BEST TRAVEL PLACE: July 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

1st August, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is covered in clouds today, a fairly heavy layer actually and I wouldn't expect too much sun today. Current temp at 7am is 27.3C

Yesterday saw a sunny day with a max temp of 33.5C

The demonstration around the island yesterday against oil drilling off Samui's coast didn't go unnoticed in the rest of the country and the two major English speaking papers in Thailand wrote articles about the demonstration. The Bangkok Post article is very informative and explains how a legal court battle is in the making and actually may have a chance of walking away with victory, The Nation's article is just a report of the demo on Samui.

Camille

Friday, July 30, 2010

Protest demo against oil drilling in the Gulf of Thailand

As already reported earlier this week with a text message and a photo post, today was the big day for the demonstration around Samui's ring road.

Due to various reasons I couldn't have a loom until shortly after 10am, the demo being scheduled to be held between 10am and noon. I only covered a short distance, between Tesco Lotus in Chaweng and the post office in Maenam.

Some places were really crowded, especially in front of hotels or resorts but in-between there were plenty of long and empty stretches. The kids in the picture above even had custom made t-shirts!

It was nice to see many people involved though and being rather enthusiastic, both Thai and Western. Above shows school kids from the Bophud government school.

It seemed to be well organised and cars with loud speakers were making the rounds, keeping everyone involved. There were also thousands of little flags distributed in two languages (Thai and English) asking to stop the drilling.

All in all it seemed to be a rather successful event with many participants, which is always good to see. Although my expectations of being able to stop the drill are not that positive, this was a well organised event.

Camille

Goodbye to July 2010

It's that time of the month again, July 2010 is about to leave us, welcome to August 2010.

Before we completely wrap up this July however, a few remarks;

The weather was good this month, for a July. We had the usual July rain showers but they were mainly during the evenings or nights and Koh Samui was and is in dire needs for rain. There was also some strong wind again but this is also pretty standard for a July and we even had a mini storm. All in all, if you were on Samui for a holiday during this 2010 version of July, you should've had plenty of sunshine. The 2009 and 2008 versions were slightly wetter, it seems when I'm looking back at the archives.

It was also a busy month on a personal note with my sister and her family and a very good friend visiting during this month. There are also a few blog readers that visited the island during this month, a big thanks goes out to all of you who regularly visit my blog, it's appreciated.

My sister stayed at the Chaweng Cove Resotel for a second year in a row with the second year in a row being satisfied with the price/waht's on offer ratio. The food is unfortunately nothing to write home about but that left us with plenty of choices to eat outdoors and this month saw visits to plenty of my fave restaurants on the island; Le Café des Arts, Il Duomo and Prego for some great pizza and Italian food, Catcantoo for it's famous spare ribs, SITCA after their cooking attempts, MK Suki in Chaweng (oops, Catcantoo is in Bang Rak!), Sabeinglae in Lamai, Angela's in Maenam and plenty of other places where I go each month, the small Thai eateries like the Dcheed 2 with it's great Saté muu, Clock Lana and the Kao Man Gai place in Lamai.

Lots of outdoors eating this month and good times were had by all of us.

This month saw also two highly popular posts, one with pictures of one of the speedboats involved in last months Full Moon Party collision, I must admit, the pix do look intimidating and interestingly enough, two people who were on the boats involved found my blog and commented and spoke about their experiences.

The other popular post was about pictures of the damage done after we had a real storm roaring over our island for a couple of hours, although the damage was rather marginal.

On to another topic, posts from bloggers around Thailand that I found worth reading this month and who I can highly recommend to you, have a read through their respective posts and visit their blogs, there's some interesting stuff out there;

For starters Rick's blog about Thailand and a post in which he sees the countries tourism on the mend again.

Martyn always looks beyond the Mango juice and is a regular in Isaarn, this time with a post of Udon Thani's night market, well worth checking out, first of all I love (night) markets in the LOS and Udon is a great city on top of that as well.

Boonsong, the new kid on the bloggers block likes screamers and thinks that males make the most noise.

Andy has two great blogs, one about all provincial and legal news, a most interesting blog and he writes about a frustrating mission impossible of finding museum brochures and his other blog is about a lesser or unseen Thailand and he really knows how to find those unseen spots, like this museum in Yannawa.

Jamie in Phuket has the real inside info on Thailand's biggest island (is it still really an island if it's connected by a bridge to the mainland?) where he just did a photo walk with his daughter and he also has one of the other few weather blogs in Thailand, the Phuket version! A true brother in weather crime ;-)

Monique is a Limburger, just like me and is residing on Samui just like me, she's a great photographer however, unlike me. Here's a cool shot of a monk taking care of a dog.

Jungle Girl on Koh Phangan has a touching story about a small and young Burmese girl trying to make a living on Phangan's beaches.

Malcolm is retired in Thailand and claims to love it! Can you believe that! Here's a great post how their little home transformed into their castle in the boonies near Kanchanaburi and the lessons he learned about the local customs. The boonies are called Whang Pho by the way.

Talen has a fantastic blog about Thailand and in this post he talks about the news over one week with interesting stuff about a Thai good looking violinist turning Olympic athlete to the shooting of a new movie in Thailand; the Hangover part 2.

Lawrence lives in the Isaarn metropole of Phana and gives us a recipe of the most important Nam Prik Thai relish, something each Thai should know how to make and now you can try it as well.

Mike of formerly My Thai Friend now blogs under the name of Thailand blogs and has a great post about a fascinating aspect of Thai culture, Thailand's obsession with uniforms; everybody who's got a job probably has a uniform to go with it!

Steve of Thailand Musings fame has an interesting read about Songthaews, the red pick up cabs with the open but covered (DUH?) rears you see all over Thailand. Click on the link to see a picture so it all makes sense again. My father in law on Samui used to have one of these Songthaews.

Ben, our own Thai pirate talks about the harsh realities in Thailand of owning pets and how they can get bitten by poisonous snakes.

Well, I wonder if you made it all the way down here, usually my posts are not so big or long but thanks for dropping by and I hope to be seeing you all again next month.

Camille

31st July, 2010

Today's weather;

There's a cloud layer hanging over Samui but it looks like the sun may break through later today. Current temp at 7am is 26.7C

Don't forget about the protest against the oil drilling today, between 10am and noon on the ring road.

Yesterday saw a warm day with plenty of sunshine, it wasn't until the evening that we had some rain. Max temp reached 32.8C

Camille

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Stop Oil Drilling around Samui

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow between 10am and 12 or noon the effort will be made to make a human chain by a minimum number of 35,000 local residents (including those from Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Tao and Suratthani) and visitors (including foreigners who are sympathetic to the cause) by linking hands forming a continuous human chain along Koh Samui’s 52-kilometre long ring-road. Read here to see my previous post on this topic.

Signs are at various locations around the island

Camille

30th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's slightly cloudy with some blue spots out and about over Samui. Current temp at 7am is 26C

Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine but around 5pm there was a serious shower for about an hour. Max temp reached 30.9C

Camille

Farewell Bali Island!

Today is our last day at Bali Island. Our flight back to Singapore was on 12.55pm. During check out from the Harris Kuta Resort, we witnessed this Flying Fox activity in the resort! And it was fun! Haha!

The string was from the roof of fourth floor of the building all the way to the poolside. I saw this little young child slide down with Full of excitement and satisfaction on her face! :)

There were preparing for the kid at the fourth floor of the Resort

Ready? 1...2...3...GO!

Look at her exciting face! haha!

The staffs from the resort were help her to got down from the string at the end

After settle everything from the resort, we headed to Ngurah Rai International Airport to catch our flight! The 5 days at was passed too fast! We enjoyed the trip, the peoples, the nature and the foods of Bali! Yes, we will be back probably in the year 2011. Bali, we miss you!

Bali 5 days 4 nights trip :-
* My Bali Trip on June 2010 (D1)
* Harris Resort at Kuta, Bali (D1)
* Made's Warung at Kuta Beach Road (Jalan Pantai Kuta), Kuta - Bali (D1)
* Babi Guling (Suckling pig) of Warung Ibu Oka at Ubud town, Bali (D2)
* Palace opposite Warung Ibu Oka at Ubud, Bali (D2)
* Tegallalang Rice Terrace at North Ubud Town, Bali (D2)
* Kintamani and Mount Batur at North Bali, Indonesia (D2)
* Fruit Stall around Kintamani area, Bali (D2)
* BAS Coffee Farm at Bali, Indonesia (D2)
* TJ's Mexican Bar and Restaurant at Kuta, Bali (D2)
* The Kuta Beach of Bali, Indonesia (D3)
* Pura Taman Ayun (Temple) at Mengwi, Bali - Indonesia (D3)
* Strawberry Park at Candikuning beside Beratan Lake - Bali, Indonesia (D3)
* Pura Ulun Danau (Temple) at Bratan Lake, Bali (D3)
* Pacung Indah Hotel And Restaurant at Bali (D3)
* One of the Famous Balinese Seven Sea Temples - Tanah Lot Temple of Bali (D3)
* Bebek Bengil - The Dirty Duck Diner at Ubud, Bali (D3)
* The Legian Street (Jalan) at Kuta, Bali (D3)
* Bali Collection at Nusa Dua, Bali (D4)
* Garuda Wisnu Kencana at Bukit Peninsula of Bali, Indonesia (D4)
* Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Temple) at South Bali, Indonesia (D4)
* Lia Cafe Seafood Restaurant at Jimbaran Bay, Bali (D4)
* Our Bali Humble Driver - Mr Agoes (D4)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Coffee shop in Lamai

Imagine just a small shop that serves basic coffee and lots of different teas and all kind of variations of Thai tea. Well, it's there, in Lamai and to be exactly next to Lamai's Tesco Lotus and one of my favourite Lamai restaurants, the Kao Man Gai Hai Lam restaurant, which is run by relatives of Puu, the Samui born owner of the coffee shop.

After yesterday's start of my Food on Wheels series with a shot of a coffee vendor, I'm back to coffee again today, considering I'm not a big coffee drinker, rather coincidental.

Puu, the owner of the shop is a very nice person and easy to talk with. He worked for a long time as NGO in Trang with marine ecology issues. If you're interested in his place, it's available for rent if you're looking for a shop.

Coffee and all tea is only 20,-THB per cup and is made on the spot in these interesting little boiler machines. Just don't expect any fancy coffee, it's straightforward coffee and comes in one make, tasty and strong however!

The shop has a good atmosphere and feel to it and if you're in Lamai or go shopping in Lotus there, top by and have some Kao Man Gai and a cup of coffee from Puu.

Go there as long as it lasts, before you know it Puu has found somebody who wants to rent his place.

Camille

29th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy and slightly grey right now over Samui but dry with a current temp at 7am of 25.3C.

Yesterday saw a great and hot day with plenty of sunshine. Around 7pm though it started to rain with some thunder and flashes thrown in and the rain stayed around for a few hours. Max temp reached 34.2C

Camille

The Phuket Photo Walk 2010

Last Saturday (24th July) was the date for the 3rd annual Worldwide Photo Walk, an event which aims to get photographers out snapping pictures of their home towns, all on the same day. According to the website, this year there were over 1,000 walks and a total of over 33,000 registered walkers. I took part in the 2009 walk in Phuket, and signed up for 2010. Last year I had been worried that everyone on the walk would be a super pro with 5,000 dollar cameras, but was happy to see all kinds of people and all kinds of cameras. Part of the idea is to get people to see their town in a different way. You can walk the same street a thousand times, but if you go down the same street with a camera and open your eyes, in the company of other people with cameras, you might just see things in a new light!

In 2009 there were at least 40 people on the Phuket walk, so I was surprised to see less this year. Only about 15 or 20 people met at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Yeh, the weather may have been to blame. Morning had been wet, did not look promising, but I was determined to be there with my daughter who was 9 years old that day and was equipped with her birthday present, a new Sony Cybershot - her first camera. As it turned out the weather held off. Not sunny, but no rain. Of course the real reason for meeting at that hotel was this:

Sexy girls holding tools.. don't tell the wife. My daughter thought I was silly to take a photo of the sign. We met the other walkers inside Cafe 154, a rather nice coffee shop which is part of the hotel. Good coffee and a huge selection of cakes. I got my daughter a doughnut while our walk leader Kim started to explain about the walk. I think the idea is to walk around in a group, but everyone left before the doughnut was finished, so me and my girl headed off alone.

The Royal Phuket City Hotel is on Phang Nga road, opposite the bus terminal, just a couple of blocks or about half a mile east of the old town which was to be the focus of the photo walk. The exact boundaries of the old town are hard to define, there are older buildings all over town, but in particular Thalang Road and Soi Romanee, which have recently had all overhead cables removed, are of most interest to photographers. The cable removal scheme is due to step up a gear starting next month with other roads around the old town being made cable free. The area just east of the old town has rather more modern buildings and "attractions" ...

We soon reached Thalang Road which is great for photography, day or night. There are small interesting shops, cafes and houses, and with the old "Sino Portugese" style architecture and with many of the businesses being run by old Phuket families, the area retains an old feel. One guy showed us around his hardware store, in the center of which was his house, old style around a courtyard with old teak furniture. He said the business had been started by his grandfather. There are many well kept houses around Thalang Road. The area is looked after by the Phuket Old Town Foundation which is headed by a big local family who also own the Butterfly Garden. Other members include the head of the Chinese Thai Hua school and the Mayor of Phuket who we met a bit later on...

(above) This is an old printers shop on Thalang Road. I'd like to go back and take some more photos. The printing presses look old. No computers or laser printers here - this place is all about printing by hand, old style. Thalang road has many interesting shops and businesses.

Soi Romanee is the most photographed street in town. It's a narrow street that heads north off Thalang Road to the Mongkhon Nimit temple. It is said that the street used to be full of whorehouses in the old days. Now there are several small cafes, at least one small guesthouse and other private houses. Most of the buildings have been painted up, all the overhead wires are gone, and a lot of that is thanks to Mr Puchong who is a lawyer and owns the Glastnost Cafe. Very nice man. My daughter and I stopped to say hello and found Alasdair (another photo walker) there also. Mr Puchong very kindly made us some excellent Vietnamese coffee.

There will be monthly live Jazz sessions again at Glastnost in the high season starting in November - we went one time earlier this year and we'll go again so I can blog it! As we left the cafe (after all, can't sit around drinking coffee all day! There are photos to be taken!) we met the Mayor of Phuket City, Somjai Suwansupana who stopped to talk to Mr Puchong. My daughter snapped a photo:

Now, I could walk around all day, but my poor girl was getting tired. We stopped for some food at a little restaurant next door to the "Oldest Herb Shop in Phuket". Took some photos first of course. This shop is great. The smells are wonderful. Many Chinese believe in the powers of herbal medicine. I reckon if you walk in there and take a deep breath it might cure a few ills! The owner kind of posed for a photo...

Now, the restaurant next door, where we ate our fried rice, has a secret. The restaurant is on Thalang Road, but if you ask nicely, they will let you walk out the back door, through the stores and you enter the Shrine of the Serene Light, the main entrance to which is up a narrow alley (now being widened) on Phang Nga Road just west of the On On Hotel. It's a lovely little shrine, one of many Chinese Shrines in town, but this one is well hidden!

Well, it was time to head back to the cafe for the post walk gathering.. only half a mile to walk but some little feet were getting tired, so for the first time since Lord knows when, I hailed a tuk tuk. Braced myself for some crazy price to be given for the very short ride, but he only asked 60 Baht and was so friendly and smiley that I gave him 100. If only tuk tuks could be like this at the beaches...

Oh, you can find lots more photos of the walk here:

• Phuket Photo Walk 2010 - 35 photos on Flickr (set)
• Slideshow on Flickr

Back at Cafe 154 for a cold draft Heineken and some chat. Maybe there will be another local walk for photographers next month, Kim suggests Koh Sirey fishing port, early morning. If you want to know more, please do ask! This Phuket walk was very nice for me to walk around with my daughter. I am sure there will be another official walk next year in July, but anytime is good for a walk around Phuket Town.

Related blog pages:

• Phuket Photo Walk 2009
• Phuket Old Town Street Festival
• Glastnost Cafe on Soi Romanee
• Thai Hua School Museum

Food on Wheels; Coffee on the road

Here's the start of a new series that I would like to introduce; Food on Wheels.

As all regular visitors to Thailand or if you live here, you know that food is never really far away in Thailand. Even in remote areas, somebody will drive by on a bike or sam lor (three wheeler) selling something to eat. Samui is no exception to this and just like the rest of Thailand will present itself with plenty of photo opportunities. Each week I'll try to put a picture up of some kind of food or food related item and they will all have one thing in common, they come on wheels!

Today's entry is near my son's school in Chaweng and is a cute little mini motorbike attached to a sidecar on which coffee is sold and various other drinks, like Thai tea. Amazing from my Western point of view and I love it!

Hope you will enjoy the pictures of this new series.

Camille

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

28th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy again on Samui but dry. Current temp at 7 am is 26C.

Yesterday was a dry day to my surprise and the last two days were actually rather nice, nothing like how they were predicted. Max temp reached 31.1C

Camille

Our Bali Humble Driver - Mr Agoes

We were hired a driver cum tour guide during our Bali's trip. I found this information from the Tripadvisor.com. The person I contacted was Mr Agung Wijaya, and we decided to choose him because of the speedy respond through email and VERY reasonable charges.

I decided to blog about this because this was our last day at Bali and the driver (Mr Agoes) who made our Wonderful Trip will not pick us tomorrow to airport. It will be replace by another driver because he gonna drive another group of visitors tomorrow...

When we reached the Ngurah Rai International Airport of Bali (Day1), Mr Agoes (assigned by Mr Agung Wijaya) had waiting for us at the arrival hall. I found this guy was friendly and humble! His friendly smile is always on his face! Great!

During our 5 days 4 nights Bali's trip, he was really helpful on our request, all of us believe he made our Pleasant Holiday! Yes, without this responsible driver...we might not really enjoy the whole trip! He was very puncture on every morning during the pickup at our resort, not even late for 1 minute!

Along the journey, he was knowledgeable to explained about the history of the places we visited and walked with our group. Especially during our visit to Uluwatu Temple, he was holding the tree branch to protect us from the naughty monkeys and he even carried the 2 children who were too tired to walked back! The children Like him very much! He was GREAT!

Mr Agoes and the Suzuki APV

I was regretted that I didn't take the handsome photo of Mr Agung Wijaya...! :(

I will STRONGLY recommend this driver to all my friends who intend to visit Bali! You will never regret! So, please contact the boss - Mr Agung Wijaya now if you are going to have a vacation at Bali Island!

Mr Agung Wijaya (recommended Bali's Driver)

URL : http://mydriverinbali.blogspot.com/

Email : agung_wijaya25@yahoo.com
Mobile phone : + 62 - 81 353 085 225

Bali 5 days 4 nights trip :-
* My Bali Trip on June 2010 (D1)
* Harris Resort at Kuta, Bali (D1)
* Made's Warung at Kuta Beach Road (Jalan Pantai Kuta), Kuta - Bali (D1)
* Babi Guling (Suckling pig) of Warung Ibu Oka at Ubud town, Bali (D2)
* Palace opposite Warung Ibu Oka at Ubud, Bali (D2)
* Tegallalang Rice Terrace at North Ubud Town, Bali (D2)
* Kintamani and Mount Batur at North Bali, Indonesia (D2)
* Fruit Stall around Kintamani area, Bali (D2)
* BAS Coffee Farm at Bali, Indonesia (D2)
* TJ's Mexican Bar and Restaurant at Kuta, Bali (D2)
* The Kuta Beach of Bali, Indonesia (D3)
* Pura Taman Ayun (Temple) at Mengwi, Bali - Indonesia (D3)
* Strawberry Park at Candikuning beside Beratan Lake - Bali, Indonesia (D3)
* Pura Ulun Danau (Temple) at Bratan Lake, Bali (D3)
* Pacung Indah Hotel And Restaurant at Bali (D3)
* One of the Famous Balinese Seven Sea Temples - Tanah Lot Temple of Bali (D3)
* Bebek Bengil - The Dirty Duck Diner at Ubud, Bali (D3)
* The Legian Street (Jalan) at Kuta, Bali (D3)
* Bali Collection at Nusa Dua, Bali (D4)
* Garuda Wisnu Kencana at Bukit Peninsula of Bali, Indonesia (D4)
* Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Temple) at South Bali, Indonesia (D4)
* Lia Cafe Seafood Restaurant at Jimbaran Bay, Bali (D4)

Monday, July 26, 2010

27th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's very cloudy this morning over Samui and rain is in the air although it's still dry at the moment but with relative strong winds. Current temp at 7am is 26C.

Today, the day following Asarnha Bucha Day is the Buddhist Lent Day, which is known in Thailand as Wan Kao Pansa. Tonight the Wientian ritual where you walk around the temple with a candle is about to happen but the forecasts predict rain around that time.

Yesterday lots of rain were predicted but only a trace materialised. It was overcast all day long though and the max temp went up to the thirties Celsius again, to be precise; 30.3C

Camille

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Asarnha Bucha Day

Todays is Asarnha Bucha day, one of the most sacred days in Buddhism;

"Asarnha Bucha" means paying homage and worshiping on the day identified according to the Lunar calendar during the eighth month. In the Pali language, ‘Asanha’ is the name of the eighth month.

In Thailand, Asarnha Bucha Day (Asanha Puja Day) is one of the government holidays or the public holidays. This day is particularly one of the most sacred days in Buddhism. It is a Buddhist festival which typically takes place in July, on the fifteenth day of the waxing moon of the eighth lunar month.

It commemorates the day on which Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon called “the Dhammachakapavattana Sutta” to his first five chief disciples at the Deer Park in Benares more than two thousand five hundred years ago.

In the Buddha’s first sermon, there are mainly four great truths which lead to Nirvana and are the foundation doctrines of Buddhism:

1. Sorrow- All things are a source of suffering from the constant cycle of birth, disease, old age and death.

2. Cause of sorrow- Desire or the inability to obtain what one desires is the cause of suffering resulting from cause and effect.

3. Cessation of sorrow- Freedom from suffering can be obtained after the complete cessation of desire.

4. Paths to the cessation of sorrow- The last of the Four Noble Truths is the Middle Way or the path between extremes of asceticism and indulgence leading to the eliminating of desire. The Eight-Fold Path consists of possessing the correct:

Views, Resolve, Speech, Conduct, Livelihood, Effort, Mindfulness, and Meditation or (Concentration).

One of the Buddha’s first five disciples asked for being a monk. Therefore, the day also marks the beginning of the worship of the Triple Gems. That is, this day is sacred because it deals with the Lord Buddha (Buddha), His Teachings (Dharma), and His Disciples (Sangha).

Normally, Asarnha Bucha Day happens one day just before the Buddhist Lent Day; that is, the day following Asarnha Bucha Day is the Buddhist Lent Day, which is known in Thailand as Wan Kao Pansa.

In this holy day, Buddhists all over the country observe the day by presenting offerings to the monks (to make merit), listening to the sermons, and performing ritual prayers. In addition, there are many activities in the family during this holiday such as cleaning the house and setting up an altar for religious ceremonies. Family members sometimes discuss problems in the family by taking the middle way as a guiding principle to abstain from sin and reduce the way of ruin. Also, they practice the Dharma in the temple, observe the precepts, pray to the triple gem, listen to the sermons and join a candle procession around the temple.

For the candle procession, several institutions like schools and universities, including public and private organizations organize a colorful candle procession leading to a temple where the offering of the candles will be made. In the evening, the Wientian ritual ceremony takes place in Buddhist temples around the country. Many people go to nearby temples bringing candles, flowers, and joss sticks completing three trips walking around the temple area sacred grounds.

Thailand is considered to be the first country of all the Buddhist countries which establishes the observance of Asarnha Bucha Day. The religious day is declared to be a Buddhist public holiday in Thailand up to the present time.

By Ajarn Harinfah Rongwiriyaphanich

26th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy but dry on Samui at the moment although the forecasts predict lots of rain today. Current temp at 7am is 26.2C

Yesterday saw two storms, a big one in the morning and one around 3pm. Although there were fierce winds, the amount of rain that came down wasn't that much. There was however a massive temperature drop, max temp reached 'only' 28.7C, the first time since a while that the temperature during the day didn't go over 30C. This may also be good news for the coral bleaching that's going on all over South East Asia, but particular here in Thailand, since the water temperature might drop, high water temperatures being the cause of the bleaching.

Camille

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Aftermath of today's storm over Samui

As already reported in my daily weather update earlier today, with a picture of a coconut tree in full wind, today we had a bit of a storm sweeping over Samui.

Yesterday we had a bit of a prelude with a 10 minute freak storm, today the storm lasted well over an hour, closing in on two hours.

Many roads had all kind of debris on the surface, mainly coconut leaves that fell of the trees. A lot of cleaning up on the various was in progress or had already finished.

A couple of up rooted trees were to be admired as well. Too bad this one managed to miss the jet skis in the back ground.

Here's an older but still or there for up rooted tree. Plenty of ugly commercial road signs were blown over here as well.

In Bang Rak this boat has sunk and it's a fairly big one. Most boats took shelter in a different bay, guess some never learn. No boats were beached this time around though, like last year when La Fortune and a few speedboats stranded, almost to the day!

This small boat was sitting just in the middle of the surf and was popping up and down like mad, it just needed a few meters to go in front of the surf to be fine. Phone calls were being made when I took the picture to sort it out.

All in all, Choengmon and Bang Rak seemed to be doing just fine and most people just carried on as usual or were cleaning up. I wonder if there's a lot of damage on the rest of the island.

The weather forecast predicts even stronger winds later today and tomorrow, after Tuesday it eases up again.

Camille

25th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy on Samui and the forecast predicts lots of rain tonight and tomorrow after which it will clear up a lot. Current temp at 7am is 27.7C

Right now, around 8am there's once more a very strong storm raging with very high wind speeds.

Today's storm raging, the coconut tree's leaves are all in one direction due to the wind.

Yesterday it looked like rain but more than a trace never materialized. Around noon there was a 10 minute freak storm that blew everything around that wasn't connected to the house or earth and in the evening it actually turned out really nice with bits of sunshine. Max temp reached 31.8C

Camille

Major Cineplex in Tesco Lotus in Chaweng

Going to the movies on Samui, Major Cineplex in Tesco Lotus in Chaweng is the place to go. I must admit that I completely overlooked this option for having something to do during the day or early evening time. Major Cineplex has outlets all over Thailand.

The Major Cineplex in Tesco Lotus in Chaweng is located directly next to the Bowling alley at Lotus, near the food court. It's only the second time I visit the movie theatres here, mainly due to not having time due the kids. Now, at last, I remembered the movies and realised we can visit them during school time!

It's also a great place to bring the kids in the weekends!

Going to movies is really cheap, the most expensive ticket is around 160,-THB and for that you sit in a reclining seat with adjustable arm rests with cup holders! A bargain, really.

A nice touch is that you need to stand up when a special song for His Majesty the King is played.

No kidding, don't forget to do this, the whole theatre will stand up and you can get arrested for Lèse majesté if you don't follow suit. This has happened before in Thailand and is considered a grave offense to the King and has severe penalties. Thailand is one of the few countries in the world that actively uses the Lèse majesté laws, but is a topic for a different post.

There are three theatres in Samui so plenty of movies to choose from. For a rainy day or just to cool off on a hot day, the Major Cineplex is a great place to visit. Be sure to wear long trousers and a warm shirt since sitting in a very cold air conditioned room for over two hours in shirts and Tee shirt will be an unpleasant experience!

All movies will have subtitles, Thai movies will most likely have English sub titles, but check before you buy a ticket and all English movies will have Thai subtitles.

If you're in the boonies or non tourist cities, it's quite possible that the English movies are dubbed in Thai without subtitles, not very likely to happen on Samui though.

Camille

Friday, July 23, 2010

24th July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy this morning over Samui but dry and the sun is peeking through although I wouldn't expect a clear sky today. The current temp at 7am is 27C

Yesterday saw cloud cover all day but no rain. Max temp reached 30.3C

The next three days or so could see a bit of rain.

Camille

Kill the Drill

Kill The Drill!

Koh Samui leads the protest against the oil exploration and drilling project off-shore of the Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao Region in the Gulf of Thailand.

Khun Ramamanate Jaikwang, President of the Siam Gulf Preservation Network Group, recently presided over the steering committee meeting for setting up a movement against any government grant to petroleum companies for oil exploration and drilling concessions in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao.

The committee revealed that the direction of the movement shall be determined by representatives from official organizations, active communities, leading network groups and clubs on the islands, including: the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter, East Coast - Samui), the Tourism Association of Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao, the Green Island foundation and various other local community groups on Koh Samui and neighbouring islands.

The committee also announced that there shall be an initial mass demonstration, to be made on 31st July, 2010, of full public support against any oil exploration concessions. A minimum number of 35,000 local residents (including those from Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Tao and Suratthani) and visitors (including foreigners who are sympathetic to the cause) will link hands forming a continuous human chain along Koh Samui’s 52-kilometre long ring-road.

The purpose of this huge collective expression of solidarity is to inform the Thai government, fellow citizens of Thailand and other nations of the world that the overwhelming public opinion in the Southern Region is fully against the Department of Petroleum granting permission for oil exploration and drilling in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao which could have a disastrously negative impact on the entire region’s tourism and fishing industries, with possible knock-on effects being experienced in Suratthani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat and Chumporn, and even places as far a field as Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.

The committee is calling for the government’s grant to the project to be withdrawn forthwith and requests an official meeting with the Department of Petroleum in order to discuss possible energy production alternatives which wouldn’t potentially threaten the region’s thriving tourism industry.

Rak Aao Thai Group

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Lia Cafe Seafood Restaurant at Jimbaran Bay, Bali

Lia Cafe (S8 46.218 E115 10.128) at Jimbaran Bay is a Balinese Seafood Restaurant in Bali. We chose this restaurant was because of the Good reviews from the internet. Our driver - Mr Agoes not sure about the restaurant location initially, so I asked him to follow our GPS device. :)

There was a row of seafood restaurant beside the beach, Lia Cafe is the second shop at the end of the row. This was another Best Dining experience we had in Bali. The tables are all arranged on the beach, moonlight on the sea and accompany with a small Un-Plug band! The planes was continuously landing at the Ngurah Rai International Airport, one of the busy airport. You may catch the beautiful sunset over here if you come before 6pm.

Dining on the beach - Jimbaran Bay

We ordered the first package of rp.380,000 which came with lobsters, crabs, prawns, clams and 2 bottles of Bintang Beer. Second package was rp.800,000 which came with lobsters, crabs, fish, clams and A bottle of Red Wine.

The Beer and the Red wine were served first, follow by the Balinese Seafood Cuisines...about 15 minutes, that was fast enough!

Candles on our table with the alcohol drinks

Every table will only have a candle light, which was romantic enough? But I felt a little bit dark...

The first package of Balinese Seafood

The second package of Balinese Seafood

I was a bit late...everyone was Hungry! Haha!

All of us really enjoy the Balinese seafood! It was tasty and Yummy! I like the gravy! We took more than 2 hours to enjoy the seaside environment! It was a 'Fantastic' dinner! The only comments were the crabs were not as big as Johor. Some of my friend said the Jimbaran Bay seafood was not good, maybe they haven't try the cuisine from Lia Cafe.

The Damage : rp.1,360,000 (MYR493.00 / USD 147.00) for 6 adults and 2 children included extra 2 bottles of Bintang Beer. That was about MYR80.00 per person. It was reasonable because of the Beer and Wine.

Rated : 4.8/5

We will MISS you!

The row of lights behind was the Ngurah Rai International Airport of Bali

Bali 5 days 4 nights trip :-
* My Bali Trip on June 2010 (D1)
* Harris Resort at Kuta, Bali (D1)
* Made's Warung at Kuta Beach Road (Jalan Pantai Kuta), Kuta - Bali (D1)
* Babi Guling (Suckling pig) of Warung Ibu Oka at Ubud town, Bali (D2)
* Palace opposite Warung Ibu Oka at Ubud, Bali (D2)
* Tegallalang Rice Terrace at North Ubud Town, Bali (D2)
* Kintamani and Mount Batur at North Bali, Indonesia (D2)
* Fruit Stall around Kintamani area, Bali (D2)
* BAS Coffee Farm at Bali, Indonesia (D2)
* TJ's Mexican Bar and Restaurant at Kuta, Bali (D2)
* The Kuta Beach of Bali, Indonesia (D3)
* Pura Taman Ayun (Temple) at Mengwi, Bali - Indonesia (D3)
* Strawberry Park at Candikuning beside Beratan Lake - Bali, Indonesia (D3)
* Pura Ulun Danau (Temple) at Bratan Lake, Bali (D3)
* Pacung Indah Hotel And Restaurant at Bali (D3)
* One of the Famous Balinese Seven Sea Temples - Tanah Lot Temple of Bali (D3)
* Bebek Bengil - The Dirty Duck Diner at Ubud, Bali (D3)
* The Legian Street (Jalan) at Kuta, Bali (D3)
* Bali Collection at Nusa Dua, Bali (D4)
* Garuda Wisnu Kencana at Bukit Peninsula of Bali, Indonesia (D4)
* Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Temple) at South Bali, Indonesia (D4)
* Our Bali Humble Driver - Mr Agoes (D4)

Location map of Lia Cafe at Jimbaran Bay, Bali

View Larger Map

23rd July, 2010

Today's weather;

It's cloudy over Samui and it looks like it will stay that way for a few days. Current temp at 7am is 27.5C

Yesterday saw plenty of overcast all day long and I was surprised that it didn't rain. Later in the afternoon there were even some sun moments. Max temp reached 32.5C

Camille