Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update;; 5th June, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is enjoying some sunshine this morning and it's warm already very early in the morning with a current temp of 28C at 7am.

A wall of fish (fusiliers) at Sail Rock yesterday with great diving conditions

Yesterday saw a sunny day out on the ocean and a fairly cloudy day over Samui but it was still warm with a max temp of 33.2C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 4th June, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is partly cloudy this morning with a tendency to be more cloudy than blue right now. Current temp at 7am is 27C

Today I'm diving at Sail Rock, some beautiful pix are up at my dive blog

Yesterday started out nicely on Samui, around noon clouds came in and during the later afternoon and early evening there was some periods of rain. Max temp reached around 32.5C

Camille

Espana Boulevard Circa 2011

For years, Espana Boulevard has been an image of a city of denial. Denial that this main thoroughfare in the old district of Sampaloc is unsafe, deteriorating, hard to drive at night, no street lights and the bulwark of different kinds of bad elements. I remember early last year. I was driving past 10 pm on the way home. Espana Boulevard was not lighted that time, a man suddenly appeared in front of me running while crossing the road. I was shocked and the sudden step on the break almost smash my face on the wheel.

There were times, we're afraid of riding jeepneys that pass by along Espana, because 'robbery hold up' usually took place in the area near PNR railroad crossing. Robbers ran towards the slum area after robbing passengers at gunpoint. That was the main reason I developed a habit of riding a jeep at night in front of the passenger vehicle.

That was then. Espana of today is the exact opposite of the Espana of yesteryears. I was surprised to see the whole stretch of one of the oldest roads in the metropolis. It's been a while before I took this route again after getting used to taking the route of Ayala Boulevard-Magsaysay-Araneta Avenue and sometime Recto-Legarda-Magsaysay-Araneta. I hate traffic.

But last Wednesday, I decided to give it a try. At around 9:45 pm I passed through Quezon Underpass and turned right onto Lerma until I got to the west end of Espana. As soon as I approached Lerma and Espana junction, I got to see a change that I thought very peculiar for a district like Sampaloc. As we know, areas from Sampaloc to Mabuhay Rotunda are very outdated and no amount of attention from authorities seems to modernized it. But what I saw while on red signal is a sign of a very auspicious undertaking for the local government of Manila and a beautiful sight to behold for motorists and commuters. Lights. Very shining lights in the center island and in both sides of the old boulevard. But the lights are not your ordinary lights of any city streets. These ones are much like of those in the parkways. The railing of the center island is very noticeable, too.

The traffic lights turned green and I drove on, turning left on my subject street - Espana. And... WOW! I was ecstatic. Truly, a magnificent work of architectural engineering and landscaping. Espana Boulevard transformed! Now, this is what a boulevard should look like.

What struck me the most?

First off, the road widened and elevated. Unlike before, the whole stretch of this street was so narrow and somewhat immersed in the ground. I still remember the steps along the both sides of the road from Lerma to UST and even beyond Lacson Avenue. If you gotten off an automobile for example in front of UST, you needed to climb the steps to get to the sidewalk. Today, it's like a parkway where you can get in a vehicle from the sidewalk in a very convenient way.

Second, the entire center island has been changed beautifully to blend with the aesthetically designed lamp posts. The old barriers has been changed with ergo designed railings. I think, too much attention has been given to materials, style and costs of the entire center island rehabilitation.

Third, ultimately, the parts of the boulevard that compliment the lightings in the center island are the opposite sides of the boulevard which are now dotted with promenade lightings. Brighter than its counterparts in the middle of the boulevard.

I could still imaginge, prior to this rehabilitation, both sides of Espana are dark and eerie at night. One word to describe it is 'ugly'. Now, it's totally different. You couldn't help but feel relaxed when driving in the middle of this highly evolved boulevard in the off peak hour of the night when there are less traffic. With those very bright aesthetically designed lights come passing to your both sides, your stress will be lessen, that's for sure. I just wish the Espana Boulevard that I see while driving go beyond Welcome Rotunda and stretch up to Quezon Avenue and Timog. But the beautiful night sight on the road only lasts up to Welcome Rotunda. Needless to say, this is an amazing change.

Another major change that caught my attention is the lighted 'BABAAN AT SAKAYAN' stations located in strategic areas along the new Espana Boulevard. Each 'BABAAN AT SAKAYAN' or Loading and Unloading in English, is a complete package with the waiting shed full of lights to drive away robbers, holdapers and snatchers. An advertisement full of neon lights above the roof of each waiting shed is very eye-catching.

And the most amazing part of the image change of the whole Espana Boulevard that capped it all is the construction of plant boxes on both sides of the road. Now landscaped, Espana can now be considered boulevard in the real sense of the word. This is what I mean when we say living up to your name.

Sad to say, this post about Espana Boulevard transformation might soon become a diary of once famed street. In our metropolis, all improvements don't stand the test of times. Its inhabitants always play the lead role of the culprit in havocking the environment - both man-made and God-given. As what happened to the railings in the center islands in front of the Metropolitan Theater which by now are broken and with large parts missing, slowly part by part, piece by piece, the integral body of this boulevard will be eaten by those this project is built for.

It is saddening to know that some of the inhabitants of this city always think on how much money would earn for them a kilo of an iron or light fitting they forcibly stripped and detached from a roadway. After all, in a third world country stomach comes first before the surroundings. In this regard, I sincerely wish there were agencies of National Government with the only task of looking after these projects for the Filipino people. After all, these are people's money which constructed them. Anyway, I am sure the maintenance and longevity of this amazing project will be taken care of the present administration of the city of Manila. The question is... Who will do the job after the term of the current Mayor - horable Mayor Alfredo Lim? Well, look what happened to the railings of Quezon Boulevard in front of Metropolitan Theater.

I also wish local authorities who built this project can also provide some measures to safeguard long term existence of this very well thought and masterfully designed project. Even this early, we could see signs of things to come that await this project. Vandalisms are already visible in some waiting sheds like this one in this photo.



Whatever happens, this boulevard will go down in the history of city planning as one of the most if not the most improved roadway in Metro Manila of 2011.

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 3rd June, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui's sky is beaming again and is showing off plenty of blue sky this morning. Another promise of a hot day! Current temp at 7am is 27.6C

Sun set during late May at the Big Buddha area

Yesterday saw an overcast morning with plenty of sunshine later during the day, it was hot and sticky on Samui. In the evening, between 9pm and 10pm it rained very hard and cooled things off a bit. Max temp reached 32.8C

Camille

Welcome to June 2011

Welcome to June 2011

June is usually a very nice month, with warm weather and some occasional, tropical rain showers. This means that the showers are short and possibly intense but that in no time the roads are dry again after the rain. Besides 2007, that's how the last three years were.

This is going to be an exciting month, come 12th June I'm planning to run my first half marathon during the Phuket Laguna International marathon and my run will be a fund raiser for Ocean Protection as part of Project Aware.

Straight after the Phuket (half) marathon I'll be off to Gili Air in Indonesia again for teaching a PADI IDC.

Looking forward to your visits and comments and don't forget to book your hotels through my Samui hotel recommendation blog and Thailand hotel recommendation blog!

Camille

Chumphon

Phuket is our home and that's not likely to change, but my wife and I do like other parts of Southern Thailand too. Phang Nga has some great scenery which we like to explore, and we love to go and relax at Khao Sok in the hills. But when there is time we head over to the east coast of Thailand, in particular to Chumphon and Prachuap Khiri Khan. From our house it's just under 400km to Chumphon, driving via Phang Nga and Surat Thani. Normally takes about 5 hours drive at a sensible speed.



We've been this way many times. I first went there more than 10 years ago. My wife first saw Chumphon in 1976 on the day she was born - yes, Chumphon (ชุมพร) is her home town. Our daughter was born in Chumphon too - we were living in Phuket at the time but my wife wanted the family around. At that time, 9 years ago, the family lived near the center of town, a short walk from the railway station in a house by the river. When my wife was young they used to swim in the river and the town was less built up. By the time I first went, a small road near the house was being used as a shortcut from town to the main highway.. add in some trains and occasional longtail boats on the river, and I recall some nights staying there with not much sleep!

The Family



This post is not meant to be an autobiography, but .. a few lines about my in-laws. Meeting the in-laws is a strange experience at any time. Will they like me? My wife was a little worried about them meeting me. The family is quite traditional. Her dad was a police officer. When I first saw him, he was in uniform... but we broke the ice by drinking a few beers and singing karaoke (I seem to recall CCR and The Scorpions). Later my wife told me he never normally drinks. That was his way of welcoming me, since I drink like a fish! That is the only time I have ever seen him tipsy. I saw him have one glass of beer one other time at a birthday party. I was glad to be welcome. The family is great. The photo above shows old family portraits - that's my father in-law's grandfather and grandmother and his mother.

And here are the in-laws! My wifes Mum and Dad are great, very kind people.





Both photos above taken while eating out by the beach. Chumphon town is not on the beach. There is another town nearby called Pak Nam Chumphon which is the fishing port, and there are 2 nice beaches not too far away. About 15km North West is "Cabana Beach", real name Thung Wua Laen Beach, probably the nicer one, has some accommodation, has quite a lot of restaurants and the last 2 times we have visited, we have been to play pool at a very funky little bar run by Pak and Pippa, a Thai/English couple. Pak speaks English like a Cockney. The bar is called "Funky's Beach Bar". And it's for places like this that I like Chumphon - a good break from the far more developed world of Phuket. I am sure Phuket had funky little thatch-roof beach bars 25 years ago. Chumphon has it now. Get it while it's hot. I'll have to take a photo of the place next time!



The other beach is Sairee Beach, about 20km South East of Town, just south of Pak Nam Chumphon. Sairee is nice too, quite scenic with some small islands offshore, and we spent quite a bit of time here last visit. My wife's sister got married recently and her husband's family has a house here on the beach. Well, I say house, more like a small mansion! Only just completed and not fully furnished yet, but damn nice! There are restaurants here too. The water in the Gulf of Thailand and on the east coast beaches does tend to be a bit less idyllic and blue compared to the west coast, but I can see the area developing over the next 20 years. Chumphon has a small airport, it's on the main road and train line from Bangkok too. The town has developed over the last 10 years. For the better? Is a Tesco Lotus store and a Carrefour a good thing?





Also at Sairee Beach is a place of pilgrimage - the shrine to the "Prince of Chumphon", real name Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, whose father was King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). The prince studied naval warfare in England and is known as the "Father of the Royal Thai Navy". Many people come here to say a prayer. The shrine overlooks Sairee Beach and below the shrine is an old Thai Navy boat which can be climbed all over, much to the enjoyment of our kids.



(above) Our daughter on the deck guns of the boat at Sairee beach. And below - my dear wife's eye looking through a gun emplacement on the boat.



Chumphon has one thing that Phuket does not have - trains! You can get a train from Chumphon to Bangkok or even through to Malaysia. The station is small, close to the center of town and railway buffs will love it :)



Outside the station on the road into town are some old locomotives. The photo below could have been taken in 1940. Or 2009.



The family does not live in town any more. Dad retired from the police a few years ago, and they bought a new house in a new development just out of town. Very quiet but just 10 minutes drive into the center. Chumphon Town is quite a bit smaller than Phuket Town, and (so far) it's not a boom town. We have seen changes in the last few years with new houses and shopping centers, but Chumphon does not have a tourist industry. Chumphon is a lot more traditional and "olde worlde" compared to Phuket, and the cost of living is certainly cheaper. We might end up living there some day.



(above) in the main market in Chumphon town.

Mostly when we go to Chumphon we just hang around, chill out, we're there for some family time. We have been a bit further North to Prachuap Khiri Khan a few times - my wife has family there too. Also a very nice area. And it's less than 2 hours drive to Ranong - we visited some hot springs there this year. The road between Chumphon and Ranong has some great views. The best is surely the one below - a hill called Khao Fa Chi. Wow.



Around Chumphon, we like to explore - just as we do in Phuket, take some back roads and see what we find! There are also some more obvious things to see.



This Big Buddha is right by the main highway about 15km south of Chumphon. It's just on a slight hill, enough to look across to the ocean to the east. Nice place to stop.

One time, we took a longer drive, about 50km south, then another 50km west to a place called Phato, up in the hills where the Langsuan river winds it's way from source towards the Gulf of Thailand. My wife's sister's husband arranged it, I had no idea what to expect - a great day out rafting on the river!





And sometimes we just stay home. The new house has something that looks like a canal next to it, though its actually a very long, thin pond. And it does have some fish. Below - our son fishing with my wife's sister's boyfriend (she has 2 sisters).



I went to Chumphon for Songkran this year, first time I had been there for this festival. It was very nice to be part of the family at this time of year. Songkran is well known for all the water throwing and partying, but there is also the traditional Songkran, and the ceremony called "Rod Nam Dam Hua" - see photo below - is very important, where the younger generation wash the hands of their elders.



Chumphon is like my second home in Thailand. I still have a photo in my wallet - my wife and I on Thung Wua Laen Beach, a long time ago on my first visit to Chumphon before we had a family of our own. And who knows.. we might go and live there one day. We love Phuket, but we're also very fond of Chumphon!

More info on Chumphon:

• Chumphon Hotels
• Songkran 2011 in Chumphon

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 2nd June 2011

Today's weather;

Samui has overcast this morning with a current temp of 26.3C

Choengmon road towards Chaweng, almost 5 years ago. On the corner of the building under construction is an almost obligatory 7-11 nowadays

Yesterday saw a cloudy morning with some more sunshine during the afternoon around Samui, only to be followed up by more clouds and a few rain drops. Max temp reached 33.3C

Camille