Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 30th April, 2011

Today's weather;

This morning Samui experienced some rain, very early though and now it's good old sunshine back in full swing. Current temp at 7am is 29C

Yesterday saw a warm and hot day on Samui. During the nighttime there was some rain and max temp reached 31.8C

Taxi on Gili Air, no cars or bikes are allowed, it's great!

Life on Gili Air is good, it's very laid back here and the weather is great, partly cloudy which doesn't make it too hot!

Camille

Goodbye to April 2011

Goodbye to April 2011

This month has been a very busy month on my blog, due to the flooding during late March and early April that hit Samui. Visits and page views went through the roof! Thanks for visiting and interestingly enough, my blog has been used by a lot of people as a reference and I had good feedback from people living and working on Samui that people mentioned my blog as an important factor for not cancelling their trip. Excellent! Thanks for stopping by and spreading the word!

If you feel that my blog helped you out during this period or you think it’s useful in general, don’t be afraid to make a donation, it will help me to keep going and keep writing! A donation button can be found on the top of the page, at the left hand side. If you want to book hotel rooms on Samui or in Thailand, please use my Samui hotel recommendation blog or my Thailand hotel recommendation blog. Much appreciated!

Obviously, the weather was not great during the first couple of days of April but that soon changed and since the first week of April, once the sun started shining, it actually didn’t stop doing so. Yay!

Right now it’s since over three weeks hot and sunny and one more time, Samui is back to ‘normal’, it’s ‘business as usual’ and if you don’t live on Samui it will be difficult to see any problems caused by the floods.

On a personal and work note, I’ve been busy with a second IDC on Koh Lanta in short succession and right now I find myself on a small tropical island in Indonesia that goes by the name of Gili Air. This island is part of an island group that belongs to and lies north of the island Lombok, very close to Bali where I'm also conducting a PADI IDC.

The island has a similar feel to it like Malapascua in the Philippines, where I was in February.
On Samui I’ve finally got around on writing a review about Djeh Mui, a great restaurant in Maenam and a big event during April each year is the Songkran festival or the Thai New year.

Keep popping in and I hope to see you all on Samui very soon!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 29th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui continues to have blue sky, just like this morning! Current temp at 7am is 26.5C

Yesterday was once more a hot and sunny day on Samui with a max temp of 31.2C

Junk in front of Gili Air with Lombok in the background

Life on Gili Air is good with lovely weather and good company. Today's sky is slightly cloudy which won't make it that hot, hopefully. Yesterday was cloudy all long which made it a nice day.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 28th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui has a nice blue sky this morning with a current temp at 7am of 26.2C.

Yesterday saw another hot and sunny day on Samui. April is back to it's good old self! Max temp reached 30.7C

The road to work on Gili Air, 3 minutes from my room to the dive center Oceans 5

It's a splendid morning on Gili Air with blue skies all around and an occasional cloud, it looks like a very warm day. Yesterday was a very hot day on the Gili's from very early in the morning onwards.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 27th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Due to a internet power absence until late in the afternoon on Gili Air, at last an update on today's weather. Samui has been partly cloudy and hot. A current temp at 4pm of 30C!

Yesterday saw a sunny and hot day on Samui with a max temp of 30.3C

Breakfast on Gili, the papercups on the left are filled with rice and sauce, 'oliebollen' on the right and in the middle some sort of sweet tempura.

Gili Air was hot all day long, just like yesterday!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 26th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is having a partly cloudy sky this morning. Current temp at 7am is 28.3C

Yesterday saw a tiny little bit of rain again on Samui but nothing too serious and there was still sunshine and it was still hot! Max temp reached 31.4C

Horse cart, the most convenient way to get around on Gili Air, cars and bikes are not allowed and there's only one dog on the island!

Gili Air has a lovely blue sky this morning and it's already fairly hot. Yesterday saw sunshine pretty much all day long but in the late afternoon some dark clouds gathered over Lombok but didn't make it over to Gili Air. The PADI IDC started yesterday and it was fun, Oceans 5, the local dive center has a 25 meter long pool which is great fun to swim and/or dive in!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 25th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is enjoying another blue sky and getting ready for a hot day. Current temp at 7am is 28.3C

Yesterday saw a few drops of rain around Samui but nothing too serious and still very hot. Max temp reached in the lower thirties Celsius

Gili Air in Indonesia also has a nice blue sky and it looks like it's going to be warm here! Current temp here is in the high twenties Celsius.

First things first, a cold Bintang beer and a Gado Gado meal at Denpasar, Bali airport in-between flights

Yesterday was a long day, started out at 5 in the morning in Phuket and arrived around 4 in the afternoon on Gili Air. It's nice to be back in Indonesia again after 16 years!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 24th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is about to enjoy another sunny and hot day. Current temp at 5am is 28.3C

Near Phuket airport it's slightly cloudy but the moon can be easily seen at 5am and the current temp is 25.5C

Soon I'll be making way to the airport for my flight to Bali in Indonesia where there will be a connecting flight to Lombok, where I'll jump in a taxi for an hours ride to the pier in North Lombok in order to take a 10 minute ride over to the final destination of the day; Gili Air! By that time we're about 12 hours further into the day!

En route over the Gulf of Thailand between Samui and Phuket yesterday afternoon

Yesterday saw another nice, sunny and hot day around Samui with a max temp of around 31C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 23rd April, 2011

Today's weather;

The blue sky is back again on Samui, this morning is gearing up for a hot and sunny day with a current temp of 28.5C at 7am.

Today I'm starting a new adventure with travels to Gili Air in Indonesia to conduct an IDC there. It's over 16 years ago since I last visited Indonesia, that's also when I completed my Advance Open Water course on Gili Trawangan. Tonight will have me overnighting next to Phuket airport, since the Bali bound Air Asia flight leaves stupid early from Phuket airport!

Happy Easter, our egg hunt was successfully completed yesterday on Good Friday

Yesterday saw a mainly clouded day on Samui but dry and still very hot in the North Eastern part of the island where we live. Max temp reached 30.7C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 22nd April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui has some overcast to show for this morning with bits and pieces of blue sky, it still looks like a hot day in the making. Current temp at 7am is 27.9C

Received another donation from Alex and Ross; We are arriving in Koh Samui next week and your blog helped allay any fears around the floods etc. Much appreciated! Alex and Ross, South Africa

Thanks a lot and feel free to keep them donations coming, they are much appreciated!

A nice and refreshing glass of Naam Rakam, to be had at Djeh Mui restaurant

Yesterday saw another hot and sunny day on Samui with a max temp of 31C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 21st April, 2011

Today's weather;

It's over two weeks now that Samui is waking up under near perfect blue skies and seemingly another hot day is ahead of us. Current temp at 7am is 27.3C

Thanks to Angie & Dave today for a donation! I'm very happy that I was able to put your minds at rest with regards to you Samui visit! Your donation is much appreciated!

To all other readers, feel free to put in a donation as well, this blog runs on the love for blogging and Koh Samui, I do not get paid to do this and donations are great tokens to show your appreciation.

Sunset at Choengmon Beach yesterday

Yesterday saw another sunny and hot day with a max temp of 31.8C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 20th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Once more Samui has a nice blue sky to show for! Current temp at 7am is 26.4C

Much appreciated is Narelle's donation for some cold ones, thanks! She arrived on Samui 1st April in the midst of all the flooding. Thanks for visiting despite the floods and I hope you had a good time! People, don't be shy, donations are more than welcome, this blog is purely run on enthusiasm and dedication and any donation is a nice token of appreciation!

Yesterday we visited the last day of the temple fair at Chaweng where I had some BBQ-ed squid from this stall. The fair was a bit disappointing since it was very small and there was not much on display, in sharp contrast to other years when this used to be one of the bigger fairs on the island.

Yesterday saw some lots of sunshine all around Samui, although around noon there were some clouds over the North Western part of the island but without rain. Max temp reached 32C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 19th April, 2011

Today's weather;

More blue skies and another day waiting out there for us on Koh Samui today. No wind again so more heat will be ours! Current temp at 7am is 26.8C

The weather forecasts talk about cloudy skies but a cloud or two in a blue sky doesn't justify the classifier 'cloudy sky' in my book!

Don't forget that Samui is in the tropics, this snake was sitting at the side of the exit to Choengmon beach the other day. Will try to find out what kind of snake it is, it was over a meter long when fully stretched! Looks like this might be a Checkered Keelback or งูลายสอใหญ๋ (ngu lai so yai, ngu daeng hae) although some other experts tend to prefer either the Malayan Racer or the Copperheaded racer, a tight race indeed and all three of them are not dangerous or poisonous

Yesterday saw a windless day, hence it was hot, just like April should be and the max temp reached 31.7C

Before we forget, this years Songkran death toll stopped at 271 this year over the 7 day 'dangerous' period, less than last year.

Yesterday's Songkran death toll stats

Here's a very good article by Pichai Chuensuksawadi, Editor-in-Chief at the Bangkok Post, about the out of control interest for three girls dancing topless on Silom Road during this year's Songkran.

Camille

Djeh Mui Restaurant, Maenam

Djeh Mui Restaurant, Maenam

This restaurant is located in Maenam, facing the Police station, directly at your right hand, down a little sandy soi. It's been around for as long as I'm on Samui, which is around 12 years or more and although the place is upgraded a little bit, it still has the authentic atmosphere as it had 12 years ago when I visited for the first time, the long (shaky) bamboo tables with the small chairs.

Djeh Mui means something like Khun Mui, in Chinese though. Djeh is similar to Pee or elderly. Funnily enough Mui is not from Samui but from the mainland. Her place is mainly known for excellent Khanom Jeen, Kwetiao and pork leg on rice or Kao Kaa Muu plus various Thai desserts.

The front of her place, as seen from the main ring road

The kitchen inside with some big pots on the stove!

The interior, very basic but always busy around lunchtime, they close early, around 3 or 4 pm

Khanom jeen with assorted vegetables, an impressive sight

The Kwetiao, noodle soup with chicken, great taste!

The standard Kao Kaa Muu or pork leg over rice in, a simple but delicious meal at Djeh Mui

One of the Thai desserts, Khanom waan Teng Thai or Thai Melon in a coconut soup

The 'Khanom waan' or Thai dessert display

They also serve a couple of fairly unusual and hard to find drinks like the one above, Naam Kra Dchiap, a sweet drink made form flowers and good for your intestines. We also had a Naam Rakam which had a yellow color and tasted a little bit more sourish and was very refreshing!

With four people we had a whole bunch of dishes, desserts and drinks for way under 400,-THB, well worth your lunch time! This is some very authentic Thai food but not necessarily spicy at all, be careful with the Khanom Jeen sauces/curries though.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 18th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Another morning blue sky for Samui today and the promise of a very hot day! Current temp at 7am is 25.7C

The island is absolutely back to normal, you gotta look very hard to notice any damage if you don't live on the island. Easter holidays are here to start so it's going to be buys for the next two weeks!

With the recent rain during November and more recently late March, one thing is that our garden has no drought problems like last year, flowers and trees are green and in abundance! This little grasshopper was caught on my camera earlier this week in our garden.

Yesterday the wind dropped on Samui and the temperature soared, a max temp of 32.2C was ours during a very hot day!

Currently Thailand is in a Songkran ban of a couple of young girls that danced topless during Songkran celebrations on Silom Road in Bangkok.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 17th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is currently making it a habit to wake up under blue skies, today's another one! Current temp at 7am is 25.8C

Choengmon Beach yesterday evening with a near full moon

Yesterday saw once more a warm and sunny day on Samui with a max temp of 29.7C

The 'masses' are moving back from their home during their Songkran holiday and the road keeps taking it's toll;

Holiday road fatalities down by more than a quarter after 5 dangerous days

This Songkran period has so far seen a decrease in cumulative road casualties, with 188 deaths (69 cases or 27 per cent lower) and 2,786 injuries (318 cases or 10 per cent lower) from 2,584 accidents nationwide (297 cases or 10 per cent lower), according to the Road Safety Centre yesterday.

On Friday alone, the fifth of the "seven dangerous" Songkran holiday days, 443 road accidents killed 40 people and wounded 470 others. These figures were also lower than those for last year's Songkran fifth day, which had 521 accidents, 46 deaths and 585 injuries.

Drunk driving was the major cause of accidents at 39 per cent, followed by motorcyclists and passengers not wearing safety helmets at 31 per cent, assistant national police chief Lt-General Danaithorn Wongthai told a press conference.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 16th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Once more Samui woke up under a blue sky with some odd clouds in it. Current temp at 7am is 26.2C

It's completely back to business as usual on Koh Samui now, since a couple of days already. The numbers of visitors to this blog drop off as well, so thanks for checking in and I do hope some will hang around and regularly keep dropping by.

Spirit house washed around in Bang Po

Yesterday saw once more a hot day with a nice blue sky in the morning but during the afternoon clouds took over although it stayed dry. Max temp reached 29.8C

Camille

Food on wheels; Salapao or Chinese steamed bun

Food on wheels; Sweet bread dumplings/Sala Pao

Today's addition to the growing Food on Wheels series is about Chinese steamed buns or in Thailand better known as Salapao or in the Netherlands where they are very popular as well, they are known as Ba Pao.

These buns are very popular around Thailand and are usually eaten for breakfast but can be obtained throughout the day. This specific cart was spotted on a regular base in front of my sons school in Chaweng.

The buns are steamed and the steamer is easily recognizable on this motorbike cart, with the top of the gas tank just peeking in as well.

Usually the dough is white but if you look carefully, the salapao's that this vendor is selling are all green! The fillings are usually sweet or savory. A minced pork mix 'sai muu daeng' is used or for the sweet mouthes amongst us usually a crushed mung bans 'sai tua dam' filling is used or just cream 'sai kriim'. 7-11 sells them throughout the day but I prefer the ones available on the road, like these.

Here the steamer can be clearly seen as well as the green salapao's waiting to be put in the steamer.

The steamer itself, the hole in the middle of the steamer has an additional delicacy known as 'khanom dcheeb' or minced, steamed pork. makes a great mix with a couple of salapao's!

The salapao costs around 10,-THB and the khanom dcheeb are around 2,-BHT per one. Enjoy!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 15th April, 2011

Today's weather;

This morning is as nice on Samui as the previous ones over the last week, a near blue sky with a few clouds in it. Current temp at 7am is 27.5C Gearing up for another warm day!

I do pity the people in Pattaya who have a total of 7 Songkran, water fighting days

Songkran girl with two heads

Yesterday was hot and sunny, all day long on Samui. Max temp reached 29.7C

The death toll on Thailand's roads keeps creeping up and clocked in at 116 people being killed and 1,760 injured in 1,626 accidents, the Road Safety Centre (RSC) reported yesterday.

Camille

Songkran 2011 on Koh Samui

Songkran 2011 on Koh Samui

After having played Songkran with my children for a while, I took off for Chaweng to have a look what was going on there. With Dave on the back of the bike and in charge of the water gun and myself in charge of the camera we were on our way! Songkran, here we come! Time to dodge the ice water and baby powder.

Chaweng Beach road

It started out rather slowly in Chaweng, but around 3pm the streets really got filled and by 4pm there was a steaming party going on!

Call out 'action' and a Thai person immediately will take a pose! Great fun and it takes practice to get a cool pose! The tongue was a re-occurring pose yesterday!

Songkran can also be seen as a big wet t-shirt party, an application I don't mind too much

Some of the stranger vehicles of choice

Me too

Great tongue work

At Xin city there was a big foam party going on, plenty of options available to have fun

Battle fatigue, on the way home?

Big guns all around

About to get baby powdered

The battle field, see you next year

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 14th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui woke up once more with a blue sky and an occasional cloud looking lost in that blue sky! With a light hangover from yesterday's Songkran festivities (more pictures to follow later), I can announce a current temp at 7am of 27.5C

Chaweng beach road

Yesterday saw Samui flooded once more, this time deliberate and self inflicted though! The island was flooded by cars making the rounds and by loads of water, happily thrown at each other! The weather was perfect; under a blue sky the party went on all day long. Max temp reached 29.4C

Road deaths are apparently 48% down compared to last year. Wonder what counting procedure is used to cook these figures. On Samui you're apparently not an accident victim if you make it alive to a hospital, one way of making the roads look statistically safer.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 13th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui woke up under the now almost standard blue sky, today laced with a few clouds. It's Songkran today so to all of my readers; Sawat dee pee mai or สวัสดีปีใหม่ or สุขสันต์วันปีใหม่ which both mean Happy New Year. Current temp at 7am is 26C and I've got a feeling that today's gonna be good day! More pictures to be expected towards the end of the day!

Sunset at Big Buddha yesterday

Yesterday was a nice and hot day on Samui, although through the night there was some minor rain. Max temp reached 29.8C

Songkran is celebrated throughout the Kingdom and even President Barack Obama wishes Thailand a Happy New year through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton! See today's The Nation.

The death count has also started and early reports only were talking about one casualty but this morning showed yesterday's count was at 29 casualties for the day.

Enjoy but be safe out there!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 12th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui's sky is blue with a few scattered fluffy clouds in it, gearing up for another warm day and a sunny Songkran tomorrow. Current temp at 7am is 27.7C

Bang Rak Bay

Yesterday saw a sunny and hot day on Samui with a max temp of 29.7C

Around noon I went for a dive on Chaweng Beach to see if any big items, like beach chairs, umbrellas etc could be found, since many have been swept away by the ocean during the floods, but there was a little bit of surf and visibility was very low. We had to reschedule the dive for a later date with now aves but the short time under water showed a changed scenery, usually at 6 or 7 meters the ocean floor is flat like a mirror with a hard sandy bottom. Yesterday there were ripples everywhere and it seemed that the meter of sand that was washed away from the beach relocated itself off he beach! A clean up is surely in the making, I'll keep you updated.

Camille

Get your Songkran out

Get your Songkran out

It's water time again and as of tomorrow the Songkran festivities will kick off all around Thailand for in order to celebrate the Thai New year.

My fave Songkran picture

Last year in Chaweng

It's time to get your water guns out and enjoy getting wet. Tomorrow there will be a few parties in Chaweng during the evening and night and during the 13th the big water fights around Samui will take place, come the 14th it's back to normal!

Enjoy and drive carefully!

Camille