Regular readers may have noted a rather abrupt end to the blog in April. Not that I'm one to apportion blame you understand but David, we are still waiting for your guest editor Saigon entry... But also being one to move on I can now summarise it as follows:
"We had a fab time, flashpacking in a posh hotel, seeing all the sights and eating in the best restaurants. Ant and David continued their flashpacking in Hong Kong and Gill went home."
And time flies by so fast Saigon is a distant dream and I now find I am back here in Samui and it all feels a bit like return of the prodigal. Back in the Florist Resort for Xmas and New Year and I do feel a bit of a celebrity. My new name seems to be Kuhn Gill, Kuhn being a term a bit like "Auntie" or "Ma'am" but also a mark of respect. Apparently the King's rather lovely dog also is called by this honorary title....
I was also greeted at the airport by the manager with a big bouquet of orchids, well it is the Florist Resort after all..... and I get a free dinner and the fruit bowl. The day after I arrive there is also one of the returning guest parties so free nibbles and Thai whiskey mojito's all round. They came courtesy of a Mekong whiskey promotion and tasted a lot better than they sound! More blue sunny skies today but all of last week apparently it was "very raining". But whilst for the last few years it has been almost cool here in the evenings up until Xmas, not this year. It feels a lot hotter and a lot more humid than usual, and just as I was about to type it hasn't rained yet since I've been here, a wind blew up all of a sudden and the skies are darkening as we speak. And I know it sounds a bit strange coming from me, but a bit of rain might be good to cool things down from the humid 32 it's been...
Mostly everything here is the same, a few restaurants have closed down and a few new ones opened up. One of my favourites from last year, the Well Done has changed hands, not for the better, the menu is identical but when I asked for a few of my favourites the reply was always "we no have..." New ones to try though are the Korean BBQ and the health food tapas joint... The ubiquitous Mont Claire why why sadly doesn't change either...
Carole and my favourite deli, run by a British family has been shuttered up since I got here so we will need to go elsewhere for a lunchtime sandwich. But no fear Carole, the French cafe is still open, guess I need to advise Monsieur le Patron to stock up on a few extra bottles of rose....
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