Dam Hanuman Noi, a rather important feat to know, according to my wife.

Camille

25th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Plenty of overcast this morning but the strong wind that prevailed yesterday seems to have finished, for the time being at last. Current temp at 7 am is 26.2C.

Yesterday and today all speedboats have been cancelled due to very strong wind. The TMD or Thai Meteorological Department has some 'heavy rainfalls and strong wind waves' warning up, including for Surat Thani province, of which province Koh Samui is part of. There are similar weather patterns right now over pretty much all of South East Asia.

Yesterday saw overcast and some rain until noon, after that it cleared up nicely and the sun came out. There were some heavy wind bursts during the afternoon though. Max temp reached 30.8C.

Camille

24th August, 2009

Today's weather;

There's overcast this morning and a rather drastic and unexpected weather change has occurred which may last for the remainder of the month. Current temp at 7 am is 25.8C

Yesterday started out nice but around noon dark clouds started to emerge and there was some very local rain. During the late afternoon there was more widespread rain on and off but during the evening there was a steady downpour for a couple of hours. It wasn't very hard rain but it was steady.
The current forecast at Windguru predicts some rain here and there but also sunshine with Saturday being a very wet day after which it seems to be clearing up again. The wind will start picking up a bit as well over the next week.

Camille

23rd August, 2009

Today's weather;

Another blue sky is shaping up nicely and it is definitely getting hotter with a current temp at 7 am of 27.8C.
Didn't have a good nights sleep due to our 4 year old son having around 39C fever all night long. We're off to see a doctor soon.

Yesterday saw a lovely blue sky all day long and it was hot! Max temp reached 34.5C.

Camille

22nd August, 2009

Today's weather;

It's warming up again and today's blue sky, laced with some clouds has a current $temp of 27.6C.

Yesterday saw a very nice and warm day, it was very agreeable though because a nice breeze was blowing most of the day. max temp reached 33.9C.

Camille

Kabuto Teppanyaki, Japanese restaurant in Bophud

Kabuto Teppanyaki, Japanese restaurant in Bophud

Unfortunately Kabuto Teppanyaki has closed it's doors

Who thought that after the culinary tour around Samui, as described yesterday, that I would be back on a diet, well think twice! I did start running again yesterday but to my own surprise I found myself and my family being invited to something completely different by a good friend who unexpectedly showed up at our doorstep. That something completely different is the Kabuto Teppanyaki restaurant on the ring road near the traffic lights in Bophud.

If you're not familiar with the Teppanyaki concept, it's a great Japanese culinary adventure which includes a show in which the food that you ordered is prepared at your table. The table has an iron griddle that is used for cooking the food and the chefs make a show out of using the knifes and food by throwing them around and in the air, all over the place. Great fun and interesting to watch.

The entrance to the restaurant on the ring road, currently, due to high season being in full swing, it's recommendable to make a reservation, but also because they only have two Teppanyaki tables, each can seat up to 6 or 8 people, it's probably wise to make a reservation anyways at 077 245 017.

The Teppanyaki table ready for use.

Our chef swinging his knife around to cut some shrimps on the griddle. The chef's are constantly making a show by throwing utensils and food around but catching it all the time perfectly.

With the fried rice, they play around a lot and it also involves a whole show in which an egg is the star player and the audience at the table get involved. Great fun indeed.

The interior of the restaurant is nice and classy and besides Teppanyaki, they also serve regular standard Japanese fair like Sushi and Sashimi and all the other dishes that make the Japanese kitchen so nice.

It's good to see another Japanese restaurant emerge after the great food that can be had at Yamato in Chaweng.

For a nice dinner with an interesting visual stimulant and a great show to boost, Kabuto Teppanyaki comes highly recommended.

Camille

21st August, 2009

Today's weather;

More blue skies are shaping up with a current temp of 26.6C at 7am.

Yesterday saw a day with a blue sky all day long and it was one of those hot days again with a max temp of 32.7C.

Camille

Culinary tour around Koh Samui

Culinary tour around Koh Samui

It was indeed a culinary tour around the island with my friend Marc and his family and my sister and her family visiting during the last two weeks. We visited plenty of restaurants around the island and they rank among my fave places on Samui.

My sister and my friend both spend a lot of time on the beach and the only non beach activity besides eating was our trip around the island and diving when I taught a PADI Open Water diver course to my friend and his wife and had a Discover Scuba Diving experience with my friends and my sisters children!

Let's have a look at them restaurants that we visited though in no particular order;

The Japanese chain Fuji was visited twice, once with my friend and my sister and one time with my sisters and my family. Decent Japanese food for a very reasonable price. An update on this place will follow sometime soon in the near future.

The best sate on the island was enjoyed by my sister and my families at Dcheed 2, the kids loved it and 125 sate sticks were killed off in no time! Besides the sate, they also have a very enjoyable Raad Na dish.

The waterfall at Baan Namuang with it's Isaan style place was visited as well and to my surprise, they all loved the Laab and chicken dishes we ordered both Marc and my sisters family.

Il Mulino, Chaweng's ultimate Italian bakery was visited was Marc and his family for a good selection of breads and small pieces of pizza.


Prego in Chaweng was visited with all of us, a party of 13! As usual an outstanding menu was served and a good time was had by all here. The picture shows a dessert and just the composition and presentation of it makes you go yummy! One of my fave Italian places.

Baan Boran, also located in Chaweng, near Chaweng lake was a first time visit for me and my and my sisters family had a nice dinner and saw a fascinating Thai puppet show.

Both Marc, my friend and his family and my sisters family visited a Thai wedding, a week apart from each other where some outstanding local Thai food was served and it was quite an experience for both of them which they enjoyed tremendously.

The Chef, once more in Chaweng, was another first timer for me and we all visited here together, since it was Marc's family last night on Samui and conveniently located across the road of First Bungalow Beach Resort where they were staying.

Duomo was visited twice. My brother in law, Martin, found the pizza's here outstanding and thought the food here even better than at Prego! One thing that definitely has improved is the air conditioning which makes every place a lot more agreeable. The food was nonetheless great and Duomo comes highly recommended.

My favorite Thai restaurant on the island; Sabeinglae in Lamai, one time visited with Marc and one time with my sister. Both had grilled lobsters, as pictured above. This place comes also highly recommended although it may be a bit out of the way if you stay at Chaweng or even more Northern parts of the island like Bophud, Maenam or Choengmon.

Last but not least, with a friend who was travelling from the airport to Koh Tao we had a lovely lunch at Angela's in Maenam, much to the envy of my sister who didn't make it here this time around! Definitely a place not to miss out on.

So, a couple of kilo's of gained weight later, these are the places where we ate and they were all good and enjoyable. There are plenty of places that i even haven't described on my blog or that I did write about, but we didn't visit. We just had a limited amount of time and loads of children with us and a party varying from 13 to 9, so we had to make it convenient as well. In other words, there are plenty of other options still out there but these will satisfy you, now go out and explore for yourselves, for me it's now back to the diet again.

Camille

20th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Today some serious blue sky is building up, in contrast to the last two days, when big white clouds were looming overhead, causing rainy mornings. Current temp is 26.2C at 7 am.
This morning my sister left Koh Samui, it's sad to see her and her family go but a good time was had by both our families.

Chaweng beach in front of Chaweng Cove Resotel, yesterday afternoon

Yesterday saw plenty of rain in the morning again to be followed by a lovely afternoon with blue and warm skies. However, in the early evening, around 8 pm there was another hose down for about half an hour and twice various roads had to deal with flash flooding! Max temp reached 31.5C.

Camille

Baan Boran, Heritage Thai cuisine and Thai puppet show, Chaweng

Baan Boran, Heritage Thai cuisine and Thai puppet show, Chaweng

Sadly Baan Boran closed it's doors

Since March 19th, 2009 a new venue opened it's doors in Chaweng, the Baan Boran located close to Chaweng lake.

Yesterday evening was the first time I visited and it was a very nice experience, done in style and interesting to boost!

It's a concept where you dine in a very nice, air conditioned spacious room that can seat up to 150 people and during your meal some puppet shows will be performed.

The whole place is done in a very nice and professional way, starting with a nice parking area in front, which in Thailand is not necessarily a give fact and nice, Ayudhaya style building.

The nice set up continues inside with a spacious dining room and nicely set up diner tables and a very attentive staff who take care of your needs nicely.

In one corner, to the left of the stage are these beautifully traditional style masks made into a small shrine.

The puppet show is rather remarkable and interesting to see. The show is performed by a troupe of traditional Thai puppeteers who learned the art of traditional Thai puppetry from Thailand’s legendary puppet master, Mr Sakorn Yangkhiawsod, one of Thailand’s most distinguished artists in the performing arts. It takes 1-2 years of training to perfect the art-form, and preserves the original form and style of the puppet play using finer and more complex techniques than most puppet dramas. Each puppet requires the synchronized efforts of three puppeteers dressed in black who control the puppet’s spindle, arms and legs to produce highly animated and life-like movements. The synchronized gestures are gracefully performed in conjunction with a lively medley of different stories from the Ramakien epic, Japanese and Korean songs and lively Thai folk dance.

My wife told me that she learned this at her school, back in the days and right now, unfortunately it seems to be a dying art tradition.

One of the puppets at close range, with the male troupe/3 puppeteers behind the puppet. This Yak remake puppet scared the living hell out of my kids, strangely enough all the other (Western) kids weren't fazed by this puppet at all!

On to the food, there's the option for an a la carte menu, currently at 1.300,-THB and a set menu, which we had for the same price. This is the starter of mentioned set menu consisting of

Kratong-Tong; A healthy menu Grade A “Mieng” tuna tartare, limestone tartlets, peanut, ginger and lime and Moo Nam Tok; Northern Thai pork salad with long beans and roasted sticky rice.

This was followed by a choice of soup of either; Tom-Yam Goong, a Koh Samui Spicy and sour seafood soup with kaffir lime leaves, bird-eye chili and tomatoes or Tom Kha Gai, a Coconut galangal soup with organic chicken and straw mushrooms.

The set menu had 5 options and you could choose 2 options. This is a lovely tasting Geang Phed Ped Roasted duck breast, pineapple, tomatoes in rich red curry sauce.

Goong Pad Kra Pow Wok-Seared Tiger Prawns with oyster mushroom and Thai hot basil sauce.

Desert was a treat as well and very nicely served, consisting of Banana Spring Rolls and Jasmine Flower Flan, although the flan tasted like soap, due to the jasmine I guess.

All in all an excellent way to spend your evening, they open their doors at 7 pm and the first set of two shows finishes at 10 pm, followed by a another show between 10pm and midnight.

Highly recommendable and enjoyable.

Camille

19th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A nice blue sky is about on my sisters last day of her holiday and visit to Koh Samui this year. Current temp is 25.6C.

Yesterday was a strange day, the moment I hit the 'publish' button for yesterdays weather update, it started to drizzle and shortly afterwards it started to hose down for about 15 minutes, which was nice and cooled things down a bit. The remainder of the morning, which we spend at Chaweng beach, it drizzled on and off a bit but during the afternoon it was dry and blue (-ish) skies again. Max temp reached 30.5C.

Camille

18th August, 2009

Today's weather;

The blue skies keep building up each morning including today. There are some big cumulus clouds over the ocean but it looks like a nice warm and sunny day again with a current temp at 7 am of 26.2C.

Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine with a max temp of 31.7C. It seems like the hot days are gone which is nice! There's still plenty of sunshine and the days are very agreeable.

Camille

17th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Another blue sky is shaping up with a current temp at 7 am of 25.6C.

Yesterday was hot but not too hot due to a little bit of wind blowing gently over Chaweng beach. Although there were some dark clouds hanging over Samui mountains at some parts of the day, there was no rain in Chaweng. Max temp reached 32C.

Camille

16th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Plenty of blue sky bit also some massive big white clouds out there this morning with a current temp of 26.1C at 7 am.

Yesterday saw a very blue sky all day long and we puffed and huffed from the heat all day long but strangely enough the max temp doesn't read more than 30.9C.
We also completed Discover Scuba Dives dives at Chaweng beach with my sisters children yesterday which was great fun for all involved.

Camille

15th August, 2009

Today's weather;

It's blue and it's going to be hot again today! Current temp at 7 am is 26.8C

Yesterday was hot and sunny at the beaches but inland dark clouds gathered all day long but I didn't see or witness any rain at all. Max temp reached 32.2C

Camille

The Chef restaurant, Chaweng Noi

The Chef restaurant, Chaweng Noi

Chaweng Noi is the Southern part of Chaweng, near Samui First Bungalow, where my friend Marc and his family were staying during their recent trip to Samui.

During the last day of their stay, when we had a great day and trip going around the island we ended up having dinner around the corner of their resort, First Bungalow. It was convenient and they had to get up early in the morning to catch the first flight out of Samui to Bangkok, the 6 am flight, which meant that I picked that up around 4 am!

The Chef restaurant is a very new addition to Samui's culinary establishments and if my friend wouldn't have stayed at that part of Chaweng, I doubt that I would have visited it.

It looks rather nice though and it's all open space without any real walls, which especially during this time of the year makes for a nice cool dining experience and just like my favorite Indian restaurant on Samui, Haveli, the kitchen is open.

The open space in the restaurant makes for a pleasant experience, as already mentioned and there's a also a small sala to dine at.

The food was good, here's a Sesame Tuna which tasted really good and all portions were very generous.

My order was this grilled 'Canard a l'Orange' from the specials menu. Nice big piece of duck grilled in a perfect way. There was also a childrens menu available.

All in all a good experience and a good ending of the day with our party of 13, including 7 young one ranging from 4 to 14!

Camille

14th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Another blue sky is shaping up again over Samui with a current temp of 27.8C. It's going to be another steaming hot day.

Yesterday saw a blue sky all day long and it was hot. Max temp reached 35.8C.

My sister and her family and my family also visited a wedding at Chaweng lake yesterday and we enjoyed this lovely sunset along with some great local food!

Camille

A trip around the island Koh Samui

A trip around the island Koh Samui

With a party of 13, being my sister's, my friend's and my own family, it was time for a trip around the island Koh Samui. It's been really busy recently and after having dived with my friend Marc and his partner Myriam, I taught them the PADI Open Water diver course. Now it was time for the whole group to go on a trip around the island, which we did on Wednesday. Marc and his family has left today but here are some highlights what we all did, saw and visited.

A trip around the island Koh Samui; view over Chaweng

Around 11 am we all were ready to start rolling after having collected everybody from their respective hotels at Chaweng Cove Resotel and Samui first Bungalow and our first stop was the viewpoint between Chaweng and Lamai. There used to be a whole collection of spirit houses next to the road but they have been removed now to be replaced by one big new spirit house.

The view however is stunning and every car and motorbike is still honking away to make merit to the spirit houses.

On the way over to Lamai we first visited Hin Ta and Hin Yai.

A trip around the island Koh Samui; Next stop was at Lamai Temple where the not so mummified Monk was found with statues of various Thai Kings in front of him.

A trip around the island Koh Samui; The Samui natural museum at Wat Lamai

It was great to visit the natural museum again which is located at Wat or Temple Lamai. It has been redecorated and looks much better organized without losing it's character, I thought it actually looked better.

A trip around the island Koh Samui; Namuang waterfall

Wat Kanuram and it's Mummified Monk was on the agenda as well. In both temples various Buddhist amulets were bought by all of us.

After the Temple visit we headed off to Namuang Waterfall in Baan Namuang for some Elephant riding and swimming in the waterfall.

A trip around the island Koh Samui; Choengmon beach, late in the afternoon

We ended the day on Choengmon beach for more swimming and relaxing after a fun and relaxing day which we all really enjoyed. A good day was had by all and all of the mentioned tourist attractions we visited have a free entrance although donations are welcomed. The elephant ride needs to be paid for though.

We had my own car and rented a car and went around comfortably at our own pace, enjoy at your own risk in case you opt for a motorbike!

Please do 'like' my Koh Samui blog Facebook page and enjoy the beaches around the island or in front of your hotel or resort and get some well deserved rest and a break. If you're done resting or need something else to do, there's plenty of things on offer on and around Koh Samui, you can go snorkeling or diving or take a dive course. You can also enjoy some of the trips I recommend, like a half day gourmet lunch and snorkeling trip at the Southern part of Koh Samui or a photography trip where you get to see the most photo genetic spots on the island or go for a drinks tasting tour if you like a tipple or two.

Contact me for more detailed information on any of the options mentioned.

If you like to donate to this blog, use this secure link PayPal.Me/CamilleLemmens.

Camille

Updated 10th July, 2017

13th August, 2009

Today's weather;

Another blue sky is shaping up and we're getting ready for a hot day. Current temp at 7 am is 27.5C.
This morning my friend and his family left Samui for his flight back to the Netherlands, leaving my sister and her family still on Samui.

Yesterday was a lovely day with lots of sunshine and a blue sky all day long. Max temp reached 34.2C.

All 13 of us, my friend's and my sisters family and my family as well took a trip around the island with our and a rented car which was a lot of fun and I may report about it later today.

Camille

12th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A blue sky is shaping up and everybody who's on Koh Samui today better get ready for a hot day with plenty of sunshine. Current temp at 7 am is 27.1C

Today is HM Queen of Thailand's birthday, she becomes 77 today and in honor of her it's also Mother's day today in Thailand. Pictures like the one above are shown all over the country by public places, hotels etc.

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day with a beautiful blue sky all day long. Max temp reached 34.9C.

The PADI Open Water diver course that I was conducting with my friend was completed yesterday with great dives and splendid visibility at Sail Rock yesterday.

Camille

11th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A bit early today, since I'll be on the boat, teaching a PADI Open Water diver course to my friend who's visiting, which I also posted about yesterday on my dive blog.

A perfect blue sky is shaping up and the forecasts for the next week are grand, blue, steaming hot skies! Current temp at 7 am is around 27C.

Yesterday I was around Koh Tao and on the way over and back we experienced a bit of rain but the rest of the day was nice and sunny. Max temp was in the lower thirties Celsius.

For a change, a sun set on Samui, taken at Big Buddha, two days ago.

Camille

10th August, 2009

Today's weather;

There's a light overcast but it looks like the sun will break through later. Current temp at 7 am is 27.1C.

Yesterday it was nice and sunny all day long with a max temp in the lower Celsius thirties.

Camille

9th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A very thin cloud layer is hanging over Samui right now, which looks like it's going to be evaporated soon by the sun. Current temp at 7 am is 27.3C. There still will be strong winds today.

Yesterday started out cloudy but it cleared up around noon and the sun broke out and temperatures soared immediately. Around 2 pm some clouds appeared on and off and traces of rain came down at various intervals but nothing serious. Max temp reached 32,2C.

Camille

8th August, 2009

Today's weather;

It's cloudy this morning and I'm not sure of the sun will break through a lot during this weekend. Current temp at 7 am is 27.3C.

Yesterday saw a beautiful sunny morning, albeit with heavy winds but around 3pm it started to rain very hard, for a short while, almost similar as to when the airplane crashed at Samui airport, just a few days ago. Max temp reached 31.5C

Yesterday I started teaching a PADI Oper Water diver course with my friend and his wife and in the evening my sister arrived. Busy days on Koh Samui!

Camille

7th August, 2009

Today's weather;

It's cloudy this morning and the wind is back again. Current temp at 7 am is 27C.
Today my sister is arriving on Samui, which makes it rather busy, with my friend and his wife starting a PADI Open Water diver course which I'm going to teach.

Yesterday was another beautiful day again with sunshine all day long. Max temp reached 33.9C.
It's wedding season again and we invited my friends family along to a wedding at Chaweng lake. There's a few more invitations waiting for us during the next week, the monks must've deemed this a good week!

Camille

Namuang Waterfall Isaan style food, Baan Namuang

Namuang Waterfall Isaan style food, Baan Namuang

In my earlier post about one of our visits to Baan Namuang Waterfall, I already mentioned that there some good restaurant there with good and delicious Isaan style food. Today I'm actually going to talk about the place that in my opinion the best choice there.

As this sign shows, the owner was already spotted by one of the culinary magazines on Samui, before I get a chance to post about it, but it's the restaurant pretty much located in the middle of the 3 or 4 places that serve food there, between the parking lot and the actual waterfall. The restaurants are located at your right hand, walking from the parking lot.

This is the actual place that I'm referring to, although they may look similar, the poster in the previous picture at their 'entrance' is a give away.

The main man himself at the BBQ chicken stand or in Thai the 'Kai Yang'. They come with a very nice, spicy sauce and taste delicious.

Here's our table with the chicken, some laab and fresh coconut juice to drink. Most of the times when we visit the waterfalls, we decide a small (or sometimes bigger) bite here.

The fresh coconut juice preparation, a welcome and refreshing drink after running around at the waterfall and the looking at the elephants, a fave pastime of my 4 year old son.

Camille

6th August, 2009

Today's weather;

A near perfect blue sky is ruling over Samui this lovely morning! Current temp at 7 am is 27C.

Yesterday saw also a day with sunshine all day long, no clouds and no rain and no wind squalls! Max temp reached 33.2C. The airport opened again yesterday afternoon.

I enjoyed a lovely day with my friend and his family at the beach in front of their hotel , at Big Buddha and with a real nice dinner at Sabeinglae restaurant in Lamai where they had a massive Phuket lobster amongst others!
Tomorrow my sister and her family arrives on Samui so it will be a busy period coming up for the next week or so.

Camille

5th August, 2009

Today's weather;

There's some overcast and some wind but it looks like the cloud formation might crack and we get sunshine. Today should be the last day of strong winds. Current temp at 7 am is 27.3C.

Yesterday saw a lovely blue sky with plenty of sunshine until 2 pm when it all turned nasty weather wise, which resulted in the horrible accident at Samui airport of which I reported and I also posted an update with more pictures (not my own pictures this time around though). This unfortunate accident made the world news.
Max temp yesterday reached 32.5C.

Camille

Update on the Samui airport crash

Update on the Samui airport crash

As a follow up to my earlier report, a couple of hours ago, here's an update. The sad news is that the pilot of the flight has indeed been killed and that there are now only 9 passengers injured out of which 7 severely. Here's a list of the injured.

Passengers stranded at Samui airport are to be transported by ferry to Surat Thani airport and the airport remains closed until further notice.

In contrast to earlier reports, only the pilot has been killed, at this very moment and hopefully it remains like that. RIP to the pilot and his family.

The following pictures have not been taken by me but show the structural damage to the aircraft.

A view from the rear of the plane.

The nose of the plane disappeared into the unused control tower.

The nose of the plane took the full brunt of the hit, that's most likely why the pilot was killed and the co pilot injured. The passengers may have been saved and helped by the fact that the luggage compartment is directly behind the cockpit and most likely the luggage compartment absorbed a lot of the impact.

Here one can clearly see how the cockpit got almost compressed into the old control tower.

Amazingly no fire broke out, which must have saved various lives.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Plane crash at Samui airport

Plane crash at Samui airport

Bangkok Airways Flight PG 266 from Krabi to Koh Samui skidded off the runway during bad weather with strong winds, around 2.30 pm injuring many and killing the pilot of the flight, when the plane crashed into an old control tower now being used as a parking space for fire engines.

The plane was carrying 68 passengers (only tourists, no Thai people) and 4 crew, currently reports talk about 34 injured passengers and 7 critical and blood group B is needed by the hospitals on Samui, mainly Bangkok - Samui hospital. Supposedly the co pilot is still stuck in the aircraft.

Thai TV Channel 3 is live on air with reports from Samui and for the first time a possible 10 killed passengers and 20 injured are mentioned. Right now, details are still fairly sketchy.

A press conference is about to start.

Samui airport has suspended all traffic until further notice.

On November 21, 1990, a Bangkok Airways de Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 crashed on Koh Samui while attempting to land in heavy rain and high winds. All 38 people on board perished.

My day started out nice with plenty of sunshine and I was about to pick up my old school friend in Nathon where he was to arrive by ferry, a good 4 hours late. The moment they landed all hell broke lose, just like yesterday around 2 pm and a massive storm with heavy rain and wind started, pretty much around the same time the Krabi flight came into Samui. The picture above shows the dark clouds building up, just before the storm hit home.

On our way over to my friends hotel at Samui First Bungalow Beach Resort many ambulances passed us, obviously on their way to the airport as we soon found out. This picture shows an ambulance at full speed on it's way to Bangkok Samui hospital when I was on my way home after I dropped my friend and family off at their hotel.

I couldn't resist to have a look at the airport myself and there were some picture opportunities. This shows the crash site form a distance and you can clearly seethe amount of safety vehicles gathered around the plane.

This picture is nearer to the plane and the nose of the plane crashed into the structure of the old control tower that was not in use anymore.

The rubberneckers having a field day, next to the crash site, which could be reached through a very narrow and muddy path which runs next to the airport, a newly discovered part of Samui by me!

This picture shows the damage done to the old control building when the plane, an ATR 72 crashed into the building.

Another overview picture, taken on my way home. Right now the press conference is in full swing so hopefully very soon there will be some more news available.

Please note that all pictures are copyrighted and can't be used without prior agreement by me.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille