Koh Samui - Moments...

We've been on Koh Samui now for about 10 days and are having a fantastic time. The weather since we've been here has been up and down - it certainly hasn't been cold though ! It's been overcast and we've had some downpours, fantastic thunder and lightening storms and some stunners. What a difference a day makes.


The Park - the complex where we're staying

Cheong Mon Beach

On the island there are an abundance of motor cycles - it really is the best way to get around - apart from when it's pouring with rain !! Don't worry - we won't be hiring bikes. There are petrol stations and since I don't know what the price in NZ is for a litre of petrol (I certainly don't know what it is in HK) can't compare but it's about 31 thai bhat per litre (it's about NZD 1.30). The petrol stations aren't really convinent to get to so what they have instead all over the island are gasoline stands - just like the one below. I think this one is using whiskey bottles to store the

petrol but it does vary !

Victoria had found a little flower and asked that it be put behind her eye - we were heading to the beach. It didn't last long and blew off in the tuk-tuk !

We went to Bophut Fisherman's Village for dinner. It's a funky little place right by the ocean and full of fun shops, restaurants and cafes. We've been there twice now. The first night was the 28th which was the night of the full moon party on one of the outlying islands. They have a party every month around the full moon. Apparently they get a huge number of visitors each month just for it. The night that it happened wouldn't have been very fun as it poured with rain all night.

The other time we went was last night. Friday night's they close the street and turn it into a night market and one of the attractions is Dr Fish. Basically you put your feet into water filled with this fish and they come and "nibble" them and will remove all the dead skin to make them soft. I didn't do it but hopefully I'll get a chance as it sounds like one experience that you need to try. Paul did though and all he could say the sensation was like having pins and needles in your feet.

And I'll leave you with this taken at the Samui Butterfly Garden.

Actually, it was taken in the carpark. We were waiting for Paul to park the car and they were waiting in the shade.

Koh Samui - Arrival and Cheong Mon Beach

We left Bangkok for the beautiful island of Koh Samui where we are to spend the next 3 and a bit weeks. It was great to be leaving the city and to head to the quiet of the beach, the sun, the sand and a slower pace of doing things for a while. No high rises are in sight !!

This is the plane that we caught to Koh Samui. The new planes that I use to catch to New Plymouth are bigger than this !! It was a smooth ride and we landed 1hr 15 mins.

Riding on the airport tuku to the luggage collection

After we'd checked in we decided to head to the beach. Cheong Mon beach is the closest to us - about 5 mins by tuktuk. It's one of the smaller beaches and one of the quieter ones. It's at the top of the north east side of the island and is off the main drag - it's more of a beach suited to children. It's got beautiful white sand, shallow clear waters and very quiet waves. We hadn't taken our swimming attire so the girls were disappointed but that didn't stop them going in. The water is beautifully warm and so clear. We will be going back numerous times over our stay.

Hannah not wanting to get her skirt wet

Looking at the east side of the beach

The west side

Testing the waters...

The following photos were taken at the same beach but on a different day. Yesterday was abit overcast and we got to the beach after 3pm - perfect timing as there was no sun and the heat of the day was gone.

Playing in the sand

Today we spent the day at the resort in the pool. There's two pools to choose from - one is better for the girls as they can touch the bottom. They just love being in there and trying to get them out is no easy task. Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow but am sure it'll involve swimming somewhere and seeing new sights.

Bangkok - the Grand Palace

No trip to Bangkok would be complete without a visit to the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It's not all open to the public as the Royal family due reside there. There is certain protocols that must be followed when visiting and as Paul and I were wearing shorts we needed to borrow a skirt and trousers - to make sure how knees weren't showing. Our shoulders had to be covered too. But those same protocols didn't apply to the girls. We read somewhere that we couldn't wear our jandals (flip flops) as couldn't show our feet so we make sure we wore shoes. This is one rule that doesn't exist and I'm sure we would have felt that much better as wearing socks and shoes in heat - not fun !! It was such a hot day too !

The best way to get to the temple is by boat so once again we hopped on the public ferry. Makes such a difference travelling this way as if we would have been stuck in traffic any other way. The girls enjoyed travelling on the ferries and couldn't ask for a better hotel stop - just outside our hotel. We were here for a couple of hours and once back at the hotel we were in the pool before you could say boo !!

Outside the entrance. I've got my skirt on - over my shorts.


In the courtyard of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha



In front of one of the pillars outside the temple



The entrance to the Grand Palace


Water break

The Palace Courtyard

Inspecting the guard

The palace courtyard

Leaving the Palace

A taste of Bangkok

After I had downloaded these photos I realised that I had them all back to front and was too difficult to change.

We had a fantastic three days in Bangkok. It wasn't quite what I expected. We got to see a few main sights and to experience a taste of Bangkok. The girls just wanted to swim in the pool !!

One of the pools at the Shangra-la. Only guests staying in our wing could use this one.



After a couple of hours at the Reclining Buddha and wandering around - the boat ride was too much for Victoria. She fell asleep within one minute of hopping on.

The Temple of The Dawn. Admired from a distance. We didn't get there as were abit hot and just wanted to get to the pool.

In the grounds of the Reclining Buddha

The Reclining Buddha - the largest and one of it's kind in the world.

On our way to dinner on our first night at the hotel we passed these ladies. There was a wedding celebration on so these were the the attendees.

We were staying by the river. These are the views from our window.

Toy Story 3 - the movie

The bags are just about packed and we depart for Thailand tomorrow. I for one can't wait !! The girls are all excited, as are we. We're looking forward to some R & R and having some family fun. We will be in Bangkok for 4 days and then Koh Samui. I've never been to either of these places so am looking forward to the Bangkok adventures and the beautiful white sand beaches of Koh Samui.

The girls and I went to see Toy Story 3 today with friends. It's in 3D so needed to wear the glasses. Victoria even keeps them on. I think it had helped that we saw Shrek 4 last week so she had an idea of what it was all about. It was a great film. Admitedly though in parts it was a tad scary so Victoria ended up on my knee and Hannah had to sit as close to me as she could. To lighten those dark moments a funny scene normally followed. The only way to get Victoria to stop crying was to laugh - even at parts that weren't that funny. They were saying this evening that "it was just a little bit scary". I asked them if they wanted to see it again - NO was the answer.

Vivienne and Hannah wearing the 3D glasses

Victoria with her glasses

Last Horse Race meeting

Tonight was the last race meeting of the season. The next horse race of the new season doesn't happen until September. So that means Paul is now on holiday !!! For him this last week has been just like being at school for the last week of the year - not much on ! I didn't end up going to the races - I admired them from afar - out of the bedroom window. With it being the last meeting for a while it was expected to be busy - and as you can see from the photos it was. I really haven't seen it that busy before so can imagine it would have been chaos down there. The bigger the crowd the louder the cheer you hear !

Toy Story 3

This movie is about to open in Hong Kong tomorrow. I'm taking the girls to see it on Friday with some friends. As you can imagine they're very excited about it. They don't know that we're going on Friday - I'll mention it just before we leave ! At our local mall in Causeway Bay - Times Square - they've got a Toy Story exhibition on. We were down there this morning selecting a laptop to take on our holiday with us. I left Paul at the shop and took the girls to see the displays. They had a great time. I might even be able to put a few names to the characters - where it's blank I'll have to come back and edit !!

The girls with Pig


Sitting on Rex


In front of the aliens


Posing with Woody