Today's weather;
Samui is looking forward to more sunshine today, the morning sky is blue and the temperature might heat up soon. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C
Yesterday saw a variety of weather around the island, the morning started out blue pretty much all over Samui, around 10am Bophud has about two hours of rain but the afternoon saw blue skies and a hot afternoon with a max temp of 30C. Last night there was rain again, however nothing like it was last week!
Yesterday I received another donation by Steve, much appreciated and this is one of the things that kept me going! Over the last couple of days I've answered well over 300 mails and messages, an unbelievable amount of correspondence in such a short time frame. It's been a difficult time for many people, first of all for all the people on Koh Samui, especially the less fortunate who lost their properties or belongings but also for all of you out there who were planning stress and hassle free holidays on a sunny beach and for people like me who were not on the island and worried about their loved ones from a distance! Things are on the up again however!
Any support of my blog is appreciated and keeps my spirits up, a donation button can be found on top of the page, left hand side and keep hitting the beer allowance buttons by a big search engine!
Chaweng beach has many uprooted trees, picture from a few days ago! Picture by Joe Clasby
Please keep in mind that I do not have news about the current state of affairs of individual hotels! Please stop asking me about updates on specific hotels, I do NOT have them! If I do get updates from individual hotels, I will post them here! If any hotel managers read my blog, feel free to get in touch and let me know how your respective resort is doing.
As before, right now Samui is in full clean up and repair mode but soon it will be back to business as usual!
The clean up work is in full swing and with the current, normal weather conditions with plenty of sunshine, the repair work should be able to progress rapidly!
The South of Chaweng has been hit the hardest, Lamai was also hit very hard but they're working everywhere to get things going again! It's a lot easier to get the shocking pictures but pictures of relatively 'boring' clean up work are a lot harder to come by!
Here's an email of Centara Grand Beach resort that was sent out yesterday about their current state of affairs;
Re: Samui and the South flooding update review for Centara Hotels and Resorts
As promised herewith is our update report on the situation as it impacts Centara Hotels and Resorts.
Centara Grand Beach Resort, Samui
The resort area of Chaweng remains less than ideal as the clean up continues both land and beach side.
As such we have taken the decision to delay accepting new guests to our resort untill check in 11 April 2011 and onwards
For check in up to and including 10th April, we continue to offer the opportunity to move to any other Centara resort in Samui or indeed any other grand resort in Thailand, subject to availability for the guest duration.
Guests have the further option to relocate back to Centara Grand Beach Resort on the 11th April for the remainder of their stay, if they so wish.
As before there will no additional charge for staying in other resorts, the contract rates of Grand Samui will be used for all stays.
All other Samui Resorts
For all other resorts in Samui, we are now operating as normal and as such no alternative options are needed or offered.
Finally, may I clarify the situation on Phuket and Krabi as we have received several requests.
All our resorts are operating at normal levels and today I am delighted to inform that the sun is shining!
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Chris Bailey
S.V.P - Sales & Marketing
CENTARA HOTELS & RESORTS
25th Floor, Centara Grand at Central World,
999/99 Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
T: +66 (0) 2101 1234
F: +66 (0) 2101 1235
E: reservations@chr.co.th
Koh Lanta is doing just fine, waking up under a blue sky, it looks like it's going to be a hot day here! Current temp at 7am is 25C
Lanta has been spared by the bad weather, there was one day with 45mm of rain last week but besides that, all is fine and dandy and sunny here! Strange considering that the province of Krabi, of which Lanta is part, had so many problems with flood and especially land slides.
Yesterday saw a sunny and hot day on Koh Lanta with a max temp of 32.6C
My courses are all finishing up here, yesterday the EFR Instructor course was completed and tomorrow the PADI IE starts, Saturday I will be on my way to Samui again, at last this time around!
Camille
46 comments:
Dear Sir, thanks for your blog post. It is really useful. I know that you are not the weather forecast but I would like to seek your opinion. I am expecting a vacation to Koh Samui on the 29th of April 2011. Do you think it would be better if i delayed the vacation till June? Or would it be alright to stick with my current plan? Flights & hotel are booked. Have a nice day!!! Thanks in advance.
Hi Vivian,
There's no need to postpone, April should (!) have the weather conditions but in my opinion you're going to be just fine towards the end of April.
Hi Camille,
Wow, your blog is really helpful. It is great to have an inside scoop on the island when the true info is so hard to come by with all the media building on stories.
May I request your opinion on the state of Koh Samui for next week? My wife and I will be on honeymoon from Monday in Bangkok and then arrive on Thursday 14 April in Koh Samui. We are really excited and have are optomistic, despite what the media have said. Do you think all will be relatively restored by this point or are there more floods expected.
Thanks again for your efforts to keep the world informed :)
Kind regards,
Ricky
rbotsis@gmail.com
Hi Ricky,
By the 14th everything should be more or less be up and running.
There are no other floods expected, the once that occurred now were totally out of season as it was!
Dear Camille,
Great!
I'm thrilled to hear this as I'm worried about the island recovering status. If everywhere is still under a mess, there is no point for me to visit the island at that time.
Some were saying there would not be nice scenery to enjoy as the damage is quite big this time.
Hi Vivian,
By the 29th I would expect everything pretty much to be up to business as usual.
The scenery should be fine in my humble opinion.
Hi SIr/Madam,
Is there any news on Lamei Beach and Pavilion Resort? Because I will take a travel to Samui at the end of Apr, so I still have a little bit worry on it.
Thanks and Best Regards,
Eric
Hi Eric,
As already stated in today's post;
Please keep in mind that I do not have news about the current state of affairs of individual hotels! Please stop asking me about updates on specific hotels, I do NOT have them! If I do get updates from individual hotels, I will post them here! If any hotel managers read my blog, feel free to get in touch and let me know how your respective resort is doing.
But towards the end of the month things should be just fine!
Dear Camille,
Thanks for being so helpful.
You are a resident there?
Actually I got your blog while searching for the information on Koh Samui. :)
Hi Vivian,
Yes, I live since 12 years on Koh Samui although right now I'm not on the island.
Hi Camille,
I see.
Do post updates on Koh Samui when you are back on the island. =D
Vivian,
Will most certainly do so, can't wait to get back!
Camille,
Thanks a lot, and I will keep update on your blog
Thanks for your daily report on Samui too.
Cheers,
Eric
You're welcome Eric!
coming to Thailand in the next couple of weeks. I understand that the Lami Beach area was hit hard but can you tell me about the situation in the Choeng Mon Beach, Boh Pud area at all? Any information is much appreciated. Many thanks, Jessica
Hi Jessica,
Choengmon's road is usually flooded and apparently the local 7-11 has been closed down. Things should be slowly coming back to normal there but by the end of the month or next couple of weeks all should be just fine again!
Hej Camille,
your blog is really very helpfull, thank you so much.
We´ll travel next week to the samui beach resort and i read that it's run by your cousin, right? I hope theres everything fine so we have nice time there.
Greets from Germany :)
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
That's indeed run by my cousin and they're fine, they just had minor problems at the beach side but not in the rooms.
All should be fine once you get there! Enjoy!!
Hi!
First of all thanks for your informative blog!
Just one quick question:
We are travelling to Koh Samui (northern part) next week Thursday - as I am a diver I'd like to know if it makes sense to bring in my gear as I dont know how the water conditions are (visibility,...). Also do you have a "mid-term" weather info for the island?
Thanks & greetings from Vienna!
Martin
Hi Martin,
Bringing your gear depends how many dives you’re planning, it’s heavy and bulky on the plane and you may be better (and cheaper) off by renting gear here on Samui. Once you’re on Samui, please contact me and I’m more than happy to sort out all your dive needs around Samui! Visibility this time of the year should be really good but is currently affected by the rain although it’s improving on a daily base.
For weather indications, please check my archives, left hand side of my blog, about in the middle and look for each month’s entry named ‘Goodbye to …….’ That will give you an idea how that month was. In general it’s nice though, if there’s rain it should be no more than a tropical shower and everything should be dry quickly again.
Hope this helps for now.
hi camille i am travelling to bangkok on the 15th april from enfland and palnning on coming down to koh samui/koh panghan on the 17th 18th april, just wondering what the weather is forcast to be like and what the condition of koh samui is likey to be like?? is there more toorentail rain forcast for the rest of april, or is it set to brighten up?? thankyou, natalie
Hi Natalie,
Torrential rain is extremely unusual during March or April on Samui! Nothing is predicted in that direction and the forecast is looking good, a slight increase in wind but still very sunny days for the next 7 days!
I just wanted to thank you for your blog as I read it everyday. We are coming on our honeymoon to Phuket on the 12th of April but would like to visit Krabi so hopefully we will be able to. I am a massive James Bond fan so I want to visit the James bond Beach I think its Krabi. I really appreciate your blog. Thank you
Hope you enjoy your trip and your visit to the James Bond island!
Hi Camille,
First, I'd like to thank you for your info about the situation on Samui after the floods. Living in Japan, I understand the effects of having an excess of water in a short period of time.
It's interesting reading your blog as I have been performing similar duties here in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami. In a sea of inaccurate information someone has to present a realistic account of what's actually going on.
I'm heading down to Samui at the end of April and, even though I've been many many times and have a number of friends living there, it's been great to have an independent view of the situation. Thank you.
I've made a small donation to your beer fund. It's made in solidarity with those who provide the facts not the sensationalized drama.
Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your message, it’s much appreciated! I was wondering why somebody in Osaka would help my beer fund, having enough trouble on your own recently!
Do you have a blog or something similar?
Thanks for the clarification and I hope you will have a great time whilst on Samui!
Dear camille!
First of all i want to say that your Blog is a Great idea! we wanted to go to koh samui Tomorrow.... in Detail to chaweng beach... are there the hotels ok and is the beach cleaned up? As i Read the weather is ok now and also the forecast for the Next Day is good.... would you recommend to travel to samui now? at the Moment we are @ nai Yang phuket!
Best regards
All ways of transport to Samui are open again and people travel again to Samui. Most of Chaweng should be fine, only the Southern part of Chaweng might take a little longer to get up to scratch again.
Dear Camille,
Thank you very much for your blog, I keep my eyes looking at the blog everyday which is really helpful for every tourists to Samui.
And I know you are not going to mention every single hotel and I tried to go in the wedsite and sent the email to Nora Buri resort but no one reply the further info. in anxiously, I really need your advise near the hotel, I am going to have the trip on 4/23, thks again.
Best rdgs,
Selene
Hi camille,
You really are a life saver I have been reading this blog as myself and my fiancee get married on maenam beach on the 26th of April we. Actually arrive there on the 21st I have been really gutted and I really do hope the weather wll hold out for us? Thanks again
Hi Camille,
Thanks for keeping us so well informed :)
I'm due to travel to Bangkok on the 11th and Koh samui on the 12th. We planned to fly to Surat Thani airport and then take a bus to the port and then a ferry.
I know Surat Thani was hit pretty bad so I'm wondering would we still be able to fly there and then make it to the port?
Thanks
Hi Camille
Firstly thanks for all your hard work. My partner and I are heading to Koh Samui on the 23rd April after first visiting Phuket, Phi Phi and Lanta. As those places haven't been hit at all really would you advise staying at those place for the duration of our 2 weeks before heading back to Bangkok rather than spending five days of our holiday on Samui. We have saved long and hard for this trip and I'd hate for my girlfriend to be disappointed. I Hate to sound selfish and I know Samui needs the tourism. I was worried by a post on liveleak (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b67_1301982763) her father sent us which suggests there has been a bit of a coverup by the locals on Samui to protect their interests, I'm not saying for a second that you are one of these and it seems you offer an unbiased opinion. Should we look for refunded flights and accommodation and stay on Phuket, Phi Phi and Lanta? Thanks again
Steve
Hi Selene,
As already mentioned, I do not have news on individual resorts including the Nora Beach Resort but i do expect this resort to be fine due to it's location.
Hi Mark,
The 26th should under normal circumstances see great weather conditions. It's too early to predict now nut each year April is usually just steaming hot!
Hi Jack,
Still no news on Surat airport. Check upon arrival, the situation is improving around Surat Thani but it's still plagues by flooded roads at certain areas.
Steve,
If you want to believe that website, be my guest.
here are facts from the ground, 40 deaths, no way that can be covered up, too many tourists and expats living here that would find out. There are rumors that apparently people have been electrocuted and nobody can come up with hard evidence, pictures, live witnesses etc. In my opinion all nonesnes.
The other part of that message is also complete nonsense, only on Koh Tao has the Navy been employed, actually on the day that the ferries started running again. Koh Phangan had three seriously ill people evacuated to Samui hospitals by helicopters. no navy boat came near Phangan for evacuation purposes.
Scaremongering would be a good description for that site. If that site would be hosted in Thailand it would be down already since libel laws are very harsh here.
thx for your quick answer! So is a journey unscrupulously... in your mind? or would it be better if we stay @ phuket?
Best regards and thx for your support!
unscrupulously, how can you expect Samui to be in that state right now? There's some serious clean up and repair work going on, if you're looking for unscrupulously than certain parts of Samui are not for you at this stage.
hi Camille,
thanks for your excellent blog. We are booked in koh samui from 12th to 21st April2011.
the weather seems to be improving.
My question is-
1 )Will it be possible to do a PADI scuba learners course?
2)And will ocean dives be possible and be a pleasant experience?
3)Is there risk of water borne disease as reported by some sites.
Thanks a million!!
Sasha
Hi Sasha,
Thanks for the heads up!
To answer your questions;
1- yes, no problem at all
2- no problem at all, visibility is improving each day
3- not very likely with the amount of sunshine Samui is getting at the moment, all water is disappearing at a fairly fast pace. There may be more mosquito's than usual.
thanks for your help i ll arrive bangkok on 30 / 4 and i ll take the combined train+feerry from bangkok to koh samui so i want to know will feerry be working at that time or no
thank you
Shaimaa,
The ferries are working since several days already.
dear : camille
can i ask you about the railway sation from bangkok to koh samui
i ll arrive bangkok on 30/4 and i want to take the train to koh samui on 30/40 can i reserve in the same day i ll travel on it
tahnk you
dear :camille
thank you but what about the ferry from suret thai to koh samui
Saimee,
All ferries are running, also the ferry between Surat and Samui, since several days already.
Unless something very strange happens, like a completely out of place rain storm like Samui just experienced, by the end of April all trains will be running in the South of Thailand!
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