31st May, 2010

Today's weather;

A nice blue sky with some clouds in it rules over Pattaya this morning. Current temp at 7am is 29C

Yesterday was a nice day with slight overcast so not too hot. Max temp reached 32.6C

Now off for some wreck diving.

Camille

Goodbye to May 2010

Goodbye to May 2010

A day early because I will be wreck diving tomorrow in Pattaya and won't have a lot of time to post.

May was an interesting month, if not only because of my change in my work situation with new partnerships on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Lanta.

Weather wise it was warm and hot all over the month but at last we had some showers, I would almost think that we had more rain during May than we had during the rainy season! All in all a great month for good holiday weather.

There has been enough about the Bangkok riots and I can only hope that the current peace prevails and Thailand will be put on the map again for what it's known for, the Thai smile and a great holiday destination.

There were also two new restaurant reviews, the Lebanese station where I went twice this month and Cafe del Sol on Koh Tao. Both very recommendable.

Other blogs that had some good posts include Beyond the Mango Juice, who's author happened to be on the scene in Udon Thani when it was burning during the recent riots.

Jamie at the real Phuket blog had a family visit to the Cliff and and River Jungle Resort in the Kao Sok National Park, a resort that's high on my list of places to visit!

Monique keeps bombarding us with stunning nature pix, a great Dutch woman living on Samui.

Mike, a very active blogger residing in Prachuap Kiri Khan is looking at the costs of living in Thailand.

Malcolm is retired in Thailand and is loving it, he talks about the untouched live by Bangkok riots rural life in the boonies.

Andrew looks at Thai rural poverty - a powder keg, in reference to the recent riots?

Thai Life in Phana's blogger Lawrence is connecting to the past in this interesting post and Ben, the Thai Pirate looks at kids being Muay Thai youngsters.

If you want to have a look at some funny Thai related pix, visit and befriend my TIT or This is Thailand Facebook page. There are some real crackers there.

If you read all these posts and stroll around on just these blogs, you'll have a nice and relaxing Sunday!

Stay tuned and keep posting on all of our blogs,

Camille

30th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A blue sky with some random clouds is hanging over Samui this morning. It looks like it's going to be a very hot one today. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C

Today I'm off to Pattaya until Friday.

Yesterday saw a merely overcast day but once the sun came through it was very hot, resulting in a max temp of 35C

Camille

29th May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's good to be back home on Samui again after having been on Koh Tao for a few days for a successful PADI IE but not for long, since tomorrow I'll be off to Pattaya for some wreck diving until Friday.

In the meantime, back at the farm there's a light overcast with the sun trying to battle it's way through. Current temp at 7am is 27.6C.

Yesterday was a warm day, especially when the sun broke through the cloud cover and last night around 10pm we had a nice refreshing shower. Max temp reached 34.7C

Camille

Cafe del Sol, Mae Haad, Koh Tao

Cafe del Sol, Mae Haad, Koh Tao

To catch up on my restaurant reviews, here's one more, this time coming to you from Koh Tao where I just spend two nights for a PADI IE.

The Cafe del Sol has been visited by me occasionally, mainly for lunches and despite good reviews by other people that visited the Cafe, somehow I never got around going there in the evenings for dinner, until two days ago.

We went and had dinner and it was excellent, I had a really superb lamb chop and it was that good that we went the next day again!

Trio pepper pork with gratin

My student during this trip had two days in a row the trio pepper pork with gratin. An excellent choice and the gratin alone is worthwhile going there.

Gnocchi quatro formaggio

Yesterday I had a gnocchi quatro formaggio, which was really nice as well.

The Cafe del Sol is easy to find, coming from the Seatran pier, just walk straight up the road and the second crossing will have the Cafe at your left hand. They also offer free wifi to customers.

Another good addition to Koh Tao's culinary road map. Highly recommended.

Camille

28th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A cloudy sky hangs over Koh Tao with a current temp at 7am of 29C.

Later today we will take the ferry back to Koh Samui again!

Today is also one of the most important Buddha days in the year; Visakha Bucha Day and many Thai people will visit their local Temple today.

Yesterday saw the sun and clouds battle it out over Koh Tao with a massive shower around 3pm.

Max temp reached 34.4C.

Samui stayed dry for the last two days.

Camille

27th May, 2010

Today's weather;

As mentioned yesterday, I'm on Koh Tao for a PADI IE and Koh Tao is clouded but dry this morning. Current temp is 29C.

Koh Tao yesterday during the afternoon storm

Yesterday we left Samui under good weather circumstances and the trip over to the Rock was easy without waves. Around 3pm though, a storm raced over Koh Tao with very strong winds but hardly any rain for about an hour. After that it calmed down again and when the sun came out it immediately heated up again.

Max temp reached 33.8C

Camille

26th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Heavy cloud cover over Samui this morning and rain is definitely in the cards. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C.

Yesterday saw cloud cover and sunshine all day long but in the evening it started to rain and there were some heavy rain showers and thunder and lightnings roaring. Max temp reached 33.3C

Today I'm off to Koh Tao for two nights with my IDC candidate Sunil for his PADI IE, we completed the current IDC two days ago.

Camille

Lebanon Station, Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng

Lebanon Station, Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng

UNFORTUNATELY, THE LEBANESE STATION HAS CLOSED

It's been a while since I have posted a restaurant review, so this one is for Bron, you know who you are!

Following the one way system in Chaweng, when you almost come to the end, about 100 meters before the T-crossing marking the end of the one way system, is on your left hand side the Lebanon Station.

I love Middle Eastern food, see my post about the absolutely fantastic Egyptian restaurant Nassir El Massri in Bangkok, one of my faves and a must stop when in Bangkok.

This is one of my all time fave dishes; Hummus, cooked and mashed chickpeas.

Falafel, deep fried chickpeas

The mixed grilled platter with chicken, beef and lamb

A special salad which usually is only prepared during Ramadan.

The reason I went there yesterday was that Imad, who staffed my recent IDC hails from Lebanon although he works and lives in Dubai, so when he discovered a Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng, he spend half of his time on Samui there! Since left today for Lebanon this was his goodbye night and had a very enjoyable meal here.

It's a very small place, almost a hole in the wall kinda place but if you're in to Middle eastern food, you will find what you want right here.

Camille

25th May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's slightly cloudy over Samui with the sun battling to get through the cover, not unsuccessfully most of the time. Current temp at 7am is 28.9C.

Yesterday saw a mixed bag of sunshine and some cloud formations. Max temp reached 33.5C and it stayed dry all day long.

Camille

24th May, 2010

Today's weather;

More overcast to start the day with on Samui and a current temp of 28C at 7am.

Yesterday started with overcast but the sun broke through and kept a busy exchange going on all day long with the cloud cover. The temperature was nice with overcast but quickly rose when the sun broke through. All of the island where I was yesterday stayed dry but there were parts of the island with some rain. Max temp reached 34.3C when the sun was out!

Camille

23rd May, 2010

Today's weather;

There's a nice cloud layer over Samui this morning and I wouldn't be too surprised if somewhere today there will be some more, much needed rain. Current temp at 7am is 28.7C

Yesterday saw mainly overcast all day long with the sun peeking through on occasion. Late afternoon it started to rain and things cooled down nicely. Max temp reached 32.7C.

Camille

22nd May, 2010

Today's weather;

There's plenty of overcast right now over Samui, maybe some rain coming our way later today?

Current temp at 7am is 28.5C.

Yesterday was sunny and hot, once more. Max temp reached 33.2C.

Camille

21st May, 2010

Today's weather;

A bright blue sky is all around our part of Samui. Current temp at 7am is 29.9C.

Yesterday started out with some serious cloud cover in the morning but very soon those clouds got dispersed and the sun came out in full power and it was plain hot again!

Max temp reached 33.5C

If you have any questions about Samui's safety, please read my recent blog posts about Is Samui safe right now and Samui is still safe!

Camille

Samui is still safe!

Samui is still safe!

After yesterdays long awaited crack down on the Red Shirt gathering point in the middle of Bangkok, the legit question arises, is Samui still safe?

The answer is simple; YES. Samui is as safe as it was just a few days ago when I wrote about Samui's safety and the current crackdown in Bangkok and it's consequent curfews for Northern and North eastern provinces has not affected Samui or any Southern province at all.

Here are pictures of Chaweng's beach in front of Al's Resort, rather quiet although a few folk were out and about. This picture shows a view towards the Southern end of the beach.

Here's a picture showing the Northern end of Chaweng Beach.

In my humble opinion, the social unrest will stop very soon and things will return to 'normal' and hopefully Samui's beaches will be full again and Thailand will have peace again and any opposing fractions can work out their differences in a peaceful way.

Camille

20th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Heavy clouds loom over Samui this morning and hopefully we get some more rain. Current temp at 7am is 28.3C.

Yesterday was hot and dry. Max temp reached 32.3C

My work circumstances are changing soon and I've got new partnerships with dive centres in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Lanta and Kao Lak. Check the links for more info.

Camille

19th May, 2010

Today's weather;

There's overcast on Samui but the sun is trying to break the clouds up. Current temp at 7am is 26.7C

Yesterday saw steady rainfall for about an hour and a half which was great. The island needs a lot more rain to level out the water levels around Samui. Temperature were nice although there was a very high humidity. Max temp reached 31.3C

Camille

18th May, 2010

Today's weather;

There's overcast hanging about over Samui and it's already hot in the early morning with a current temp at 7am of 30.9C!

Yesterday saw rain at least twice, early in the morning around 7am and in the afternoon at least once. It was a nice cooling down effect and we can actually do with some more rain here, especially the nice May/June showers, which last very short and quickly afterwards thing dry up!

Max temp reached the lower thirties Celsius.

Camille

Is Samui safe right now?

Is Samui safe right now?

This is a question that the last couple of days has been asked by plenty of readers of this blog. Give or take a few variations in the question.

To assure you all, Samui is just fine! You would know that there's any unrest or riots going on at all in Thailand or rather Bangkok to be more specific.

Despite all the negative travel advice being given by the various Western/European countries, passing through Bangkok is no big deal especially if you just connect flights or stay away from the unrest areas in Bangkok. It may be a wise thing to cancel any plans you had for Bangkok and just travel straight on to your final destination.

Once you're outside Bangkok and at your final tourist destination, live continues as you knew it. Phuket, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Samui as well as all other Southern destinations are just fine!

All activities are flowing according to schedule, dive courses, boat trips etc.

All the unrest has been confined to small areas in Bangkok and if you're a few blocks away, you wouldn't even know that something is going on. Although, fair enough, with the tyre burning that's going on right now, it's hard to ignore the smoke clouds. That's all they produce though, smoke, they look threatening but besides polluting Bangkok's air a bit more, they're harmless.

Hope this helps to reassure you that all is fine on Samui!

Camille

17th May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's raining right now! Great, a little bit of cooling off and some water for the plants and wells. I don't expect it to last that long though and not to mention it's cloudy right now! Current temp at 7am is 30.7C

Yesterday saw a sunny and hot day on Samui, but what is new right now? Max temp reached 32.4C

Camille

16th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Overcast is the word this morning and hopefully it makes for a less hot day. Current temp at 7am is 29.2C.

Yesterday saw plenty of hot sunshine with a max temp of 32.5C.

Camille

A white wedding

A white wedding

Today was a nice day for a white wedding, as Billy Idol would sing.

The wedding was around the corner of our house, directly in front of the Wat Plai Laem about a 500 meters walk, if at all. It was also a very close relative to my wife that got married today, a son of the sister of my wife's mother. Still with me?

The whole neighbourhood came to eat and enjoy the afternoon heat, including the new mayor. Plenty of family and relatives about. In contrast to Northern and especially North Eastern (Isaan) weddings, in the South you show up to eat and about an hour or maximum two hours later you're on your way again, after you left an envelope with money for the bridal couple.

In the meantime you either drank a bottle of whiskey with your table companions (8 in total) or if nobody happens to drink at your table, one of the folks at the table gets to take the bottle home. Today was a Johnnie Walker Red Label day.

Although it wasn't a massively big wedding, there was a good food and plenty of singing and dancing performed by a troupe.

The freshly wedded couple with the respective parents.

We stayed a little bit longer than usual, having arrived at 5pm, we left around 7pm (with the bottle of Red!).

Camille

15th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui's sky is partly overcast this morning with a current temp at 7am of 31C. It's looking like a hot day is coming along again!

Check my dive blog about some exciting new changes for me!

Yesterday saw once more a hot and dry day with a max temp of 32.8C

Camille

14th May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's nice and sunny again with an occasional cloud looming over Samui. Current temp at 7am is 28.3C.

Yesterday saw a slightly cooler day, at last! Due to all day long cloud cover (without rain!) it wasn't as hot as the previous days. Max temp reached 32.5C

Yesterday the May 2010 PADI IDC kicked off!

Camille

13th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A partly cloudy sky moved in overnight over Samui, hopefully we get some rain!

Today I'm starting another IDC, keep your eyes posted to my dive blog for updates.

Current temp at 7am is 29C.

Yesterday was very hot, once again! Max temp reached 33.3C

Camille

12th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A blue sky is what we have this morning and Samui is buckling under the heat already, this early in the day. Current temp at 7am is 30.7C.

There's a heat stroke warning as the country sizzles with temperatures above 40C.

Yesterday saw another hot day with some cloud formation towards the end of the day but not a single drop of rain was seen. Max temp reached 33C

Camille

11th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A partly blue sky rules over Samui this morning. It's good to be back home again! Current temp at 7am is 27.6C

Yesterday was very hot, once again. The air cons in our house are making over hours in the evenings! Around 2am last night a very loud bang of thunder woke us up, to be followed by a few lesser loud bangs. It didn't rain in Plai Laem but somewhere else on the island 65mm of rain accumulated. Max temp reached the lower 33.9 Celsius.

Camille

10th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Another very late update on the weather on Koh Samui. First things first though and this morning I woke up at Koh Phangan under a nice blue sky. In all my 11 years on Koh Samui this was the first time I visited Koh Phangan and I enjoyed it a lot and am already looking forward to be going back.

Current temp at 13.00 is 32.6C!

Sunset at Haad Salaat on Koh Phangan yesterday

Yesterday saw a warm and sunny day with a max temp of 33.5C

Camille

9th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Back on Samui after our short mainland trip, to be followed later today for a one night outing to Koh Phangan, which I will visit for the very first time in all the 11 years that I live on Samui!

Back to the weather though, a few clouds are out and about and it looks like another hot day is just starting to warm up. Current temp at 7am is 28C

View over Samui and Nathon (to the right) from the Seatran ferry

Yesterday saw a nice and sunny day all day long when we travelled from Kao Lak to Samui, through the spectacular mountain views along Kao Sok National Park.

Max temp on Samui reached 32.8C

Camille

8th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Kao Lak shows a beautiful blue sky with a current temp at 7am of 27C.

Yesterday was a warm day and all day long, also whilst travelling, we had a nice blue and warm sky. Max temp reached 34.5C in Kao Lak.

Later this morning we're off back home to Samui again.

Camille

7th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Lanta wakes up under a nice blue sky and although the rainy season officially started here, it's still very warm and sunny or in different words; nice! Current temp at 7am is 26.3C

Long Beach on Koh Lanta pretty much in the middle with a southern view

Yesterday was a very warm day with lots of sunshine and a very high max temp of 34.5C, in the early evening around 8pm it cooled down nicely with a little bit of rain.

Long Beach on Koh Lanta pretty much in the middle with a northern view

This morning we will move on to Kao Lak for a day and than back to Samui.

Camille

6th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Lanta is sunny this morning with a current temp at 7am of 27.3C

Klong Kao Bay on Koh Lanta

Yesterday saw a nice and sunny day where ever we travelled and upon arriving on Koh Lanta it remained sunny. Max temp reached 33C

Camille

5th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A lot later than usual, apologies to the early birds but it's all good! I'm in Koh Lanta right now and we left Samui with the 7am ferry, hence there was no possibility for me to update the blog any earlier. Right now we're kicking back on a beach and enjoying the shade, waiting for it to cool down so the kids can go for a swim. Current temp at 1pm is 32.5C with a lightly clouded sky. Samui had overcast this morning but it was dry all day long.

We left Samui this morning on the very big and very new Seatran ferry, it's so big that in contrast to all other Samui bound ferries, it loads sideways! It was a nice and quick transfer over to Donsak followed by a swift and easy drive to Koh Lanta, just a tad little bit over 300km from ferry to ferry.

Samui's weather was great yesterday with a max temp of 32.6C.

Here's a picture of the car ferries used between the two Lanta islands, at Limpana (?) you go for a 15 minutes ferry ride to Lanta Noi, you drive about 8km to the other side of Lanta Noi and take a 10 minute ferry ride to Lanta Yai, landing near the main village of Saladan.

It has been about 16 years that I stayed on Lanta for the first time and the last time was about 12 years ago, wow, did this place change! Concrete roads where once were just dust roads. Great to be back though!

Camille

4th May, 2010

Today's weather;

There's a nice blue sky hovering over Samui. The current temp at 7am is 29.7C

Yesterday was hot and sunny. Max temp reached 32.5C

Camille

3rd May, 2010

Today's weather;

A few clouds hover over Samui but it's mainly a blue sky. Current temp at 7am is in the high twenties Celsius.

Not as cool as May Day.

It looks like the wind direction is about to change this week and Chaweng Beach will be lovely until the wind changes back again, a good 5 to 6 months from now.

Yesterday saw another hot day with a max temp of around 32C

Camille

2nd May, 2010

Today's weather;

It looks great again today, a blue sky with a few sparse clouds in it rules over Samui this morning. Looks like it's going to be another hot one again today. Current temp at 7am is 28C

Yesterday we had some rain twice, pretty much straight after I wrote in the morning that asking for rain was probably too much to ask for and once in the afternoon. It cooled things down and it made for a lovely afternoon temperature. Nonetheless, max temp reached 32.5C

Camille

Welcome to May 2010

Welcome to May 2010

May brings usually some rain back into the equation, which looking back at this very hot April that we just had, is a good thing. As a great sample, we have overcast almost all day and two showers already, nice and cool again.

The days that the sun is out and about, it does tend to be very hot again and May has a few of these days as well.

Enjoy and let's hope the situation in Bangkok will change for the better!

Camille

1st May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy but expecting a bit of rain may be stretching it a bit, although towards the end of April there were two days with rain on Samui. Current temp at 7am is 28C.

Sure enough it starts to rain just before 8am!! Nice and cool!

Yesterday saw once more a very hot day 'battering' Samui. There was some breeze in the afternoon though which was nice and max temp reached 32.4C

Camille