Today is day no. 3 in Koh Samui and the weather has not been very kind to us since we arrive on Monday afternoon. There was always an air of rain out there and the fear that any fun out in the sun would be cold blanketed by those approaching grey clouds.
We have put ourselves up at Samui Pier Resort - one is that is located in the north of the island and quite close to the airport. By my accordance and my comparatively (against Olof) expensive taste, this resort will get only an OK from me. But it has received what I would call rave reviews on tripadvisor. Not that it is lousy, but it wasn't as good as I had thought.
We booked a deluxe room at THB1,800 per night, without breakfast. The resort is radared with its own WI-FI internet so guests can literally go online anywhere within the its perimeter. Guess where I am writing this blog now? Right my room door. I dragged one of the beach chairs outside our litte hut in and only then can I get some decent connection speed. So internet connection wise, it got a point minus from me.
Room. I guess I can't expect to get lobster if I paid the price of a shrimp. The resort has most of its room on the ground and perhaps only 3 or 4 family suites which have 2 storeys. We got a squarish hut next to the kitchen. At first I was worried we will hear pots and pans clanging early in the morning, but it turned out to be ok, mostly because there are not many guests around. Our hut is furnished with a queen bed, wardrobe, TV cum writing table, mini Hitachi fridge and two beach chairs just outside the hut. Bathroom is quite spacious equipped with hot shower, although it is hard to think who would want a hot shower in this 30-degrees weather. It was certainly not a 5-star bathroom. I would perhaps give it a 2.5. For room cleaniness, I do not have too much to complain nor too much to complement, except that I do not fancy having co-guests - ants. Before you even dare say I am too pampered with the luxuries of life to withstand an ant or two, it wasn't just a handful where you can get rid off with a one-time extermination mission. There are plenty of them, even on the bed! Imagine having some creepy crawlies sleeping with you, crawling all over you while you are in dreamland? Goose bumpy huh?
The view from our room is nice. We get to see the sea and two piers. Yes, we are sandwiched between two piers. The good thing with being so close to a pier is easy access to other small islands. While the others have to be chauffered from other hotels to the pier, we just have to walk 5 mins to get there. The bad? Perhaps you already guessed it. Before the motorboats leave for their destinations with excited passengers or when they return from trips the happy and sun-drenched city elopers, the smell from burning petrol and rumbling noise of the super motors are not quite pleasurable for two guests who long for fresh air and quiet. The waters along this stretch of the beach is also not quite conducive for swimming. With very poor visibility and boats coming in and going out, I just don't have the urge to plunge in. Then we realised that Koh Samui is actually more of a hotel/resort island with nice beaches and hotels, but not so much for beach diving and snorkelling. Taking a boat out into Koh Tao, Koh Phangan or Ang Thong Marine Park is mostly the choice, if not de facto, of tourists who want to see fishes and corals.
And so we did. We signed up for a snorkelling trip yesterday to Ang Thong Marine Park. Unfortunately, I did not quite enjoy it, mostly because I got two times a mask that did not fit my face. Water came into my mask all the time and filled it up as soon as I dipped my head under water. So I was more busy clearning water from my mask all the time than having a good swim with the fishes. Plus, the snorkelling site was FULL of tourists. In China, they call it aptly "cooking dumplings". You can hardly maneuver in the water without bumping into somebody else's legs or hands or worse, you see a gay man wadding right in front of you in his white triangular, almost transparent, underwear. What was more emotional for me was to see how much destruction the marine lives have endured. The corals were nothing colorful to speak of, nor were the fishes I saw during the few brief moments when my mask was cleared of water. It was nothing quite like what I saw at Perhentian many years ago when I first dived.
It is still drizzling. Olof is off for the theory module of his open water diving course. We signed him up this morning for an open water diving course with Coral Grand Divers. They are reputed to be quite good. While I am not doing the course, I will be going for the pool dives and eventually the boat dives with him in the next 3 days. I reckon I need to refresh my rusty skills.
2009-07-22
2009-07-20
Bangkok - Day No. 2
Yesterday was a day out into the outskirts of Bangkok. Skyscrapers, mega shopping malls and the sleazy "service industry" aside, Bangkok's outskirts was charming and fresh, as with city outskirts in other parts of the world, namely Beijing.
We signed ourselves up for a half day cycling tour to "see fish farms, shrimp farms, rice fields, talk to the local farmers", with the highlight being a delectable home style lunch prepared by the village chief's Mrs. Indeed, the highlight was delicious! Simple but really really delicious. Perhaps we were hungry from cycling a few hours in the sun. But still, the hoi sin kangkong, tom yam chicken, seafood vemicelli, and a very very simple egg omelette totally whetted our appetites. With our bicyles safely parked under a tree (without having to chain it like a prisoner in Guantanamo, as Olof said it), we headed into the village chief's shed (yes, it was a shed, with no walls or any concrete) and sat at a table already laid out with cutlery. The chief tends a rice field, shrimp farm and a fish farm, just like any other farmers in the same village. 
Although we never met him, his humble abode was not flambyoyant and his gentle-mannered wife was certainly nothing other than friendly and amicable, although she, like many fashion conscious Thai woman, had colored hair and Chanel-red lipstick on. The TV was rumbling on in the background all the time when we were there. The ladies looked at it only every now and then. Most of the time they were staring into space, into the rice fields or at us. Their way of life was indeed quiet and tranquil, and we appreciated that. But perhaps only for an afternoon, said Olof. Too much of that will bore us to death, I reckoned.
We, urbanites, complained all the time that city life is very hectic, stressful and unfulfilling. Yet, our longing for a more simple way of life lasts no more than an afternoon. After a few hours into the real rural, we can't wait to go back to the exciting, happening, and comfortable urban living again. What wretches are we!
Honorary mention of Olof here that he was quite sun-burned from a day out beside the pool at our hotel on Saturday. We were excited (perhaps abit too over) and went crazy over finally being able to bask ourselves in our newly-bought swimwear (of course with the intention to show off to the Bangkok-nites) under the sun (to be precise, it was cloudy actually) THAT we totally omitted the sun block. That was really reckless. My mom eventually pushed the blame to me on Olof's sunburn. "A seasoned sun-baker like you should know better!" she screamed. She was quite right. I was slightly burnt too, but Olof looked like a cooked lobster, oh man. Very delectable, except you have to remove quite some hair before digging in, perhaps.
We ended up having to do damage control by smearing ourselves with layers and layers of moisturisers. Our last check this morning: Olof's red is slowing fading away. My nose is beginning to peel.
Waiting at the airport now to embark on our next journey to Koh Samui, we can't wait to dive into the clear sea waters and play with the fishes and be awed by the rainbow-colored coral reefs. Hopefully no more sun burn... but more sun kisses....
We signed ourselves up for a half day cycling tour to "see fish farms, shrimp farms, rice fields, talk to the local farmers", with the highlight being a delectable home style lunch prepared by the village chief's Mrs. Indeed, the highlight was delicious! Simple but really really delicious. Perhaps we were hungry from cycling a few hours in the sun. But still, the hoi sin kangkong, tom yam chicken, seafood vemicelli, and a very very simple egg omelette totally whetted our appetites. With our bicyles safely parked under a tree (without having to chain it like a prisoner in Guantanamo, as Olof said it), we headed into the village chief's shed (yes, it was a shed, with no walls or any concrete) and sat at a table already laid out with cutlery. The chief tends a rice field, shrimp farm and a fish farm, just like any other farmers in the same village. 
Although we never met him, his humble abode was not flambyoyant and his gentle-mannered wife was certainly nothing other than friendly and amicable, although she, like many fashion conscious Thai woman, had colored hair and Chanel-red lipstick on. The TV was rumbling on in the background all the time when we were there. The ladies looked at it only every now and then. Most of the time they were staring into space, into the rice fields or at us. Their way of life was indeed quiet and tranquil, and we appreciated that. But perhaps only for an afternoon, said Olof. Too much of that will bore us to death, I reckoned.
We, urbanites, complained all the time that city life is very hectic, stressful and unfulfilling. Yet, our longing for a more simple way of life lasts no more than an afternoon. After a few hours into the real rural, we can't wait to go back to the exciting, happening, and comfortable urban living again. What wretches are we!
Honorary mention of Olof here that he was quite sun-burned from a day out beside the pool at our hotel on Saturday. We were excited (perhaps abit too over) and went crazy over finally being able to bask ourselves in our newly-bought swimwear (of course with the intention to show off to the Bangkok-nites) under the sun (to be precise, it was cloudy actually) THAT we totally omitted the sun block. That was really reckless. My mom eventually pushed the blame to me on Olof's sunburn. "A seasoned sun-baker like you should know better!" she screamed. She was quite right. I was slightly burnt too, but Olof looked like a cooked lobster, oh man. Very delectable, except you have to remove quite some hair before digging in, perhaps.
We ended up having to do damage control by smearing ourselves with layers and layers of moisturisers. Our last check this morning: Olof's red is slowing fading away. My nose is beginning to peel.
Waiting at the airport now to embark on our next journey to Koh Samui, we can't wait to dive into the clear sea waters and play with the fishes and be awed by the rainbow-colored coral reefs. Hopefully no more sun burn... but more sun kisses....
2009-07-18
Start of our vacation... not quite smooth...
It has been rather rainy in Beijing the whole week, up till the very moment when our plane was supposed to take off from Beijing Capital International Airport. We had already expected that there could be delays due to the bad weather. But to our surprise, there was no calls for delays.
So we boarded the plane on time, fastened our seat belts as gently reminded by the air crew a million times, and waited quietly (abeit patiently) for the plane to take off in a what we felt was a sauna cabin. After what seemed like a very long wait, I checked my clock. Oh, it was already 25 minutes passed the departure time. We got no announcements from the crew until an overweight passenger raised the question (most likely because he couldn't handle the heat anymore). THEN, an announcement came over the broadcasting system that the air-conditioning on the plane was faulty and they were scrambling to repair it.
Not a good start, I thought. After another 10 or so minutes of waiting, I saw the ground crew unloading our bags onto carriages.
"Where are our bags going?!" I exclaimed at Olof.
Then THE announcement came.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a technical fault, we need to change to another plane. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused."
After an hour's wait, so there was a technical fault and this piece of old scrap metal couldn't take off.
Without telling us where we'll be taken next, the crew rounded all of us up onto the airport ground bus and whizzed us to one of the waiting areas in this huge maze of airport gates. Without asking, the crew were not obliged to tell you how long you have to wait and information as such. It IRRITATED me to the core. IRRITATE... IRRITATING... IRRITATION... Simply IRRITATING... Ok, I am rumbling on now... You can see despite more than 10 hours later, I am still irritated. Back to the story...
After another hour's waiting, finally we were asked to go onboard again. I began to wonder if we will be boarding the SAME plane. It was almost impossible to tell, given all planes of the same kind are like birds of the same family - they all look alike. All we can do was to hope that they have the slightest moral to not risk our, as well as their, lives. Another half hour after going onboard, the plane finally lifted itself into the dark skies.
I can't help but to salute this Olympics 2008 Official Airline partner for its IMPECCABLE and UNBEATABLE service attitute. I don't consider myself as someone who travels often and yet I met with last night's circumstances. I pity those who are their frequent flyers. Perhaps it was only necessary to offer ACCEPTABLE service during those few months, thereafter die hard old habits can't wait to kick in again.
A first class international airport deserves a first class airline. Right now, without a doubt, it is a TOTAL mismatch.
So we boarded the plane on time, fastened our seat belts as gently reminded by the air crew a million times, and waited quietly (abeit patiently) for the plane to take off in a what we felt was a sauna cabin. After what seemed like a very long wait, I checked my clock. Oh, it was already 25 minutes passed the departure time. We got no announcements from the crew until an overweight passenger raised the question (most likely because he couldn't handle the heat anymore). THEN, an announcement came over the broadcasting system that the air-conditioning on the plane was faulty and they were scrambling to repair it.
Not a good start, I thought. After another 10 or so minutes of waiting, I saw the ground crew unloading our bags onto carriages.
"Where are our bags going?!" I exclaimed at Olof.
Then THE announcement came.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a technical fault, we need to change to another plane. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused."
After an hour's wait, so there was a technical fault and this piece of old scrap metal couldn't take off.
Without telling us where we'll be taken next, the crew rounded all of us up onto the airport ground bus and whizzed us to one of the waiting areas in this huge maze of airport gates. Without asking, the crew were not obliged to tell you how long you have to wait and information as such. It IRRITATED me to the core. IRRITATE... IRRITATING... IRRITATION... Simply IRRITATING... Ok, I am rumbling on now... You can see despite more than 10 hours later, I am still irritated. Back to the story...
After another hour's waiting, finally we were asked to go onboard again. I began to wonder if we will be boarding the SAME plane. It was almost impossible to tell, given all planes of the same kind are like birds of the same family - they all look alike. All we can do was to hope that they have the slightest moral to not risk our, as well as their, lives. Another half hour after going onboard, the plane finally lifted itself into the dark skies.
I can't help but to salute this Olympics 2008 Official Airline partner for its IMPECCABLE and UNBEATABLE service attitute. I don't consider myself as someone who travels often and yet I met with last night's circumstances. I pity those who are their frequent flyers. Perhaps it was only necessary to offer ACCEPTABLE service during those few months, thereafter die hard old habits can't wait to kick in again.
A first class international airport deserves a first class airline. Right now, without a doubt, it is a TOTAL mismatch.
2009-07-09
It is saddening to see people belonging to the same country bear hatred deep as such for their fellow countrymen that they will pick up knives to kill. For the Uighurs, their act was one of retaliation towards oppression by the Chinese govenment, a demonstration catalysed by a deadly brawl between a couple of Han people and Uighurs in a factory in southern China.
On one hand, it is commendable that people stand up for their own men, that they want to see justice done. But for those who lost their lives, including the perpetuators, what is the point?
None. Blind hatred has no point. I simply hate you. I hate you for being a Chinese. I hate you for responding to the leaders' call to move into my home soil. I hate you for fighting survival with us, even though you may not be better well off than me.
Ultimately, these two peoples perhaps don't see themselves as belonging to the same country. They were forcibly brought together due to the doings of some. Some who own power and authority; who have the prowess to imagine that with a swing of the wand, they can dispel deep-rooted differences.
On one hand, it is commendable that people stand up for their own men, that they want to see justice done. But for those who lost their lives, including the perpetuators, what is the point?
None. Blind hatred has no point. I simply hate you. I hate you for being a Chinese. I hate you for responding to the leaders' call to move into my home soil. I hate you for fighting survival with us, even though you may not be better well off than me.
Ultimately, these two peoples perhaps don't see themselves as belonging to the same country. They were forcibly brought together due to the doings of some. Some who own power and authority; who have the prowess to imagine that with a swing of the wand, they can dispel deep-rooted differences.
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