Food on Wheels; Fruit

Food on Wheels; Fruit

Time for some Food on Wheels action again and today's entry is about a very popular variation and because of it's popularity, also appearing a lot in the Thai streets; Fruit vendors.

A typical fruit vendor cart

Thailand has a wide variety of different fruits that most Thais like to eat a lot as well. Put them two variations together and dozens of Thai vendors will sell fruit on a daily base. During hot days they can be a very refreshing appearance with their cooled down fruit assortment. The fruit sits behind glass windows on ice cubes to prevent it from turning bad quickly.

I clearly remember during my first visit to Thailand, when I was wandering around Bangkok's streets and finally had the courage to walk up to one of these vendors and order pine apple and the taste explosion that hit my taste buds. This was pine apple that couldn't be compared with any canned or fresh pine apple back in Europe. I was totally blown away by it and ever since have been buying various kinds of fruit from these vendors.

Popular fruits include the already mentioned pine apple, water melon, mango and papaya, just to mention a few.

Sometimes the carts aren't motorized at all and the vendors sell just one kind of fruit, like this grape vendor in Kao Lak.

If it's your visit to Thailand, don't hesitate and buy some fruit of the vendors, you will love the taste and you'll become a frequent customer instantly. The price is also great, most fruits range between 20 and 30 THB per serving.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 28th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has some dark clouds hovering over the island and it looks like some rain will be coming down later in the day. Current temp at 7am is 27.3C

In Kao Lak the weather seems to have made the mark and it has been nice since a couple of days, with the rain having moved on. Current temp at 7am is 24.4C

Today I'll work on an EFR Instructor course and after lunch time I will drive over to Koh Lanta, to start the last IDC of this year.

Yesterday saw a nice start on Samui to be followed with rain during the afternoon. Max temp reached 29.6C

Kao Lak had a sunny day and we enjoyed a lovely days diving on the Boonsung wreck here, just a few nautical miles off the beach. Max temp reached 33C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 27th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a nice morning with sunshine. Current temp at 7am is around 26C

Kao Lak looks beautiful with a blue sky shaping up. Current temp at 7am is around 24C

Yesterday saw a nice day on Samui with plenty of sunshine and warm. Max temp reached around 30C

In Kao Lak we had a sunny day yesterday and we finished the IDC as well. Max temp reached just over 30C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 26th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui looks like some sunshine is going to warm up the island after it burns through the clouds. Current temp at 7am is 24.6C

Kao Lak has a few more clouds than usual this morning, it's still sunny though and the current temp at 7am is 23.8C

Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine and no rain on Samui with a max temp of 29.9C and Kao Lak saw almost no rain for a change with a max temp of 30.7C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 25th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Koh Samui is having a cloudy sky this morning and it looks like it will rain sooner or later. Current temp at 7am is 25.8C

Kao Lak is having it's usual nice blue morning sky, just wonder when the rain will start today! Current temp at 7am is 23,5C

Yesterday had rain in Samui during the morning and some sunshine during the afternoon. Max temp reached 28.5C

In Kao Lak it was the usual pattern, sunshine and nice in the morning, rain in the afternoon. Yesterday the rain started early, around noon and than it was on and off for the rest of the afternoon. Max temp reached 31.6C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 24th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is having a cloudy sky and rain is predicted again. Current temp at 7am is 25.5C

Kao Lak has a beautiful blue sky, as usual but I expect rain in the afternoon, as usual! Current temp at 7am is 23.4C

Koh Samui had a day with on and off rain, mainly in the form of a drizzle but with some harder rain in moments as well. Max temp reached 29C

Kao Lak had a nice morning and when I arrived back from Phuket it was raining again. Phuket had a lovely sunny day by the way. Max temp reached 31.6C in Kao Lak.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 23rd November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a bit of a mixed bag, sunny patches of sky and dark cloudy ones as well. Current temp at 8am 25.6C

Today I find myself in Phuket, yesterday evening I left Kao Lak and drove through a lot of rain to Phuket, today some electronic shopping needs to be done. The sky is also mixed here, blue parts with fluffy clouds. Current temp at 8am is 25.3C

Yesterday saw nice days in Samui and Kao Lak, the latter being very sunny and warm in the morning but during the evening and night plenty of rain between Kao Lak and Phuket. Max temp reached 28.4C on Samui, 31.5C in Kao Lak and 32.6C on Phuket.

Yesterday the IDC was half way, hence today a day off for shopping.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 22nd November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is dry again. A nice sky with some clouds in it is shaping up. Current temp at 7am is around 25C

Kao Lak has an almost blue sky shaping up. It looks like a very nice day, especially considering we're going to complete the Open Water dives for this current IDC. Current temp at 7am is around 24C

A big Krathong on the river, during yesterday's Loy Kratong party

Yesterday was dry on Samui, although cloudy. During the evening the clouds disappeared though and a beautiful view of the full moon was visible. Max temp reached around 29C

Kao Lak had a dry day with plenty of sunshine although during the afternoon plenty of clouds showed up. Max temp reached around 30C

Camille

Loy Kratong 2010 in Kao Lak

Loy Kratong 2010 in Kao Lak

This year I'm in Kao Lak during the Loy Kratong celebrations since I'm teaching an IDC here and have to float a Kratong on behalf of my family, since in Samui there was no celebration this year in the local Wat Plai Laem.

Loy Kratong ลอยกระทง takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.
"Loi" means "to float" and a "krathong" is traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk.

In Kao Lak there was however a big party on next to small river and a wooden construction was build so everybody could get close to the rive and float his or her Kratong.

The water was relatively rapidly moving which worked out great for the Kratongs and they were swiftly taken with the current after being launched.

There were plenty of Kratongs for sale at various stalls and the average price was around 50 Baht.

This is a picture of my Kratong this year, but this was the second version, since the first version was a very small Kratong made out of a lotus flower and was very cute, but after I added some of my hair, a small piece of my nail and 9 Baht in coins, it was off balance and unfortunately capsized immediately, so it was time for a second Kratong. This one floated just fine!

At the party ground all kinds of activities were going on with lots of food and goods for sale and in a corner near a big stage I found some very big Kratongs, made by hotel staff and students of the local schools, which looked like a competition. Above shows a proud student from a local school with an over sized Kratong.

That;s it for this years Loy Kratong, if you were in Thailand, I'm pretty sure that you participated in the festivities and if you're outside Thailand and know Thai people there, you may well have participated in a local festivity and otherwise, I hope you enjoyed these pictures.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 21st November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is sunny! Exactly like the predicts forecast, at last! Current temp at 7am is 23.7C

The same goes for Kao Lak this morning. although there are some clouds but it looks like a nice day is brewing up. Current temp is 23C

Today is Loy Kratong ลอยกระทง and it's time to get the Kratong's out! More on this in a post tomorrow or later today!

Usually I celebrate this with my family but this year I will have to float my own Kratong.

Rainbow over Kao Lak in just before the evening started yesterday

Yesterday saw a day long of rain and drizzle in Samui, not a lot of rain came down but it was all day long! Max temp reached 25.8C, a rather 'chilly' day.

Kao Lak continued it's own pattern; sun in the morning and during the afternoon we had a heavybut short shower. Max temp here reached 32.3C

Camille

Food on Wheels; Chicken out

Food on Wheels; The chicken is out

A new entry on the Food on Wheels series is due and in Kao Lak where I currently am, the mobile version of KFC is every day at the same location.

This picture show the goodies on offer and most of the food on display is some form of chicken. The breast, wings, liver, heart etc. The only thing missing is the chicken feet, which the Thais seem to love!

The big blue bucket is filled with small plastic bags of the sticky rice or Kao Niao ข้าวเหนียว. My tip; the sticky rice actually tastes very good if you BBQ it!

The BBQ part is on the side of the side cart, with a keeping the food warm tower just in front of it on the left side of this picture (although looking from this angle, the keeping it warm tower is behind the BBQ). The pan on the right side is for deep frying chicken.

The side mounted car makes this a perfect sample of food on wheels! The chicken assortment gets turned over quickly so the food is fresh at all times. That's another tip, always check if many people buy food from a place, this means a high turn over and consequently fresh food.

Enjoy your culinary Thai fast food experiences, they're all over the place and enjoyable and tasteful.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 20th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is back to it's rainy days. This morning saw some hard rain with a drizzle right now. Current temp at 7am is 24C

The sun is out and about in Kao Lak although there are some clouds as well. Current temp at 7am is 24.2C It's rather chilly here during the night!

Yesterday saw rain in Samui during the morning and early afternoon, which eased up in the afternoon. Max temp reached 28.3C

Kao Lak was nice, cloudy with some occasional sunshine and a big but short shower late during the afternoon. Max temp reached 31C

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 19th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui is undergoing another bout of rain this morning, most likely to continue into the late afternoon. Current temp at 7am is 24.7C

Some flash flooding is to be expected again.

Kao Lak is following the usual procedure, it's partly cloudy with plenty of blue sky and sunshine. Current temp at 7am is 23.7C

Yesterday saw a bit of rain during the Samui morning but soon this turned into a lovely day with plenty of sunshine. During the night it started to rain again and it rained all night long into the current moment. Max temp reached

Kao Lak had a great day yesterday with sunshine all day long! Max temp reached 31C.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 18th November, 2010

Today's weather;

Samui has a bit of cloud cover but it looks like the sun will break through rather soon. Very early there was a bit of rain though.Current temp at 7am is 25.4C

Kao Lak is starting out nicely again, a fairly blue sky with plenty of blue and sunshine is above us and the current temp at 7am is 23.3C The nights are relatively cold here! I hope the weather remains like this and no rain will spoil the day during the afternoon.

Kao Lak mountains yesterday after the rain, covered in clouds

Yesterday saw a very nice and sunny day on Samui with a max temp of 29.7C

in Kao Lak the day started out great with sunshine but around noon the rain came and there were some periods with strong and heavy downpour and even some thunder thrown in for good measure. During the evening it became drier again. Max temp reached 30.4C

Yesterday also saw the start of the first IDC program I teach in Kao Lak.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 17th November, 2010

Today's weather;

All my readers can relax, Samui has sunshine this morning after yesterday's rain. There are still some clouds but it should be a nice day today. Current temp at 7am is 25.8C

Yesterday was once more a travel day for me and I drove from Samui to Kao Lak, pretty much all day in the rain. Later in the afternoon it was dry around Kao Lak and this morning there's a near perfect blue sky with plenty of sunshine. Current temp is 23C and max temp yesterday reached 31.3C.

In Kao Lak I will start once more an IDC today.

Samui saw another 50mm of rain yesterday and some areas flooded briefly, mainly in Chaweng but once the rain stopped the floods quickly disappeared. Yesterday's max temp in Samui reached 29C.

Camille

8th May, 2010

Today's weather;

Kao Lak shows a beautiful blue sky with a current temp at 7am of 27C.

Yesterday was a warm day and all day long, also whilst travelling, we had a nice blue and warm sky. Max temp reached 34.5C in Kao Lak.

Later this morning we're off back home to Samui again.

Camille

Songkran 2010 on Koh Samui

Songkran 2010 on Koh Samui

Songkran was fun as it is each year but I'm also very happy that it only lasts one day on Koh Samui in contrast to other places in Thailand like Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Kao San road in Bangkok.

We started the day in a very traditional way with a visit to my wife's Grandma, the only one still alive. My wife prepared this bowl of water and she put some flowers from our garden in it and we added some baby powder and this is the original mix that is used over centuries to celebrate the Thai New year or Songkran. Oh, and you don't drown somebody in or with it but you scoop a little bit of the mix in your hand and gently put some water on somebody's shirt or such.

What's wrong with a love, peace and understanding

A great text anchor considering what just happened in Bangkok a few days ago. Nonetheless, last news is that even in Kao San road which was near the centre of the clashes earlier this week, there was a party going on. A slightly dramatic picture in these rather dramatic political days in Thailand.

Nonetheless, yesterday was party time and these young Thai fellows had a blast in Bang Rak!

Proof of how hot it was yesterday and a great sample of how the dress code can be like.

The guy with the melon is every year in Chaweng, I wonder if he recycles the melon.

My favourite water gun with a small umbrella in front to avoid being hit your self! Excellent idea.

An overview of Chaweng although it looks pretty busy, I never seen it so quiet during Songkran!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and up to next year April!

Camille

26th December, 2009

Today's weather;

Another sunny sky reigns over Samui on the 5th memorial day for the 2004 Indian ocean earthquake that resulted in the deadly Tsunami. Current temp at 7am is 26.2C.

A picture taken in Kao Lak two and a half months after the Tsunami which still gives a good indication of the post tsunami devastation. A few more pictures from the same series can be seen on last years memorial day on my blog.

Below is a video of the first wave crashing in on Kao Lak, the devastating power is almost unbelievable, the second video is from Koh Lanta and the third video is a video taken on Kh Phi Phi. The latter two are less viewed but show the moment of the waves crashing in and all associated panica dn mayhem.







Yesterday saw plenty of sunshine although it was hazier throughout the day than it looked like in the morning. Max temp reached 30.2C.

Camille