Ko Samui, Thailand

Adri’s birthday has arrived and today she calls all the shots. Spent a good hour in the gym and then had a healthy breakfast of fruit salad containing watermelon, pineapple, litchis and banana. This was followed by strawberry yoghurt with whole strawberries, followed by a croissant with cheese. Now we were ready for the day. Adri wanted to go back to the little shops at the Big Buddha to further streamline her eventual purchasing frenzy which will undoubtedly follow at some stage. As we parked I saw a shop that sells steel statues made of scrap steel and old auto parts, which come in sizes that range from a few centimeters to like two and a half meters. I may not want one in my home, but they are incredibly unique artistic masterpieces in their own right, I just could not stop admiring the perfect detail on these pieces. Check out the photos, zoom in and check the detail ! Anyway, I was told by Adri that she wanted to shop unhindered of being hurried on, so I must go and drink beer… OK, I can live with that. I found a lovely little shop that sells clothes, jewelry etc., but also doubles up as a restaurant come bar, with a lovely view over the water. Wifi is also available. This shop, it seems, as many on Koh Samui, is used by the family as a shop, restaurant/pub, and is also their home. As you walk in there is the shop, then you walk through their kitchen/ living area on to the restaurant/pub. Adri spent a good couple of hours shopping while I put my time to much better use. Tired from the “shopping” we retraced out steps back towards Bophut. We stopped off for a few things at the Tesco Lotus Express, as opposed to the superstores, on the way back. There are only a few of these on the island, unlike the ubiquitous Seven Eleven and Family Mart mini supermarkets. It is not uncommon to find three of these within a hundred metre stretch of road, all around the island, very convenient. Not sure how they make money with so much competition, but they all seem to be doing fine. We needed some waking up and went across the road for a coffee of some sorts. The restaurant had a lovely setting, overlooking the beach with plenty little fishing boats on the beach, with plenty of yachts, both sail and power, anchored off in the bay. We sat down, looked through the menu and both ordered a cappuccino. The waitress informed us that she does not serve cappuccino. Huh ? We did not wait to find out whether she, or the restaurant, does not serve cappuccino. Adri decided that, for her birthday supper, she wanted to go back to the Greek restaurant, called Fi, we went to last Saturday evening, which was really a great experience. It was Friday evening and they just happen to serve a Greek buffet. Now I am not one for buffets at the best of times as the food normally is sub-standard. Well, was I pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent ! The place was packed to the rafters and we found out that we actually have to book, this way they get a good idea of how much food to prepare, the owner informed us. Anyway, he remembered us from the previous Saturday and organized a table for us. There were chicken souvlaki, pork souvlaki, beef souvlaki, Greek salad, Moussaka, Greek meat balls, pita bread with tzatziki, grilled potatoes, little filo pastry pies with grilled feta cheese and chillies… The list goes on. And they kept on filling the dishes as they emptied out, fast. Man, this was amazing, guess where I will be next Friday. With supper we had some beer and wine, and we ended supper with a Metaxa, a wonderful Greek brandy. The owner, a Greek from the north west of the Greek mainland, who has been on Koh Samui for some eight years, came over to chat to us again. We also asked for the bill which he forgot to bring to us for a while. Once the bill arrived it was accompanied by a complimentary ouzo, ostensibly because we had to wait for the bill longer than what was required ! Great place ! Got home at about 10:30, tried to read for a while but the eyes refused to stay open so we turned off the lights for a good night’s sleep, or so we thought. In the early hours of the morning a car alarm went off in street in front of the complex with the most irritating beep, beep, beep… 34 of those, then it stopped… Then it starts again for another 34 beeps, and so it carried on for hours. In reality it was probably only about 45 minutes though. Looking out from our balcony, at some stage during this fracas we saw people mulling around the car and heard them muttering 这该死的&#36710 ;子和阿拉&#2298 2;, or something like that. Shortly after this it stopped…. and then it started again… until it finally stopped