Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 15th July, 2013

Today's weather;

It's fairly cloudy without any sun at all and a strong wind is blowing over Koh Samui this morning. If you are out on any boat, it's going to be a rough ride! Current temp at 7am is 24.5C

Yesterday, on our way back from Surat Thani, we spotted these two oysters at Kanchanadit, promoting their oyster farms near their excellent sea restaurants.

Yesterday saw sunshine when we arrived back on Samui but slowly clouds took over and a very strong wind was blowing which just grew in power during the evening and night. A tree opposite of our house was blown over over the weekend. Max temp yesterday reached 32C

The forecast predicts real strong wind tonight and tomorrow all day long, into the night. The wind is not supposed to let off until after next weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if you will encounter a rain shower or two this week.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Donsak, a different view

Donsak, a different view

Most people coming or leaving Koh Samui by bus, car or motorbike just drive through Donsak and only know the place because the car ferry starts or ends here but here's Donsak, a different view!

We're in the slightly 'privileged' situation that one of my wife's best friends originates from Donsak and hence we've visited Donsak a few times on social calls.

Donsak, a different view; The Sunday market in Donsak

In all fairness, it's not a very exciting place and if it wouldn't be for my wife's friend, I doubt that we would've stopped many times. However, we did stop a few times and it every time was worth while.

Donsak, a different view; The small ferry in the harbor, connecting two sides of the river

There's also some nice nature to be found around the greater Donsak area and I'm glad we had the opportunity to visit some nice spots that only locals would know about. Just like the small stream pictured below.

Donsak, a different view; A small stream. a great location for the kids to play around for a short while and get soaking wet!

Donsak, a different view; Rubber collecting, hard work! Get up early in the morning, let's say 4am, carve a line in the rubber tree and put the 'collection box' in place. Come back late in the afternoon and collect the rubber. Go home with the rubber that's been collected that day and press in a square form, so you can sell it.

Rubber plantations are widespread all over the Thailand's Southern provinces and I was quite surprised to find some plantations near the main road.

Donsak, a different view; Kanchanadit restaurant 

About 35 to 40 km from Donsak is the small village of Kanchanadit, about which I wrote already a few times. One of the things that stands out most are the restaurants that are just outside of town and where you can eat some great and fresh seafood. They're build on stilts and go out over the mangrove swamps, that eventually lead into the Gulf of Thailand.

Great location and fantastic food! 

Please do 'like' my Koh Samui blog Facebook page and enjoy the beaches around the island or in front of your hotel or resort and get some well deserved rest and a break. If you're done resting or need something else to do, there's plenty of things on offer on and around Koh Samui, you can go snorkeling or diving or take a dive course. You can also enjoy some of the trips I recommend, like a half day gourmet lunch and snorkeling trip at the Southern part of Koh Samui or a photography trip where you get to see the most photo genetic spots on the island or go for a drinks tasting tour if you like a tipple or two.

Contact me for more detailed information on any of the options mentioned.

If you like to donate to this blog, use this secure link PayPal.Me/CamilleLemmens.

Camille

Updated 09-08-2017

Night bus between Bangkok and Koh Phangan crashed, fatalities and serious injured

Around 5.25am the night bus between Bangkok and Koh Phangan crashed, just shortly after passing Surat Thani city, near Kanchanadit on the way to the exit from the highway to the pier. They were almost there, just another 50km or so to go.

Current reports indicate that there 10 people died, 5 Westerners (1 male and 4 female) , currently their nationality is unknown and 5 Thai male nationals, including the driver and 17 people injured including 10 seriously.

Latest update is that 6 foreigners are killed (including one Indian national) and that the front right tire burst, causing the driver to lose control and the bus hit the electric pole at full speed. In contrast to the first reports by the police, where they believed that the driver fell asleep and hit an electricity pole and rolled over. 

Thai roads are dangerous, maybe more during the night than during the daytime, if possible, try to use trains if you can't afford flying since especially the night buses are dangerous. Unfortunately these kind of crashes with big buses but also with vans occur on a regular base around Thailand, be (fore) warned.

Drivers are not checked for alcohol or drugs abuse and especially the Southern buses are notorious for thefts and robberies. Many foreigners have complained about missing items and recently one passengers was stabbed a knife by a bus attendant over an argument about missing items. Some of the buses are operating illegally and without license.

This may sound as strange advise, but if you do board such a bus, check if the chairs are bolted to the floor. You don't want to get hit by a low fluing chair.

The company that operated this bus is Transport Co., Ltd, apparently a reputable company. It also seems that the bus was actually the bus heading for Koh Samui and not for Koh Phangang. It's possible that the buses in Bangkok were switched and although the side of the bus reads Bangkok - Koh Phangang, it was actually heading for Samui.

RIP to those that perished in this accident.

The picture comes from Springnewstv

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Wat Phra Pudthabat Sisurat, Kanchanadit

Wat Phra Pudthabat Sisurat, Kanchanadit

After yesterday's post about Samnak Song Tam Bo Baan Thip cave, today's post is about a Temple or Wat a little bit further down the road which holds, high up on a mountain, after you climbed about 200 stairs, Buddha's 2nd foot print in Thailand.

It's on the same road from Surat Thani to Donsak, a couple of kilometers before the road leading to the Samui ferries. You really can't miss this sign on the corner of the road!

This is at ground zero level, the general Wat or temple area and it shows an interesting structure which is the entrance to some stairs, up the hill.

This a view if these stairs, I didn't count them but there must've been at least 200 or more and most of them are totally out of sync, some steep, some shallow and it almost seems never ending! Hence my comment on yesterdays post that aren't too many stairs at the cave!

Here's the actual foot print, filled with soapy water since the visitors keep cleaning the inside of the foot print. My Thai is not good enough yet to ask if there is any foot odor.

A whole family with some monks had made the climb and they were very friendly and all wanted to take a picture of our kids!

The climb down was also very interesting, to say the least and it was good to be back down again. The next day you could definitely tell which muscles in your body you hadn't used for a while!

I can however strongly recommend this place, with beautiful views on the way up and/or down, together with the cave and the Donsak Orchid Garden, all within a couple of kilometers of each other. All three have something completely different to offer and are worth a visit.

Camille

Samnak song tam bo naam thip cave, Kanchanadit

Samnak song tam bo naam thip cave, Kanchanadit

After our recent trip to Surat Thani, just a bit over a week ago, we not only visited the Donsak Orchid Garden on our way back to Samui, but shortly before that, on the highway to Surat Thani or in this case coming from Surat Thani and on that side of the high way, there's an exit that leads to the 2nd Buddha foot print in Thailand, about which more later, and on that same road, leading to the 2nd Buddha foot print, is another small exit to this unexplored and interesting Cave temple.

This is how the exit to the cave temple looks like from the road. They're currently working very hard to bring this Temple up to scratch and attract more visitors, so right now it's beautifully unexplored and almost untouched.
The entrance to the cave system, the passing main monk showed us the lights leading up to the entrance and opened them up, which at night most certainly looks pretty good, right now, when we visited it didn't have the impact it will most likely have at night. The amount of stairs to climb is very reasonable.

Next to the cave entrance is this very serene looking Buddha statue.

Inside the cave are plenty of stalagmites and this Buddha statue.

There's work done all over the place, including inside the cave, hence the hammer in front of the statue. Once completed I would like to see the caves again and wonder what they exactly have done with the lightning, since it looked promising.

A view of the stalagmites.

Definitely a complex to visit before they complete the work, now it's raw and very interesting, although, I would like to see it in a while with the work in progress and wonder if they will attract many visitors. The potential is there.

It's easy to find, coming from Surat, just watch out for the sign pointing you to the 2nd Buddha foot print in Thailand, it's just a few kilometres before the turn to the Donsak ferry pier where the ferries to Samui leave. According to my wife it's still located in Kanchanadit well known for it's local seafood restaurants.

Well worth visiting, on your way home to Koh Samui, enjoy before the hordes discover it.

Camille

Day trip to Surat Thani

Day trip to Surat Thani

Yesterday we came over to the mainland with strong winds on the ferry ride but the boat stayed stable enough to have a pleasant ride. It was very busy, lots of folks are on the way back home again.

The cosy little shopping road leading up to the restaurant

We went to see our friends Kob and Chot who live in Sakhon Nakhon but originate from near Surat Thani. Kob is a school friend of my wife who we visited last year during our Isaan trip.
Our friends Sao, who's wedding we visited last year was also present, being 10 weeks pregnant now.
We went to eat at the Nai Aow Restaurant in Kanchanadit, an excellent sea food place.


This visit was no exception, the food was awesome and we ate some mighty big crabs amongst others. This picture shows the advertisements for the various restaurants, Nai Aow is to the left.

The place is massive and can easily seat well over 200 people.

There was very high water this time around, in contrast to last time we visited. In the background are the oyster farms that this area is famous for.

On the way back to the car we stocked up on fresh made sweets and candy! Absolutely delicious.

We went to Kob's house, near Phun Pin (where Surat Thani's railway station is located) and hung out for a while. Than it was off to down town Surat Thani for another night at the Diamond Plaza Hotel. We'll be on the ferry back early this afternoon but not before we hit some shops in town!

Camille

Nai Aow Restaurant, Kanchanadit, Surat Thani

The Nai Aow Restaurant has been a favourite of my wife since a long time.

Today is the first time I made it over there myself. Every trip we made to the mainland, once we got to the Kanchanadit exit, about 20 km's before Surat Thani town, she told me over and over about this incredible place. I know people on Samui who just go over with the ferry in the morning, have lunch there and go back to Samui with an afternoon ferry, so expectations were high!!

It's about 7 or 8 km's from the highway, but you gotta make a couple of turns before you get there. There's a big parking lot outside with some stalls selling oysters and sweets. The oysters come from directly in front of the restaurant, where they are grown (?).

Here's the scenic walk to the restaurant, after the market stalls. The little walkway goes past mangroves.

From inside the restaurant you have an immediate view over the ocean, today, when we were there, it was very low tide however.

A view on the restaurant, it's a big place and it was fairly full once we started our meal. More tables than on this picture were occupied.

An absolute fave dish of mine, 'puu phong curry', crab with Indian curry powder, done in an outstanding fashion here. We ordered a second plate!

What the place is known for, oysters! In all sizes and very cheap. Have a good look at the size of these oysters and these were the smaller ones.

Condiments to go with the BBQ'ed fish that we ordered.

A specialty of the house 'Yam Nai Aow' or Nai Aow salad, a sour mixed seafood salad. Very yummy!

Outside the stalls are selling these oysters, although the picture isn't too sharp, the prices for the oysters are stunnishing, 15 Baht for a big one!

In the stalls they also make sweets, fresh off the hot plate. All of us bought various goodies, from sweets to cashew nuts.

The restaurant definitely lived up to it's legend, I can't wait to go back and try more dishes that I saw pass onto other tables, loaded with crab, mussels and other seafood.

This was it, the end of our little week long trip. Tomorrow morning we're back onto the ferry at 9 am and than off to our lovely home in Plai Laem.

Hope you enjoyed the trip reports and pix and don't be shy to post some comments.

Camille