SamuiRes

I think the OP was referring to the flooding in November and was wondering how the cleanup effort had gone, not whether or not Samui is getting rainshowers.

sbk..thats exactly my question

read a lot of items as:

ring road partwise not able to use

beaches are spoiled away

sometimes no eletric power (for days)

resorts are damaged

and so on. ....

may be my question occured on the wrong time...in view to other sad things that happend on samui (poor english girl)

anyway i would be happy to get some informations about the situation.

greatings from -1 degree frankfurt /germany

Samui is returning to normal. Yes there is still some clean up to be done but the roads are not at all impassable although many potholes are still to be repaired and sand cleared so care is needed especially on motorbikes.

The power outages finished before Christmas and were never for days. They were repairing the main supply cable from the mainland and had phased cuts over three days so you were never without power for more than two or three hours and they kept a very good schedule so you knew when you were going to be on or off.

Resorts are running as normal and very full and the beaches are ok.

The usual doom and gloom merchants spreading their version of the "good news!"

Come and enjoy.

PS The sun has been shining for the past week and seems likely to continue. March should be fine.

We are going on our holiday to Thailand in the end of next week for a little more than three weeks. As a part of our holiday we have planned to visit Koh Samui from around 25-26 of January and one week forward.

We hope to spend most of the time relaxing on the beaches, but as far as we have understood it has been raining for very long period on Koh Samui now, and as far as the weather reports shows it continues with clouds, showers and thunderstorms.

Is it still worth visiting Koh Samui if your main activity should be relaxing on the beach, snorkeling etc. ?

How is it right now on Koh Samui - Is it cloudy and raining all day long or do you see the sun from time to time also ?

JRG

Bright and sunny today and the forecast (as much as you can rely on them) is for this to continue. In the tropics you can always get the occassional shower but they tend not to last long and are very isolated. We did have a very heavy rainy season but that does now appear to be over and we have not had any rain for the last week. Come and enjoy!

I will be staying in Bophut. Does anyone have an suggestions of great places to eat?

Regards,

Quite a few.

Italian at Villa Bianca

Thai at Happy Elephant

Steaks at Larries Shack

Pub Food at The Pub

Aussie Pub food at The Billabong

many others as well.

Leicester

Was it really that easy?

You're up!

You got it

Ok - lets try this one - but I will only be around for another hour, so if you late birds want to try a different on to be going on with do so.

Concepcion in Chile

Valparaiso in Chile

Nope...

OK so we know it is not Europe or Africa and the response to Aughie suggest that it must be somewhere in South America. I thought I was pretty close with Guayaquil, Ecuador which has many coloured houses and I am running out of second cities!

Can you at least confirm we are in SAmerica?

Hi,

I am moving to BK in a couple of weeks and have an account with Nat West. I asked them about transferring money (large amounts e.g. £20k) to BK once I am over there, they said that I could not do it. I would have to physically be in the UK to do this, to provide ID, e.g. passport etc.

I lived in Holland six years ago and made regular transfers from ABN Amro (NL) to Nat West (UK), just by filling in a form and sending in to the bank, no problem. I was in NL, but could have been anywhere.

I have on-line access to my account, but Nat West on-line told me that I cannot do international transfers on-line, shame would have been ideal.

Looking through the forum, I am trying to summarise the options open to me, which I think are as follows:

1. Use an ATM card, costly due to charges on each transaction and daily limits, would take

ages to get my £20k

2. Pay a UK cheque into a BK bank, can this be done for such amounts?

3. Make a deposit into a BK bank using my ATM card???

4. Can I use my credit card to make a payment into a BK bank?

5. Use a money transfer agency, e.g. Western, Interchangefx

6. Make a bank-to-bank transfer, e.g. Nat west to a BK bank, (have to be in the UK for this)

I appreciate that this topic has been discussed and that each option is probably a discussion in itself, but could someone help me choose the best method?

Thanks.

The Nat West do seem to be the most unhelpful bank around.

I have an Offshore Account with LLoyds IoM and using telephone banking with them have managed to transfer funds to Thailand with no problem. I have Clients who bank with the Cooperative Bank and they give transfer instructions by telefax.

Nope, not Africa either...but it is indeed in a heavily Catholic country and, while not being the capital, it is the second-largest urban sprawl there.

aughie, you're pretty close, but no dice

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Vladivostock

Obviously not hard enough!

Well done lamphun.

Your turn.

So it does... Go for the next one!

As things seem to have gone a bit quiet and I am the only one up and about - try this-

Any chance of getting a bigger picture SR. The old Croc's eyesight isn't what it used to be.

I have increased the size with Photoshop - hope that comes out better but to help have posted a second picture of the same City. It is NOT a Capital City.

So it does... Go for the next one!

As things seem to have gone a bit quiet and I am the only one up and about - try this-

Ok. A final clue. It has to give it away. The country involved has two names. The first name is The......

Not Freetown

The Congo perhaps and therefore Brazzaville in which case it was a river behind the ship and not the sea!

IF that is right, please post again someone as I am going home and will be back on line tomorrow.

IF that is wrong - keep guessing!

not mogadishu

Lome ..

No.

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea?

no, not that one either

Last try before I go home!

Freetown, Sierra Leone

not mogadishu

Lome ..

No.

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea?

non of the above. Keep working those atlases!

Dar es Salaam

no,sorry. It's good to get you guessing SR, you've been picking them in one a few times.

Can't win all the time!

You did say it was a Capital City didn't you?

How about Mogadishu?

non of the above. Keep working those atlases!

Dar es Salaam

Not Lagos nor Algiers nor bissau

Porto Novo, Benin

Patsy - you know I did see him when I was there last year.......

Does anyone have a favourite place to eat? I want to try the Elephant and Castle next time I am there...is that still open?

I can't get much farang food in restaurants here in Nakhon Si Thammarat so every month or so, we go to Samui for a day or two and regular places I love to go to are

1. The Deck for lunch,

2. Gringo's Cantina for dinner

my husband (he's Thai) loves to get a bag full of bugs for a snack while I look for a great dessert place, still haven't found the definitive place yet, the search is on-going.

A good dessert is hard to find I agree.

Not bad at Coco Blues - Blueberry, Apple or Mango Pie with Ice cream and also Pecan Pie.

Not Accra nor Monrovia.

Bissau

Patsy - you know I did see him when I was there last year.......

Does anyone have a favourite place to eat? I want to try the Elephant and Castle next time I am there...is that still open?

I presume you mean the E&C in Bangrak in which case it is still open and run by Mark and John. Excellent food both Thai and European. Right on the beach and they do a great Sunday Roast.

Gisele,

Last year I tried to talk to her, but to no avail. She seemed to be totally out of it all the time - whether it was drugs or booze or both - I dont know. Other people I saw tried to talk to her but she got aggressive and pushed them away. People with children in buggies were crossing the road to avoid her. Its strange, she has stuck in my mind for almost a year, and probably in other people's minds as well.

It was sad to see her like that - but what can you do? If I took every waif under my wing i would have to be a billionaire and live in a huge mansion!!

If you even so much as look at her and she catches your eye you can be sure of a torrent of abuse. I am sure there are people who would like to help, but she is really unapproachable on any sane level.

I think Samui needs some positive press at the moment. In light of the horrific situation it might be an idea to list the things that are great about Samui.

Like the great food, friendly people, beautiful scenery.....

What does everyone think?

L x

Lunch in Fishermans Village (Bophut) looking across to Koh Phangan

Dinner in Fishermans Village - beautiful at night

Live Music at Coco Blues with top international stars

Dancing in the Reggae Pub

Fresh Pork Pies from Big Joe

Cheap cost of living

Great weather (most of the time - last couple of months an exception!)

Quiet beaches or crowded beaches - your choice.

Amazing little Airport

Great choice of restaurants

- Chinese

- Mexican

- Italian

- French

- Lebanese

- Brazilian

- Indian

- Thai (of course!)

- Creole

- German

- Seafood

- Steak Houses

- Korean

- Japanese

- Tapas

- Fish & Chips (Reggae Street)

- and whether you like them or not, and many people do, most of the fast food chains.

Activities

- Bungie Jump

- Canopy Adventures

- Elephant Trecking

- Diving and Snorkeling

- Island Safari

- Catamaran Charters

- Living Thailand

- Aquarium & Tiger Zoo

- Butterfly Garden

- Crocodile Farm

- Monkey Theatre

- Snake Farm

- Horse Riding

- Yacht Charters

- Kite Boarding

- Rock Climbing

- Ten Pin Bowling

- Fitness Clubs

- Go Karts

- Golf

- Frisby Golf

- Football Golf

- Sea Kayaking

- Sea Plane Excursions (coming soon)

Health

- Four International Hospitals

- Hyperbaric Chamber

- Dozens of Spas

- Good quality dentists

Enough from me - anyone else?

I remember her from last April outside the Islander shouting and talking to herself and wearing (in 40 degree heat) woollen legwarmers. I was told that she has been there for years.

All of us who live here know this lady I am sure. A very sad case. She can be seen late at night and early morning almost always with a bottle in hand. Some people might say we should try and help her, but the reality is she is unapproachable and incomprehensible if you try and talk to her. What I cannot understand is how she can be legally here and Immigration have not picked her up. Maybe for the same reason I mentioned above - she is a bigger problem than they wish to cope with!

This has come up recenly with some friends of mine and I was wondering if anyone has a reasonable explanation. Why does Fanta seem to be the drink of choice when giving offerings to Buddha or other spirits? Obviously Fanta is not the exclusive choice, but certainly more prevalent...definitely to a noticeable extent. Why not Coke or Pepsi or Sprite? I don't think price is the issue because in the bottle they are all the same (maybe I'm wrong). So what's the reason for this?

Very good question! I had the same at the weekend when my staff were decking out the Spirit House at the office - not only Fanta, but red Fanta is always the order of the day. Could not get a satisfactory answer from them. I think it is something they have always done and do not know themselves.