It's partly cloudy and hot. Current temp at 7am is 27.5C
Especially in Thailand's North and North East a heat wave is expected during April.
Yesterday saw some clouds come up in the afternoon during another hot day. Max temp reached 32C.
Camille
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
5th April, 2010
Today's weather;
A near blue welcomed me this morning. Current temp at 7am is 26.2C
Yesterday saw another hot day with a max temp of 32C
Camille
The Resort World - Casino at Sentosa Island, Singapore
The Resort World (N1 15.371 E103 49.233) is located at the Sentosa Island of Singapore. We visited the resort on 27th Feb 2010, the eve of Chinese Chap Goh Meh. The area was crowded with visitors and tourist!
"Resorts World Sentosa is the first integrated resort in development stages on the island of Sentosa, off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions include one of Singapore's two casinos, a Universal Studios theme park and the world's largest oceanarium. The S$6.59 billion (US$4.93 billion) integrated resort is developed by Genting International, the overseas investment arm of the Genting Group. The mammoth resort occupies over 49 hectares (121 acres) of land and, when fully open, will employ more than 10,000 people directly.
The soft launch of the first four hotels took place on 20 January 2010, with the FestiveWalk shopping mall following on February 1. The casino opened on 14 February the first auspicious day of the Chinese New Year." Source from Wiki.
The journey was smooth from JB to Sentosa Island, Singapore. When we reached the island, the indication signage navigate us perfectly towards the parking area of the Casino. The area was really Huge and parking lots were clearly display on the LED signage! Great!
Because of Chinese New Year season, we have to parked our car quite far away from the Resort World entrance...that easily 400-500 meter away! Oh!
It took us about 10 minutes to walk to the entrance, you will notice the area is really packed with peoples and vehicles...
The Red lantern decorations were everywhere once you step in to the building.
Every Singaporean and Singapore PR Must purchase the Levy - SGD100.00 for 24 hours to entering the Casino. That's why I heard many of them complaints that...they already Lost before the gambling start! :)
The Management is well manage at the entrance of the Casino. Foreigner and Singaporean are enter in seperate lanes, the officers will seriously check on the ID card or Passport!
There was a Huge crowd during our visit at the main entrance...
Before you step into the Casino, there was a Lamborghini Gallardo (correct me if I'm wrong) display on the stage! Wah! She was so Beautiful!
The Casino's main hall was quite big and Smoking is Not allow. If you are smoker, you need to walk till the end of the hall and turn right, another session for smoker is prepared. The food court in the Casino is operate 24 hours, for gamblers to fill up their stomach and back to the table! :)
All drinks inside the Casino were F.O.C., I had few cup of coffee there too! Haha!
NO Photography in the Casino! I know the rules had been implemented on every Casino, but I just trying my luck! But too bad...
After explored the Casino, we went out to search for more surprise...
There were many escalators for visitors to explore to another session of the building...I love the colour lining decorated at the escalators!
After climbed up from the escalator, we reached another entrance to the Resort World Casino. This was more presentable compare with the one from the parking area. I believe this was the Main Entrance for The Casino!
Both side of the Casino entrance are connected to different Hotels in Resort World Sentosa, I will continue sharing the photos of them in my next post...
The soft launch of the first four hotels took place on 20 January 2010, with the FestiveWalk shopping mall following on February 1. The casino opened on 14 February the first auspicious day of the Chinese New Year." Source from Wiki.
The journey was smooth from JB to Sentosa Island, Singapore. When we reached the island, the indication signage navigate us perfectly towards the parking area of the Casino. The area was really Huge and parking lots were clearly display on the LED signage! Great!
Because of Chinese New Year season, we have to parked our car quite far away from the Resort World entrance...that easily 400-500 meter away! Oh!
The Huge parking area of Casino - Resort World Sentosa
Direction guide and indications
It took us about 10 minutes to walk to the entrance, you will notice the area is really packed with peoples and vehicles...
The entrance to the Casino
The Red lantern decorations were everywhere once you step in to the building.
The Lantern decoration of the Casino of Singapore
Long queue for purchasing the Levy
Every Singaporean and Singapore PR Must purchase the Levy - SGD100.00 for 24 hours to entering the Casino. That's why I heard many of them complaints that...they already Lost before the gambling start! :)
The Management is well manage at the entrance of the Casino. Foreigner and Singaporean are enter in seperate lanes, the officers will seriously check on the ID card or Passport!
There was a Huge crowd during our visit at the main entrance...
The main entrance to the Casino
Before you step into the Casino, there was a Lamborghini Gallardo (correct me if I'm wrong) display on the stage! Wah! She was so Beautiful!
Lamborghini Gallardo
The last decoration before I entering the Casino
The Casino's main hall was quite big and Smoking is Not allow. If you are smoker, you need to walk till the end of the hall and turn right, another session for smoker is prepared. The food court in the Casino is operate 24 hours, for gamblers to fill up their stomach and back to the table! :)
All drinks inside the Casino were F.O.C., I had few cup of coffee there too! Haha!
NO Photography in the Casino! I know the rules had been implemented on every Casino, but I just trying my luck! But too bad...
After explored the Casino, we went out to search for more surprise...
There were many escalators for visitors to explore to another session of the building...I love the colour lining decorated at the escalators!
The escalators from Casino
After climbed up from the escalator, we reached another entrance to the Resort World Casino. This was more presentable compare with the one from the parking area. I believe this was the Main Entrance for The Casino!
The Main Entrance to the Casino
I like this huge lighting at the entrance
Both side of the Casino entrance are connected to different Hotels in Resort World Sentosa, I will continue sharing the photos of them in my next post...
Map location of Resort World Sentosa, Singapore.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
4th April, 2010
Today's weather;
A near blue sky is ruling over our part of Samui with just some spattered about tiny fluffy clouds in it. Current temp at 7am is a whooping 29.8C. It's going to be hot on this Easter Sunday!
Yesterday was just one thing; HOT! Max temp reached 33.2C
Camille
Friday, April 2, 2010
3rd April, 2010
Today's weather;
A very nice blue sky is shaping, promising another hot day ahead of us. Current temp at 7am is 27.2C
Yesterday saw blue skies and a hot day. Max temp reached 31.9C
Camille
Koh Panyee
We visited Koh Panyee on the same day as James Bond Island, having hired a longtail boat from Samchong Seafood, a restaurant in Phang Nga. My original plan was to visit only James Bond Island, but we were ready to leave Scaramanga's lair by 4pm, and Koh Panyee is only about 7km further north. Sunset at this time of year is around 6:30pm, so we had time for a quick dash (our longtail had a new engine) to Panyee and time for a good wander around this fascinating village built over the water next to one of Phang Nga Bay's many huge limestone outcrops. See Koh Panyee location on Google Earth. We visited again during another trip later in the year - see Phang Nga Bay - Doing it OUR way!
Koh Panyee is a small island, less than 400m long, and there is not really any flat land. Instead, over the last 200 years since the village was founded, a community has built up over the shallow waters to the south of the limestone cliff / rock that makes up Panyee island. Indeed, at low tide, the waters are shallow enough to stand in, or disappear completely which must aid in building these houses, all supported on a network of stilts. Fishing was the main trade here, and is still important, but tourism is now well and truly established - all the way through the village, stalls are selling crafts, cloth, souvenirs, but there is still the old life here - other stalls sell vegetables, fish, and "Nam Prik Kung Siap" - a spicy shrimp paste, which my dear wife wanted to buy a few kilos of (it's very tasty!)
On the way to Koh Panyee from James Bond Island we passed an island used as a base for kayaking tours. You can pass through a cave full of stalactites, which our kids loved. The longtail fairly sped over to Panyee, it only took about 20 minutes from James Bond Island.
The trick with Panyee, if you want to see the village, rather like Phuket - you have to look beyond the tourism. OK, on Panyee it's low key. There are no hotels or bars, but half the island is taken up with restaurants that serve day trippers on tours. If you walk through the village, there are plenty of stalls selling things... some of these things are actually very nice, for sure, if I was a tourist on holiday I would buy a few souvenirs here. We did buy a few little gifts for the kids like key rings and a drum made out of a coconut. I was looking more for a real feel of Panyee. First thing - I felt that the people here are very friendly. A lot of the people must spend the day sellingcrap souvenirs to the hordes of day trippers, but we arrived late in the day, only a few tourists around by 5pm.. I saw many smiles and happy people. And it was the people that I mostly wanted to photograph. Photos on this page are from our visits in March and September 2010.
The construction of the village - it's a maze of houses, paths, elevated walkways, everything built over the water on stilts! It's quite an impressive place when you think about it. A few photos to give an idea of how Panyee is built...
All these wooden planks and stilts need looking after. Wood does not last forever. There are places where I worried that the wood looked a bit old (and since I weigh well over 100kg, I do not want to step on a plank that's likely to break!) I found a couple of people in the process of repairing their houses or fixing up their boat dock...
I was walking around with our kids - my wife and her sister were searching for the best shrimp paste - a lady suggested we detour off the main path and check out the school. I think, or would like to think, that the Koh Panyee school made some impression on our kids. A simple wooden construction built around a playground.. with great views!
I liked that we arrived at Panyee village after most of the tours had already left - throw in a dozen boat loads of foreigners and the narrow walkways would be more crowded, and the hawkers more vocal. We found this guy working on his glass fish - the little pufferfish are indeed a work of art.
I love faces. Everyone has a different face. If people are happy to pose, I like to take their photo. Koh Panyee is a unique place with unique people.. OK, they were probably more unique 30 years ago. Now they have the internet and daily contact with tourists, but sometimes in a place like this, I wonder "who is watching who". You think the life in Koh Panyee is strange, is very different to yours? I am very sure the people here are watching the visitors, and I think Koh Panyee is still a special place. A man rides a bicycle.. that's heavy traffic in Koh Panyee.
By the time we left, I can imagine everyone settling in for the evening, tourists gone, only the Panyee people here. A very small village like this has a sense of community that you can grasp. Everyone knows everyone. I used to live on a small island some years ago. I get that feeling here in Panyee, there's no trouble, no worries, no crime. Hardy a bad word. Lots of smiles. And we'll be back again.
Finally - a video (actually an ad for a bank) which features Koh Panyee. The story of the kids on Koh Panyee starting their own football team, despite the lack of a pitch to play on! Nice story - great scenery!
Koh Panyee is a small island, less than 400m long, and there is not really any flat land. Instead, over the last 200 years since the village was founded, a community has built up over the shallow waters to the south of the limestone cliff / rock that makes up Panyee island. Indeed, at low tide, the waters are shallow enough to stand in, or disappear completely which must aid in building these houses, all supported on a network of stilts. Fishing was the main trade here, and is still important, but tourism is now well and truly established - all the way through the village, stalls are selling crafts, cloth, souvenirs, but there is still the old life here - other stalls sell vegetables, fish, and "Nam Prik Kung Siap" - a spicy shrimp paste, which my dear wife wanted to buy a few kilos of (it's very tasty!)
On the way to Koh Panyee from James Bond Island we passed an island used as a base for kayaking tours. You can pass through a cave full of stalactites, which our kids loved. The longtail fairly sped over to Panyee, it only took about 20 minutes from James Bond Island.
The trick with Panyee, if you want to see the village, rather like Phuket - you have to look beyond the tourism. OK, on Panyee it's low key. There are no hotels or bars, but half the island is taken up with restaurants that serve day trippers on tours. If you walk through the village, there are plenty of stalls selling things... some of these things are actually very nice, for sure, if I was a tourist on holiday I would buy a few souvenirs here. We did buy a few little gifts for the kids like key rings and a drum made out of a coconut. I was looking more for a real feel of Panyee. First thing - I felt that the people here are very friendly. A lot of the people must spend the day selling
The construction of the village - it's a maze of houses, paths, elevated walkways, everything built over the water on stilts! It's quite an impressive place when you think about it. A few photos to give an idea of how Panyee is built...
All these wooden planks and stilts need looking after. Wood does not last forever. There are places where I worried that the wood looked a bit old (and since I weigh well over 100kg, I do not want to step on a plank that's likely to break!) I found a couple of people in the process of repairing their houses or fixing up their boat dock...
I was walking around with our kids - my wife and her sister were searching for the best shrimp paste - a lady suggested we detour off the main path and check out the school. I think, or would like to think, that the Koh Panyee school made some impression on our kids. A simple wooden construction built around a playground.. with great views!
I liked that we arrived at Panyee village after most of the tours had already left - throw in a dozen boat loads of foreigners and the narrow walkways would be more crowded, and the hawkers more vocal. We found this guy working on his glass fish - the little pufferfish are indeed a work of art.
I love faces. Everyone has a different face. If people are happy to pose, I like to take their photo. Koh Panyee is a unique place with unique people.. OK, they were probably more unique 30 years ago. Now they have the internet and daily contact with tourists, but sometimes in a place like this, I wonder "who is watching who". You think the life in Koh Panyee is strange, is very different to yours? I am very sure the people here are watching the visitors, and I think Koh Panyee is still a special place. A man rides a bicycle.. that's heavy traffic in Koh Panyee.
By the time we left, I can imagine everyone settling in for the evening, tourists gone, only the Panyee people here. A very small village like this has a sense of community that you can grasp. Everyone knows everyone. I used to live on a small island some years ago. I get that feeling here in Panyee, there's no trouble, no worries, no crime. Hardy a bad word. Lots of smiles. And we'll be back again.
Finally - a video (actually an ad for a bank) which features Koh Panyee. The story of the kids on Koh Panyee starting their own football team, despite the lack of a pitch to play on! Nice story - great scenery!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
2nd April, 2010
Today's weather;
It's partly cloudy but with plenty of nice blue spots. Current temp at 7am is 27C
Yesterday saw a very warm and dry day on Samui with plenty of sunshine. Max temp reached 31.5C
Camille
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