Still alive!

In case anyone was wondering, I am still alive and well in Ko Samui. I haven't posted in a while, no excuses really, other than I've been enjoying chilling out here in Bophut. So here's what I've been up to:


Sunday 22nd of July
Yet another plane journey! This time a two leg trip from Siem Reap to Bangkok and then no to Ko Samui. Bangkok Air have a very nice lounge in the airport in Bangkok, with free food, soft drinks and internet access for any of their passengers. While checking my email I heard a few Irish accents beside me. 3 girls from Sligo were also checking their email, and as it turned out were sitting beside me, on the same flight as me to Ko Samui. My hotel here is a charming placed called the Waterfront which site right alongside Bophut beach. There are a number of rooms and what they call 'bungalows' surrounding a central courtyard where the bar and a small pool are. I'm looking forward to some R&R here.

Monday 23rd July

Very eventful day today, most of which was spent lying in a hammock which hangs in the shade between 2 palm trees, listening to music and reading my book!

Friday 27th of July

More of the same for the last few days, just chilling out here at the hotel. Have enjoyed taking it easy. There's some really great restaurants here in Bophut. Whether you want Asian or Western food they have somewhere to serve up what you're looking for. On my first night here I had a fantastic steak in an American grill place, run by a guy from New York. After eating Asian food for the last 4 weeks it was very nice to tuck in to a big juicy steak. There's also a great Italian place wihch is run by Malcolm (an Irish guy) and Guido, his Italian business partner. Malcolm got chatting to me while I was looking at their menu, and started off with "Where are you from", and turned into, "What part of Dublin are from". He's been living in Asia for the last 40 years, and is married to a Thai woman, and has been here in Samui for the last few years. Their restaurant didn't disappoint either, fantastic pizza and pasta. Malcolm is from a small village just outside Killarney.

Today, I rented a scooter and headed off to explore the island. It was great to be able to head off under my own steam and stop off anywhere I wanted along the way. I had lunch in Chaweng which is the next resort down the road from where I am. I'm very glad to be in Bophut. In comparison Chaweng is very heavily developed. There's a lovely beach there but a little too many bars/restaurants, along with McDonalds, Starbucks and various other Western chains. After lunch I found some really nice beaches down on the south part of the island, which literally had nobody on them. Check out some of my photos from Samui to take a look. Stopped for a soft drink after in a little bar that looks out on to the beach.

After leaving the beach, had a small mishap on the scooter, when going from a car park back on to the road, the scooter skidded out from under me, and then landed on top of me. Thankfully I was only doing about 2 km an hour and didn't end up with any worse than a few cuts, like you'd get from tripping and falling. Having been very careful on the thing I was kicking myself for having come away with a few scratches. Anyway, I'm fine, nothing too serious. The Thai family that run the bar came running out to my aid with cotton wool and some disinfectant and helped me clean myself up.

My plan was to stop off at one of the beaches which is meant to have the best sunset, but while searching for a pharmacy, I must have passed it. I got myself bandaged up at the pharmacy and then stopped at another small beach in Nathon, to get some snaps of the sunset, and then made my way back to Bophut.

All in all a pretty eventful day. I went back to Villa Bianca for a pizza and Malcolm insisted on plying me with a few brandy's as a disinfectant for my 'Samui tattoo' that I picked up from the scooter.