31st May, 2010

Today's weather;

A nice blue sky with some clouds in it rules over Pattaya this morning. Current temp at 7am is 29C

Yesterday was a nice day with slight overcast so not too hot. Max temp reached 32.6C

Now off for some wreck diving.

Camille

Goodbye to May 2010

Goodbye to May 2010

A day early because I will be wreck diving tomorrow in Pattaya and won't have a lot of time to post.

May was an interesting month, if not only because of my change in my work situation with new partnerships on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Lanta.

Weather wise it was warm and hot all over the month but at last we had some showers, I would almost think that we had more rain during May than we had during the rainy season! All in all a great month for good holiday weather.

There has been enough about the Bangkok riots and I can only hope that the current peace prevails and Thailand will be put on the map again for what it's known for, the Thai smile and a great holiday destination.

There were also two new restaurant reviews, the Lebanese station where I went twice this month and Cafe del Sol on Koh Tao. Both very recommendable.

Other blogs that had some good posts include Beyond the Mango Juice, who's author happened to be on the scene in Udon Thani when it was burning during the recent riots.

Jamie at the real Phuket blog had a family visit to the Cliff and and River Jungle Resort in the Kao Sok National Park, a resort that's high on my list of places to visit!

Monique keeps bombarding us with stunning nature pix, a great Dutch woman living on Samui.

Mike, a very active blogger residing in Prachuap Kiri Khan is looking at the costs of living in Thailand.

Malcolm is retired in Thailand and is loving it, he talks about the untouched live by Bangkok riots rural life in the boonies.

Andrew looks at Thai rural poverty - a powder keg, in reference to the recent riots?

Thai Life in Phana's blogger Lawrence is connecting to the past in this interesting post and Ben, the Thai Pirate looks at kids being Muay Thai youngsters.

If you want to have a look at some funny Thai related pix, visit and befriend my TIT or This is Thailand Facebook page. There are some real crackers there.

If you read all these posts and stroll around on just these blogs, you'll have a nice and relaxing Sunday!

Stay tuned and keep posting on all of our blogs,

Camille

30th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A blue sky with some random clouds is hanging over Samui this morning. It looks like it's going to be a very hot one today. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C

Today I'm off to Pattaya until Friday.

Yesterday saw a merely overcast day but once the sun came through it was very hot, resulting in a max temp of 35C

Camille

29th May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's good to be back home on Samui again after having been on Koh Tao for a few days for a successful PADI IE but not for long, since tomorrow I'll be off to Pattaya for some wreck diving until Friday.

In the meantime, back at the farm there's a light overcast with the sun trying to battle it's way through. Current temp at 7am is 27.6C.

Yesterday was a warm day, especially when the sun broke through the cloud cover and last night around 10pm we had a nice refreshing shower. Max temp reached 34.7C

Camille

Cafe del Sol, Mae Haad, Koh Tao

Cafe del Sol, Mae Haad, Koh Tao

To catch up on my restaurant reviews, here's one more, this time coming to you from Koh Tao where I just spend two nights for a PADI IE.

The Cafe del Sol has been visited by me occasionally, mainly for lunches and despite good reviews by other people that visited the Cafe, somehow I never got around going there in the evenings for dinner, until two days ago.

We went and had dinner and it was excellent, I had a really superb lamb chop and it was that good that we went the next day again!

Trio pepper pork with gratin

My student during this trip had two days in a row the trio pepper pork with gratin. An excellent choice and the gratin alone is worthwhile going there.

Gnocchi quatro formaggio

Yesterday I had a gnocchi quatro formaggio, which was really nice as well.

The Cafe del Sol is easy to find, coming from the Seatran pier, just walk straight up the road and the second crossing will have the Cafe at your left hand. They also offer free wifi to customers.

Another good addition to Koh Tao's culinary road map. Highly recommended.

Camille

28th May, 2010

Today's weather;

A cloudy sky hangs over Koh Tao with a current temp at 7am of 29C.

Later today we will take the ferry back to Koh Samui again!

Today is also one of the most important Buddha days in the year; Visakha Bucha Day and many Thai people will visit their local Temple today.

Yesterday saw the sun and clouds battle it out over Koh Tao with a massive shower around 3pm.

Max temp reached 34.4C.

Samui stayed dry for the last two days.

Camille

27th May, 2010

Today's weather;

As mentioned yesterday, I'm on Koh Tao for a PADI IE and Koh Tao is clouded but dry this morning. Current temp is 29C.

Koh Tao yesterday during the afternoon storm

Yesterday we left Samui under good weather circumstances and the trip over to the Rock was easy without waves. Around 3pm though, a storm raced over Koh Tao with very strong winds but hardly any rain for about an hour. After that it calmed down again and when the sun came out it immediately heated up again.

Max temp reached 33.8C

Camille

26th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Heavy cloud cover over Samui this morning and rain is definitely in the cards. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C.

Yesterday saw cloud cover and sunshine all day long but in the evening it started to rain and there were some heavy rain showers and thunder and lightnings roaring. Max temp reached 33.3C

Today I'm off to Koh Tao for two nights with my IDC candidate Sunil for his PADI IE, we completed the current IDC two days ago.

Camille

Lebanon Station, Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng

Lebanon Station, Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng

UNFORTUNATELY, THE LEBANESE STATION HAS CLOSED

It's been a while since I have posted a restaurant review, so this one is for Bron, you know who you are!

Following the one way system in Chaweng, when you almost come to the end, about 100 meters before the T-crossing marking the end of the one way system, is on your left hand side the Lebanon Station.

I love Middle Eastern food, see my post about the absolutely fantastic Egyptian restaurant Nassir El Massri in Bangkok, one of my faves and a must stop when in Bangkok.

This is one of my all time fave dishes; Hummus, cooked and mashed chickpeas.

Falafel, deep fried chickpeas

The mixed grilled platter with chicken, beef and lamb

A special salad which usually is only prepared during Ramadan.

The reason I went there yesterday was that Imad, who staffed my recent IDC hails from Lebanon although he works and lives in Dubai, so when he discovered a Lebanese restaurant in Chaweng, he spend half of his time on Samui there! Since left today for Lebanon this was his goodbye night and had a very enjoyable meal here.

It's a very small place, almost a hole in the wall kinda place but if you're in to Middle eastern food, you will find what you want right here.

Camille

25th May, 2010

Today's weather;

It's slightly cloudy over Samui with the sun battling to get through the cover, not unsuccessfully most of the time. Current temp at 7am is 28.9C.

Yesterday saw a mixed bag of sunshine and some cloud formations. Max temp reached 33.5C and it stayed dry all day long.

Camille