Sunny Midsummer day at Buckinghamshire

After our summer holidays in Thailand - where cars have no heaters, just air conditioning - we arrived to Barcelona.

There, surprisingly, temperature was even higher than in Koh Samui!! Tired from a long plane travel from Bangkok to Helsinki and from there to Barcelona we unpacked all our stuff and specially all the nice presents our Cafemiffy made to us.

I was especially lucky, because my friends brought me this beautiful and adorable small white rabbit.

He wanted to go around Barcelona, but rabbits (specially white ones) don’t like beaches and sun.

A few days ago we took a plane again and now we are in United Kingdom enjoying a mix of rain & sun that people of this area (around 100 km North of London) call “Midsummer”.

We are in a beautiful red brick two stories typical house with a nice garden, so what could be better than some afternoon picnic?

Bangkok's China Town

During our first day in Bangkok we decided to fight jet lag visiting someplace close enough to our hotel as not top put more stress in our bodies and interesting enough not to fall sleep.

So we headed North following Chao Praya river to Bangkok’s China Town.  As you can expect it’s like a little piece of China inside a Thai city, or not?

We have been in New York’s, Singapore’s and some other ones (some of them as weird as La Habana’s).

Let’s say that it’s just another area plenty of shops, good food, food stalls, with just a few foreigners.  So it’s just an average “China Town” until you get lost inside where traffic and people make it one of the most chaotic places I have been.

Motorbikes are all over in pedestrian areas, cars and even trucks have absolutely priority over you and , unlike other places both inside China or outside it, people are reckless and show poor manners.

It is a must go during the night, specially for it’s food and restaurants, don’t expect any great merchandise or good prices here, so keep your shopping money for other places (like, may be, the MBK center)

Bye, bye, Ko Samui

Today is our last day in the island. We have had a very good time and this is our "family" picture.

From left to right: Miffa, Tometaro, Nijntje, Mihi, PiPi, Chairoko and Kiiroko.

And now, first time ever, Cafemiffy will tell you something from our blog:

It is very hot here and there are many mosquito, but we enjoyed our great holiday here with our excellent friends!

Ko Samui (เกาะสมุย) adventures part 1.

If you are coming here, you will probably fly from Bangkok, but there're cheap flights from Hong Kong and Singapore too. 

It's a nice island, less crowded than Phuket and therefore a better option IMMO. Unfortunately they overdo setting prices to taxis rides (rip-off warning) and leisure activities.

If you want to ride an elephant, do it around bangkok, if you wan to dive, go to Maldives, if you want to sail, do it at home. But if you want to pay two or three times the prices you will pay at home (assuming Europe, USA, Australia or Japan) this is the place for you. Last, do not expect service and safety standards like at home.

 Na Muang two waterfall is about 80 meters high
 and "can only be reached by a 30 minute walk"

so large pickups tuned like moon rangers are waiting you
and for 100 BHT will take you there.
But I use Father Bunny shoulder and did it in 7 minutes!!

 Bhoput beach has a "so called" fisherman's village, that
is just an open market where they try to sell you the same
good you can buy everywhere for one third of the amount.

 A bar in Bhoput beach, there are a lot ranging from
nice intimate places to loud pseudo Irish Pubs

 Sunset on the beach, It happens around 18:30 and they

will try to sell you "sunset experience" in a boat for 1200 BHT
and up with watered margaritas and badly mixed mojitos.
Buy them in Seven Eleven, go to the deck and that's it!

Six Senses Hotel, an eco friendly resort located in Samui's
northeastern point. May be the nicest, of course the most
expensive. The only problem you're their hostage and 

you need to pay minimun 500 BHT to get out of that paradise

 Melati resort, close to Six Senses, same problem
if you want to visit your Seven Eleven or Family Mart
expect to walk 2 kilometers one way or to pay 400 BHT

 Just a nice picture, no warning.

 Lobster and shellfish basket on the beach, It's not cheap,
 it's not the best we have had, but it's ok.
Chaweng beach close to Sareeraya hotel

This is me with Nijntje (Cafemify) from Japan

who came to explore Samui with  me

In Ko Samui with our Cafemiffy friends

We have met again after some time. Nijntje, Chairoko and Kiiroko came to Thailand to spend some days enjoying this beautiful place.

I will keep you updated

Ko Samui (เกาะสมุย): Scam-o-meter (tm) score 89/100

Ko Samui, or just Samui (Ko means island) is located in the southeastern part of Thailand. On the southwestern part you can find Langkawi, where we were past summer (but Langkawi is Malaysian).

What can you expect? Almost the same weather, the same beaches and the same people (visitors). That is right partly, and I will try to explain some details to those of you interested.

Let's start saying that just out of the plane my Scam-o-meter (tm) was flashing deep red when we was forced to que up for a taxi, and the taxi charges us for 8 kms 400 THB, almost two time the amount you pay from Bangkok airport to city center (45 minutes or more including tolls).

The hotel is just something "cool" and it stands over the mediocrity that surrounds it, but do not deserve the money they ask for it, several moon to earth distance is the amount between what you pay and what you get.

Hopefully we're not in Chaweng, the busiest area, the longest beach and a mixed flavour of the worst Ibiza, Mallorca, Salou and Lloret you can imagine.

Plenty of well educated man and semi-naked local and foreigner women night parties really promise the eden type of paradise you were dreaming about. Beer is cheap and you get the usual 2 for 1, 6 x 2, etc.

But READ that if you are visiting this paradise!!! 

• if you are entering a taxi or any transportation, let the ripper (they will rip you) know how much are you willing to pay (all of them will robb you but more than 300 BHT is severe punishment). Try to walk a little bit bro.
• if you rent a scooter, do x-ray any scratch and missing part if you don't want to fight or to pay the whole shit several times (some steal their own vehicles to charge you)
• do not rent any engine operated water vehicle (jet ski, boat, etc) if you don't want to get ripped off with multiple traps (existing damage, etc)
• If asked, DO NOT EVER let your passport as guarantee, you will become their hostage.
• As a basic rule, bargain even in McDonalds and say NO to everyone, then think a little and say "may be" and finally say "my friend, i am not stupid, just take it or leave it"

I have not flied a miserable flight in Finnair where food was shit and people nasty to buy a kids beach play set that cost me 3 euros in Europe to pay to times.

And another golden rule " do not eat where you shit" (That means never have lunch or dinner in the hotel)

Bridge over Kwai river: Thai adventures

I am having less time than desired to organize and post my impressions about this travel. This is mainly because I have no free internet in my hotel. Yes, you can say this is an absolutely scum, providing that I am paying almost 400 euros a day.

Anyways, time is gold, well here it's more than diamonds.

We visited Northern Thailand, including Bridge over Kwai river and Father Bunny is under an elephant. 

Don't miss it!

Ruea Hang Yao (เรือหางยาว) Long Tail Boat

Long tail boats are a common transportation along Chao Phraya river. Well known for the scene where Mr. "Grandpa Moore" Bond use one to pursuit one of the bad guys. (The man with a golden gun)

The ones you can spot in the (tourist trap warning) floating markets generally use 4 in line diesel engines with or without turbo and are fast, noisy and spectacular.

But absolutely craziness arrives to some of the units that go up and down the river featuring large Toyota, Isuzu, and Nissan six a even eight cylinders.

Most of them have no intake filter and no silencer (I have not seen any) so imagine noise and polution.

There's no gearbox and neutral is achieved lifting the large pool where the helix is placed, same way, moving the whole engine and pool the driver change direction.

Of course my father wanted to drive one, but even offering some good money they said: no way!

They're really spectacular but annoying after some time because of big noise, vibration and smokes.

Murcielago LP670 SV China Edition

Today I have spotted one of the most exclusive cars you can find in the world. And like almost in life it was just by chance.

This is a very rare - they only made 10 units for chinese colectors - Lamborghini LP670 4 SV China edition.

You can find more info here

Miffa is a fan: Mandarin Oriental Thailandia

After the crows in London, and after a terrible trip in a - in other days- pretty decent air company we have arrived to our summer destination.

Past year we did a mistake and booked another hotel in Singapore called Mandarin, but it wasn't Mandarin Oriental.

A nice car was waiting for us a a very nice girl gave me and Tometaro a beautiful brazalet made of fresh flowers.