Friday, 16 December 2016 to Thursday, 22 December 2016
Another travel day lay ahead of us as we got up early on Friday morning; we packed, had a simple breakfast and boarded a taxi for the airport. The trip to Samui today proved to be uneventful and rather enjoyable. We flew to Surat Thani on the mainland; from there we took a bus to the Donsak Pier, boarded the ferry and arrived on Samui mid afternoon. The Airasia flight tickets include the cost of the bus and ferry ride, you just have to make you own way from the Lipa Noi pier on Samui to your accommodation.

We know that taxi fares on Samui are rather extortionary and Wednesday evening Patrick suggested that we book a minibus transfer through Airasia when we arrive at the Surat Thani airport which is reasonable at 200 baht per person. Of course we followed this good advice.

As the ferry arrived on Samui and we were greeted with the white sandy beaches and palm trees it felt like we were arriving back home. It was good to be back home again, as per the song from John Denver below.

We were met by our minibus transfer driver, a really friendly chap, and 15 minutes later we on our way and an hour later we were home. We checked into our Replay Condominium studio apartment which is small but very functional with everything we need to live comfortably, in close quarters of course. There is a lovely balcony that overlooks the beautiful swimming pool and the tennis court, the place has a decent gym, sauna and steam room, great!

At 18:00 I went downstairs to meet up with Ian’s wife to take possession of our means of transport for the next month, a Honda Click. We had a roof over our heads, we were mobile, what more could we ask for.

For supper we went to Fisherman’s Village but things were not quite as hectic as we had expected for high season, people were milling about but there were no crowds. The eastern part of the market where we used to spend time was rather deserted. We put it down to the rains of the past few weeks and also the heavy downpour of this afternoon. But, could it be partly due to the army/building inspectors that have been prowling the streets of Koh Samui?  Apparently they were checking that building regulations were being followed and if not, owners are fined and required to break down and rebuild where they do not conform. Some owners apparently just closed up shop.

Furthermore, the main street in Fisherman’s Village apparently belong to the shops on either side and thus the stalls owners that set up stall in front of the shops do so illegally without paying rent the shop owner, and also divert business away from them. This has been an ongoing struggle and it seems to be coming to a head now with some stall owners not permitted to set up stalls there. Despite all the possible shenanigans there were still a number of stalls open for business and we had a lovely supper of porkies, curried chicken pieces on a stick and spring rolls. I took my second swig of my Chang after Adri had her first, and as I thought it Adri said it “The beer tastes better on Koh Samui”. And it really does, cannot explain it, it just does.

For dessert Adri had those green garlicky gelatin coconut balls smothered in coconut flakes… I had a white chocolate waffle, and with that under our belts, or rather over it, we headed home for a well deserved rest.

We got to bed at around 23:00, we were way tired, it was a long day, and we only woke up at 11:00 Saturday morning after a solid 12 hours of sleep. Now that’s what I call a decent rest! And the bonus was that we woke up to rain and the rest of the day was covered in it, there was no letting up, we were forced to read and relax.

We have not yet had a chance to do grocery shopping so there was no food in the house and I was also not going to go out in the current inclement weather. Fortunately we still had a whole block of cheese that travelled with us from Bangkok. That, with those wonderful Hup Seng cream crackers that made the same trip, served as our late breakfast after consuming copious cups of coffee.

By 19:00 the rain had subsided to a manageable drizzle but we were not ready to get wet yet so went to the onsite restaurant called Grass. The “ss” on the name board was rather elongated and curvy, could be “ll”, but “Grall” would make no sense at all, so we ate at Grass. And no, it was not on the menu.

Adri had the Penang curry which was apparently pretty good, I had the beef, egg and bacon burger with chips which was not all bad, but a far cry from Oi’s in Nong Song Hong. After supper we went next door to the Family Mart for a few breakfast things for the morning, another day of cheese and cream crackers would not cut it.

It was just before 10:00 on Sunday that we woke up and had a freshly brewed Douwe Egbert and shortly after that we got a message from Thea and Andre, they were picking us up at 12:45 for a roast buffet lunch.

Man, it was great to see these two again, and they to keep on getting younger! This island life is agreeing with them very well. We stopped off at a restaurant close to the airport called Artezan where Johnny does his trade. He owned a few restaurants in London at some point but then tried his hand at some new things like being a scuba diving instructor, but ultimately 12 years ago he landed on Koh Samnui and returned to being the artisan that he is, the artisan of food, and can this artisan cook!

For your meal you are required to choose whether you want lamb, chicken or pork, or all, or any combination thereof, which gets served on a huge plate with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. And then the buffet comes into its own right. You take that plate and mosey on over to the buffet table where there are four or five bain-marie with the most gorgeous veggies imaginable. Further to the assortment of veggies there were also crackling and mince balls wrapped in bacon, this was a feast of note.

Andre went inside to enquire about dessert and it was either apple pie or cranberry pie, he reported on his return. We made our choices but then the waitress came running out, she had made a mistake, we had no choice in the matter, it was actually apple and cranberry pie. This dessert came with a hot thick sweetish cream cavorting all over it… it was divine.

After an amazing lunch we took a drive up to the Jungle Club where the four of us went for supper previously, and that view had not changed one bit, it never will, simply stunning. After drinking in that view with a beer in hand we headed home while still catching up on the latest news from Samui, we had been away too long!

We woke up slowly on Monday morning, had breakfast, did a few emails… and I was exhausted. We spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing while the rain gently fell all around us, yet again.

It was late afternoon when the rain let up so we decided to go for our first swim in the lovely large elongated pool in the complex which has a wonderful wooden deck surrounding it. On the one side there are tables and chairs where one could order and eat something from the restaurant and on the other side there are a number of deck loungers. We headed for the deck loungers and I set about to rearrange two of them to perfect our view.

As I picked up the one end of the first one I felt my back hiccup once and then yet again as it strained against the weight. This thing was as heavy as a horse! After gritting my teeth and assembling all available muscles, I eventually managed to pick that horse up and move it a few inches. I then put it down to catch my breath but, unbeknownst to me, with one leg on the tip of my right plakka (sandal). As I moved my right foot up and back in order to prepare for my second assault, my foot felt strangely empty, my plakka had stayed behind. With the force placed upon it the thong had pulled right out of that plakka and there I was, half plakka-less. I never did fancy those plakkas anyways; they were an emergency purchase in Chiang Mai. I never did replace that emergency because I really do hate going plakka hunting, but now there was no way out.

We lay next to the pool in the last light of the day, reading and watching people frolicking in the pool, going about their holidays. To me it truly felt like a holiday within in holiday, way cool man!

We eventually went for a swim and the water was lovely and cool after all the rains that we have had. It was time for supper so I heaved my body out of the pool just to find my swimming trunks in the vicinity of my ankles. I dropped myself ever so casually back into the pool and into my trunks. I don’t think anybody noticed, or maybe they were just being polite pretending not to! I must remember to tighten the cord of my trunks.

After that quick swim I had worked up an appetite but as we got onto the bike I had one petrol bar staring back at me, petrol had to be had, the nearest station being a few kilometres away. With the throttle being eased ever so gently to try and save a few fumes we managed to make it to the petrol station in Choeng Mon. Adri noted that “Petrol is expensive on Koh Samui!” when she saw the baht bill, but no, it was just that we have never ridden a bike’s tank to this finite point of emptiness.

We wanted to go for supper at our very local little dusty restaurant close to where we stayed previously but chef Samui was nowhere to be seen. Just before we left Samui he had moved to another dusty spot just across the road but sadly all seems to be shuttered up. I was hoping that he was not a victim of the building inspectors, and that would not surprise me, he did lay a cement floor at some stage on public land for which I suspect no building permit was granted. I really do hope he is okay.

We had supper in the Plai Laem area at a little restaurant just across the road from the 7/11 and Family Mart. The owner lady was obviously married to a Frenchman as the menu was all in Thai and French, with a sprinkling of English here and there. The lady was sitting towards the back of the restaurant having too many beers with a friend of hers. She was lekker gespat (rather tipsy) when she took our order and I predicted disaster when I noticed that she was also the cook. Well, the food was delicious, so I say, keep on drinking girl!

As I read the news Tuesday morning a feeling of dread engulfed me. It was now official; the US’s Electoral College had now formally selected Trump as the next US president. Good luck US, you’re gonna need it. There is so much news about the bad news that is Trump that I have started to avoid reading all those stories of gloom. Not quite a case of the ostrich sticking its head in the sand, just don’t want to be a gloomy old sod. And by the way, some people believe that Trump will not be re-elected in four years’ time, these are the same people who believed he won’t get elected in the first place! Trump has an infantile way to spin negatives as positives to the uninformed and ignorant masses that one could never rule out a second term in office for him. Again, good luck US, and I really do mean it most sincerely. I really do.

As I sat on our balcony there were a number of excited voices down below making their way to the pool. It felt like I was in a little Russian enclave as all the voices were in Russian, I suspect that 80% of the people at the condo are Russian holiday makers. We sure do miss Marina; we spent wonderful times with her and Steve here on Samui last year.

We went to the gym for the first time today and it was great, very well kitted out with machines and weights of all persuasions, for all shapes and sizes. We checked out the sauna and steam room and made a mental note to partake in its offerings, Adri has a healthy respect for steam rooms… but let me explain.

It was a number of years back that we took a trip to Albania and Greece. After spending 10 days in Albania we took the bus back across the border to Athens where we rented a car for the next ten days of our journey through the Peloponnese peninsula. It was late December and the weather was fortunately temperate, but I guess the long and tiring overnight bus ride from Saranda to Athens was too much for Adri and a few days into our Peloponnese trip she got the flu. Two days later and she could barely move, choosing to sleep on the backseat of the car while I did the driving for the day.

And this particular day we drove to the town of Kalamata and arrived in the dark, probably past 19:00. We were looking for a hotel and as I walked into the lobby of the Elektra Hotel and Spa I immediately knew I could not afford that! Because it was already late and there were rooms available we paid probably half the normal rate. And Adri needed to be comfortable, she looked like death nearing the pearly gates, the pearly gates of hell.

After Adri took a nap for a while in our extremely comfortable room she woke up feeling even worse. The flu tablets we bought were probably placebos and Adri’s mind was on to them, they helped not one iota. It was then that Adri suggested that we should go down to the basement where the hotel’s spa is located. I was not keen to go but how could I refuse a dying request?

The staff steamed up the steam room for us and we spent a whole hour steaming our bodies, it was amazing! After the steaming Adri dragged her body back upstairs while I went out to get some takeaways for dinner after which we went to sleep. Now you may not believe this, but the next morning Adri woke up, not just feeling better, she was healed, no trace of flu in that body. It was a miracle, it really was! And this is the reason why Adri still has the utmost respect for a steam room to this day!

Anyway, it was 18:00 when we met Patrick and Oi at their home in Bophut. He had done some upgrades to his house during the last year and the place was looking great!  We left for supper at the Islander in Chaweng, a well known spot for Samui residents, but had never been there. We used the parking area of The Ark Bar close by which is one of the liveliest and best party spots on Chaweng beach. Although we have walked past it many times we had never actually been inside and it looks like a really lovely spot, especially for the younger crowd.

Supper at the Islander was great, the draft beers were as well, and although they have a rather large farang menu, we chose to go for Thai dishes and all were great! After supper we rode down to one of our favourite little bars which Patrick initially introduced us to, the Bamboo Bar, at the bottom end of the Chaweng beach road. Lisa was still there, still asking whether you want your cocktail “normal or strong”. Of course I always choose the latter and we were not disappointed!

After the gym session of yesterday, Tuesday morning I woke up stiff, feeling like a stiff. My arms were armed, my calves had calved, my biceps felt like triceps… you get the picture, I was in agony. My brain also ached but I suspect that was not from the exercise. We decided that we had to do another gym session today to try and get back to normalcy.

I went through my emails as I always do first thing in the morning and was mortified to receive and read an email from TLS, advising that we needed to pick up our passports as they had been returned from the French Embassy. “This was too quick”, I thought aloud, I was not expecting an email for at least another three weeks. This could only mean that our visa applications were rejected, for whatever reason, who knows.

I phoned TLS to check on the status of the application and was advised that the passports come back from the embassy in a sealed envelope and they were obviously not allowed to open it. Either way, whether the application was accepted or rejected, I was impressed with the speed and efficiency of the French Embassy. The applications were sent to them last Thursday and were received back by TLS on Tuesday, a response time of about three working days, excellent!

There was no need for both of us to make the trip to Bangkok and Adri was not keen to go so I had to, by default. I set about to arrange a day-trip to Bangkok and by midday my return tickets were booked. The schedule is as follows. I fly out Friday morning at 06:00 on Bangkok Air from Koh Samui directly to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, arriving there by 07:00. From there I take the BTS Skytrain and transfer from the Airport Link to the Sukhumvit Line and then to the Silom Line and get off at the Chong Nonsi station, just a short walk from the offices of TLS. After picking up the envelopes I will go to the little coffee shop next to the BTS station, have a cappuccino, open those dreaded envelopes and either die of despair… or jump for joy.

Either way, I then get back on the BTS at the Chong Nonsi station, transfer to the Sukhumvit line and head to the end of the line at Mo Chit station. From there it’s a taxi ride to Bangkok’s other international airport, Don Muang, from where I do the same trip Adri and I did just a week ago, i.e. fly to Surat Thani, bus to Donsak, ferry to Lipa Noi and then it’s a minivan ride home, should be home by 20:00. Not really looking forward to the trip, but somebody’s gotta do it.

We were fresh out of toilet paper so today we stocked up on a brand called Scott, we normally get either that, or Cellox. Scott has a similar cute looking fawn coloured Labrador puppy on its packaging as the Baby Soft brand we used back in SA. Remember the Baby Soft television ad of many years ago, “It’s soft, soft as a baby’s… soft”. We stocked the bathroom with said toilet paper and it was a while later when Adri noted that the toilet smelt fresh, fresh as a baby’s… fresh. I had not been in there for one of my pit-stops so it could not have been me, I thought with a wink to myself.

I walked into the bathroom to investigate and concurred, but what was it?  The only thing that changed in there was the toilet paper, so I picked it up, took a sniff at it, and the most wonderful baby powder smell reached me. I retreated to the cupboard to check out the packaging and there it was, in blue on gold, “Baby powder” Now I’m sure this is not unique but it was definitely a first for me. Nou poep ons net poeier (Now we’re farting powder).

Wednesday night is market night in Choeng mon so we ventured out there, this was always one of our favourite markets, not too big and rather low key, but now they’ve gone and lost that key. There were very few food stalls to choose from; most good ones from a year ago no longer operated there, quite a disappointment. There was one new one that stood out; it had a farang manning it selling tacos. We decided to try this novelty but it was way overpriced for what you got and not particularly flavourful, a rather bland affair. My recommendation, stick to Thai food at Thai markets.

On the way back home a black cat streaked across the road. I missed it by inches; the guy that was busy overtaking me missed it by centimetres. Now I am not a superstitious person, but had I hit that black cat crossing the road…

In order to take receipt of our passports from TLS on Friday, I needed to get copies of the copies of my passport and document checklist that the condo reception kept when we checked in, this because we did not have our passports with us. Book was on duty and his is not in English, thus it took some time to get my message across. After all that the documents got stuck in the copy machine and I was handed back a few torn pages which will have to do.

I think I overdid the gym thing the last few days; the result of it was severely prevalent throughout my body and brain on Thursday morning. With the best intentions of keeping up with our exercise regimen there was just no way I was going to afford those machines another mauling of my muscles, not today in any case. I opted to rather go for a swim to try and work off some of the stiffness in those muscles and that seemed to have the desired effect, by evening I was feeling more mobile.

We did some booze shopping today and came away with a bottle of Meridian brandy, the same brand we got hooked on in Chiang Rai, such lovely stuff. A few big beers of the Tiger, San Muguel, Singha and Chang persuasions also climbed aboard and Adri wanted some wine, red wine. We settled on a three litre Australian dooswyn (box wine) called Bodegas. Now I guess Bodegas would be pronounced “boude gas”, and if translated from Afrikaans it would be “bum gas”, I was hoping for something better. The wine turned out to be lovely, full bodied and rather dry, just the way we like it.

While out booze shopping – dare I say that was the lure from Adri – the main event was announced, the plakka replacement project was to be completed right there and then. We checked out what was on offer at Big C, the Supersports sport shop in the same building, as well as the Bata shoe shop. A plakka is a very personal thing, in Thailand you wear them all the time, and if they are uncomfortable, well… So it was with some apprehension that we visited the mentioned shops, trying on and re-trying on different pairs, walking a few paces up and down and… and would you believe, I found a pair that was just perfect at the Bata shop. It has a soft-ish not quite gel like inner sole, the bottom sole has plenty of grip and it even has a bulge for the bridge of your foot. These were truly comfortable! I placed my Hush Puppies shoes I walked in with in the bag and walked off with my new purchase, literally.

CNN reported that Trump told reporters today “I think the computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole, you know, age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on. We have speed and we have a lot of other things, but I’m not sure you have the kind of security you need.” Wow, the Russian toddler I saw at the pool today spoke more coherent English than that. And no, Trump, it’s only you who does not know what’s going on.

I got to bed rather early while Adri continued to read well into the night… I had one day in Bangkok tomorrow to contend with.

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