Highlights in 2010

Highlights in 2010

Into my 4th year of blogging about Samui and it's daily weather updates! With this blog I try to show the visitors to this blog and to the beautiful tropical island of Koh Samui some spots and ideas to see and visit during your stay that are slightly off the beaten path and inform you about local island life and tradition.

I think that I have a fairly unique insight on local island life and events because I'm married to a local Samui woman and through her and her family I am able to witness events that may not be possible for somebody visiting the island.

On top of that I review plenty of local Samui restaurants but also from outside of Samui, wherever my travels around (or outside) Thailand may bring me.

I hope you enjoy it and what follows now is a list of highlights during the last year;

January kicks off the 2010 highlights but they start on a sad note for me since on 14th January my Dad passed away. RIP dad.

My Dad and our kids on Choengmon Beach, December 2008

During February I witnessed a very local event, the Tambun Sala Koy, a nice local Samui and beach/island tradition.

This month saw also the yearly Thai Red Cross charity motorcycle ride around Samui.

February also marked three years of blogging about Samui and it's weather!

In March the whole family visited Pattaya during a dive trip I did there, including a fantastic exploratory wreck dive trip into the Gulf. A great time was had by all, especially during our visit to Dream World, an amusement park in Bangkok.

April saw a very busy month and besides daily weather updates I only got around to report about the yearly Chakri Memorial day and the wet and fun Thai New Year; Songkran.

Songkran 2010 in Chaweng

On to May where the very legit question arose if Samui is safe to visit, with all the Bangkok unrest during April and May, fortunately enough the answer is yes although it seems that all of Thailand's tourism had a negative impulse from the unrest.

I also visited the Lebanon station for the first time, a great Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng.

June saw the construction of an old fashioned style well drilling on my wife's youngest sister's land and also saw a second serious incident in the form of a speed collision in a few years during the Full Moon Part on Koh Phangan.

Phetcharat boat after collision

In July the highlight was the Football World Championship which saw the Dutch team reach the finals, which they unfortunately lost for a third time!

I also was able to put my hands on some stunning pictures of one of the speedboats involved in the collision last month during transporting visitors to the Full Moon Party between Samui and Phangan.

It was also during this month that I started my Food on Wheels series, which turned out to become fairly popular, especially amongst my Thai fellow bloggers.

There was also a big protest demonstration all around the island against oil drilling off Samui's coast and beaches.

August brought some interesting posts and the first one is about a very popular up and coming social event, the local 'Walking street' events, my post is about seemingly the most popular one, the Fisherman's Village Walking Street event, held each Friday. You can find these events now in Lamai, Nathon and Maenam.

During one of my Koh Tao visits I witnessed some old style local tradition, the coconut monkey at work.

Thailand's gold prices are also fluctuating a lot and if you bought early on, you can reap the benefits now!

September was another busy blogging month and also saw me conduct my first PADI IDC outside of Koh Samui and I traveled to Koh Phangan to do so where I discovered one of the best Italian restaurants ever! In general I really liked Phangan and I can highly recommend a visit.

My running that I started earlier this year in January paid off by participating in my first ever running event, the Samui Island Marathon, although I only participated in the 10km run.

We also had a new addition to the family.

Samui Island Marathon

In the beginning of October I participated in another running event, the 5km Ibis fun run, as part of an adventure event.

This month saw some creative parking styles around the island and I spend time on Koh Lanta for my second PADI IDC away from home.

On a sadder note, my wife's grand mother passed away towards the end of the month, since I was not on Samui I couldn't attend the burial ceremony.

We're getting towards the end of the year and November knocked on the door, which I almost completely spend away from Samui, conducting IDC's in Kao Lak and Koh Lanta.

Due to the torrential rains in November, I saw a massive amount of visits and page views to my blog, a post with videos of the flooding received over 3.500 hits and proved to be the most popular of them all!

The yearly Loy Kratong event was celebrated by me at a lovely location in Kao Lak.

Plai Laem flooding November 2010

December saw me once more away from home for most of the month, the start of the month saw me in Koh Lanta once more to complete a second PADI IDC in a short time frame and towards the middle of the month I had a fantastic holiday in the United Arab Emirates.

Me at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, highest tower in the world

Now it's waiting for midnight tonight for the start of a New Year!

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you made it to the bottom of this page, it was a rather long read, especially if you clicked on some of the links and looked up the corresponding stories.

Have a look at my dive blog for a 2010 flash back.

A Happy New Year to all of you and I'm looking forward seeing you back in 2011!

Camille

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Good luck and a successful 2011

Camille

Goodbye to December 2010

Goodbye to December 2010

December 2010 was the second month in a row during which most time of the time month was spend outside of Koh Samui, just like November 2010. Still I managed to update this blog daily with Samui weather impressions, thanks to a hotline with my wife!

I must admit that I'm contemplating changing the frequency of the blog posts, to once or twice updating per week but I can't seem to solve that puzzle yet. Possibly later this year..........

Motorbike samlor, a typical sight on Koh Lanta

The first part of December I spent on the lovely island of Koh Lanta, where in short succession I conducted a second PADI IDC.

After Lanta it was off to Phuket for a couple of days to assist my IDC candidates during their PADI IE in Phuket.

Than at last I got a couple of days to spend on Samui before I took off for a short holiday trip to the United Arab Emirates.

A traditional breakfast in a very traditional Bedouin tent, the coffee drinking part with one of my hosts and friends Bader

This holiday was definitely the highlight of the month and the first couple of days were spent in Umm al-Quwain, a a quiet and more residential Emirate where both my friends Imad and Bader live.

All 4 of my hosts together, Sunil, Bader, Imad and Anup.

Thanks guys for taking care of me and showing me around in grand style, it was amazing!

Dubai skyline

The second part of my stay was spent in Dubai, probably the most well known Emirate. It was a great time and I'm looking forward to a next visit.

It's now almost a week since I'm back on Samui and it's great to spend time with the family together and wait for the New Year to start, recharging the batteries!

The weather on Samui during December wasn't that great, early on in the month there was plenty of rain and flooding occurred again all over the island, the 6th being a very wet day.

Later during the the month, rather typical is around the middle of the month the rain subsided and sunshine became part of the scenery again.

Happy New Year to all of you out there, reading my blog!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 31st December, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is partly cloudy and sometimes the sun shines through. Current temp at 7am is 26.3C

Sky over Samui yesterday afternoon

Yesterday saw clouds during the morning and a bit of sunshine during the afternoon. Max temp reached 29.3C

Went to Koh Tao yesterday for a dive on a private speedboat charter and the picture above was taken on the way back near Samui.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

It's cloudy again in Samui during the early morning but dry. Current temp at 7am is 26C

Yesterday saw plenty of clouds during the morning over Samui but during the afternoon it cleared up and the sun broke through, although there were scattered clouds all over the sky. Max temp reached 29.2C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

It's cloudy but dry on Samui this morning. Current temp at 7am is 24.2C

Yesterday saw a mixed of some sunshine throughout the day but in the morning there was an half an hour of hard rain as well. Mostly it was cloudy though. Max temp reached 29C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is covered under dark clouds but it's still dry. Current temp at 7am is 26.3C

Yesterday saw a sunny day on the island with a max temp of 29.6C

Camille

Food on Wheels; Kanom Tokyo

Food on Wheels; Kanom Tokyo

Time to look into the Food on Wheels series, with a very interesting entry today; Kanom Tokyo. Most of you out there probably didn't even know there was a thing called like this, just like me!

In front of one of our local 7-11's near our house, almost every evening this cart can be found, the Kanom Tokyo vendor. It's mainly a children's favorite. Our kids love it, that's for sure.

The ingredients, on the bottom quill eggs and Maggi sauce, in the middle some sort of sweet cream and on top sausages.

The batter is obviously also of importance and is actually very tasty! Three 'kanoms' or sweet pancakes are spread out next to each other and than ingredients are put on top of them. This results in a sweet but crunchy pancake.

An almost finished Kanom Tokyo, the batter turned into a pancake style sweet, topped with all the ingredients previously mentioned. The only thing missing now is shaping the whole thing up and putting it in the inevitable plastic bag.

Here it is, one Kanom Tokyo, rolled into shape and ready to be eaten. Enjoy! For 5 to 10 Baht a piece, pretty cool stuff.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

A nice blue sky is shaping up over Samui this morning with some thin cloud layers. Current temp at 7am is 25.5C

Yesterday saw a dry and sunny day on Samui with plenty of clouds during the afternoon. Max temp reached 29.2C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is nice and sunny with an almost perfect blue sky. Current temp at 7am is 25C

Yesterday saw also a very nice and sunny day on Samui. Max temp reached 29.1C

Today's it's exactly 6 years ago that the Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami occurred that ravaged Thailand's and many other countries costs. A moment for remembrance!

Camille

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

Today's weather;

It's partly cloudy but mainly sunny and since about two hours I'm back on Samui with a current temp at 10am of 27.7C

Yesterday saw lots of sunshine and a max temp of 29.3C

Camille

Seasonal Greetings

Seasonal Greetings

A Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year to all my readers

Camille

Dubai Museum, United Arab Emirates

Dubai Museum, United Arab Emirates

As already mentioned in an earlier post this week, during a visit to Bur Dubai, we didn't have time to visit the Dubai Museum, but yesterday I went back and did visit the museum.

The museum was opened by the ruler of Dubai in 1971, with the aim of presenting the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai. It includes local antiquities as well as artifacts from African and Asian countries that traded with Dubai. It also includes several dioramas showing life in the emirate before the advent of oil. In addition to artifacts from recent discoveries as old as 3000 B.C.

An old style water tank, needed to survive in this desert climate.

Al Fahidi Fort, where the museum is located, was built in several phases. The oldest tower was built around 1787 and believed to be the oldest building in Dubai that still exists today. The fort was used to guard the landward approaches to the town from the raids of neighbouring tribes. It has also served, at various times throughout history as the ruler's palace, a garrison, and a prison.

The dioramas are the nice touch to this museum, just as shown above, a diorama about traditional clothing. You would expect a very hyper technical and digital museum, just like the rest of the city but instead this museum is very 'old fashioned' with it's dioramas which make for a great break and change of pace.

Outside of the museum is a dhow, a traditional Arab sailing vessel, with a mosque's minaret in the background.

Ski Dubai

After the museum visit we went to the Mall of the Emirates by local subway, this is one of the bigger malls in Dubai and very impressive. It hosts Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort! Just so it's set apart from other malls in Dubai.

Later today I'll be back on the plane to Thailand and Samui. Thanks for checking into my Dubai updates and see you soon on Samui again.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is sunny again with a nice blue sky! The forecast for the Christmas weekend are excellent with plenty of sunshine and no rain. Current temp at 1pm is 28.7C

Yesterday saw plenty of rain all day long and many flooded roads due to the fact that all surface is saturated with water. Max temp reached 28.7C

Dubai street scene with a metro station in the background

Dubai weather hasn't changed one little bit during my stay and none of the yearly 122mm of rain has come down yet. A visit to the Dubai Museum was done yesterday, see for a report here!

Camille

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

After a daytime visit to the Deira City Centre Mall, the oldest mall in Dubai, where we had a grand shopping experience, including a shop with 75% discount on clothing, which afterwards it turned out that this discount hasn't changed since the opening of the shop, it was time to visit the Burj Khalifa. This is the tallest tower in the world at 828 meters!

Our target for the evening

A scaled down version at the basement of the building

When visiting, book in advance since it seems to be very hard to get tickets at the spur of a moment and try to book them at the Dubai Mall since they're a lot cheaper than!

At the 124th floor (out 0f 160), 452 meters above ground, looking at the very top of the tower!

Dubai downtown by night

Full moon over Dubai downtown

The visit is well worth it and very interesting to see how it was designed and constructed. Thanks Imad for taking me here!

Camille

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

Today's weather;

The weather on Samui has changed once more and it's raining today accompanied by a very cloudy sky. Current temp at 10am is 27.4C

Yesterday saw nice weather and sunny skies over Samui. Max temp reached 28.8C

Dubai is still rocking and a visit to the Burj Khalifa was scheduled.

Camille

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, day 5

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, day 5

Yesterday saw a visit to the old part of Dubai, Bur Dubai. There's a Dubai Museum which we unfortunately didn't have time for to visit, this time around. What I didn't know at the time being is that Anup and me would return for a visit later that week.

The old streets of Bur Dubai with all it's small shops and Souks.

A mosque with intricate mosaic work in Bur Dubai.

Dubai Creek where we had dinner

Dubai Mall

A visit to the Dubai Mall was on the menu later in the evening and this was pretty impressive. If you want to buy something here, make sure it doesn't spring your bank!

The Dubai Mall is the world's largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area, it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, and includes 1,200 shops.

The shops are all op designer shops.

We saw a water fountain show and visited the Aquarium with it's 10 million liter tank.

After that it was off to the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah which hosts an even bigger Aquarium. A post on the visit to the two aquariums is on my dive blog.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui's weather is improving and today is another great day in the making with some sunshine. It's partly cloudy and a current temp at 13.00 of 28.7C

Yesterday saw a nice day as well, no rain with some sunshine and a max temp of 30.2C

The United Arab Emirates are still good and interesting, the weather is constant and the action keeps going on! Yesterday was Dubai Aquarium time and I visited two different, massively big Aquariums, one at the Dubai Mall and one at the Atlantis Hotel at the Palm Jumeira, see my dive blog for an update on these visits.

Today a visit to the Burj Kalifa, the tallest tower in the world is on the menu.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is enjoying more nice weather, however now the European flight carriers can't bring anybody in to enjoy it due to the massive amounts of snow. Current temp is 29.5C at 13.00

Yesterday saw a nice and sunny day on Samui with a max temp of 29.3C

Marina at downtown Dubai, near the Palm

Dubai is interesting, early morning and nights are very nice even a bit cold at times. The daytime is hot and warm though.

Camille

United Arab Emirates, day 3

United Arab Emirates, day 3

The fun and action packed days keep following up!

Yesterday saw me having lunch at an Iranian restaurant , pictured above where the kebabs are barbecued outside. Once more an excellent meal was had!

In between our trips and adventures, there's always time for me mint tea for me and some hubbly bubbly for Imad and/or Baader. Imad is enjoying his sheesha at the local sheesha shop.

Baader, me and Imad at the Thai pavillion

During the early evening we went off to Global Village, located in Dubailand, it's the region’s first premier cultural, entertainment and shopping destination, celebrating diverse cultures, art, theater, commerce and cuisine from around the world and welcomes more than four million guests per year. Each season, Global Village delivers a wide variety of pioneering new shows and attractions in the heart of Dubailand. Covering an area of 17,200,000 sq ft (1,600,000 m2). The construction of this project was started in 2003 and is now almost complete with two or three projects that are expected to be completed by 2011.

Powdered spices towers in the Yemen pavilion

The Global Village is immensely popular, and it was busy during our visit, with a great mix of local people, many neighboring Arab local visitors and the occasional Western person. It's a great way of getting a glimpse from other cultures, I really enjoyed various pavilions and the stuff on offer. Especially the Afghan pavilion had some very colorful local clothes on display.

Outside the Moroccan pavilion a few of these drink sellers were following their trade.

Another great day was had and in the evening we hooked up with Sunil and his friend Anup, who's visiting from India. Now I'm staying at Sunil's place and this is located in Dubai.

Catch you later,

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui sees nice blue skies with plenty of sun again. Current temp at 13.00 is 29.1C

Yesterday I moved to a new location in into Dubai and there's no internet connection at home, so I need to visit internet cafes right now and updates may be sporadic over the next few days.

Yesterday saw also nice weather on Samui with a max temp of 29C

Sunset in Dubai in the desert

Dubai is still a lot of fun and action packed days are the rule rather than the exception so far. It's nice winter weather here, meaning cool nights and mornings and nice day time temperatures of a maximum around 30C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui has nice weather again and the blue sky and sunshine is back again. Current temp at 10am is 28C (due to a 3 hour time difference between the UAE and Samui, the daily updates are delayed in time).

Yesterday saw almost all day long rain on Samui and due to the fact that the ground is saturated with water, flooding happened rather easily at some parts of the island. Max temp reached 25.1C

The United Arab Emirates are fresh during the night and early morning, around 15 to 16C and during the day time we just cracked 30C yesterday. For yesterdays UAE adventures, check here.

Camille

United Arab Emirates, day 2

United Arab Emirates, day 2

My adventures in the United Arab Emirates continue and yesterday saw another action packed and fun day.

The day started out with an invitation by our mutual friend Baader, to have traditional breakfast at his place, in a Bedouin style tent, nowadays these tents are air conditioned! It also involved coffee drinking after breakfast and burning a special wood in a small holder and the smoke can be used to 'perfume' your clothes. The food was great, once more.

After some sight seeing around Umm al-Quwain, where Bader and Imad live, it was time for lunch and we went to this very outstanding local Umm al-Quwaini sea food restaurant 'Wadi Al Neel', which is famous around the UAE for it's great food. The place is small but was packed all the time we were there and the food was just great!

Dubai city skyline

After lunch it was time to head direction Abu Dhabi, one of the 7 Emirates and the capital of the UAE. There was a visit to the Ferrari World amusement park and the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup in the plans.

At Ferrari world we were all 3 impressed by the sheer size and beautiful design of the place. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to visit the amusement park but the current fastest roller coaster in the world, the Formula Rossa is located here.

We were off to the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup finals between Inter Milan from Italy and TP Mazember from Congo at the Sheik Zayed Stadium. It had been a while since I saw a live football match and it was great to be at the stadium. Inter won easily with 3-0 and we were off back to Umm al-Quwain again were we got home by 1am.

In between each event and during all of the day, I had a decent amount of cups of mint tea, during which occasion Imad and Bader smoked a sheesha.

By visiting Abu Dhabi yesterday, I've been to all 7 Emirates just withing 2 days!

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui has some overcast to show for this morning. Current temp at 10am is 24.4C

Dubai has just woken up and the mornings during their current 'winter' are around 16C, it's about 8.30 right now and it's slightly warmer, around 20C.

Yesterday saw some rain again on Samui and the max temp reached 29.9C

Max temps in Dubai reached around 28 to 29C this time of the year which is really nice and agreeable.

Am having an absolute blast here! Yesterday morning we went diving, the afternoon we hung out in the desert where modified cars were supposed to drive up against a very steep sand dune. Greta fun and all local visitors were showing off their sand driving skill in their SUV's, big cars or quad bikes. A short tour on a quad bike was arranged for me as well, as a passenger and a couple of wheelies were performed. Just hold and!

So far we've only eaten Lebanese food and I'm enjoying it tremendously, Last night I saw Dubai by night, that also an experience!

In front of the Burj Al Arab hotel, the only 7 Star hotel in the world

The skyline is amazing and breath taking and build up more or less over the last 15 years only.

Today's we're off to see the final game of the world championships football for club teams. Inter Milan and TP Mazember, the first African team ever to qualify for the finals.

Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates and there are 7 of these Emirates, today I will visit the 7th Emirate and within two days I've been to all 7! Currently I'm staying at Umm al-Quwain with my friend Imad and tomorrow I'll be moving over to Dubai and stay at Sunil's place.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is nice and warm with a blue sky shaping up. Current temp is 25C

Right now I'm in Dubai and it's another sunny and warm day. Cool in the morning and evenings though, the only thing I experienced so far. Off to some diving today.

Yesterday was a travel day and I started in Bangkok, stopover in New Delhi and off to Dubai. More updates later, gotta run!

Samui was nice and warm yesterday, max temp reached 29.6C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is nice again with a partly cloudy sky. Current temp at 7am is 24C.

Right now I'm at Suvarnabhumi Airport, waiting for my flight to New Delhi with a connection to Dubai. Bangkok has light overcast and the current temp at 7am is 26C. Back on the 25th December!

Yesterday saw another lovely and sunny day on Samui. Max temp reached 29.7C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is experiencing more dry weather and another great looking blue sky is shaping up. Current temp at 7am is 24.5C

Tonight I'll be leaving Samui again, the last plane to Bangkok, sleep over near the airport and tomorrow early morning I'm off to Dubai for a week for a holiday.

Yesterday saw a lovely day, blue skies all around, sunshine but not too hot. Max temp reached 29.7C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is going to be nice and sunny with a great blue sky shaping up! Current temp at 7am is 24.4C with a forecast that looks very similar for the next 7 days.

Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine but it's not too hot, very agreeable weather indeed. Max temp reached 29.3C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Better late than not at all! It was nice today, sunny on Koh Samui although there are some repairs on the road going due to the recent water problems and some dangerous looking side roads are missing that turned into holes, directly next to the road. Certain parts of the ring road are having some water run off from the mountains but nothing really serious.

It took me however all day to get back online again and that didn't happen until just an hour or so ago. Current temp at 7pm for a change is 26.8C

Yesterday was a fast drive from Phuket to Donsak, in order to catch the 7pm ferry, the last one of the day. I couldn't leave Phuket until just before 3pm and just about made it for the last ferry, happy happy to be with the family again! The PADI IE in Phuket is also completed so now it's soon off to Dubai for a short holiday! Max temp yesterday reached 31.4C although there was some rain twice around Surat Thani and in Nathon when I drove off the ferry.

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is nice and sunny! The good weather times seem to be back. Current temp at 7am is 24.3C

Phuket is partly cloudy with some sunshine but a fairly strong wind and a bunch of rain is fore casted! Current temp at 7am is 25.5C

Yesterday saw a sunny in Samui although there was rain during the night time. Max temp reached 29.3C. Today I start making my way back to Samui and I hope to be able to catch the last ferry tonight.

Phuket had not much of a nice morning with plenty of rain and the Kings Regatta last day had to be cancelled because some boats had run in some problems and at least one was beached. During the afternoon the weather turned for the better however. Max temp reached 30.7C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 11th December, 2010u

Today's weather;

Samui is ready for some serious sunshine. This morning and also all of next week looks great in the forecasts. Hardly any clouds, no rain but plenty of sunshine. Current temp at 7am is 24.5C

Phuket looks grey and windy and it wouldn't surprise if it will rain later today. Current temp at 7am is 24.7C

Yesterday saw a lovely day on Samui, no rain and sunshine. Max temp reached 28.4C

Phuket was nice all day, some clouds and enough sun to make it an agreeable day. There was some rain during the night though. Max temp reached 30.7C

Yesterday evening I finished uploading a third trip report on my dive blog about a dive I did on the 8th December at a location called Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, near Koh lanta, it contains videos about our Manta Ray encounters, here's a preview of one of them, if you like this, have a look at my dive blog;

Camille

Your man in Phuket

Your man in Phuket

May I present you; Jamie Monk, fellow weather blogger (of those there are only two as far as I know in Thailand, Jamie and me), fellow diver (he owns and runs Sunrise divers in Karon) and he's been the same amount of years in Thailand as me, he may have arrived a few days before me, we are both married to a Thai woman (a different one!) and we both have two kids in the same age bracket.

Right now I am in Phuket for a PADI IE and it turns out that the location is more or less directly next to Jamie's dive center. Having missed each other during a few earlier visits to Phuket, this was the right time to visit him and have a nice cold one.

It was good meeting him at last, eye to eye and the picture above sees us happily shaking hands on the unexpected occasion.

If you're interested in finding out about the Real Phuket and not just about Patong and it's nightlife, Jamie's Phuket blog is the right place to find this sort of information. For all news about Phuket's weather all year round, Jamie's Phuket weather blog is the 'sister' blog to my Samui info and weather blog.

Looking forward to a few more cold ones together, Jamie!

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui looks nice, sunshine should be in the making despite some clouds right now. The forecast for the rest of the weekend and next week is splendid! Current temp at 7am is 24.7C

Phuket is partly cloudy but over the ocean blue skies are shaping up. Current temp at 7am is 24.5C

Yesterday saw a nice day with sunshine in Samui. It was about time! Max temp reached 28.5C

My drive from Koh Lanta to Phuket was nice with plenty of sunshine, there was some hard rain around 10pm though. Max temp in Phuket reached around 30C

Camille

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

Today's weather;

Samui is on the up again, it's dry! The forecast also predicts dry weather for the next 7 days. Today is still partly cloudy but the improvement is that it doesn't rain anymore. Current temp at 7am is 23.6C

Yesterday morning at Lanta's Baan Kantiang's beach

Koh Lanta is partly clouded today and dry as well. Current temp at 7am is 25.5C

Manta Ray

Yesterdays dives at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang were absolute top class with Manta Ray's during all dives and they hung out during the whole dive! Read my dive blog update for more info and pictures.

Koh Samui still had rain and a power cut yesterday but it was no hard rain anymore. Towards the afternoon it also stopped raining. Max temp reached 27.8C and only 17mm of rain came down.

Koh Lanta had a fantastic day and so did I! From the very start it was sunny and remained that way all day long. The sunset on the way back home on the dive boat was beautiful, as you can see in the above picture. Max temp reached 31C

Today I'm on my way to Phuket were my IDC candidates will start a PADI IE tomorrow.

Camille