Camille's Samui Info blog

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

Spark Circus is to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January

The Spark Circus is to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January at respectively W Resort and Dr Frogs, with a big show on the 20th at W Resort, starting at 8pm.

All four scheduled shows are to raise money for the Burmese refugee children in the North, in Mae Sot, where the Spark circus will go to teach and perform.

Spark Circus to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January at W Resort with a big show on 20th January starting at 8pm

Spark Circus is an international nonprofit whose mission it is to promote health, positive well being, and a sense of hope in children who live in disadvantaged communities and living situations. It is their belief that by using educational classes in, circus, music, and performance art they can help to alleviate stress, burden, and fear that so often traps people in a cycle of violence and poverty.

Spark Circus to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January

This year the circus has 10 dedicated performers and teachers from; Vietnam, Canada, Australia, Burma, UK & the US.

Spark Circus is a non-profit dedicated to bringing hope and laughter to the lives of thousands of refugee children every year.

Beginning January 14th, the Spark Circus team will assemble on the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan to do shows and raise donations for the project in a Sparkly Circus Bonanza. Following two weeks of fundraising, the team will travel and visit schools and orphanages in Mae Sot, the refugee camp Nu Poe, and the village of Mae Ke Kong for four weeks of playshop’s and intensives.

Spark Circus to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January

These exercises and activities are designed to encourage creative self-discovery in disadvantaged children in war-torn countries. The process of healing these children begins with laughter, and Spark’s performers and volunteers take pride in being able to give refugee children much needed respite from their traumatic situation.

Spark Circus to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January; Their full schedule for Koh Samui and Koh Phangan

“These children are escaping from a country which has been at war with itself for more than sixty years. Many are in danger of trafficking, while others face innumerable hardships,” says Charlene Whitehead (Director) .

'Our tour is designed to uplift and delight and we look forward to it!'

Spark Circus to visit Koh Samui 20th and 21st January

Spark Circus is a circus performance group who tries to deliver a spectacular extravaganza for children at migrant schools, refugee camps in Thailand, and villages on the Burmese side of the border, as well as, workshops and classes. They also offer classes to local teachers and other interested individuals, striving whenever possible to foster a spirit of community and oneness. It is their hope that they can bring people together and heal some of the emotional wounds the children face through the excitement of the circus arts. For more information on how you can help Spark Circus, visit their fundraising page here.

January 20 - W Resort - Koh Samui

January 21st Dr Frogs - Koh Samui

January 25th Eco Lodge - Haad Rin - Koh Phangan

January 27th Sanctuary - Koh Phangan

Do 'like' my Koh Samui blog Facebook page and 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

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 11th January, 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 11^th January, 2017

Today's weather;

It's cloudy outside over Koh Samui but it's dry at the moment with just very little rain expected until the afternoon. The cloud cover is supposed not to be that strong anymore and it may break up at some stage, later today. Current temp at 7am is 25C

Since yesterday all schools have opened again around Koh Samui and we should really have seen the last of the January 2017 floods.

Update at 9am, it's been partially cloudy, there were some small openings in the cloud cover with blue spots to be seen. Nothing to get too excited about but it's a start!

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 11th January, 2017; As explained below, around 5pm we had very hard rain yesterday for an hour to an hour and a half which caused massive flash floods around the island since everything on the island is filled to the max with rain water. In Plai Laem water covered the roads to extents I never had seen before and was flowing down the road in massive streams. Within half an hour this massive flash flood was gone but many hot spots around the island were flooded again for a short while.

Yesterday saw a slightly wet morning with a variation of dry spells, drizzle and light rain. The afternoon was mostly dry until around 5pm when a thunderstorm passed over the island with very ahrd rain for an hour to hour and a half an light rain for at least another half hour. Due to the fact that the island is filled to the brim with rain water, some serious and very fast flash flooding occurred all around the island. The picture above shows the flash flood at Plai Laem. Within less than half an hour the worst flash floods were gone and it took a bit longer for the water to recede.

During yesterdays morning hours I ran a half marathon distance through many previously flooded hot spots and I could easily pass them without problems.

Max temp reached 27C yesterday

The forecasts predicts very light rain today during the morning and early afternoon after which the rain should have gone. According to the forecast, we should have partially clouded skies which implies that we may have sunshine as well later this week. We need to wait and see how this will pan out.

Let's hope it's now all behind us and done and over with.

After this coming weekend we may have some regular monsoon showers again, which hopefully will not cause any flash floods.

Camille

Tuesday, 10 January 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 10th January, 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 10^th January, 2017

Today's weather;

It's grey and cloudy and slightly wet over Koh Samui this morning, once more again. We have dry spells combined with a light drizzle to light rain. The cloud cover should part later today and we may have some more sunshine again, just like yesterday.

Koh Samui airport is in full swing and the ferries have never really stopped operating at all, between the islands and between the main land.

The January 2017 floods are definitely and other parts of the South are being hit now, like Hua Hin and Prachuap Khirikhan.

Koh Samui is getting back to normal, all floods have gone, I just ran through a lot of previously inaccessible parts of the island because they were flooded, like Choengmon, Chaweng beach road, the Chaweng part of the ring road, Bophud traffic lights and towards Bang Rak. 21,5km and no problems. Hence the late update!

Current temp at 9.30am is 26C

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 10th January, 2017; Maenam near Soi 7 yesterday, when the sun broke out for a few hours during the morning. During the afternoon we had a few showers again

Yesterday saw some rain during he morning after which the sun broke through for a few hours just to be followed by some more rain. Most of the floods around the island had gone by yesterday. Max temp reached 28C

The forecast for the next seven days shows the wind dying off today combined with a few showers but also possibly more sunshine, just like yesterday. Later this week we should have partially clouded skies with possibly some light rain after the weekend.

Things are looking on the up side again.

Camille

Monday, 9 January 2017

The first sunshine is back over Koh Samui again!

The first sunshine is back over Koh Samui again! The clouds opened up this morning after a night and early morning of hard rain, but not in the way we're used to. Nope, they opened up and let the sun shine through again.

The first sunshine is back over Koh Samui again!; Big Buddha basking in the sunshine again

Supposedly it's not completely over yet, today may come back and bite us in the tail end. Apparently hard rain is predicted for the early evening until around midnight but after that it really should be over with currently no rain being predicted for tomorrow and the sun is about to break through each day including next weekend.

The first sunshine is back over Koh Samui again!; The direct road to our house in Plai Laem was still being partially flooded but passable with a partial blue sky on top of it. About an hour later the floods had more or less cleared

A lot of the flooded areas have the water recede or are already clear of water. The Chaweng roundabout is cleared, at the Bophud traffic lights it's clear now, all the way back to Anantara resort and the rod to Nathon was already accessible since yesterday. Slowly but surely things are clearing up and there are just a few roads left which are flooded, with the water receding however,

The first sunshine is back over Koh Samui again!; Bang Rak bay now with blue skies for a change

It's time fr the weather to change, at last and bring on the sun again. It will still take a few days ti get things back to normal. There will be run off water coming down from the mountains for at least one more week, which may cause very local floods and the beach will take also a few days to a week to get up to scratch again. Lots of debris may need to be cleared and the water is brown and dirty at the moment, with possible big waves. This all needs to settle first and may easily take a week or so.
Soon the day trips boats may go out again, maybe tomorrow already. For snorkeling and diving, give it also a few days to a week for the water to clear up and let the visibility improve.
Enjoy folks, it seems that at last it's over!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 9th January, 2017

Today's weather;

Once more, it's very grey, cloudy and wet this morning over Koh Samui. Hard rain went on in intervals all night and part of this morning all around the island, but at last the wind is supposed to drop soon and the rain to seriously slow down or stop soon during this morning, with some rain being expected again during the late afternoon, a kind of last call.

A lot of flooded areas where the water receded yesterday may have flooded again but I do expect them to drain again as well today. Current temp at 7am is 26C

'Only' 38mm of rain is expected during the next 24 hours around Koh Samui. A big difference compared to last week where the amount of rain sometimes easily exceeded 100mm per day.

Currently Krabi, Koh Lipe and Koh Lanta (where I will be later this month) are seriously hit with rain, storm and floods whilst Phuket is having loads of rain as well. Slowly the weather depression is shifting from the Southern East coast to the West coast.

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 9th January, 2017; The small island in front is Koh Som, located in the Bang Rak bay and in the background, covered in clouds is Koh Phangan, which has been seriously affected by the recent floods as well. This picture was taken yesterday afternoon during a dry spell

Yesterday saw a good day around the island, rain varied from a drizzle to light rain or no rain at times. This immediately had an affect on a lot of flooded areas, where the water receded and all around the island the roads were passable again. Last nights hard rain may have flooded a few areas again though. Max temp reached 27C

The forecast is looking real good. Today should see the last bits of rain, during the late afternoon and during the day the wind should start fading. Tomorrow is currently predicted to be cloudy but dry and as of Wednesday the clouds should break up and possibly we can expect some sunshine. Wouldn't that be nice for a change.

The remainder of the week and the weekend shows partial cloud cover but no rain anymore. It's time we can feel that sunshine on our skin again!

Camille

Sunday, 8 January 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 8th January, 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 8^th January, 2017

Today's weather;

A later than usual update but all is fine with me. It's Sunday morning and that usually means long morning runs for me and today was no different, except today I couldn't start until 6am, it's too dangerous to run in the dark under these conditions. I managed 21km in around one hour and 54 minutes, which considering the circumstances is really good. I ran yesterday as well and about 20 to 25% of the roads were ankle deep with water, today only three small sections were ankle deep. There was still a lot of water on the road, but nothing more than foot deep and a lot of floods have receded and/or disappeared.

This morning saw a range from no rain, to drizzle to light rain changing positions all the time around Koh Samui. The hard and torrential rain seems to have gone.

The airport is up and running with planes taking off and landing all the time, so hopefully they can take care of their back log.

It seems the January 2017 floods are on their last legs. It's not over yet but it's slowing down however one more batch of hard rain is still predicted for this morning. We'll see how that pans out. Current temp at 9am is 25C

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 8th January, 2017; Bang Rak bay this morning, still a grey and cloudy sky but not that much rain anymore and the water doesn't have that brown color anymore. Things are slowly on the upside again.

Yesterday saw rain almost all day long but it was a lot lighter rain and we had many rain breaks as well. Still, a lot of roads were still flooded, like at the Chaweng lake and roundabout, at the area where the one way systems starts and around Centara Grand Beach resort. At the Bophud traffic lights it was also still full on flood. Many other areas saw some easing up during the afternoon. Max temp reached 26C

The forecast keeps pushing back that end of the rain. Now it seems that Monday will have light amounts of rain and the cloud cover is about to break open come Wednesday. After that it looks really good into next weekend with plenty of sunshine. Who knows!

Just keep hanging in there, today may see one more time some hard rain and tonight some hard wind but it may well be the end of this rain period.

Camille

Saturday, 7 January 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 7th January, 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 7^th January, 2017

Today's weather;

It's still grey and very wet over Koh Samui, third day running now and more torrential rain is expected this morning. The rain isn't necessarily hard, but non stop and relentlessly coming down and there's still a fair bit of wind. Later today, currently predicted to happen around 4pm, the rain may drastically slow down and this may the sign of the rain slowly fading away in general.

The current floods are harsh and seem to be worse than in recent early December 2016 but the 2011 floods on the island still seem to be worse compared to the current situation.

Roads are still flooded due to the relentless amount of rain but the airport was active last night and flights were departing at 11.30pm. The ferries between the mainland and Koh Samui-Koh Phangan-Koh Tao are still running although the situation especially on Koh Phangan seems to be dire.

The mainland in Southern Thailand is also very hard hit, trains stop now in Chumphon, roads and bridges have been wiped away and Nakhon Si Thammarat closed the airport down.

The rain has now also reached the West coast and Phuket is having lots of rain now as well.

Follow my Facebook page for more updates.

Current temp at 7am is 24C, the next 7 hours some 76mm of rain are expected and 124mm over the next 24 hours, from 7am to 7am.

As the flood situation in southern provinces is getting worse posing threat to lives and properties of the people, Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda announced the upgrading of management of large-scale disaster to Level 3, according to ThaiPBS news.

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 7th January, 2017; The direct connection or road to our house in Plai Laem is still closed down. In front of Big C was passable yesterday but at the traffic lights in Bophud it was still flooded. The situation doesn't seem to get any better until later today, during the late afternoon

Yesterday saw relentless rain almost all day long, except a few dry spells during the morning. The airport was able to open up for a short while and some planes could land and take off. The situation was dire all around the island. Check my Facebook for more updates. Max temp yesterday reached 24C

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 7th January, 2017; The clouds over Southern Thailand as of 1pm last night Koh Samui is still completely covered but moving on to the outskirts now

The forecast is looking better, still torrential and relentless rain today until around 4pm and after that the rain should drastically slow down and come Monday morning it should start to clear up according to current forecasts. Later next week it should be partially cloudy and we even have some sunshine. The run off water from the hills will still be around for around a week though but things should slowly settle in and get back to normal.

Camille

Friday, 6 January 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 6th January, 2017

Today's weather;

Good morning from a wet and soggy Koh Samui. Yesterday's floods got a lot of attention in local and some international media as well.

It has rained all night long, not hard, but a constant drizzle and possible with some hard showers thrown in for good measure. At this moment it's hard to tell how the flash floods are doing around the island. The road near our house is open, after it was closed down for a few hours yesterday, and has just a little bit of flood water and can easily be passed.

The wind is still forceful and blowing hard at times. All small boats trips have been cancelled but the (Seatran) ferries between Koh Tao-Koh Phangan-Koh Samui are still running at 10am and 1pm

There is currently a drizzle but more and harder rain is expected today, although not as much as yesterday. Enough though to make venturing out of your house not very recommendable if there's no need to go outside, or go too far. Having said that, Koh Samui is safe, as long as you don't do any silly things. Be careful and aware of your surroundings.

The airport still has no activities but the ferries to the mainland should be running. Current temp at 7am is 25C

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 6th January, 2017

The floods caused all kinds of problems, small or bigger. Here's a scene around the corner of our house in Plai Laem, moments after the closed road was opened up again, during a lull in the rain and the water receded very quickly, when a car got stuck in little sand bank. Bystanders were there to give a helping hand and within a few minutes the car became mobile again. A blue BMW was not so lucky and got stuck in the middle of the flooded road for several hour and it took another couple of hours before it was towed away.

Yesterday saw one of Koh Samui's worst flooded days, although last month in early December 2016 and November 2010 had it in them as well. There was mayhem all around the island, the road between the Bophud traffic lights and Nathon was closed down and the airport didn't see much airplane movement at all all day long. The schools of our children were closed yesterday.

The mainland got hit worse though, highway bridges collapsed and the trains can't go any further South than in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The East coast and the Gulf of Thailand have been hit badly, worse than the West coast.

Max temp reached 27C

Bang Rak bay. Dark clouds and murky and muddy water all day long combined with a strong wind.

The forecast predicts plenty of rain for today and also rain over the weekend, but each day having less rain compared to the previous day and the wind is dropping off, predicted to have disappeared come Thursday.

Come Monday it should be dry again and possibly the sun may peak through.

Just hold on one more day, the weather situation seems to be improving as of tomorrow.

Camille

Thursday, 5 January 2017

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017 just about a month after we had flooding in December 2016 around the island and he tail end of the monsoon bites us in the behind again!

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; Plai Laem this morning, this part of the road is now closed

Unlike last month, this should only last today and to a lesser degree tomorrow, Saturday the recovery should start already and come Sunday all should be fine again with the wind and rain gone.

The airport has been severely affected today and to the best of my knowledge, only the 6am plane Bangkok bound was able to take off, if at all. All other flights in and outbound have been delayed for the time being and I'm not to sure if there will be any more planes be able to depart or arrive today.

Car ferry traffic with the mainland was unaffected as far as I know and between Koh Tao - Koh Phangan - Koh Samui, some ferries may have run, but possibly not all of them.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; At the Bophud traffic lights, for small cars not a good idea at the moment, you will need at least a pick up or a similar high sized car

This is hitting Koh Samui hard though and there are floods all over the island. The amount of torrential rain today and last night is almost unreal. There's water everywhere.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; Chaweng lake becoming a real lake again, little by little, drop by drop

All the usual suspects and lots of other places weren't able to handle the amount of rain today. Once the rain decides to stop, most or all of the floods will recede within hours. Around the Chaweng lake area various pumps are installed since early last month to pump the lake clear.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; The Chaweng roundabout near Chaweng lake, where everybody pretends not to understand how a roundabout is supposed to function when giving way, or rather, not giving way

Before the new drainage system was put in place, a few years ago, the water would remain for a couple of days, up till weeks. Now we just have to deal with the run off from the mountains once the water has receded.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; Between the ring road and the start of the one way section in Chaweng, going slightly down hill

A lot of the problems have been caused by construction being build without considerations of the natural water ways, seeking the shortest way to the ocean. These are a lot of times blocked now and contribute to the overall flood problem or in some cases cause them.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; The hill to Nathon

We didn't have floods like this since a long time but now we have them twice in the time frame of just one month apart. December saw some serious and continuous flooding, this should only be mainly today and to a much lesser content also tomorrow.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; The sheep farm in Maenam turned into an instant water park, enjoy it whilst it lasts! The salad hydroponics are ok, high and although not dry, yet safe

On the mainland the situation is even worse, especially the province of Pattalung has been hit very hard but various other provinces, starting at Surat Thani and South of it and mainly the Eastern side of Thailand, have some serious water and flood problems. South bound trains can't get any further than Nakhon Si Thammarat at the moment and some major roads have been blocked.

Flooding Koh Samui January 2017; The road to Nathon, under construction and under water

We need to sit this one out and hope for it to better or less come tomorrow, as the prediction stated. If you don't need to go out, stay inside today, is my advice at the moment.

Batten those hatches down!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 5th January, 2017

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 5^th January, 2017

Today's weather;

It's as expected, dark, grey and very wet. Last night there was plenty of rain and it's now raining non stop since a few hours, from hard to a drizzle but relentless, all around Koh Samui. There's torrential rain expected until around 4pm, when the intensity of the rain is supposed to lessen but it still will continue to rain. Very strong wind to storm like conditions are expected, especially between 10am and 2pm. This is outside of normal monsoon conditions and hopefully we get through today without too much hassle. Still no power cuts but I won't be surprised if the power will cut sometime later today. Expect plenty of floods and they will last most likely until the rain stops. Once the rain stops, today or tomorrow, the floods tend to disappear rather quickly. Current temp at 7am is 25C
Update at 7.30am; it seems that all schools have been cancelled for today, despite that some had exams on the agenda.

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 5th January, 2017

The sky over Koh Samui yesterday, dark and heavy with rain. There was plenty of rain yesterday and plenty of floods, however, it didn't rain all day long and the breaks in-between the rain showers allowed most or all of the floods to recede rather quickly. Today may be a different story

Yesterday saw plenty of rain but with enough breaks in-between the showers to give the plentiful floods enough time to recede rather quickly all over the island. There was a strong wind as well, especially later during the afternoon and early evening and night. Max temp reached 27C

The forecast for today has already been explained at the top of this post, with the rain supposedly starting to slow down around 4pm. Tomorrow there will still be plenty of rain, but not as much as there will be today and the wind will slowly start to calm down. Saturday may still see a little bit of rain during the early morning hours and from there onward the situation should improve with the sun breaking out again and the rain pretty much gone until Thursday, besides a short shower here and there.

Batten the hatches for today though!

Camille