Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 10th April, 2011

Today's weather;

Blue skies this morning on Samui. Good to be home, yay! Current temp at 7am is around 25C

Yesterday I arrived already at 10.40am at the Donsak ferry and by 1pm I was back home! The whole trip saw sunshine but lo and behold, in the Surat Thani area there were some clouds but not a single drop of rain! Samui saw a hot and sunny afternoon with a max temp around 30C

Pretty soon after arriving back home I went around and had a look on my motorbike and although there's some damage, especially fairly easily to spot for residents, like a pothole or six more than there was on the roads compared to when I left, it all seems under control and back to normal.

All main roads on Samui are dry with an occasional puddle, it's some of the secondary roads and short cuts that most tourists wouldn't even know of or use that may still have some flooded parts, but than again nothing is deeper than 2 or 3 cm's. In Chaweng and Choengmon some 7-11's are being fixed and should be ready to open again soon.

Samui is all fine and there's no reason not to visit, same for Koh Phangan and Koh Tao!

One of the two collapsed bridges on highway 44 between Krabi/Phuket and Surat Thani

Yesterdays trip from Koh Lanta (with a successful PADI IE to boost!) to Samui was smooth. All roads were open and no water anywhere on a road. The only ripple were two collapsed bridges on highway 44 (South bound), within 200 meters of each other and the traffic was all on one side of the road. The road from the highway to the ferry was fine as well, nothing like 26th March when I almost got stuck.

Near Surat Thani was a lot of water damage and still a lot of flooded areas but things were definitely under control and repair work was in full swing.

The death toll is now at 59 and the Prime Minister, Abhisit visited Surat and Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday, see The Nation for a report.

Severe flooding in the southern provinces has killed 59 people, totally destroyed 396 homes, and damaged 5,769 roads and 1.1 million rai of farmland, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

The department said the flooding, which hit 10 southern provinces since last month, has receded in six provinces while Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Surat Thani and Trang remain submerged, with some 461,794 people affected.

Camille

Road flooding on the mainland, Donsak ferry road to highway

Road flooding on the mainland, Donsak ferry road to highway

This morning it was raining all the way from home to the ferry in Nathon. The road in Bang Rak was still flooded and this morning two firetrucks were pumping water instead of one as previously posted in one of my posts. This was all just warming up for what still was to come!

Once I got off the ferry in Donsak, about 5km onto the road direction main highway, I passed through a flooded road bit slightly too fast which caused big water fountains all around my car and a slightly higher heart rate for a moment or two. The first seriously flooded areas I encountered next to the road almost look idyllic, like the picture above shows. This changed rapidly though.

Next I knew the road was about to be flooded and the view changed drastically. People were out on the road, either watching the rain and the traffic go by or just because they couldn't literally stay in their houses because they were flooded.

The water looked more and more aggressive and willing to come and spoil my travel party to Koh Lanta.

That's when I hit the first patch of serious flooded road and my speed which was already reduced by now, was now down to walking speed. After this little patch of flooded road, I was wondering what else there would be in for me on today's travels! needless to say that rain was never really far away, although it was merely a drizzle at this stage.

Just a few kilometers after the first flood, almost near the highway, maybe just 6km away from it, this piece of work came in front of my car, a section of the road covered at it's deepest point in about 1 to 1.4 meters of water. In my broken Thai I conversed with a local policeman who thought that I would be able to get through with my 4 wheel. Well, my car looks like a 4 wheel bit it's not a 4 wheel, so I didn't follow up on his invitation to give it a go.

Soon after he came back and explained that a big truck would come and we could follow the truck so we didn't get lost on the road. I still wasn't completely convinced and righteously so.

A truck came from the opposite direction and was way up to it's doors covered in water, as the picture shows. The guys in the little boat just went out for just in case the truck would get in trouble. A very nice gesture!

Within a minute a second truck made it through, coming from the opposite direction. Soon enough a truck came from out side of the road and started to make it's way through, quickly followed by two cars. The truck stalled just before it started to get really deep and the two cars were caught out. One SUV could make it back in reverse but the other car got stuck as well and needed to be towed out.

I was just able to catch the children (!!) get out of the car and look at the shows floating inside the car, the whole interior flooded whilst they were out there!

Now my day was really made and I was already making plans to find a hotel and get some food. A couple of calls with my wife and friends of her who are from this area didn't help unfortunately and it was not looking too bright in chances of making it to Koh Lanta today so I could start the IDC tomorrow!

After a good 10 minutes the one police guy who initially suggested I travel through the flooded road came back and told me that if I would follow all the cars that were reversing, they would follow a road that wasn't flooded and would lead to the highway.

This was indeed the case and after about a 60 km detour and just one flooded are, see video above, we fin ally made about an hour later into Kanchanadit where I could get some diesel (!) at last, get something to eat and continue my travels for the day! Since Kanchanadit is more or less where the road to Krabi starts it was not too much time wasted. There was some heavy rain and very dark clouds on the way but also some dry patches. Around 4.20pm I finally made it on to Koh Lanta, slightly knackered but very happy to have made it in one piece!

Did I mention that it rains in Lanta?

The city of Nakhon Si Thammarat is heavily affected by today's flooding and Thai TV showed footage of search actions on one of Samui's beaches where a boy went missing in some big waves.

If you find my blog and updates useful, don't feel embarrassed by donating some beer money! Plenty of buttons do the trick here and if you want to book your hotels on Samui or in Thailand, please use the links provided. It all helps to keep this blog going!

See you tomorrow!

Camille

Samui style car parking!

Samui style car parking!

Driving around the island this week, I noticed some strange parking style habits amongst my fellow islanders.

The first one that got my attention was this car whose driver managed to wrap his car around an electricity pole 10 meters after a sharp, 90 degree angled curve in Plai Laem, not too far away from where I live. Now in itself that is not so hard to do, but to manage this within 10 meters of said curve is a rather astonishing feat.

This picture shows the angle of the wrap around.

This picture gives you an idea about the power that the pole had to deal with.

An overall idea how the car is positioned. It's pretty interesting to try to figure out how this happened. If this is your car, don't be shy, you can post anonymous and let us know how you managed to accomplish this!

A couple of days later, to be more accurately, today, I'm driving around Samui and I see this car parked in-between the Maenam post office wall and an electricity pole. What is it with electricity pole's this week?

As you can see in the picture, he missed a big, red letter post box and a telephone booth and he skidded across the road to park his car against traffic direction. Pretty astonishing!

It was a bit of a tight fir as this picture shows. Amazing talent out here on the road, but don't have yourself fooled, safety is not always an issue here!

The first car pictured here was moved away after a couple of days, this second car was moved later in the day, when I passed by again, I just know that the car wasn't there yesterday!

Safe travels.

Camille

Driving in Thailand

Driving in Thailand

It can be a real challenge, especially if you're not used to Thai rules and more importantly, the unofficial rules that you just need to pick up on. A lot of these unofficial rules can come in very handy and there's a website where I found a lot of good info, so sit down and kick back and have a good read with sometimes a possible smile on your face but keep in mind, this is how it is out there;



Rules & Regulations

• Drive on the left side of the road
• The legal age for driving cars is 18
• The legal age for riding a motorcycle up to 110cc is 15; 18 is the legal age for riding a motorcycle over 110cc
• It is compulsory for a driver to have their driving licence and a copy of the vehicle registration document (Blue Book, Lem Tabian)
• Valid Thai or International Driving Licences are accepted
• Every vehicle must have a tax sticker, which has to be renewed annually at the local Department of Land Transport Office(DLT)
• Every vehicle must have at least third party compulsory motor insurance, which has to be renewed annually at the local Department of Land Transport Office (DLT)
• It is compulsory to wear a seat belt in the front seats of a car. Fines for not wearing a seatbelt can be paid at the local police station
• Blood-alcohol limit is 0.5 mg
• Speeding fines must be paid at the local police station
• Vehicles with red registration plates are not permitted to drive at night
• From 7 May 2008 a driver may only use a mobile cellular telephone with a handsfree system

Other things to take into account when driving in Thailand:

• Flashing of headlights by other vehicles is a warning signal meaning "get out of my way" and does not indicate "you may make your manoeuvre", as it does in some Western countries
• Drivers of larger vehicles may assume that smaller vehicles will give way
• Always check for motorbikes when opening car doors on the side of the road as they frequently travel up the inside space between the road and the pavement
• It is not obligatory for children's car seats to be used
• Anyone wishing to change the colour of their car must inform the DLT who will change the details in the registration book
• A frequently used method of warning road users of a breakdown in the road ahead is to cover the road with tree branches

Traffic signs

Traffic signs - warning and regulatory - are in Thai. They may have English translations below the Thai names.

Types of Road

Roads in Thailand range from multi-lane freeways around Bangkok to tiny lanes (soi's). Frequently-used roads in the provinces are often four lanes. 

There is continual investment in upgrading or building new roads throughout Thailand making road works commonplace although frequent heavy rains means they can deteriorate quickly. Road works are not always clearly marked or lit at night. Some road markings can be worn badly and care has to be taken.

Road signs may have English translations below the Thai names.

Motorcycles

There are more motorcycles than any other vehicle type on Thai roads. Only a very basic test is required before a motorbike licence is issued and there are many accidents involving motorbikes; the figures for motorcycle deaths in Thailand are extremely high.

• Motorcycles are required to have a tax sticker and 3rd party insurance
• It is compulsory for the rider to wear a helmet and have a motorbike licence

Car drivers in Thailand should be prepared for some or all of the following to occur when driving near motorbikes.

• Riding on the wrong side of the road
• Ignoring stop signs
• Riding with many passengers
• Cutting across the front of a car without looking
• Not indicating direction of turning
• Quickly riding across the front of oncoming traffic at lights

Drink Driving (DWI/DUI)

The legal blood-alcohol limit in Thailand is 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood. However, for drivers that have held their licence for less than five years the limit is 0.2 grams per litre of blood. Drivers caught over the legal limit are heavily fined and may be imprisoned or required to do community service. The government is trying to reduce drink driving and breath testing stops are becoming more common.

On average 7.5 people are killed for every 10,000 vehicles on Thailand's roads, amounting to around 14,000 deaths annually in a typical year. National holidays are when drink driving is at its highest, with as many as 600 deaths during the three-day "Songkran" festival. Drivers should take extra care at these times.

Hope this was some useful information, be careful out there!

Camille

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

It's Bangkok's new international airport, also known as (New) Bangkok International Airport and is located in Racha Thewa in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan Province, about 25 km east of downtown Bangkok. The name Suvarnabhumi was chosen by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and refers to the golden kingdom hypothesised to have been located somewhere in Southeast Asia.

It's an abstract looking building with lots of glass and to me it looks fine. I loved the old airport, Don Muang, since leaving the planes there always meant arriving in Bangkok coming from the Netherlands. The intense heat accompanying you to the gate was a feeling I won't ever forget, it always felt like coming home. With Suvarnabhumi it's different, I only used this airport for domestic flights and now Samui airport feels like coming home since the last 11 years.

Right now there's a new rail link between the city and the airport, which apparently is open now for test runs but should officially open around April 2010 which in real live most likely will see an opening somewhere mid to late 2010. TIT or This is Thailand.

The inside of the airport is rather efficient, in my opinion. At the departure car lanes it's very well indicated where your flight carrier has it's check in rows and from leaving the car to entering the check in row can be a matter of just minutes if you get out at the right gate.

So far I enjoyed using Suvarnabhumi airport, despite the big controversy which surrounded the opening but I guess problems arise which each newly opened airport, see Charles de Gaulle in Paris and the extension of Heathrow in London.

If you're there, you may want to check out this location, at the passport control, where Paris' clock is conveniently located in Africa.

Safe travels.

Camille

Tarmac, here we come!

Tarmac, here we come!

Having reported earlier on the bad state and safety of the roads around Samui, there's some good news at last. Since about 6 months or maybe even longer, the Nathon beach road has received a tarmac surface.

Road construction between Lamai and Hua Thanon

This tarmac surface is now being extended all around the island and a start has been made between Hua Thanon and Lamai. Hopefully this tarmac layer will prevent the current potholes and cracks around the ring road and all secondary roads around the island.

It makes for a lovely driving experience and your car isn't bouncing along the roads anymore and on a bike you don't have to look out for potholes all the time. The only downside I can see is that because of the great surface, both cars and motorbikes will speed even more than they to currently do.

Other than, Tessabaan, congrats to a job well done and I seriously hope the progress on this project will continue as scheduled and somewhere next year the whole of the island has a nice tarmac layer!

Camille