Bye Bye Samui

Well Samui has turned out to be the most

boring place on this planet - sunbathing all day and thats if the sun decides to appear. The travel guides have a lot to answer for sayingthat this is a good time to visit. So spur of the moment, I booked a ticket and flew to......Hong Kong!

And what a place. The city is amazing with an energy you would not believe and such breath taking scenery.

Staying in the YMCA on Nathan Road, bible in hand, I found this to be the ideal place to stay. Excellent room, half the price of other equivalent hotels - probably 3/4 star if staying in UK - and next to the MTR. The octopus card is a weekly ticket that gets you around in minutes.


The highlights must have been the view from the Peak, the Peak Tram to the summit, the view from the Star Ferry from Kowloon (mainland China) to Hong Kong Island, the cafes and bars of SoHo, the Mid Level escalators to save your legs walking up hill and the shopping which I couldnt afford. And this was just a 150 quid return ticket from Samui on Finnair. Finnair?


Anyway, back in Samui now after sleeping on the floor in Bangkok airport waiting for my 6am flight. Off to Koh Tao tomorrow for a week of diving then Oz begining of June. Keep you all posted.


See you all soon


Andy

Thailand

Just a quick one to tell you that I have arrived in Ko Samui after a flight from Singapore to bangkok with Cathay Pacific (very nice 777) then a turboprop down to Samui.

Chaweng is a strange place. The beach is gorgeous with perfect sand, it is clean and a reef 100m out breaks up the wash and creates a perfectly calm laggon. But inthe evening, it resembles Benidorm with prostitution on full view. A bit seedy. I am going to rent a jeep for a few days and travel around the island stopping at different hotels as I travel. I far prefer India but the massages are very good!

The hotel is basic but clean. The rooms are bit on the small side. There are mosquitos everywhere, not just in the hotels. I was never bit this much in India.

The area is suffering from a tropical depression at the moment. The sun is few and far between but when it does appear you burn very quickly. I was on the edge of burning today. I have red and white blotches cos i cant reach all of my back with my cream.

The hotel is Als Huts Moo2 Chaweng Ko Samui. You can find it on the web if you are interested and jealous.

The internet cafe I am using can download from my camera so I will post pictures soon.

China Town and All That

Why is it that all major cities around the world have a China Town, a Little India, an Arab Quarter or any other ethnic enclave that springs to mind. I am sure that the ex pat British populations in all these cities are equally numerous but they don't feel the need to establish a "Little Britain". Saying that, I believe that such a campaign is currently underway in New York.

Anyway, China Town was an interesting diversion with the hawker centre selling the most amazing food - anyone for BBQ pig's hooves whilst above all the hustle and bustle you could clearly hear the obligatory call from the local vendors "You come see my shop. Best price. Asda price.

The Arab Quarter, just behind Raffles, was much more sedate and dignified but why do I want to by a genuine Persian rug when I haven't even got a house - I suppose I could put it into storage.

Raffles was a bit disappointing as it is now dwarfed by the surrounding office blocks and Raffles shopping complex. You will have to do with a downloaded photo from the Internet at the moment as these computers don't allow usb connection to my camera