8th September, 2007

Today's weather;

It's a white haze with lots of potential for the sun to break through once it starts heating up. The sun is actually breaking through right now with a current temp of 27C

Yesterday it was very sunny and warm all day long. Max temp reached 31.3C

On the 6th, Thursday, Big C, a big shopping mall chain, opened it's doors on Samui and the opening day was a madhouse. Yesterday we went to have a look with the family and it turned out to be a very nice affair. Lots of new restaurants in the mall, Zen, S&P and a few older ones, that we know already, KFC, MK.
In my opinion, Big C is a good thing for Samui and after Tesco Lotus and Makro, shopping on Samui has been beautifully upgraded.

Camille

7th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Lots of blue sky with some cloud formations, mainly over the ocean. It looks like it's going to be a nice day. Current temp is 26C

Yesterday was a good day, overcast with a tiny bit if rain around 4 pm. Max temp was 31.4C

Camille

6th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Big cloud formations with some blue patches and a current temp of already 28.6C

Yesterday was warm and dry with a max temp of only 31.5C although it felt a lot warmer.

Camille

Mook's old kitchen or Samui tradition, part 2

Mook's old kitchen or Samui tradition, part 2


It's about time to followup on Mook's old kitchen or Samui tradition, part 1 story, which I posted about two weeks ago, before our trip to Sao's wedding and our visit to Phuket. Since I'm also starting a new IDC tomorrow, which you can follow on my dive blog, time will be restricted to post much, so today's a good day for the final part about Mook's kitchen.

There'll be a few exciting pictures of some very old old utensils, almost with museum value, in my opinion, so let's have a look.

First picture is straight away bingo, it shows a very ancient grinder, used to grind rice etc. It works similar as grinding stones in Dutch windmills, in case you're familiar with their function!

On top right of the grinder, previous picture, is also this tiny light, here proudly shown by Jaay, Mook's Mum. These kind of lights were used back in the days when one went outside the house during the night or darkness, like a visit to the bathroom. Toilets were (and sometimes still are) separated from the main house.

At my wife's parental house, in the middle of the night, the bathroom is; out the main door (passing through the living/sleeping room), down the stairs, under the house, walk a good 5 to 10 meters away from the house, enter toilet and reverse your tracks, 'luckily' nowadays with electrical lights).

A slightly more 'modern' cooking set up. These kind of coal burners are still widely used in today's normal live throughout Thailand. When my wife cooks fish, she uses one of these, outside of the house, for the smell! Note the separated wooden bars, for all trash and garbage to drop as chicken food.

In the living room, on the wall, is this lovely gun. Still in working order, if cleaned properly.

A stuffed deer. They used to live in the hills on Samui and my wife and all of her family heard them for the last time when Mook got married, about 8 years ago. They used to come really close to the houses. Mook's house has 4 stuffed deer heads, all originating from Samui. Nowadays, with all the construction going on around Samui, I doubt that there's that many deer left. Most certainly not in Plai Laem. Unfortunately.

Jaay posing on the veranda of her 100 year old house. Most of the daily family life takes place outside, in the cooler, fresh air, either like here, on the veranda's or under the houses. Most old style houses, are build on stilts, high enough to allow for a sitting/hanging out area below the house, sometimes even with TV's etc.

Jaay in front of her house.

A side view of the house, the window on the left is on the veranda and the window on the right is in the kitchen.

A frontal view of the house.

Last but not least, a view on the new house. It's gonna be a lovely new house and they will be happy to live in it, but still it's a bit of a shame that old tradition like the old house will have to go.

Hope you enjoy the pix, leave some comments if you like!

Camille

Welcome to September

September is normally a nice month.

Usually it follows up on the weather pattern of August, which should be nice. However, this year we noticed a different August weather pattern, so I'm curious to see where September leads to this year.

It's normally also the last month before the rainy season or monsoon can start. Last year we hardly had a monsoon but the year before that we had a severe one. The monsoon is unpredictable for when it's starts, sometimes as early as October and most of the times not until November.

The start of September so far has been good so let's keep our fingers crossed.

Feel free during this upcoming month to post your comments on my articles.

Camille

5th September, 2007

Today's weather;

It's dry and sunny with a milky layer. Current temp is 26C

Yesterday was a good day, dry and warm with a max temp of 33.3C

Today I'm starting a new IDC which progress you can follow on my diving blog.

Camille

4th September, 2007

Today's weather;

There's a light overcast and the wind seems to have come back. Current temp is 26C

Yesterday was a nice day, warm and dry with a max temp of 33.7C

Camille

3rd September, 2007

Today's weather;

It's mainly blue with watery clouds all over. Current temp is 27C

Yesterday was a nice and hot day with a very welcome cooling off shower around 6 pm. Max temp reached 34.4C

Camille

2nd September, 2007

Today's weather;

A blue sky with some clouds on the horizon, over the Gulf of Thailand with a current temp of 26C.

Yesterday was a lovely day, warm and hot and it was good to be back home again. Max temp was 34.6C

Camille

1st September, 2007

Today's weather;

Back on Samui and it's warm and sunny here!

Had a real early wake up call so we could catch an early ferry and been straight to work, so didn't really have time to update until now.

It's currently 31C

More tomorrow.

Camille