Sunday, September 30, 2007

1st October, 2007

Today's weather;

it's already 9 am and the sun is slowly heating up with the clouds disintegrating and big patches of blue are shining through. Current temp is 27C

Yesterday was a dry but rather cloudy day with periods of sunshine. Max temp reached 30.2C

Camille

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Goodbye to September

It's time to say goodbye to September.

Unfortunately, September 2007 won't be remembered for it's great weather. There was a lot more rain than usual and more than once I thought that the rainy season had already started.
Despite some really nice days, in general the weather in September was below average.

In my 8 years on Samui, I can't remember having witnessed that much rain in September but it seems that the whole region is struggling with bad weather patterns, since two months in a row already.
I do hope that people understand that Global Warming is a real and serious threat and take action accordingly, especially those in Government positions where they can make a difference.

In the meantime however, let's hope the rainy season stays away for a while and October will be nice and sunny.

Thanks for visiting my blog this month and please feel free to post your thoughts on my articles.

Camille

30th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Cloudy and grayish with a current temp of 25.4C

Yesterday turned out to be a nice day with sunshine and dry, although last night there must've been some rain, since it was wet outside this morning.

Camille

Friday, September 28, 2007

29th September, 2007

Today's weather;

There's a cloud layer ruling this morning and the sun is nowhere to be seen. Current temp is 25C

Yesterday was a dry and sunny day, although in the evening there was some rain and drizzle. Max temp reached 33.3C

Camille

Thursday, September 27, 2007

In support of the Burmese population

This SMS message is making it's rounds on Samui;

In support of our incredibly brave friends in Burma: May all people around the world wear a red shirt on Friday, September 28.

This message gets my full support and I'm in red today!

Camille

Monkey business with coconuts

Monkey business with coconuts?

I beg to pardon? Well, in Samui a pretty normal sight, although getting rarer and rarer by the day.

Koh Samui used to be the coconut provider for pretty much all of Thailand, before it was discovered by tourism.
A story that keeps amusing me, is that in the 'old' days, the black sheep of the family were given the useless beach land and the good or favorite sons and daughters got the worthwhile coconut fields, sometimes in the middle of nowhere. Well, things have changed and all the black sheep are laughing all the way to the bank in the meantime. In Chaweng beach land prices are closing in on multi million deals since a couple of years already.




Back on track though, all these coconuts had to get out of the trees somehow. Since not all men are that well practiced to climb at times very high coconut trees, monkeys were trained to go up in the trees, rotate the coconuts and drop them to the ground, where they were collected.
This picture shows a current day pick up truck loaded with coconuts and two monkeys that are trained for the job at hand.


A picture that always does it, a baby monkey and a cute one as well.


Nowadays once every couple or months or so, my parents in law have some guys come over to get the couple of coconuts that our trees in the garden produce. The price of the coconuts has since the 'good old' days drastically dropped, from 6 to 10 Baht per coconut to maybe 2 Baht per nut if lucky.



Another local Samui tradition that is about to run it's course, unfortunately. In the coconut business there's not as much to be made anymore as it used to do. There's much more money in various tourist related activities, funnily enough, amongst them are a couple of Monkey Training schools.

From, a sunny Samui,

Camille

28th September, 2007

Today's weather;

The sun is working hard to break up the thin white layer, probably in an hour or so, it'll be a clear blue sky again. Current temp is 26.3C

Yesterday it was warm and dry all day long. Max temp reached 34C

Since all my diving work has been completed for the time being, I should have some more time to post a couple of Samui related articles.

Camille

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Thaa Yai

Today the yearly "Thaa Yai" occurred.

Thaa Yai is a Thai tradition which is celebrated throughout Thailand, but under different names and sometimes also on different dates.

What it is, is that the deceased people are welcomed back again to share time with the living. This is done by offering plenty of food to the deceased.

It's usually an occasion where the whole village participates in, so Wat Plai Laem is packed to the rafters with locals, offering loads of food to the deceased.

Since it's starts really early, like 4 or 5 am, I don't go out each year to participate and especially since my wife had to work today, it was a good excuse for me for not having to attend. However, here are some pix from 2 years ago.


Offerings are also made to the Monks, as each celebration or event in the Temple involves the Monks. They play a vital role in all day live in Thais communities and in general in the whole region, as can be witnessed in Burma (Myanmar) right now.


This picture gives you an idea of the copious amounts of food that are being offered to the deceased, this picture only shows about a third of the total amount of food being offered. Luckily for the living, they get to eat it after all ceremonies are completed.

More food being offered, displayed on long rows of tables with loads of locals visiting and participating.


This picture gives an idea how many people participate, young and old gather together to celebrate Thaa Yai each year. It's full moon today as well, the best day to celebrate these kind of ceremonies. A month from now, next full moon, the deceased are being waved off again, until next year.


Picture of food samples, being offered during Thaa Yai.


Picture of food samples, being offered during Thaa Yai.

Thaa Yai is a tradition within my wife's family and everybody participates in either buying or cooking food for Thaa Yai.

Until next year, for another Thaa Yai,

Camille

PS Shouts to Guano Island, who mentioned my blog a few times. Hope you'll be able to visit Thailand soon!

27th September, 2007

Today's weather;

One more time the sky looks great, blue and blasting with sunshine.

Yesterday was a nice and warm day with the rain to arrive at 18.00, nice to cool things off.

Camille

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

26th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Another blue sky is shaping up, with clouds over the Gulf, where I'll be today at Sail Rock, for two dives. Current temp is 26C

Yesterday was a lovely day with lots of sun and nice and warm, until 6 pm when it started to rain, which actually is not too bad since it cools things down a bit, there was however 14.1 mm rain measured yesterday! Max temp reached 33.8C

Camille

Monday, September 24, 2007

25th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Another blue sky is shaping up this morning, promising another nice day. Current temp is 27C

Yesterday it was a dry and warm day, a very nice welcome to the previous rainy season alike weather pattern. Max temp reached 32.3C

Camille

Sunday, September 23, 2007

24th September, 2007

Today's weather;

A clear blue sky this morning with cloud formations only over the Gulf and a current temp of 27C

Yesterday was cloudy in the morning but sunny in the afternoon.

The current weather pattern has all the makings and signs of the rainy season and if that turns out to be right, it'll be the earliest start of the rainy season that I've witnessed in my 8 years on Samui.

Camille

Lantern Festival at Tmn Daya, JB.

Hock Lin Temple, Taman Daya, JB. (N1° 32.462' E103° 46.056')

Reached there around 8pm.....the store which selling foods for charity fund already Rock n' Roll!


Walk to the lanterns area......


start to snap the "Simply Hamtam Version" !!




PANDA Version




Ship or Yacht.......










Traditional......








The Temple and surrounding......



End with some Traditional Dance.......


Digg!


Gibbon Rehabilitation Project and Bang Pae Waterfall

Up in the Northeast of Phuket in a heavily forested area is the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park. To get there, head North on the airport road from Phuket Town and turn right at the Heroine's Monument, then drive around 10km - the entrance on the left side is easy to find. We have been up this way many times, not just for the Gibbon Project and the waterfall, but nearby is Bang Pae Seafood and also Bang Rong, where you find a floating restaurant and you can get a ferry to Koh Yao Noi. The Bang Pae waterfalls are not big, but popular with locals at the weekend and you get quite a few tourists up here too. There's a restaurant called Peang Prai just at the entrance gate to the waterfall too.

The forest is thick and full of sounds from the chirping of insects to the song of the gibbons. At the entrance to the falls just as you turn off the main road there is an elephant trekking safari - the elephants looked happy and well fed. I swear they posed for photos too. If you want to try elephant trekking this might be a good spot.

Elephant at Bang Pae Safari

As you drive up to the park entrance the roadside is lined with rubber trees as is much of this area of Phuket. Rubber was once very important to the economy of Phuket and indeed it continues to be important. There are also fields of pineapples nearby, but once you hit the park entrance you are in the jungle, baby!

Entrance to Gibbon Rehabilitation Project

The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) is based here - this organisation aims to protect gibbons and their habitat through rehabilitation and education. It's a sad fact that gibbons are caught and kept as pets in Thailand and even hawked round the streets to have photos taken with tourists. This is illegal. The project takes in gibbons who have been rescued, taken away from their "owners" by the police or that have been handed in by owners who no longer wish to look after them. They then go through a long rehabilitation before being released back into the forests. Apparently there is a release due next week which one of the volunteers was telling me about. Sadly he also said that poaching still continues here in Phuket.

Gibbon Gibbon taking a drink of water

The Gibbons that are being kept here can be seen in large cages. There are notice boards with information about the gibbons and the work of the GRP. Gibbons swing around and sing their distinctive song. Some sit quietly. The volunteers know them all by name and say they have quite different personalities. My kids enjoyed seeing them and I tried to explain that gibbons are not monkeys!

Notice boards show information about the gibbons



If you are in Phuket or anywhere else in Thailand and see a gibbon being taken round the streets for tourists to take photos, please take a photo and send it to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project - grp@gibbonproject.org - tell them where and when the photo was taken. You can also contact the Thai National Parks Office at www.dnp.go.th/complain/index.asp. Please note that the project gets none of the National Park fee (200 Baht for foreigners), so any donation you can make is appreciated. They have a small shop selling gibbon related souvenirs. For more about the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project see the web site www.gibbonproject.org.



If you walk past the Gibbon Project you see a big sign saying "Bang Pae Waterfall". A winding and (in some parts) quite steep path heads up into the forest following the river. At the bottom there are some picnic tables and a few cheap restaurants too. At several points on the way up there are sections of river where you can jump in - on Saturday it was (as usual) quite busy with locals.

Jump!

Lots of people playing in the water

The 'big' waterfall!

Location on Google Earth

At the very top is a waterfall of about 15m in height... wow! I wouldn't base your trip to Phuket on a visit to this waterfall, but in combination with the gibbons, a walk in the forest and a drive around this area of Phuket, Bang Pae makes a very nice day out. Also good for getting your kids tired - take them for a walk up the path to the falls and they'll sleep like logs that night!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

23rd September, 2007

Today's weather;

A thick layer of clouds dominates the sky and at 6 in the morning there was a big storm with lots of rain. Current temp is 25C

Yesterday was a nice day with some rain around 6 pm. Max temp reached 33.5C

Happy Birthday to my Dad today!

Camille

Friday, September 21, 2007

22nd September, 2007

Today's weather;

It's beautiful this morning, nice sunshine with the clouds evaporating and a current temp of 25.3C

Yesterday had a lot of rain in the morning, the afternoon was clouded but dry. Max temp reached 31.7C

The Meteorological Department gave out a warning for possible flash floods in 5 Southern provinces, including Surat Thani the province that Koh Samui belongs to.

Camille

Thursday, September 20, 2007

21st September, 2007

Today's weather;

Light overcast with strong wind gusts and a current temp of already 31.4C

Yesterday was a lovely day in the morning. My face got completely sunburned sitting and waiting next to the pool at Koh Tao for my candidates to complete their Confined Water presentations during their IE.
However, came 3 pm, when the ferry for Samui arrived, it started to rain and a small storm roared it's head and at 7 pm it was raining cats and dogs on Samui with an almost constant drizzle for the rest of the night.

Camille

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

20th September, 2007

Today's weather from Koh Tao;

It's sunny and blue today although the wind is till there, it looks like it's going to be a nice day. Current temp is 27C

Yesterday was cloudy but dry with a max temp of 30C

Tomorrow morning I'll be back on Samui again with a Samui weather forecast.

Camille

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

One year after the coup in Thailand

Today marks the 1st anniversary of the coup.

It's today exactly a year ago the coup was staged in Thailand and a lot of water has passed down the Chao Praya river in Bangkok since.

What has the coup brought Thailand, are we, Thais and expats living in Thailand, better off than before the coup?

I'm looking forward to hear any comments on this.

19th September, 2007

Today's weather on Koh Tao;

Very strong winds and grey clouds dominate Koh Tao this morning with a current temp of 24.5C
The reason for me being on Koh Tao is to support my IDC candidates during their PADI Instructor Exams, you can follow their progress on my dive blog.

Yesterday was grey and cloudy all day long with around midnight a real storm developing with very strong wind and rain which must've lasted almost all night long.
Mae Haad harbour, Koh Tao this morning, under a grey sky. The strong winds don't show that well on the picture, but it's out there! This picture is taken from one of the rooms at the Sea Lodge.
Camille

Monday, September 17, 2007

18th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Just before heading off to Koh Tao for two nights, here's Samui's weather situation;
A grey and dark sky is looming over Samui with a constant drizzle. Last night there was a big storm around 4 am. Current temp is 24.4C

Yesterday was a good day if you live here, it was raining and drizzling all morning which stopped around noon but the overcast stayed. It's nice temperatures though but not if you're on a holiday here, which was 28C

If I didn't know any better, I would think the rainy season has found it's way to Samui, however, that'd be about a month early, at least! The weather forecast for the coming week doesn't look too promising though.

Camille

Sunday, September 16, 2007

17th September, 2007

Today's weather;

It's clouded this morning and the sun is not really making it through. Current temp is 25.4C

Yesterday it was a lovely day up till about 3 pm when it started to rain heavily and it kind of kept drizzling into the early evening. Below is a picture of Chaweng Beach in yesterday's rain and empty beach, during our Open Water dives of my current IDC. Max temp only reached 31.3C and there was 6.9mm rainfall.

Yesterday saw also a very unfortunate plane crash on Phuket where 88 people died but also 44 people survived.



Tomorrow we're off to Koh Tao for the PADI IE, so the next couple of days I'll be reporting from Koh Tao.


Camille

Saturday, September 15, 2007

16th September, 2007

Today's weather;

There's a cloud cover forming this morning but there's still blue patches around. Current temp is 26.6C

Yesterday it was a nice day with lots of sun and it remained dry with a max temp of 33.6C. There were strong wind gusts though.

Camille

Friday, September 14, 2007

15th September, 2007

Today's weather;

Sunny with heavy cloud formations, especially looming over the Gulf. Current temp is 28.3C

Yesterday was a nice and lovely day, warm and sunny as it usually is recently but by 3 pm it become clouded and a strong wind came up. By 6.30 pm it was raining a bit but eventually it remained dry for the rest of the evening.

Camille

Thursday, September 13, 2007

14th September, 2007

Today's weather;

A blazing blue sky is forming up with the usual cloud formations over the Gulf. Current temp is 27.3C

Yesterday was another nice and warm day with lots of sun. Max temp reached 34.3C

Camille

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

13th September, 2007

Today's weather;

It looks like it's going to be a warm and sunny day, a blue sky is shaping up with currently still some scattered clouds out and about. Current temp is 26.2C

Yesterday was a lovely day, warm, sunny, blue skies, until 5 pm when, whilst shopping at the new Big C complex it started to rain cats and dogs in Chaweng with strong wind gusts. Upon returning home at Plai Laem, it turned out to be completely dry there, until 8 pm, when it let loose there as well for a couple of hours.

Camille

World Resort, Bophud, Koh Samui

World Resort in between Bophud and Maenam,

This is where I conduct my PADI Dive Instructor courses, aka IDC's. However, that's not the reason I'm writing this blog entry. Due to myself spending a lot of time at World Resort, during these courses, I got to know the resort really well, since more than 4 years I'm there almost every month for about 2 weeks.


The resort is very nicely located at Bophud beach and can be reached from the ring road, it's half way between the traffic lights in Bophud and downtown Maenam.


The resort has bot a beach and a swimming pool, including a children bath so you can choose between lounging around beach side or having fun with the kids at the pool.


On the resorts beach, you can enjoy beautiful sunsets, like this one.

What I like a lot about the resort, is that it's family owned. The parents who manage the resort together with their daughter, where originally local teachers and they started the resort on it's current location just with a couple of beach huts. This must've been some 20 years ago.

In all the years that I've been coming to World Resort, it changed a lot, in a very positive way. The family keeps up with modern times and in low season they are steadily working and constructing in and around the resort to keep everything up to high standards. This is what I like about this resort, it's family run, they put a real effort into making you feel welcome and to make sure that you enjoy your stay there. The staff in general stays on a long time as well, which helps to make your stay more enjoyable.


Here's an impression of the resort. The bungalows are placed along lots of green and flowers and all bungalows just had a revamp.


The restaurant is beautifully located at the beach and the view there is awesome. See the picture below. Besides that, the food they serve is really awesome and their menu has a splendid mix between Thai and Western food.


The beach at World Resort allows for a direct view over Koh Phangan, which is located almost opposite the resort. This picture merely shows the beach, Koh Phangan is off to the left, only slightly visible.

This is me during on of my IDC courses at lunch time at the beach restaurant, enjoying the wonderful food that is served each time.

All in all, if you want to get away from the busy streets of Chaweng and enjoy a quiet and relaxing holiday, than I can highly recommend World Resort.

Camille