BEST TRAVEL PLACE

Saturday, July 24, 2010

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

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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