Steel in the sky

Things have been moving rapidly on the house as our builder is keen to get the roof on before his workers take a break for Thai New Year (Sonkran).

We now have the basic steel structure up (see photos) and have also chosen our roof tiles - however we wont ruin the surprise by revealing their colour just yet...

Inside the house, all the downstairs walls have been been built. They have also hacked out spaces for the plugs, switches, and tv/telephone sockets, along with associated wiring. Doesn't look to good at the moment, but we have been assured that after the walls have been plastered all will be good.

Bricks and Mortar

The builders started working on the ground floor walls yesterday, and so far have made good progress. Once the ground floor walls are done, they will start on the roof. This photo is taken from the front of the house.
















Bricks going up...















And Ian 'in the middle of it all' ...

Namuang Waterfalls

We went to see the waterfalls in the south of the island on Friday. First stop was at 'Namuang 1' - which was a very touristy place, with the waterfalls just a few minutes stroll from the car park.

We then chose to move on to the 'Namuang 2' waterfall... a much more pleasant option. The 15 minute walk to the base of the waterfall obviously putting most punters off. However, we got more than we bargained for... after a local guy encouraged us to climb up the mountain to a secret swimming hole. The 'climb' took around 25 minutes, and fortunately, the guy (called 'Kai') guided the walk - and coerced/pulled Tammy into scrambling up some pretty steep cliffs!

Here's a picture of Ian in the 'secret' swimming hole. Even though we haven't had rain on the island for more than 2 months, the water was still pretty deep.



















Here's a picture of Ian & Kai - resting on the rocks, near the 'secret' swimming hole.
















And this was the view on the way down - that's the sea in the distance (to the left of Ian's head). We stopped off for a well deserved seafood lunch on the way home!

King Naresuan - at the movies

We went to the movies this week, to see King Naresuan - Part 2. It's the 2nd in a trilogy of historical dramas set in Siam and Burma in the 17thC, directed by a Thai Prince (the King's cousin). If you get a chance, go see the first 2 movies. Part 3 comes out in December - on the King's birthday!

The cinema complex is quite new (just opened last year) and fairly cheap. Our tickets cost 140 Baht each (around 2 pounds). I've seen 5 movies at the cinema in the last 6 months - that's more than I'd see in a year in London.

T.

More Columns

Here's a picture taken today - showing the 'Samui Columns' again (this time on our 2nd storey). The guys are pulling down all the wooden formwork and tidying up the site before they start on the brickwork.
















The first lot of bricks were delivered... and they should start on the ground floor walls in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, off site, we've been trying to live a healthy life this week - eating lots of fresh seafood, salads & veggies! We also found a new (almost tourist-free) beach this afternoon, and enjoyed a few hours reading under the shade of a coconut tree.

Villa update - 2nd storey

As you can see, our builders have been working very hard (especially since it's officially dry/hot season, and it's over 30C every day). The concrete slab on the 2nd storey was laid on Friday, and the guys are now preparing for the next round of columns. The concrete on the left of the photo above is the foundation of our swimming pool.
















We couldn't resist climbing up onto the 2nd storey to take in the view from our future balcony.

Snorkelling at Koh Tao

Koh Tao (means Turtle Island in Thai) is about 2 hours north of Samui (by boat), and is renowned for scuba diving and snorkelling. Tammy first went diving around Koh Tao about 8 years ago... and has been trying to find excuses to get Ian over there. For some reason, we never seem to find the time (might have had something to do with the 8am ferry departure time!). All was to change on Sunday, because we finally decided to go on a snorkelling day trip to Koh Tao with our neighbours.
















We were up with the sparrows, and on the ferry by 7:55am... ready for the 2 hour cruise to Koh Tao. First stop was at 'Mango Bay' for a snorkel, followed by lunch on the boat, then a stop at Koh Nang Yuan (3 tiny islands connected by sand bars) - so we could snorkel around the 'Japanese Garden'.

We saw loads of fish at both locations - including parrot fish, tiger fish, clown fish and a few loner baracuda's. Both of us hadn't been snorkelling for a few years, and in particular Tammy was quite excited and giggled quite a lot when she was surrounded by a big school of curious Tiger fish.

Oldies on Koh Phangan

Here we are chilling out on Haad Rin beach. We know a great bar that makes refreshing Lime and Mint shakes... with a shot of Bacardi, they turn into Mojito's. Just like magic !!

Youngsters on Koh Phangan

We took Rhonda & Mark (and their gorgeous and lively kids- Holly and Grace) to Koh Phangan yesterday.

Koh Phangan is where they hold the Full Moon parties - and even when it's not party time - the beach is full of youngsters in their 20's and 30's. Holly and Grace were definitely the youngest on the beach (by a generation, or so).

Queensland friends

Rhonda, Mark and their 2 kids Holly and Grace are visiting us in Samui this week. We've been trying to wear the kids out - by taking them to numerous beaches and up to the Jungle Club yesterday (see pictures).

Unfortunately we had a little mishap with the jeep's 4WD yesterday, and it spent some time in the garage. Amazing that we could find some mechanics on a Sunday afternoon to fix it.