Goodbye to December

It's that time of the month again.

Time to wave goodbye to December and the whole year of 2007!

Weather wise December was a lot better than the previous two month and probably better than usually during an average December.

There was plenty of sun with just a few times some rain and it made for some warm weather. Sometimes it was rather chilly in the mornings, only around 21C (I can hear the Scandinavians laughing all the way up here!) but you get used to it -;)
All you folks that decided to visit Samui during December should've had a good time.

All the best to you all and a splendid evening with a Happy New Year party, wherever you are!

Camille

31st December, 2007

Today's weather;

Cloudy it is this morning, the very last of 2007. At 7 am it was 25C.

Yesterday turned out once more as a very nice day, after an initial cloudy sky in the morning it cleared up during the day and we had a blue sky almost all day long with a max temp of 31.5C.

Happy New Year!

Camille

The year 2007

It's almost over; 2007 and we're getting ready for the new year; 2008.

Just a quick few moments to reflect on 2007.

It's the year that I started this weather blog on 16th February and to my own surprise, it seems a lot more successful than I had ever imagined or expected.

The highlight being late October and early November when a lot of 'rubbernecking' went on about the conditions on Samui, which by the way, where not very good, loads of rain and some parts of Samui were declared a disaster zone. Thanks for your interest by the way, I received emails on a daily base with questions about the situation.

That month alone I had over 7.000 clicks on my blog! Thanks to you all out there! Now it's back to a 'mere' 3.700 clicks during December, which again, isn't that bad at all.
Thanks again to you guys, out there in Taiwan, Russia, US of A, UK, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Sweden, Norway and in the Gulf! Thanks for checking in once in a while!

Very good news towards the end of the year was that my friend Crispin got out of jail after almost a year and a half and all his charges have been dropped! Good to know you're a free man again Crispin, you deserve it!

A few folks I'd like to point out;

My friend Dave in Okinawa who has his own Japan/dive blog, who was an inspiration to me for starting my blog.

Jamie in Phuket, who runs a Phuket weather blog who was also inspirational and who also runs a very informative Phuket blog. I really wish there were more weather blogs on various parts of Thailand, if you know about any, please let me know!

Monique, another Dutchie here on Samui, who has just the most amazing photo blog with many pix about Samui.

My other blogs, the dive blog and my Samui hotel recommendations blog.

Of course, you, the readers of my blog!

If you all appreciate my blog, keep it alive, don't forget the donation button or to click on my advertisements, it keeps my blog boat floating and please keep supporting the above mentioned blogs!

All the best for the New Year to you all.

Camille

30th December, 2007

Today's weather;




Fairly cloudy, white spots in a little bit of blue sky. Current temp at 7 am is 23.5C.

Yesterday was another warm and sunny day with a max temp of 30.6C. Here's a picture of yesterday's sun set, not very romantically on the beach but behind our house.

Camille

29th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It's mainly overcast with a thin sun trying to pry through the cloud cover. Current temp at 7 am was a meagre 22.7C.

Yesterday was another warm and sunny day with a max temp of 31C.

Camille

28th December, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky with scattered clouds in it reigns this morning. Over the ocean thicker concentrations of clouds seem to gather but it's warming up quickly. At 7 am it was only 21.3C.

Yesterday was a nice day, sunny and warm with a max temp of 30C

Camille

Good news for my friend Crispin

At last, there was good news for my friend Crispin.

After 1 year and 5 months in a Thai jail, being accused of many things, my friend Crispin got released from jail today with all charges being dropped! Justice after all.
It's been quite an ordeal for him and and I'm glad it's all over.

This is great news and I'm very happy for him. This evening he can walk around again at free will.

Camille

27th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Overcast with scattered blue spots and sunshine and dry. It's not the same dark overcast like yesterday but a lot brighter. Current temp at 7 am is 22.7C.

Yesterday saw overcast all day long with heavy showers early in the morning between 8 am and 9 am which caused some short lived flash floodings. The rest of the day it remained dry but with a heavy dark overcast. Max temp reached 29C.

Camille

26th December, 2007

Today's weather;

There's a cloudy sky with blue in it and it's dry. Current temp at 7 am is 25.3C.

Today's it's already 3 years ago that the Tsunami hit Thailand and other countries. My thoughts go out to all the victims.

Yesterday was a lovely day, sunshine all day long with a max temp of 29.1C although it felt a lot warmer.

Camille

25th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers!

This Christmas starts with another blue sky and hardly any white in the sky. Current temp at 7 am is a fresh 21.6C.

Yesterday was warm and sunny. The afternoon saw some cloud formation but nowhere near rain. Surprisingly the max temp only reached 29.4C

Camille

Mango, Russian Cafe and restaurant in Chaweng

Last night was Russian night.

Unfortunately this restaurant has closed down.

We went to Chaweng for a Russian dinner. Steve, one of my future IDC candidates was in town with friends and since his wife is Russian, the choice was rather easily made.

It's also nice to have time again to post on this blog, since I was rather busy with diving, see my dive blog for my latest adventures.


The restaurant is located at the entrance/parking lot for TOPS supermarket in Chaweng, or kind of behind Will Wait at the beach road.

The food was outstanding and it's an interesting adventure to eat and discover new food! Most of you may have heard of the traditional beetroot soup Borscht. This is on the Russian menu but so are a lot of other delicious options. Luckily Alexei was there, Steve's wife cousin, so he and Steve's wife decided to order a mix of traditional Russian starters. This picture shows the so called ' fish under a blanket' and it's delicious. It's herring covered by veggies and other things. Other starters we had was a kind of potato salad and various other dishes who's name I forgot already.

Ask for the Russian menu once you're there!

As mains we had Chicken Kiev, a stew with tomatoes and smoked pork, stuffed peppers and how about this creamy, cheesy lobster for Russian seafood? It was all well worth while and I can recommend this restaurant if you would like to try something different.

Camille

24th December, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky is ruling this morning with a current temp of 26.5C at 7 am.

Yesterday was another lovely and sunny day with a max temp of 30.7C. Bring on this years Christmas!

Camille

The Cliff Grill

The Cliff Grill,

It's been a while since I had time to write a review, since I've been busy with diving but at last, I'm back in business;

Yesterday we had dinner at the The Cliff Grill, beautifully located on the hills between Chaweng and Lamai with a spectacular view over the ocean.





It's great spot for either lunch or dinner and they have a nice bar next to the restaurant.

Their menu is Mediterranean and has good fish, meat (NZ steaks, chicken), spaghetti's and vegetarian on offer.

We had a mixed seafood combo platter as starter between the three of us, which almost served as a complete meal. It was meant for two but almost stuffed the three of us. It had calamari, king prawns, mussels in white wine sauce and two white fish filets plus a salad and French fries.

It was really delicious and especially the French fries went down well with me since they were fried in olive oil, mmmm, yummy.

As mains we had line fish (sea bass), a rib eye and I had a combo of line fish and calamari. As dessert my wife had a delicious Tiramisu. There was also a special on offer; Green Tea mousse!
Wine flowed freely and it was a delicious meal in a nice location.

It's a bit more expensive than your average restaurant, meals range from around 300,- to 700,- Baht but it's well worth it.

Reservations are recommended at 077 414 266 or check their website and their kitchen is open between 12am and 10 pm.

Camille

23rd December, 2007

Today's weather;

A splendid looking clear blue sky is out an about on this important day for Thailand's democracy with elections at hand today. Current temp at 7 am is 24.3C

Yesterday was a very nice and sunny day with a max temp of 30.2C

Camille

22nd December, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky with some white clouds in it this morning. Current temp at 7 am is 25C.

Yesterday was a warm and hot day with sunshine all day long.

Today and tomorrow I'm still diving so unfortunately I don't have much time to post any other blogs.

Camille

21st December, 2007

Today's weather;

It looks beautiful this morning, an almost perfect blue sky with some scattered clouds in it. Temp at 7 am is around 25C.

Yesterday had sun and overcast during the day time but around 5 pm it started to rain pretty hard for about half an hour. After that it cleared up again and the sky was filled with stars during the night time.

Had to pick somebody up at airport last night and it was as busy an arrival area as I've ever seen it! Samui is about to become busy!

Camille

20th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Overcast with blue spots rule this morning. At 7 am it's already 27.3C.

Yesterday I was diving around Koh Tao and it was very nice, sunshine mixed with some overcast and lovely visibility. However, back on the farm on Samui, it was a mixed bag with lots of showers and little bursts of sunshine all day long.

Camille

19th December, 2007

Today's weather;

When I woke up it pretty much immediately started to rain, from dark grey clouds, however, the outburst was very short. It's already brightening up although it's still cloudy.
At 7 am it was already 27C.

Yesterday started out with a blazing blue sky but soon turned cloudy, around 11 am it was complete overcast with a very sporadic drop here and there but no real rain hoses. During the late afternoon it turned blue again.
Max temp reached 29.5C.

Camille

18th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It's steadily going on to Christmas and the weather is improving. There's a blue sky shaping up and the sun is starting to heat up and the winds seem to have gone down drastically. Current temp is 25.4C at 7 am.

Yesterday was wind still, my dive outing to Koh Tao was very pleasant yesterday with a very flat ocean which made for smooth sailing and we had some great diving, see my dive blog. The sun was out all day with a nice blue sky in the background.

Camille

17th December, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky is shaping up with plenty of sunshine. Current temp at 7 am is 25.3C.

Yesterday was a dry day with bouts of sunshine but also periods of overcast. All in all a nice day.

Very soon I'll be starting to write some other blog entries since I'm almost done with the current IDC program.

Camille

16th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Overcast and windy but dry so far and there were bits and pieces of sunshine earlier this morning. At 7 am it was 27.5C.

Yesterday was a windy day with a max temp of 29,3C and no rain, there was mostly overcast but the sun was out on occasion as well.

Camille

15th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Big fat clouds mingled with blue sky bits and pieces and fairly strong winds this morning. At 7 am it was already 27.3C.

Yesterday was a mixed day, there were bits and pieces of rain but also sunshine. Max temp reached 28.3C.

Camille

14th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Today's update is a bit late since it was a bit of a late night yesterday, celebrating a very successful ending of the PADI IE, there are pix up on my dive blog.
It's grey and raining. Ouch! It started out as a drizzle about half an hour ago but by now it's been a steady downfall. It looks like things will/may clear up after the weekend again though.
At 7 am it was 24.5C.

Yesterday started out lovely on Koh Tao but on the way over to Koh Samui it started to rain, just before we got into Koh Phangan and back on Samui the roads were wet everywhere.
Last night, during the night out in Chaweng, the sky had cleared up again with tons of shiny starts in it, but this morning those stars were replaced by rain again.
Yesterday's max temp reached 29.4C

Camille

13th December, 2007

Today's weather;

There's an almost perfect blue sky over Koh Tao this morning. Current temp at 7 am is 23C.

Yesterday was a lovely day with plenty of sunshine and a max temp of 23C.

This afternoon I'm back off to Koh Samui, so tomorrow's update will be from Samui again.

Camille

12th December, 2007

Today's weather;

Koh Tao has a blue sky and lovely sunshine with some fluffy clouds in it. At 7 am the temp was 23.3C, rather chilly!

Yesterday was a nice day, the trip over to Koh Tao saw an ocean as flat as a mirror so we had a smooth ferry ride. It was warm and sticky on the rock with a max temp of 31C.

Don't forget to check out my dive blog for updates on the PADI IE and if you're coming to Samui soon, diving is good around Koh Tao right now, which is where we dive coming from Samui.
By the way, I'm staying again at the Sea Lodge.

Camille

11th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It looks good this morning, a blue sky with white clouds in it. Let the sun shine! Current temp at 7 am is 23C however, rather cold.

Yesterday was a lovely day with lots of sunshine and no rain.

Today I'm off to Koh Tao for the next two days for another PADI IE after my IDC finished yesterday. You can follow progress on my dive blog, I will keep reporting here a swell though, the Koh Tao weather is not that much different to the Samui variation, well, at least, most of the time ;-)

Camille

10 December, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky with lots of thin white clouds in it and bits of sunshine. Current temp at 7 am is 25.4C.

Yesterday started out promising but soon became filled with overcast and little bits of pieces of rain two or three times. Nothing too serious though.

Camille

9th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It's massive blue sky with some sporadic cloud formations in it. At 7 am the temp is 26C. It's got all the makings of a very nice day!

Yesterday was a rather sunny day until the early afternoon and with overcast afterwards but very dry. Max temp reached 29.5C

Camille

8th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It's a mixed bag this morning, it started out nice and blue, now it's blue with clouds and it looks like some big grey cloud formations are moving in. Current temp st 7 am is 25.9C. I'm not sure if there was rain last night but it is very moist this morning.

Yesterday saw for the first time since three weeks rain again around noon and in the early afternoon, which actually wasn't bad at all, it got rid of all the dust on the road! Unfortunately some of the usual 'problem' roads flooded again due to minor flash floods, but nothing serious.

Camille

7th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It's overcast this morning. No sunbeam to be seen at all! Current temp at 7 am is still 27.4C.

Yesterday turned out to be a very warm and sunny day with a blue sky all day long and a max temp of 31.3C.

Camille

6th December, 2007

Today's weather;

There's overcast but still sunshine as well. It's still dry, this part of the island, the north east, still hasn't seen any serious rain since mid November. At 7 am it was 27C.

Yesterday started out nice but it turned to a complete overcast around noon but stay dry.
Max temp reached 29.9C.

Camille

Sunset Restaurant in Nathon

The Sunset restaurant in Nathon was our stop today.

We visited the children's doctor in Nathon today, since our oldest had a minor problem. The doc is always open between 5 and 7 pm so on the way out of Nathon, we decided to visit the Sunset restaurant, since a few people have recommended it over the years.





The restaurant is located at the end of Nathon when you take the road back to the pier, it's exactly before the curve to your right, which leads onto the ocean 'boulevard'.

The menu is extensive and starts with a varied Thai menu followed by a massive Western menu which seems to be dominated by Italian food, pizza's and pastas.

I ordered a Chicken Kiev and it was nice.

One thing we liked about the place is the extensive garden and seating arrangements. You can sit inside, outside with a roof and completely 'uncovered' outside. It's very spacious so excellent for children to run and play around.

The Thai menu has plenty of fresh on it and outside of the restaurant, to the left, are a couple of water basins with crabs and plenty of other fresh fish in it. Hard to beat in freshness!

This is how the view is during a sunset, amazing indeed and it definitely fits the name.

This won't be the last time that we will visit the Sunset restaurant in Nathon. Thumbs up.

Camille

5th December, 2007

Today's weather;

It's a beautiful blue sky, with some clouds in it but mainly sunny. At 10am it's already 29.2C.

Yesterday was a dry and sunny day although in the afternoon there were some patches of threatening black clouds, but it stayed dry where I was on Samui. Max temp reached 29.5C

Today is HMR The King Of Thailand 80th birthday and it's a National Thai holiday.

Camille

4th December, 2007

Today's weather;

A mainly blue sky with white clouds in it which is looking very sunny. Current temp is 24.7C at 7am.

Yesterday was a nice, sunny and dry day with a max temp of 29.3C.

Camille

3rd December, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky with plenty of clouds in it but very sunny this morning with a max temp of 24.2C at 7am.

Yesterday was a sunny day with a max temp of 29.5C

Camille

2nd December, 2007

Today's weather;

There are blue spots in the sky with big clouds but it's still dry! Current temp at 7am is 24.7C.

Yesterday was a sunny and dry day.

Camille

Welcome to December

Welcome to December 2007

This is a month to look forward to, it's not that wet anymore and towards the middle of the month things start to really lift up.
In general December is rather sunny and pleasant and not too hot!

It's also a very busy month for Samui, around Christmas and New year Samui there will be lots of tourists and in general there's a good atmosphere.

Hope you enjoy this coming month as well and that some of the readers of my blog will actually enjoy their time on Samui during this month.

All the best,
Camille

1st December, 2007

Today's weather;

There's overcast with plenty of blue patches and sunshine. Current temp at 7am is 26.3C.

Yesterday was a dry day but all day long saw grey overcast but no rain! Maybe in some areas of Samui, but not where I was. Max temp reached 28.2C

Camille