Friday 28 December 2012

Mama Mia! (26 - 28 December 2012)


In the style of all Thai's, no personal question is taboo. All the ones about age, husbands, the size of your house in England flow fast and often. The one about did I have any babies seemed to strike a chord with the young guy in the hotel restaurant who looks about 12 but is probably about 18, and he seemed upset by my negative answer. In very interesting sign language (his English is only marginally better than my Thai) he indicated that his parents were both dead but then brightened up and decided that I would make a good mother substitute. Since then, as soon as he sees me, he shouts very loudly "hello Mama"....
Spent an interesting couple of hours last night in the local watering hole, there are always people to chat to. Most were UK expats with the women living here and the men off every few weeks to work on the oil rigs in the Gulf. The American owner is back from his stint in Afganistan as a security advisor. And then there was Steve, a Scouser who lives here eight months of the year and goes back to the UK for four months each year to do airport taxi work which is enough to keep him, his Thai girlfriend and stepson when he is back here. He used to run a bar here but gave it up when business slackened. He blamed the fact that the backpackers here had been replaced by families who were less interested in buying beers and just stayed in their hotels. Interesting lives some people lead. But a convivial evening.
So the days here pass peacefully. Managed to get lost this morning on a walk between the main road and the beach. Found myself in a lovely real Thai community with chickens and dogs wandering about. And back at the hotel the formal invitation to the New Year's Eve celebration was waiting, not quite the "stiffie" one would wish for your mantelpiece but a couple of photocopied sheets.



But the sentiments expressed were so nice, talking about being honoured that we are staying with them. Long and short of it is we are invited to a Thai New Year celebration on the beach with lots of Thai food and entertainment, all of which is free - what a pleasant change from the usual £100 compulsory gala dinner at most places. The menu looks fab, all local stuff, just not sure about the "deep fried cake powder serve with condensed milk"... But I think the "coconut ice cream made in Koh Samui" may just have my name on it. All soft drinks are also free but I may have to partake in a few 70 baht (about £1.40) cocktails or why why's to get through the Karaoke....
Tonight is full moon again so I will be listening out for the revelries from nearby Koh Phangnam...




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Wednesday 26 December 2012

A tri nations evening (25 - 26 December 2012)

A quiet Xmas here in Mae Nam with a lot of places closed. The nearest I got was seeing two people in Santa hats and a rendition of Frosty the Snowman as I wandered past a restaurant. What the locals call "Happy New Year" seems to be bigger here but I think they can relate more to that with the size of their own huge New Year Festival, Songkran.
So Xmas Day was spent lazing in the sun and dodging the rain. No Xmas dinner to be had, not even dinner on the beach, the high waves meant all the beach restaurants were cleared away. But that didn't stop Ant and David torturing me on Facetime with all the delights I was doing without.... Vintage Krug, turkey, mince pies.... I made do with Beef Bourguignon and roast tatoes, the nearest I could find and then a quiet why why relaxing in a deck chair on the sand contemplating the stars... And for those of you overly concerned that every blog entry features why why, I can confirm that I was easily able to extricate myself from said deckchair very elegantly!
No cold turkey and chips either on Boxing Day so I repair to the local French restaurant for something to eat. As well as the why why of course, their major attraction is the fast wifi and my date with Downton Abbey via Slingbox. All slightly strange, I am in a small Thai village atmosphere, all the other restaurant patrons are French, I order in French and the smells are French, heavy perfume and drains. I guess the drains are also a Thai phenomenon but I feel very English settling down to watch the telly. How good was Downton Abbey. Not to spoil it for those who haven't watched it yet but at the end I felt like Charles de Gaulle shouting out "Non...."


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Monday 24 December 2012

Powerless Politicians (23 - 24 December 2012)




Waking up on election morning yesterday was a dark affair, as well as the black skies and heavy rain there was a power cut. Last month there was a huge political controversy as the power to the island was out for four days, also meaning no water as the pumps didn't work. Even big hotels with their own generators struggled as petrol to fuel them was in short supply but all through the political parties were still driving the streets using up precious fuel supplies with their loudspeaker trucks loudly proclaiming their message. I wondered if the power cut was some sort of political sabotage and hoped it wasn't going to be another 4 dayer! Luckily it proved to be neither as all was restored by early afternoon. And the alcohol ban whilst still in force seemed to be ignored. Local bars didn't bother to open, I guess they were too obvious a target for the local police but no issues at the hotel. Wine was served quite openly, removing the need for my "secret water". Although I have to admit Ant and my secret gin or Bacardi water is a little less obvious. An Aussie white in a water bottle does look a little too much like some sort of "sample" for even me to find appetising!
And this morning was even darker than yesterday, apart from a few hours in the night the power stayed on, but this morning big black clouds were depositing huge amounts of much needed water on the place. Huge waves made the beach almost disappear and all the tables from the hotel beach restaurant were moved inside. The grey skies persisted all day and it even felt chilly in the wind chill, well that is my version of wind chill, probably a bit different to most people...
So a couple of days both literally and figuratively chillin' out. Just last minute shopping, tonic water, crisps, you get the idea!



So it's Xmas Eve here, seven hours ahead of the UK and the good news according to Flightradar 24 is that Santa's on his way. I hope he brings me sunshine!
They also tell me he's flying at a different altitude to avoid the issues he faced last year...



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Friday 21 December 2012

Christmas Shopping (21 December 2012)


My excuse was actually Xmas shopping but in reality it was pre election shopping.... There is an election here for some new members of the Koh Samui ruling body, apparently as it has recently been designated a "city", things have changed and new people need to be appointed. No problem but they have certain rules here in Thailand and from 6pm on the night before the election until midnight the night of, sales of alcohol are prohibited everywhere, shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels, anywhere. Buying or selling is a big offense and I had no wish to star in one of my fave National Geographic programmes "Banged Up Abroad"! The election day was firstly planned for Xmas Day, a normal day here in Thailand but that would have meant no alcohol sales on Xmas Eve evening and the whole of Xmas Day..... As it is, prohibiting such sales on 22nd/23rd December in the high season in a place chock full of Europeans with money to spend seems a little shortsighted, but how much more of a disaster to local business if the original dates were kept. Local lore says it is the fact that they would prefer the 3000 baht or so paid by candidates to individuals to "encourage" votes to be spent on getting people to the polling booths rather than spending it booze is the reason, but I am sure that is just local lore. A better explanation is the troubled past that Thailand has around elections which they don't wish to inflame. But whatever, the hordes of happy tourists arriving for their tropical Xmas break tomorrow evening are unlikely to be saying "how sensible" when they finally check into paradise after a long flight to be told "no alcoho, ee finee. Ok in 36 hours"... But having said that they sure will enjoy that first one!
Since I arrived there have been loads of loudspeaker trucks extolling the virtues of the candidates with their pictures appearing everywhere. They do seem to have overdosed on the Olay skincare with "whitening" though, I've never seen such white faces in my life!


So hence my shopping. To manage the calories I would consume by stocking up I decide to walk to Tesco. It didn't look far on the map.... But after over an hour in 30 degree heat I gave up when I spotted Koh Samui's answer to Bluewater with a big Carrefour and a Starbuck's appear.



Forget brand loyalty as long as they sold why why.... And success, a box of Aussie wine (ok, but needs must in desperate circumstances) but still no sign of a mince pie... Lots of carols playing over the pa system and girls dressed in Santa outfits but still no mincies...
But if you are reading this the good news is that today wasn't the end of the world, glad really, it would have been a bit of a waste walking all that way. As I write Australia is into the 22nd December, but I guess there are a few hours yet to go to reach Mexico.... And more good news, the days start getting longer again, hooray! Koh Phangnam, the island I can see from where I am writing this on the beach this evening is hosting an end of the world party. They are famous for their Full Moon Parties, so have rebranded on this occasion to a Half Moon party. Will probably be able to hear them later assuming the Apocalypse doesn't happen...



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Thursday 20 December 2012

Bit of a miss at the Bliss Day Spa.... (20 December 2010)

... but before you get too excited this one is a long way from the London one, the name is about all they share. This is in Mae Nam village and is more like someone's front room with a few hungry fish swimming around in a tank at the front that promise the delights of the "fish spa". There are so few in there I think it would take a few hours to do anyone's feet. But I went yesterday to try out the manicure. Not too bad especially for the inflated tourist price of £4. I chose a rather fetching bright pink which looked relatively ok in the gloom, but I now think that they save money by not turning on the lights. When I emerged into the daylight they were rather luminous, not a bad thing here though, they are so bright they will help me cross the road at night, always a bit of an issue.... But apart from the colour they did a good job so I return today for the matching pedicure. I ask for the same colour - in for a penny I thought, sod dignity, just think about crossing roads safely. She duly finishes but I realise when I again emerge from the gloom, the toes are a much more subdued hue of pink. Perhaps growing old disgracefully is not so acceptable in Thailand as I thought! But whilst there I had a nice chat with a Brit/ NZ couple with a lovely child called Dylan. You will be pleased to hear I refrained from showing photos of the Dyl...
Tonight was the weekly "walking street" here in Mae Nam, where they close the two streets to traffic. No real problem as there is never any traffic anyway! It's a nice evening, lots of stalls selling crafts and street food with the accompanying aromas of Thai food being cooked over the coals as well as little pop up bars selling cocktails for £1 and live music. The food smelled really good but I did avoid the deep fried grasshopper and other insect thingy stall. Too much like I'm a Celebrity for my taste. And was sad to see that the stall selling Sunday Dinner pies wasn't there, especially as the Lazy Coconut, my previous haunt for a good Sunday roast has closed down. But interestingly more locals than tourists seemed to be there. It still seems really quiet here, no sign yet of the Xmas rush, but this hotel is full from the 22nd.
And in preparation they are decking the bar with boughs of tinsel.... so often in Thailand the design is minimalist Balinese - no so the Florist Resort, tinsel is the mot du jour......

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Sunday 16 December 2012

Am lovin' the bell... (Saturday 15 December 2012)

In my search for why why last night, I happened upon a new bar and grill here in Mae Nam and popped in to try their version of the stuff, but the main reason of course was the free fast wifi..... Managed by a British pair, it is owned by an American who was making his return to Koh Samui last night, and like any prodigal son on his return, a fatted calf (well a free bbq....) was provided for all patrons. I got chatting to a couple from Belgium, Carla and Carlton (he an American - well he had to be with that name......). Really interesting, they run a Yoga school from their big farmhouse near Antwerp, and they certainly looked the part, especially he with his long flowing hair. Also joining us was an American girl who is travelling for five years. She allows herself $500 US a month for everything, travel, bed, food. Her total backpack weighs 11kilos and she uses couchsurfing.com for her accommodation. When she runs out of money towards the end of each month she goes to temples to eat, where food is provided free for hungry strangers. Now I'm sure I could learn some lessons from her.....
So all in all an interesting evening. But the best part of it all was that every time a big bell rings, they are insistent that your glass is refilled..... and the returning owner was very active with the bell..... So a good evening, three large glasses of drinkable why why and a delicious bbq all coming in at 130 Baht (less than £3).... Perhaps I did learn something from the American traveller after all.....


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Saturday 15 December 2012

Groundhog days......

Well, it's that time of year I hear you cry, Gill must be off again... Right, I am sitting in the sunshine enjoying a latte by the Xmas tree in the About Cafe in Koh Samui. And writing Xmas postcards in lieu of the Xmas cards I didn't find time for before I left....
It was a bit of a marathon getting here, I think this must have been the most delayed trip I have ever done! Not a good start at Heathrow, all boarded then a wait for the de icers which weren't working too well to get rid of the ice on the wings, then some poor soul got ill and had to be taken off the plane, then the wait to take his bags off. By that time the wings had iced up again so another wait for the de icers that weren't working too well .... you get the picture! But no real problem, a glass or two of champagne kept me going! Then a few hours' stopover in Mumbai, never a place I have done well in. Most of the time was taken up with bureaucratic nonsense, all I wanted to do was get off one plane and onto another with the boarding pass issued in London... But that is far too simple for the Indian authorities. And Mumbai airport, if it were a beer, would be the worst in the world.... I was here just a few years back when it was being rebuilt so was expecting something quite shiny.... What I got was a smelly, grubby place with the guys in the lounge running round with those electronic tennis bats to try and keep down the mozzie population. Needless to say, I didn't eat and the gilljel was much used.
And so to Groundhog day 2. Boarded the Cathay flight on time, pulled away from the gate when the call goes out over the speakers for "any medical staff on board, we have a sickness problem with many of our passengers". I was hoping the "many of our passengers" was a slight error in translation... Whatever, whichever medical staff came to the rescue they worked, and about an hour later with no one being wheeled off the plane, we get away.
Now what is it people say about things happening in three's? I was pleased, when we boarded the Bangkok flight to Koh Samui on time with no last minute drama. I sat back to look forward to arriving in the Koh Samui island sunshine in 50 minutes time. Now I know I don't speak Thai, but even I could grasp from the Thai pilot's announcement in a regretful voice and the words "Bangkok" and "Suvarnabhumi", and the engine noises telling me we were doing a bit of circling that things were amiss. My first reaction when the English version came on was, I'll admit, relief, when it appeared it was just that the weather had closed in on Koh Samui and the visibility was too low to land. Obviously no instrument landings here, but I guess one can expect that when the airport is a series of, albeit charming, huts....
My second reaction was Groundhog day 3 as yet more flight delays appeared... My third reaction was what the hell was the weather playing at throwing huge thunderstorms on the island in the dry season..... Whatever the weather Gods were up to, we had no choice but to turn tail and head back to Bangkok... Two hours in the air to end up back at Bangkok airport! So we all pile back in the lounge and wait and wait and wait.... Eventually a flurry of announcements as plane after delayed plane scrambles to take off like Spitfires in the Battle of Britain to take advantage of the weather window that appeared over Samui. Back on we get, same people, same crew, same seats in another Groundhog episode. The only thing missing was the meal they normally serve, we had obviously all eaten that first time round...
But eventually, only seven hours late I arrive in a warm but damp Koh Samui, to yet more Groundhog stuff. I am staying somewhere I have been before, same staff, same room and of course same little swimming pool just outside the room. Some Groundhog days are good.



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Monday 30 April 2012

Where have all my beaches gone.... (21 April 2012)


Songkran marks the start of the wet season here, and Mother Nature got it right for once! Since then the rain has been in evidence, with some pretty big thunderstorms and stair rod rain. But not all the time, there is still some sun in between and occasionally of an evening the mercury is a chilly 25C... But a couple of nights ago there was a really big storm, preceeded by a short, sharp wind strong enough to blow some sun umbrellas into the pool. The evidence was clear the next morning with my long sandy beach disappeared under a foaming sea and lapping right up to the walkway's edge - no sand to be seen. The main town beach in Ao Nang was the same, sand disappeared under the swirling surf. This beach is normally as crowded with longtail boats as Bluewater is with cars on a Xmas Saturday, but today, not one was to be seen.



But more rain gives me more time to spot Thai typo's. Not sure I would take my child to the Coma Clinic for "pediatric and other diseases", perhaps they make them better by getting them to sleep for a long time... Or want to quench my thirst on a cool bottle of "SWEAT" that sat proudly on display in the 7/11 chilled cabinet. Menus continue to be a challenge and I have been offered fish in breadgrum, coutons, chicken beast, frech fries, ice cream Sunday, fish sillet. And of course Gordon Blue and his chicken can be found on most Thai menus.... But I guess the most widespread are those blue notices pointing out the route to take in case of an "earthqake".
One thing I am glad is not a typo though is the carton of "butterfly pea juice" I have just bought....


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Tuesday 24 April 2012

Songkran Sunday (15 April 2012)




Like our Xmas or New Year, Songkran lasts a few days. After the water mayhem of day one, day three, the Sunday, seems a lot calmer. Noppharat Thara beach, the long, two mile or so empty stretch of shaded beach which is great for a walk is suddenly transformed. Thousands of people, in mainly large family groups congregate along the walkway shaded by the trees and settle down to a feast. And no dried out sandwiches and a few boiled eggs here, it's a full on cookout! Laid out on huge mats, the families, all of several generations, tuck into a selection of dishes that any Thai restaurant would be proud of. The women peel and chop the veg as the men sip a beer and the kids play on the sand. Any Thai women swimming do so virtually fully clothed. The food is cooked in a wok over charcoal or a full on gas bottle cooker, chicken and fresh fish barbecue away. Cars jostle to park along the road, still streaked with the talc laden water stains from the water throwing day.


The smell was amazing, spolit only by the occasional dried fish on a stick man waving his smelly wares for sale!


And for those having a day off from cooking, the stalls lining the other side of the road would cook your feast and then deliver it to you on huge trays. There were candy floss sellers, bright inflatable beach toy sellers and the ice cream bikes going up and down sounding their distinctive chimes.There was a lovely family atmosphere, and if I was the only Thai person walking along Brighton beach on a sunny Bank Holiday, I'm not sure I would be greeted with so many smiles, hello's and Happy New Year's.



Next day walking along everything was back to normal, well, if normal includes seeing this cool dude dog having his nap in (literally!) the sand! Now, Dylan, how about you try that at Ferryside....





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Monday 16 April 2012

A Soaking on Songkran (13 April 2012)


No idea how I've missed it before but today is Songkran, a three day festival celebrating the Thai New Year, also known as the water festival, so today I am a Songkran newbie.



The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thai's roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbours, and monks. And as an elder, I was expecting the odd sprinkle, but not the mass madness that is out there!




I wake up to find the hotel pool festooned with balloons, every fountain, jacuzzi and water feature turned on and a huge poolside buffet laid out for later on. I pack my bag with everything in waterproof bags and venture out. It started gently enough with the odd squirt from a water pistol, but as I got to the road the extent of the celebration became clear! Lining the road were water stations, huge bins of water, hose pipes, buckets, water pistols, you name it. Every passing vehicle including motorbikes, open tuk tuks and police cars were doused. I thought I could get away with it by skulking along the pavement, but no, water came from everywhere. I had two choices, go back to the safety of the hotel, or go with the flow. The flow it was and my, did it flow! After trying to escape the worst soaking by crossing and re crossing the road at strategic points to miss the worst, and then standing in the sun for a while to try and dry off, it became clear that the best strategy was just to go with it! I was assaulted with pans of water, water pistols and daubed with mentholated talc, and ended up looking like an entrant into the over 50's Miss Wet T shirt competition, which had there been one, of course I would have won! It's obvious how seriously the Thai's take this holiday, virtually all of the shops, bars and restaurants are closed.
Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran as a Buddhist festival may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. But temples seem to be in short supply here, so I didn't witness that, but did see the new offerings at all the spirit houses along the way. I pop into a shop that was open to escape for a few minutes, but still no escape. I am smeared with more talc and given New Year kisses by the two old guys who were in there.... Happy days, and Happy New Year!l



But by lunchtime, the skies decide to make their own watery contribution to Songkran, the thunder rumbles and the rain starts. You have to feel sorry for the hotel, everything laid out for the barbecue, and then having to be hastily moved away before even one customer had sat down. Pity really I was looking forward to a prawn thrown on the barbie.....and is a Bank Holiday when it rains but everyone is throwing water at everyone else still considered a washout?




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Saturday 14 April 2012

Heading for the hills, tsunami alert (11 April 2012)




I was happily chatting to Deryn on Facetime when it started dropping continuously so I suspected some increased internet traffic was slowing things down. Sure enough when I check the news, I see there has been a big earthquake off Indonesia, the same place that generated the huge tsunami here back in 2004. But I realised that if anything was to happen then there were several hours to go, any wave generated had a long way to travel. I hadn't felt anything but reports said that the tremors from the earthquake itself were felt in Bangkok. But just as I was musing on it all and checking the wires the official sirens went off here. The hotel I am in is about half a kilometre back from the beach but not much above sea level. The government loudspeakers told everyone to move immediately to higher ground, which is luckily never far away here in Krabi. There seemed no immediate panic at the hotel with the staff carrying on as normal. But one poor little eight year old Finnish girl was in floods of tears, bad timing, but they had just been to the tsunami museum. When the hotels own alarms also started going off I knew it was time to move. But to be on the safe side I packed a bag with all the essentials, gill jell, medicine bag, passport and money, iPad, iPod and phone, external power supply, water - oh and the bottle of duty free Bacardi..... And then went back for my mac, the skies had turned an ominous black colour.... So I joined the small stream of people going past the hotel, some running, some walking leisurely and went up the nearest hill, through another hotel. I got chatting to a group of young Brits who had just arrived and we decided to stop at another hotel at the top of the hill until we knew more. The hotel were really helpful and they had wifi so we were all trawling the net trying to find out what, if anything was going to happen. Some people looked really scared, but in truth we were never in real danger, we were quite high and far back from the beach, there was a mountain trail behind the hotel which had been cleared for such an eventuality, and we knew that if a wave was on the way we would have hours of warning. And frankly if the wave was so high as to reach where we were, there was probably a lot more to worry about than scrambling up a mountain trail. The hotel people, all of whom looked really concerned, but I guess they have lived through the real thing, were really good at telling us all they knew, showed us where the mountain track was so we settled down and waited, passing on any titbits of news anyone came across from the web or messages from home. But what was more frightening to me was the monumental thunderstorm that unleashed itself as we waited. It was a real monster and seemed directly overhead. We were all moved away from the windows.... It circled around for what seemed an age and of course precluded the special tsunami lookouts on a nearby high point from seeing the approach of anything.... The rain was so heavy you could see very little just yards in front of you. The power kept going on and off. As the storm calmed a bit it brought out a cloud of horrible looking storm bugs that the hotel had to keep brushing away as they formed a thick carpet on the floor, and the plague of frogs that followed to eat up said bugs only added to the already somewhat surreal situation. This was all beginning to feel a bit too biblical for my liking.....
So what to do in a situation like this, oh I know, get out the e reader and order a why why..... Well we weren't in England and no one offered to make a pot of tea! And watch the local people paying more attention than usual to the buddha altar in the reception, lots of water pouring going on. So we waited and waited, warnings lifted one minute only to be put back in place the next as the severe aftershock kicked in. Stories of Phuket airport closed, times when a wave would arrive and so on abounded. I realised how dependent we are on the internet when things like this happen, it was one thing getting conflicting reports but surely better than having no information at all. And apart from the short power outages due to the tremendous storm, the internet held up well.
It turned out that the hotel I had unwittingly ended up at, the Palm Terrace, was a sister hotel to mine, and they were using it as evacuation place, so they gave me a room. At that point, the tsunami warning had just been lifted but they said we should all stay there just to be on the safe side. It made sense and when the sirens went off again an hour or so later, I was pleased to be where I was, even though it was a false alarm.
So all in all a drama, and luckily not a crisis. Big thanks have to go to the Thai authorities whose warning system and plans worked to get everyone to a safe place, and to the Nagapura and Palm Terrace hotels for looking after everyone, guests and non guests alike, they welcomed anyone who stopped.



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Friday 13 April 2012

Fake Haviana's are the new fake Croc's in Ao Nang (8 - 10 April 2012)


I was last here with Ant a few years ago, so decided to come back and see what's changed. Good old Bangkok Airways got me here in another trusty prop plane and I braved the airport shuttle bus (airconditioning equals rusty old fans....) for the 45 minute trip to Ao Nang. My bag, as scuffed and well travelled as it is, still stood out among the piles of other luggage, all of them backpacks and most got off in Krabi town to take boats to the various islands, not by themselves of course, accompanied by their gap year owners!



But battered or not my £3 ride dropped me off at my hotel. I check into my room only to find a group of Ozzies holding a pool party outside. Well, it was rude to ignore their invitation and I spent the afternoon, feet in the cool pool, trying out their rather nice, newly invented cocktail, the Tasmanian Moon. Thai whiskey, lime, ice and ginger ale, surprisingly refreshing. I managed two but they had been at them since ten that morning (I was still at my hotel in Koh Samui at that time...) and I think the by next morning they had rechristened them the Tasmanian Devil! But they were a great bunch of people.



The hotel, the Ao Nang Nagapura is in a newish hotel area between Ao Nang beach where all the "shopping" is and Nopparat Thara, the long, narrow, white sand beach which is for "relaxation". It's just a few minutes walk to either one. I explore Ao Nang first, and remember the spectacular views of the jagged islands in the distance. The beach, whilst very pretty is not a sitting on kind of a beach. It is the place where all the longtail boats go to wherever you want, including the hotel Ant and I stayed in last time which was accessible only by boat. Ao Nang is actually nicer and tidier than I remember and it is more of a family resort, I think the real partying goes on on the islands. It's weird how different areas seem to have different nationalities of tourists, here, no Russian's, mainly Finn's and Australian's with a few Brit's thrown in. The shops which I remember well for fake DVD's are still there, but the fake Croc's that were everywhere then (in fact it was the first time we had really seen them), have been replaced with fake Haviana's! Nopparat Thara is much quieter, apart from at each end where there are more longtail boats for hire, it's just a long stretch of pretty beach and calm water. But Krabi province doesn't allow sunbeds on any beaches so if you want to spend time there you have to camp out on your beach towel! But they also have little sitting areas where I spent a while until I was joined by a large Thai family. Apart from gleaning that they were from Surat Thani (not even sure whether that was the city or the province) and they were all one extended family, neither of us understood anything else. And with the lack of sense of personal space that you often find here, I was soon crowded in as they inspected everything from my ereader to exclaiming over the measle like mozzie bites across my shoulders I had acquired the day before! I was offered beer, and decided to take my leave before the food appeared. Refusing that really may have appeared rude! But a nice interlude.



The hotel has so far, proved good. It had some pretty bad Tripadvisor reviews but when I tried to change it everywhere else was booked, a combination of Easter for Europeans and Songkran for locals, looks like Tripadvisor is powerful. This place is empty, but the rooms are good and huge, the pool area amazing. The hotels around have all been built after this one and are cookie cutter hotels, lots of rooms on a small footprint. But this one does have a feeling of space. And I have treated myself (again, I hear you cry....) to a pool access room, so I can step off my big terrace right into the pool, lovely.



The one really weird thing is the huge grass expanse to one side of the pool which is festooned with a variety of lifesize animals from swans, to dogs to deer. And a few less than lifesize giraffes, bizarre!






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Thursday 12 April 2012

Leaving Samui behind (8 April 2012)


I have enjoyed it here at Mae Nam beach and the Florist Resort. It was full moon the night before I leave and as I have yet another great seafood dinner on the sand I gaze over to Koh Phangan where up to 30,000 revellers attend the party. Several ferries go over there and the one from Mae Nam was a busy one. It is a bit of a tatty old thing and not one I'd fancy the crossing in... But the moon waited till the day after it was full to reward us with this magnificent display - hard to work out whether it was sunset or moon rise!



Rather special watching its reflection in the shimmering water, I like to think it was bidding me a fond farewell from Samui, reminding me how amazing it is, so I will return!
So I have spent my days here soaking up the atmosphere, popping into the big city (?) Chaweng now and again when in need of a Starbuck's and watching the local police nab lines of helmet less motorcyclists, it looked a real money spinner. But I was definitely not visiting this beauty salon. In English it doesn't sound too good, but in Thai it's not a lot better, poo here means crab.... But onwards we go, next stop, Krabi.



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Sunday 1 April 2012

Fame at last... (1 April 2012)




OK I'm not a candidate for the paps at home, but here in Koh Samui that's a bit different. Thai Cosmo did an article on gorgeous people escaping the British winter here in Thailand, and I find myself as a cover girl! Don't think you can get it in the UK though.
But not much escape today from the British winter, it rained all night and for the first time, I wake up to grey skies and relentless rain and rumbling thunder, the change at home from warm summer weather to a cold snap appears to have happened here too, the mercury this morning down to a chilly 24 degrees.... so today I will spend my time messing about on the iPad and see if I can find any more interesting apps. My latest find is Camera Awesome....
And by the way, that bit about the weather is no April Fool.....




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Friday 30 March 2012

Walking Street in Mae Nam (29 March 2012)




Mae Nam, as well as being a beach area is also an old village, nestled between the island ring road and the sea. Looking at it, and the high Chinese origin population, I think it was originally a sort of supply place for seafarer's. Unlike a lot of other Samui seaside places, there's no evidence of a fishing community, rather a collection of really old, and very interesting Chinese Thai shophouses ranging from food and pharmacy to ship's chandler's. The shops look like they have been there for years, dark, dusty and full of stuff I have never seen before. Chinese incense jostles for space with drugs (i.e. legal antibiotics!), alcohol, tiger balm, dried fish and fruit. But of course, there are a few 7 Eleven's on the main road in case of need...... A few restaurants and tourist bungalows for rent in between, but mostly this feels like a real village. Even the beach, although it's lined with bungalow type hotels, has none of the wandering, pushy salespeople hawking their manicures, massage, food and clothes.



The restaurants are a mix of local, an Italian, a French, but the hotel restaurant is also nice, right on the sand. Loads of Thai stuff and fresh seafood cooked on the barbie. It feels rather Enid Blytonish of an evening, sitting with my toes in the sand, a why why (of course....) as grown up's eat and the kids play at the water's edge.


The short walk from my hotel to the village area is through a small residential area where a few small stilt houses, smaller than the villa I had at my last hotel, sit proudly on their individual plots of land. Every morning the women sit out on the little bamboo pavilions in the garden gossiping and peeling and finely chopping mountains of vegetables. Local dogs bark as I wander by and a huge bull water buffalo chomps away on the patch of ground opposite where long grasses, coconut palms and papaya trees abound. I speed walk here..... The Chinese influence is really evident in the huge ornate pagoda at the village centre. Oh, and the proliferation of good Chinese laundries!


So I settle into the rhythm of village life. Having given up on the hotel uber processed breakfast, I settle in the About Cafe for my latte and wholemeal toast. Life goes on in the village as usual. The ice man delivers to all the places along the road, the fruit seller's van calls out his prices on the tannoy, some days pineapples at just over a pound for five kilos, today, lovingly wrapped apples at ten for 60p. The old lady, daily at 10am being pushed in her wheelchair by her daughter from the laundry to the old shop to while away the day. She may be frail in body but does her daily work as the cashier, sitting clutching two plastic bowls, one with coins, one with notes as she takes the cash and counts out the change. The ancient "dog walker" rides past on his pushbike with his small lapdog charges sitting in the basket on the front as he takes them to the beach. I catch up with Thai national life by reading the day old Bangkok Post newspaper. How different from Europe, they seem to have a labour, rather than job, shortage here. I have noticed it everywhere with job adverts outside all the hotels looking for staff and now the papers report that the car industry is suffering from this labour shortage. One way the Government is looking to change this is to raise the retirement age from the 60 that it is currently. So the same plans as the West, but for different reasons. But one thing not on the cards it seems is to solve the issue by raising wages. In order to help employers with costs, there is a plan to include all service charge tips given to hotel workers in to their salary. There will be a minimum wage here, starting in April, for all including hotel workers in a few of the provinces, mainly the tourist areas of 300 baht a day (£6), so by including tips in this, the employer can reduce the 300 baht he needs to pay by the same amount. This means that regardless of service charges levied, the employee still just gets the 300 baht..... Apparently it's planned that this will only apply to service charges that go through the hotel accounts system, so the lesson for anyone coming here, is give any tips in cash. I knew people in hotels didn't earn much, but I am still surprised at how little it actually is. I was chatting to Toi, the girl who does the rooms and she was telling me that her sister married a Brit seven years ago and now lives in London. When I asked had she ever visited she looked at me as if I was mad! Now I know London is an expensive city, but given she has a sister to stay with and all she needed to find was the airfare, to me it seemed possible. But when I read she was earning such a small amount, I suddenly realised why. But even with labour shortages, the job ad's are still picky and would never get through the PC censor at home. One ad was looking for a marketing executive. Specifics, apart from the usual qualifications were that the applicant needed to be female, under 35 and pleasant looking.....



Quiet as Mae Nam is, every Thursday evening it comes alive with Walking Street. These Walking Streets happen on different days at all the main beach areas and Thursday is the turn of Mae Nam. It's a sort of tropical version of the Button Street car boot sale but with more food. The village roads are closed off and stalls set up in the early evening. Everything is sold from second hand clothes to trinkets and souvenirs. The food stalls have stuff from all corners of the world, but of course, lots of Thai. But also several "wurst" stalls, for some reason, the Russians haven't got here yet, most people are from Austria.... Fish on sticks, fruit on sticks, sticky rice, Indian samosas, full on Thai curries, you name it. The one I wasn't sure of was the fish on a stick stall that had a small Tupperware bowl with tiny turtles swimming around. I didn't see any on the barbie... and then I spotted the small reassuring sign, "For company, not eat".



But my personal favourite are the mobile cocktail bars, all with Tom Cruise types shaking up a variety of oddly named concoctions and blaring out loud music. Every barman appears to be a national or international winner of "Bartender of the Year". More Thai fakes perhaps? But it is fun to wander around the stalls sipping an excellent Mojito... And to stop and sit on the steps of the Chinese temple and listen to the live music.
The good news also is that the wifi here is generally ok, as long as the power is on of course.... which is a necessity, not the power, the Slingbox! The Apprentice has started at home, so Thursday mornings sees me loading up Slingbox to catch the latest episode before Twitter gives away who got fired!



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Thursday 29 March 2012

Les Pauvres Francais, Mae Nam (15 - 16 March 2012)




Each of the many beaches here in Samui seem to have a "character" and Mae Nam, where I moved today is still known as the backpacker's beach. Quite close to the ferry to Koh Phangan, it may have grown up as a before and after place around the huge Full Moon party there. It's yet another long curve of sand on the north of the island with a spectacular view of the other islands. Development is low key and like of all Koh Samui, low rise. A hotch potch of small local hotels, all on the beach and not a five star amongst them. There are a lot of beach bungalows, and a few places that have been developed just a bit more. I am at the Florist Hotel, and the old SE Asian language continues to dominate. Logging on to the wifi network you click on "Frorist". Family owned by people who unsurprisingly used to own a florist business, it's a nice little place, rustic, but the rooms have all mod cons and are clean with a nice stylish bathroom. The website pictures though are a masterclass in Photoshop.... The location is great. A few minutes up the road behind the hotel is the main island ring road where the local songtheows are plentiful, but it's far enough away that you don't hear it. There are also lots of little shops and restaurants and the very useful 7Eleven. On the beach there are also a few nice looking beach restaurants within walking distance and close together so no problem in the dark. And all for £35 a night, in my "deluxe room" at the edge of the pool with free wifi and included breakfast.
But it is said breakfast that made me sorry for the group of French people who are here - not an emotion I am used to! The two things the French pride themselves on to start the day is decent, fresh bread from the baker and a good coffee. Well the bread may have been fresh at one time before it was processed, sliced, wrapped in plastic and frozen, ready to be put, still with the ice crystals into the ancient turquoise toaster. And the coffee, well, dipping a glass cup in to a bucket of hot water, then adding some congealed crystals of Makro own label instant with a bit of long life milk hardly qualifies as a Parisian cafe au lait..... Bless 'em, they all sat there sipping away at a glass of black tea looking horrified! But it might be a backpacker breakfast, but certainly not a backpacker view, how lucky am I to be sipping my albeit instant coffee on the warm sands with a view like this....


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Friday 23 March 2012

Lolling about on Lipa Noi (2- 15 March 2012)




Time for a bit of medium flashpacking I thought as I return to Koh Samui from my Cambodian visa run. I also decide to have a change of pace. Normally, I find somewhere that is by a beach and not too built up, but with shops and places I can easily walk to. This time I decide to go to Lipa Noi, a west coast area of Samui. About 15 minutes off the ring road so away from any public transport; it was a lot more isolated that usual for me. But my reward is that I find something that I had thought had disappeared from here many years ago.



I am rewarded with the mind's eye picture of a deserted Thai beach, warm clear bue sea, just a few low rise hotel tucked away amidst the palm trees and a few fishing boats plying in and out of the small fishing settlement at the southern end. The bay must be about two miles long and apart from a few sunbeds outside one of the hotels, you just didn't see anyone else. I check into the Sea Valley hotel and Spa, a complex of about 24 "villas" each with a small private pool. Heaven!


It seemed to be owned by a Greek Russian family, so the "understated Thai design" was made a little overstated by some of their own design touches. Greco Roman columns holding up the balcony roof covering and an ornamental pool of Vegas like design including spouting statues in reception..... But it was perfectly located, a few steps away from the white sand powder beach....



So days were spent wandering up and down the beach, peering into one of the spectacular villas and dreaming of having one when I win the Euromillions.... One major downside was the shocking wifi, many frustrating hours spent trying to sort out a dropping line and useless Facetime and iMessage. My kit worked perfectly up the road in another hotel, but sporadically here. Complaints to the Thai's on reception got only as far as a charming smile and apologies....but eventually even they got sick of my complaining and sent a technician from the telephone company to see me. Yes, they discover the problem, the hotel needs to get another phone line in. At that point, I gave up, and enjoyed the excuse of having to buy a beachside cocktail at the hotel up the beach so I could use theirs. Every cloud has a silver lining.....


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Saturday 17 March 2012

Back to Samui (2 March 2012)




Time to cross the land border again this time in reverse and so much less hassle, but perhaps less fun!



The Thai's are all a lot more organised and it's a breeze to fill in the form, get your passie stamped and on you go, no money to pay anyone and no hordes of tuk tuks and motodops vying for your attention. This time the minibus runs to a timetable every 45 minutes and I had just missed one so had about forty minutes in the steamy heat to watch the comings and goings of a border post. Very few Westerner's which surprised me, it's more of a workaday place with cars and lorries and hordes of foot passengers going across with trollies full of bundles and badly wrapped boxes. But soon enough it was time to move on and a real coincidence, it was the same mini bus and driver who drove me here for the drive back to Trat. Think he recognised the large suitcase before he recognised me... This time as well as locals there were two French people getting on. They tried to bargain the driver down from the 120 baht fee, all of £2.40 for an hour and a half ride and the same flat rate being charged to locals and foreigners alike. Good on him, he wouldn't budge. Now I'm all for getting value for money, but trying to reduce your fare by 40p when it's obvious to all that you are a lot weathier than them seems a little crass. But on arrival at Trat bus station I realised that they really had no clue about money at all. There are no buses from Trat bus station to the airport, the only option is a tuk tuk taxi for the 45 km ride. So I asked if the Frenchies were going on to Trat airport, if so, we could share the cost three ways. Yes they said, although they thought the price at a tenner for all three of us was too high. They did seem a bit vague though, so just before we set off I decided to check again that Trat airport was in fact their destination, yes they said, they were flying home direct from there. Now even I know that Trat to Paris is not one of Bangkok Airways regular routes... It turned out they actually wanted to go to Bangkok airport, over 300kms away. Paris taxi's must be awfully cheap if you think a tenner for three people to go all that distance is expensive.... I sent them off to the bus station ticket office to find a bus..... So I made my way to Trat alone, another bouncy ride in the back of this little blue truck - it really reminded me, although it was slightly bigger - of the little Mazda we all had in Mandalay...






Looked about the same age and had the same big rusty holes in it!
Quite an airport day for me, Trat airport is lovely, my second favourite anywhere.



You relax in the outdoor Bangkok Airways lounge, free wifi, coffee and cake and little topiary elephants everywhere. And you are taken to the plane on the gaily coloured road trains. And I was flying to Koh Samui, my first favourite airport ever! But I was a little more nervous than usual. I have got used to flying on little propellor planes over the years and even in Burma, managed a few of them. But this was the first AT72 I had got on since David told me about the Air KBZ that had recently crash landed (luckily with no injuries) at Thandwe Airport in Burma. (See pic of the fated plane below). It was the same route that we had taken a few short weeks before when we flew from Heho to Ngapali Beach. But not only that, it was the same plane, it had the same tail number... In fact we had flown on this plane twice, both into and out of Thandwe. I was hoping that the Thai pilots were a bit more experienced than the Burmese ones, and that Bangkok Airways planes are better maintained but have to admit I breathed a sigh of relief as the undercarriage held up on landing at Samui!





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