Goodbye to September 2010

Goodbye to September 2010

This September was a nice month. There was plenty of sunshine but the days were also laced with just enough rain to make for some very agreeable days temperature wise and to raise the water ground levels to more acceptable levels since the non rainy season over November and December last year.

This years September was pretty much in sync with the the 2009 and 2008 versions.

For the first time I spent two weeks on Koh Phangan and I must say that i really enjoyed Koh Phangan, mainly because of the feel the island has, like how Samui was some 15 years ago.

The IDC I taught there together with Haad Yao Divers went also very well.

What else did I write about this month? Well, food as usual! What's new?

Two places on this blog are new, the Sripoca Restaurant in Bang Po is new on my list and well worth visiting and an absolute MUST visit is Caffe della Moca in Chaloklum on Koh Phangan, this is home made Italian food at it's absolute best!

For the first time ever I ran a quarter marathon or a distance of 10.55KM on Samui and the 5KM Ibis run is coming up this Saturday!

We also had an addition to the family in the form of TeeTee of Thuung Thong!

Last but not least, I visited this years Thaa Yai event/ceremony at our local Wat Plai Laem temple.

Not to forget my popular Food on Wheels series which I posted a few times about during this month with some interesting , well, food on wheels pictures. How about this traditional Thai ice cream in a bun?

Other Thai bloggers came up with some interesting posts and I can only urge you to visit them and have a look;

Martyn at Beyond the Mango Juice talks about Iris Bulbs and is seemingly getting in touch with his feminine side.

Mr Boonie has as always a series of interesting posts but his latest happens to be about a Thai saying and it involves chicken breasts and snakes feet and a it's a small miracle he didn't stumble over his own words when writing this post.

Andy's always fascinating blog about the Thai admin world has plenty of entries this month but one about new licence plates is slightly different!

My fellow weather blogger from Phuket, Jamie, is talking about a sunny September, check it out!

Tom Yam has a very interesting post about a Temple or Wat in the boonies around Lopburi where there's a 10 meter long tree trunk part that brings luck in predicting the lottery numbers! Go figure!

Paul talks about his own alcohol withdrawal experiences in Wat Thamkrabok, a famous temple where you are made to vomit each day during your withdrawal period which speeds up the detoxification process. Plenty of other interesting stuff to read on Paul's blog as well.

Mike of Thai Blogs talks amongst others about Thai marriage and it's customs and ceremonies.

Steve at Thailand Musings talks about Jai Yen or cool heart. a thing we Westerners in general can slice a piece off from. Not always easy!

Ben our own Thai Pirate visited Siam Park in Bangkok and got me absolutely convinced to go there as well with our kids to see it and check it out and have a day of sanuk!

Cat at Women learning Thai has some free give aways in the form of a soft ware dictionary. You gotta be fast, Sunday is cut off time!

That's it folks. Hope you enjoyed my posts this months and I'm looking forward seeing you again next month.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 30th September, 2010

Today's weather;

A light cloud cover hovers over Samui this morning with a current temp at 7am of 26.3C.

Yesterday saw a little bit of rain in the morning, before noon but the sun came out after noon again and it remained relatively cloudy all day but fairly warm. Max temp reached 31.2C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 29th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a nice blue sky this morning with a thin white layer around it! Current temp at 7am is 26.8C

Enjoy it whilst it lasts, after this weekend the weather might change drastically with really strong winds and some rain.

Yesterday saw some drizzle during the morning hours but in the afternoon the sun broke through and it was nice. Max temp reached 31.3C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 28th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a thin cloud layer which the sun is working hard in order to dissolve it. Current temp at 7am is 25.1C

Yesterday saw a dry day with occasionally some sunshine during the morning but rather cloudy during the afternoon. Max temp reached 31.1C

Camille

Food on Wheels; One more time Thong Sala's pier on Koh Phangan

Food on Wheels; One more time Thong Sala's pier on Koh Phangan

My last update on this seemingly popular Food on Wheels series was from Thong Sala's pier on Koh Phangan, when my family came to visit me during my day off when I was teaching an IDC on Koh Phangan.

In the meantime I'm back on Samui again and I just started to teach a new IDC! However, on my way back to Samui, I saw two more interesting food vendors with wheels at the Thong Sala pier whilst waiting for the 'always late' Seatran ferry.

The one pictured above had all kinds of BBQ-ed chicken, including liver and heart, liver being an all time fave of me. The stick on the bbq is mine! Can you imagine someone carting around in your neighborhood with a BBQ attached to the side of his motorbike. Thought so!

This fella is selling 'Kao Niao Muu' or sticky rice with pork. He had three variations of pork on sale and it was delicious what both these vendors had for sale!

Have a look around at your neighborhood or during your visit to Thailand what is on offer from these street vendors on or with wheels, you'll be surprised!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 27th September, 2010

Today's weather;

A thin cloud layer rules over Samui this morning but it looks like the sun may break this party up rather swiftly. Current temp at 7am is 26.4C

Yesterday saw the rain drizzle down almost all morning until around noon, than the sun broke out and it was nice and sunny. Max temp reached 30.8C

Camille

The Ibis Koh Samui Trophy 2010

The Ibis Koh Samui Trophy 2010

This is an adventure run where you get to run 10km, complete 30km on a bike, swim 500 meters and kayak for 5km. That is, if you participate in the Adventure Race, add a bit for the extreme race and you're looking at biking 45km, running 15km, kayaking 10km and swimming 1000 meters. Tired already from just looking at those figures?

There's a also a 5km fun run and that's where I'll be participating on this coming Sunday 2nd October. If you would like to participate and register on line for this run, you can do that here.

Start and finish will be in Bophud's Fisherman's Village. Entrance fee is 150,-THB and besides online registration you can also registration and collect your race number at Ibis Hotel Bophut on Friday October 1 from 1pm until 7pm
Registration on Race day October 2 from 6am until 7am at venue (Bophut beach road)
Online and telegraphic transfer
For more information: Active Management Asia 02 718 95 81-2

It's looking like it's going to be a great event and I hope to see some of my readers there!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 26th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui can observe some fine cloud formations this morning although right now it doesn't necessarily look like rain. Current temp at 7am is 27.5C

Today I start another IDC on Koh Samui!

Yesterday saw a nice and sunny day all day long. Max temp reached 32.2C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 25th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui woke up under a heavy rain shower around 6am, immediately followed by sunshine! Right now it's a bit of a mixed bag shortly after 7am and the fight for sky supremacy is on. Current temp at 7am is 26.5C

Yesterday saw pretty much all day long sunshine. Max temp reached 31.5C

Camille

Thaa Yai 2010 in Wat Plai Laem

Thaa Yai 2010 in Wat Plai Laem

Back to a home game for this years Thaa Yai. Last year saw us celebrate and participate in Wat Chaweng but this year it was back to the roots so to speak.

Busy preparations

It seems like I have lost track on how many Thaa Yai's I've attended but it must a quite a few by now. The last four years, since I'm blogging I've always attended.

Home made food selection for the monks

It's always an early day though, my wife gets up at 3 or 4am to start preparing the food, but she's already gathering ingredients, talking about it and getting all excited about it a couple of days in advance.

One of the food baskets with a lovely heart!

One of the nice tings about this event is that you get to see many relatives and friends that all gather once a year for this event. Each year I see more and more familiar faces.

The food baskets as pictured here, are part of the tradition of welcoming the deceased back again amongst for a few weeks each year. This particular basket has a nice food made garment layer over the rest of the food.

Some of the baskets are a real treat to the eye and later also to the stomach!

A display of various food baskets with candles burning. Always an amazing view.

If you have the opportunity, try to visit one of these local events, they're interesting to experience.

Camille

Koh Samui Jazz festival 2010

Koh Samui Jazz festival 2010

Sometimes you don't see the most obvious things when they're staring right at you. Like the Koh Samui Jazz festival 2010 which started today! Thanks to my fellow blogger Talen, who blogged about this event living in Pattaya, my eyes were opened and apologies to him, but I copied his content into this post, so I hope you enjoy a visit to one of the venues all around Samui next week.

The annual Koh Samui International Jazz Festival kicks off this weekend and will last for one solid week of jazz filled fun. The party starts on Friday the 24th of September and will go on till Thursday September 30th.

Over 20 international jazz acts will join local Thailand jazz bands on 11 stages throughout the island for a total of 42 shows, and best of all it’s FREE!

The objectives of the Samui International Jazz Music Festival are to bring the joy of Jazz Music to this fabulous location and inspire young Thai Jazz musicians by granting them the chance to perform with international artists. The event also promotes Koh Samui as a tourist destination during the Green Season.

The 2010 Samui International Jazz Music Festival is being brought to you by Amsiam travel in cooperation with Bangkok Airways, together with its main sponsors the Surat Thani Provincial Administrative, Thai Hotels Association (THA) and the Tourism Association of Koh Samui.

Cool jazz music along with the beautiful sun and sand of Koh Samui is a combination that can’t be beat, especially when it’s free…so, don’t miss out.

More information on the 2010 Koh Samui International Jazz Festival can be found at Samui International Music Festival. The full event line up including dates and times is posted below.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 24th September, 2010

Today's weather;

A bit later than usual this update because I was attending the Thaa Yai ceremony at Wat Plai Laem. Pictures and a post later today since I'm off diving on Chaweng Beach, also with a post and pictures later today.

Samui woke up under an almost clear blue sky and it's looking like it's going to be a hot one today! Current temp at 7am is 25.6C

Yesterday was a nice day, some sunshine, partly cloudy most of the day though and around noon there were some raindrops. Max temp reached 31.8C

Camille

New addition to the family

New addition to the family

Yesterday was a big and exciting day for our kids, the reason being that we were about to pick up a cat that is going to live with us.

She's about 8 weeks and ready to move away from her mother.

Here she is, Thuung Thong or Golden bag as she has been named by my wife, or Tee tee for me.

The kids are over the moon with our new family addition and she's busy exploring her new surroundings, tumbling over her own feet once in a while and being distracted about every two seconds whilst wondering around.

It's great to have her around!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 23rd September, 2010

Today's weather;

A nice blue sky with a beaming sun in it woke Samui up this morning, there are some clouds but the sun is prevailing. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C

Yesterday saw a dry day with a mixed bag of clouds and sunshine. Max temp reached 33.2C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 22nd September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a cloudy but so far also a dry sky to show for. Current temp at 7am is 27.5C

Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine during the morning but this was slowly replaced by clouds during the afternoon. It stayed dry though. Max temp reached 31C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 21st September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui experiences a cloud layer but the sun is working hard to break it up. Current temp at 7am is 26.4C

Yesterday saw a mainly blue sky in the morning but a serious shower around noon, after that is was mainly cloudy but remained dry. Max temp reached 31C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 20th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui woke up to a partly cloudy sky with the sun trying it's hardest to peek through. Current temp at 7am is 25.2C

Yesterday was a fairly hot day with plenty of sunshine. Last night there was some serious amounts of rain which lead to a power cut which was only resolved around 6.30am. Max temp reached 31.3C

Camille

Samui Island Marathon, Nathon

Samui Island Marathon, Nathon

Today I participated in the quarter marathon of the Samui Island Marathon with start and finish in Nathon.

It was a well organized event and for instance it was a lot easier finding parking space than I expected. It was early though and the quarter mile start was at 5.30am in the morning! We woke up at 4am and made it just around 5.10am to Nathon.

It was nice to see the amount of people participating in this event and I truly hope it was enough to make it worthwhile to have the event again next year, I'll set my stakes higher and aim to complete the half marathon than.

Here is a picture of one of the participants. He was one of the few Westerners participating and I really enjoyed seeing that many Thai people participating, originating from all over the country!

The start of my category in the streets of Nathon near the pier. It was quite a big group all divided in age groups and male/female categories and the five first finishers got cash prices in each age group and male/female category.

Just before the quarter marathon start, the half marathon runners got going about 15 minutes before us.

Upon reaching my 1 km to go mark, the first three half marathon runners overtook me!

My run went well, as I expected, I did the 10.55km just under an hour, in 59.26 minutes which for me is a good time. My average running distance is now around 5 to 6 km, which made my start good and easy but reaching the turn around mark I started to slow down.

After the run, my son showing off the participants medal!

Till next year, I'm looking forward to it. This was a nice first for me, I never visited a running event, let alone participated in one.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 19th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Just got back from the Samui Island Marathon where I ran the quarter marathon just under one hour, which for me is a good time! Here you can find more on this event.

On the way over to Nathon there were some showers but once in Nathon it was dry although during the run there was a light drizzle. Upon leaving for home again, it was dry and a rainbow developed over the ocean in Nathon.

Current temp at 7am is 26C at 7am and it's a mixed bag, sunshine with some big clouds looming in the background.

The rainbow over Nathon harbor

Yesterday saw sunshine for most parts of the day and max temp reached 31.31C

Camille

Samui Island Marathon 2010

Samui Island Marathon 2010

Is about to take off tomorrow and I'm mad enough to have signed up for the quarter Marathon tomorrow, starting at 5.30am in Nathon!

Samui Island Marathon 2010 has four categories and these categories are subdivided in age categories.

After getting off the ferry from Koh Phangan I pretty much went straight to Nathon to sign up. See you tomorrow on the road!

My current training is up to 6km and I can do that distance on fairly flat road in 30 minutes. The last clicks tomorrow will be the challenge, the nice thing is we run early before it heats up.

More news tomorrow, with hopefully some nice pix.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 18th September, 2010

Today's weather;

The sun is trying to evaporate the clouds over Koh Phangan on my last day here. Later this morning I will take the Seatran ferry back to Samui! Current temp at 7am is 25.1C

I had a great time here and am already looking back on my return in February. I miss my family as well though and am looking forward to see them again!

Chaloklum Bay

Yesterday saw a sunny and hot day on both Samui and Phangan with a max temp of 33.3C

Around 10pm there was a good shower for about an hour.

Camille

Food on Wheels; Thong Sala pier, Koh Phangan

Food on Wheels; Thong Sala pier, Koh Phangan

Here we are back with some great samples of Food on Wheels in Thailand. The location this time is the Thong Sala pier on Koh Phangan, the main pier on the island where two big ferry companies, the Seatran and the Lomprayah each drop off and pick up people at least twice a day.

Many times when I was travelling between Samui and Koh Tao, this was a great place to quickly hop off the ferry and grab some food. The cart above is a perfect sample and it offers a lot of snacks, both Western and Thai style.

This lady has a a much toned down option and she sells sandwiches only but transports them and her self around a bike!

The Thai junk food option can't be left out, nice and greasy, right there for your convenience!

Hope you enjoy these pictures and maybe they make you more aware of the street vendors in Thailand and what they have to offer and how creative they sometimes are in announcing their presence or their product.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 17th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is waking up to a cloudy sky but it looks like the sun will come out soon and the settle today's score in it's advantage. Current temp at 7am is 26.6C

Sunset at Baan Thai beach, Koh Phangan

Yesterday saw a very nice, sunny and hot day in both Samui and Phangan. Max temp reached 34.7C

The IDC on Koh Phangan is finished and tomorrow I will travel back to Samui!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 16th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan has woken up under a fairly sunny sky although this sky is laced with clouds. Current temp at 7am is 27C

Yesterday started out nicely bu until noon there were dark skies that took over however, we didn't have any rain. After noon the sun broke through though and it was a nice and sunny afternoon just like Samui. Max temp reached 32.8C

During the evenings I feel that it's cooler than a month ago!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 15th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is waking up under a weak sunshine. It looks it may get hot today! Current temp at 7am is 25.1C

Yesterday saw a merely cloudy day with occasionally some sunshine on Phangan. During the night there was some rain.

Samui saw some more rain, also during the daytime. Max temp reached 31.2C

Yesterday I had for the first time a night dive at Sail Rock and it was great! Today the current IDC will be completed and soon I will be back on Samui again!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 14th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is waking up to a cloudy sky and no sunshine in sight. Current temp at 7am is 26.3C

Yesterday saw a nice day with the sun breaking through plenty of times but in the early evening around 7pm there was a serious rain shower. Max temp reached 30.5C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update;13th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is looking forward to a lovely day, the sky partly covered with clouds but the sun is working hard to break through. Current temp at 7am is 26C

Yesterday saw a nice and sunny over both Samui and Phangan. Max temp reached 32.3C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 12th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Phangan's sky is partly clouded this morning but it looks like the sun will burn some holes through that layer. Current temp at 7am is 25.8C.

Yesterday saw a nice and sunny day with a max temp of 31.3C

It was also a well deserved day off from my current IDC on Koh Phangan and my family visited me, they're back on the ferry to Samui this morning.

Strangely enough it was also the third time within a week that I moved to a new place but now it seems that I've found a permanent place for the remainder of my stay. The first place had the water shut off, so no showers were possible, I moved to the resort next door and didn't had time yet to look for something else. Yesterday I found a lovely bungalow for a good price.

Shortly after we moved in, my wife saw something fall out of a tree next to the new bungalow with a big thumb and on closer inspection, it was the meter and a half long green snake pictured below.

It just sat there for a few minutes, giving me the opportunity to take a few pictures.

It soon had enough of it's modelling career and it rustled off the nearest tree and disappeared within moments.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 11th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is very cloudy this morning and Samui even has a bit of rain. Current temp at 7am is 26.3C

Haad Yao beach yesterday

Yesterday saw a warm and sunny day both in Phangan and Samui, although there was a shower in the early evening. Max temp reached 32.7C

We also completed the first part of the current IDC and today is a day off!

Camille

Food on Wheels; Eye tim or ice cream

Food on Wheels; Eye tim or ice cream

If you live in Thailand or you visit regularly, you most likely have seen the ice cream vendor on his motorbike at some stage.

It's the guy with a fairly normal bike but with a big metal looking box on his on the passenger seat. In this box is his cooled ice or 'eye tim' as the Thai people call it.

The interesting thing is however, the way Thais eat their local ice cream. We Westerners are used to a cone filled with ice or a plastic cup or something.

A typical Thai eye tim favorite from this vendor however is ice cream stuffed in sandwich bread, complemented with corn and a sweet milk alike sauce! That's exactly what the vendor in the two pictures above is preparing for the waiting girl! In the picture above he's just pouring the milky sweet sauce onto the ice cream sandwich. Directly behind the big ice cream cooler box is a small row of plastic boxes with the corn and who knows what else goes onto the local eye tim.

Western taste buds wouldn't befriend this combination too easily I would imagine but as a free from jail card he also sells ice cream in normal cones.

A long plastic bag with cones can be seen on the side of his bike.

That's what I went for and he's filling a cone up right now as we can see in this picture.

A couple of more things revealed in this picture is the bell hanging on his left side of the steering wheel, which has an unmistakable sound to the local Thai people, and when they hear it, they know that the 'eye tim' guy is near. Does wonders to my 5 year old son! He gets really excited when he hears this sound and he calls the 'eye tim' guy in who shows up at the back of our house with now way out for us but to buy eye tim for this young fellow!

The wooden stand that prevents the bike from falling over is also a work of local genius and creativeness. Cones, bread and a few other plastic bags are dangling on this side as well. My eye tim in a cone was 10 Baht and it was lovely. I met this eye tim guy on Koh Phangan's Haad Yao beach where I'm currently teaching an IDC about which progress you can update yourself on my dive blog.

Hope you enjoyed this entry of Food on Wheels, it's another nice and interesting aspect of Thai food culture.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 10th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is fairly cloudy with a current temp of 26.2C at 7am.

Yesterday saw a warm and partly sunny day pass by until around 5pm when some rain showers visited us. Max temp reached 34c.

Samui had a similar weather pattern yesterday with rain in the early evening.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 9th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan has some light cloud cover this morning, the sun is currently breaking through. Current temp of 26.5C at 7am.

Yesterday saw a very nice and hot day with plenty of sunshine on both Samui and Phangan. Max temp reached 34C.

Camille

Caffe' Della Moca, Chaloklum, Koh Phangan

Caffe' Della Moca, Chaloklum, Koh Phangan

After five days on Koh Phangan, this has been the best eatery I have been to so far! Chaloklum is in the very North of the island, so not necessarily easily accessible but nonetheless, well worth the trip or distance!

The restaurant is located in the street going parallel to the beach and which is leading up to the pier.

Once inside you need to walk to the back of the place, towards the beach and you sit very pittoresque on the sand, just above the beach with the tables and chairs in the sand. The view is very nice.

You want to look out for the big Cucina Italiana sign, that will most likely easier attract your attention than the sign with the actual name of the place on it!

The restaurant is well known for it's excellent pizza's but what really rocked my boat are the home made pastas.

My order was the home cooked ravioli's stuffed with spinach and cheese and I chose a cheese sauce to go with it. Very delicious indeed. Unfortunately the Cannelonis, apparently the best choice on the menu where sold out just minutes before we arrived.

Another dish that was ordered is this spaghetti sea food. A truelly amazing amount of seafood is loaded onto the plate with an excellent sauce with olives and heaps of spaghetti to go with it.

As a dessert I had panna cotta. Delicious and well worth a visit and even a return visit, I'm working out my schedule right now!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 8th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan has a blue sky opening up with a few clouds in it. Current temp at 7am is 26.8C

My bungalow on Koh Phangan

Yesterday saw a lot longer clouds over Phangan than I expected but around lunch time it started to clear up and the sun broke through. Max temp reached 31.7C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 7th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan is covered under a cloud layer this morning but the wind has disappeared and the sun is likely to come out. Current temp at 7am is 27C.

View from my bungalow

Yesterday saw a nice, sometimes sunny day on Phangan until early in the evening around 8pm when there was a rather unexpected shower. During the night there was some more rain.

Samui was nice and warm with some rain during the night.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 6th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan has some strong wind this morning but it's cloudy and dry. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C

Yesterday saw a lovely morning but around 3pm it started to rain and it continues on and off with strong showers , dry spells and drizzle all evening. Max temp reached 32.8C

Samui on the contrast was dry all day although it was cloudy.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 5th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Phangan, where I'm staying for about two weeks, to teach an IDC, has a nice and bleak sunny morning. The thin cloud layer will most likely evaporate quickly once the sun starts heating up. Current temp at 7am is 25.7C

Yesterday I had a little bit of a shaky ride over to Koh Phangan with the ferry, fairly big waves and rain accompanied us and once on Phangan, there was a cloud cover and a barely noticeable drizzle that kept coming and going. Max temp reached 31C

Samui was also under a cloud blanket yesterday and had similar conditions to Phangan.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 4th September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a thin layer of clouds through which the sun is trying very hard to burn holes in it. Current temp at 7am is 27C

Today I'll be leaving for an approximate two week trip to neighbouring island Koh Phangan where I will be teaching my first PADI IDC outside of Samui, check my dive blog for updates.

My daily weather updates and most likely plenty of posts about Phangan will be there as usual.

Yesterday saw overcast pretty much all day with a short rain burst over Plai Laem shortly after noon. Max temp reached 31.8C

Camille

Siripoca restaurant, Bang Po

Siripoca restaurant, Bang Po

This is one of the locals fave places, well hidden away but simple and delicious straightforward Thai food.

The Siripoca in Bang Po, is not easy to detect and you would miss it if you don't know where it is. It's not too far away from Bang Po Seafood restaurant, of which I posted a while ago.

It's also not the best looking place and has nothing that really stands out visually when you're looking for it, It's just a few meters backed away from the ring road but worth looking for if you're in this neck of the Samui woods, for instance if you're on your way to Samui immigration in Nathon or renewing your driving license in Lipa Noi!

As already mentioned it's all very basic but very functional. The typical meat display with duck, chicken and pork (moo krob or crispy pork).

All seating arrangement, tables and chairs, are directly on the sand but there's a fantastic view on to Koh Phangan, well worthwhile the stop!

Besides selling Thai food a la carte, they also sell all kind of Khanom or sweets ads the Thais call it. Little and/or small sweet snacks. Well worth trying out! Soon more about this.

We've been here before to get some Kao Man Kai, which my wife ordered, but when I test a place, I always choose the same thing, so I can compare between two of my fave dishes, One dish is Phat Phet Mu Krob (Stir fried crispy pork) which I ordered today and it was very good! Tasty and spicy, just the way I like it! See the above picture. Here's a good recipe for Phat Phet Mu or ผัดเผ๊ดหมู, you just need to replace the pork in the recipe with crispy pork!

The other test meal I use is Plaa Muek Phat Krapao or ปลาหมึกผัดกะเพรา. Since I eat both of them a lot and I have my fave places for each of these dishes it's really simple to compare once I order them! Siripoca passed the test with flying colours!

On to the Khao Man Kai or ข้าวมันไก่, my wife's choice today. Siripoca is well known for this dish and she enjoyed it. This is a classic Thai meal but it's also a kind of recycled meal; bones are boiled to make stock, the stock is used to cook the chickens and rice and to make soup, the bones from the chickens are used to make more stock and so the cycle continues.

It's not just any old rice that comes with this meal, if tit's done correctly, the rice is cooked in the stock!

Getting back to the Khanom, they also have Khanom Thuai or ขนมถ้วย on offer, a really nice and sweet dessert topped with a great coconut layer. There are just a few places on Samui that offer these kind of sweets or Khanom Thuai.

This is how they are served. Two identical cups on top of each other, which when opened reveal their sweet treasure.

Dig in and enjoy. This is one of the good eateries on Samui with a clean kitchen, which my wife finds very important and the restaurant is popular with local Samuians and alike. What better proof for good tasting goodies can you have?

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 3rd September, 2010

Today's weather;

The Samui sky is cloudy today and it doesn't look like the sun is going to burn this one away easily. Current temp at 7am is 27.3C

Yesterday saw a very nice, sunny and hot morning but during the afternoon more and more clouds starting to appear which culminated in some heavy rain around 5pm, just when I was planning to start my daily run. Max temp reached 34.2C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 2nd September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a seemingly thin cloud layer which hopefully will be dissolved once the sun starts heating up. Current temp at 7am is 27.5C

Yesterday was a sunny and very hot day. Max temp reached 34.1C

Camille

Welcome to September 2010

Welcome to September 2010

Usually September is a fairly nice month but it does see some rain and may have a strong wind blowing. Overall it should be a good month to visit Koh Samui and especially the diving in the Samui archipelago is in general very good.

This is also going to be an exciting month for me since I'm about to embark my first IDC outside of Samui. The 4th September I will leave for Koh Phangan for about two weeks but no worries, the daily updates will keep streaming in. You can follow my dive adventures on my dive blog so don't be a stranger and pop in once in a while.

Wishing a successful September to you all and hope to see you looking into my blogs.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 1st September, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is going to bake under a blue sky if the current morning situation continues! Current temp at 7am is 27C

Yesterday was a sunny and hot day. Max temp reached 33.1C

Camille