Congratulations Geddis & Gai

Photo taken by Adam Butler  adam@bigsplashpictures.com

Well Tuesday was the wedding of the century on Koh Lanta, my business partner Gediminas (Geddi) was marrying his beautiful fiance Sukanya (Gai) in a traditional Thai buddhist Thai ceremony in Saladan in the morning and a more Western party in the evening.

As a Western woman, the idea of being ready for your wedding at 9am in the morning is terrifying, but Gai was busy getting her hair and make up done at 6am in the morning, so the Blue Planet Staff decided to give her a warm congratulations as they headed off for a days diving.

Taken by Adam Butler Adam@bigsplashpictures.com

Geddis was presented to his bride behind a procession of Thai dancing girls and Thai drummers dancing through the streets of Saladan. As expected, Gai looked beautiful.

In the afternoon, Gai was carried to the reception at Koala Bar, by 4 burly Blue Planet Staff and presented to Geddis, where they exchanged rings and went through a traditional Lithuanian ceremony with their families.

Many, many congratulations to Geddis and Gai and we hope they have a very happy and very long marriage.

Many thanks to Koala Bar (Todd in particular) for his hard work, Wow for making the bride even more beautiful that she was, Adam, for some incredible photos, Lee for a great video and the whole Blue Planet Team for helping to make their day really special.

Mellisa x

Man vs Women

Tonight sees 2 big parties happening on Koh Lanta, but you can only go to one. The men are all staggering to Ling Uan for Gediminas' Stag Party.

The women are planning a lovely evening at Cheeky Monkey to enjoy one of Gai's last nights of freedom!

Make sure you go to the right party, else you  could be in danger and help us see off Geddis and Gai in style.

We may all meet up later at Corner Bar....... should someone maybe warn this bar?

Awesome party Cheeky Monkey!

Hallloween is one of those nights, that you can guarantee an awesome party night, and this year was no different. Cheeky Monkey had a great disco and plenty of free BBQ for all the strange people of Lanta.

Thank you PADI for setting the record straight. The South is fine!

PADI Dive Centres in Thailand are open for business.

Over the past several weeks, seasonal rains that are heavier than usual have resulted in widespread flooding in Thailand.  While the flooding is having some impact, most key tourist destinations and attractions throughout Thailand have not been affected by the floods and almost all remain open.  

The floods are mainly affecting the provinces in central Thailand and a few provinces in the north and northeast.  Provinces in the south of Thailand have not been affected by the floods. 

Major tourist destinations such as central Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Pattaya, Ko Chang, Rayong, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, Trang, and Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and all provinces in southern Thailand, are not affected by the floods. They remain fully accessible and are experiencing normal weather conditions for this time of year.

All airports in Thailand, including Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, have not been affected by the floods and are operating as per usual. Suvarnabhumi Airport has considerable flood protection measures in place and officials are monitoring the situation closely.

Tourist destinations in southern and eastern Thailand remain fully accessible by road and train.

Tourists planning to travel to the provinces affected by the floods are advised to check the latest weather forecasts for their destination and confirm arrangements with the transportation providers with which they will be travelling.  Tourists can visit the Thailand Meteorological Department web site at http://www.tmd.go.th/en  for updated weather forecasts.

Happy Birthday Nin!

I spent an absolutely fabulous night last night at Sincere Guest House.

Nin was given a surprise birthday party by her loving boyfriend, Kevin. Nin has started to sing regularly at Sincere Guest House and for many it was our first time of hearing her fab voice.

King looked after us tremendously well and we all got up and sang (some of us were pretty rubbish) and had a wonderful time.

Happy birthday Nin and thanks King for such a lovely night.

Aint no rain here!

Despite what you may have heard about Thailand, here in Koh Lanta the sun is shining (today is particularly hot) and there is no rain. Bangkok is flooded but the International Airport is said to still be ok.

Koh Haa Beach & Lagoon from the Blue Planet Divers Boat

Koh Haa is particularly beautiful at the moment, with great visibility and plenty to see.

High Season has started, Whoop Whoop!!

So High Season has actually started now, the tourists have started to arrive and the bookings are increasing. For those of you who have heard about the flooding in Thailand, you will be pleased to know that Koh Lanta escaped the worst of the weather and has no damage or flooding.

The Sun is shining, the seas are calm and whilst I cannot yet go diving myself, the staff and guests are telling me, it is beautiful out there!

I have been real lucky!

So if you are a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I have been writing really often, except for the last 6 weeks. Unfortunately for me 6 weeks ago I had a large motorbike accident.

Luckily for me, the locals on Koh Lanta are rather special and Kev (one of our Instructors) went with me to the  hospital in Phuket, Geddis (my beloved business partner) put the necessary cash down and everyone else, sent me messages of support, came to see me, gifts and their love. The police (despite what you may have heard about them abroad) have been incredible, helping me get the insurance money necessary to pay my hospital bills.

My guys got me to a fantastic hospital in Phuket, where 5 metal parts were put in my face, one in my collar bone and one in my wrist. The surgeons were excellent and I have been lucky and am well on the way to recovery.

As a result of my facial injuries I have not been able to eat normal food (the jaw was wired shut for 4 weeks and can only open a little now) so i am tremendously grateful for my friends:

Kev - Who made me some yummy spaghetti bolognese

Joyce (Red Snapper) - For introducing me to yummy Dutch baby food

Daniel (The Tavern) - For just the best Sausages and Mash, eaten whilst watching England win the Rugby ;-)

Will (Ling Uan) - For some excellent, slightly alcoholic shakes

Baan Bakery - For shakes, omelets and more all done for the people who cannot chew!

Cheeky Monkey - Adapted Thai soups and a delicious beer or two!

Drunken Sailor - Yummy Carrot Cake

There are more people to thank and I have not forgotten them xxx

So if one good thing can come from my accident, let it be this....... WEAR A HELMET ...... preferably a full face one (which would have prevented the majority of my injuries)

Big thanks to all my wonderful staff (especially Ben and his beautiful son Anda) Britt and Karin from White Rock Resort (for the mouthwash) and the wonderful Gin for just keeping it all together whilst i was gone.

This is a truly lovely lovely island

Mellisa xxx

The day we dread!

Whilst sitting in the bar on Wednesday night, I hear the words I have learned to dread, "no electricity all day tomorrow!" Of course I had just given all the diving work to Ben and that meant I had planned a day in my air conditioned office doing lots of computer work.

A roundabout - Old Town Style

With that day ruined, I decided to take the opportunity to complete my reviews of shops, restaurants and bars by heading South. The east coast road down to Old town is beautiful with its small Thai villages unspoilt by tourism and the green landscape rolling down to the mangroves. I passed what seemed like a whole village of people helping with the packing of the fresh water shrimps for market and a Bird singing competition!

On arriving in Old Town (the original capital of Lanta) I felt that it reminded me of the Wild West (well minus the guns, Indians and cowboys) as the whole town is pretty much made of wood. This side of the island has much less tourism than the West but it really is worth a visit because it is full of charm. Most of the restaurants have pier stretching out over the Mangroves and looking out onto the islands south of Lanta, my favourite being Beautifull Restaurant (yes that is how they spell it) which has great food and friendly staff who do not mind you sitting down the far end of the pier.

After Old Town I headed further south and discovered the Sea Gypsy's Cemetery after I spotted a notice on the side of the road. I love that these people believe that their ancestors like to live near the sea because they like to listen to the sound of the waves (maybe there is a little Sea Gypsy in me!).

View from the Sea Gypsy Cemetery - Their ancestors like to hear the sound of the waves!

As I reached the end of the east road I discovered a new road (or one to me) that lead to Terminal Point, or Sang Kha U Resort, which is a crazy little resort, with its own beach and the only treetop bungalows in Lanta.

After a quick stop at Khao Yai Restaurant at the top of Lanta mountain I headed over to Kantiang Bay, the first real place I called home in Lanta. This is a really sweet village, with loads of charm and every time I go here I seem to have real trouble leaving!

The primary problem is Drunken Sailors, where I always get a friendly welcome from the owner May and her boyfriend, Tad, and where, when I lived in Kantiang, I spent a ridiculous amount of time. What with the great shakes, the banana pancakes with chocolate sauce and the Wifi, I simply could not find the energy to leave! Thursday was much the same, minus the Wifi, but with a fabulous brunch of Egg Pan, great company (Kevin, Nin and Sarah) and Tad telling tales of gasing men! (we later found out he is not a Nazis, merely trying to exterminate some termites!).

A New Addition to Drunken Sailors, Drunken Tailors

When I finally managed to leave Drunken Sailors, I head further South to Noon bar, a recommendation by Sarah, which had stunning views over the Bay, before heading back to the office.

Never has a day without electricity been so good! Thanks for Sarah, Kevin and Nin for the company, the crazy guy at Sang Kha U, for well, being kinda weird and May and Tad for the scrumptious food.

Maybe I wont wait so long before going back again x

Bar of the Week! - Cheeky Monkey

This bar is probably the busiest bar on Koh Lanta in Low season.

Situated on the main road on Klong Dao Beach, it sits outside 'Fix the Girl' Salon (excellent for a haircut or a manicure) and is often really busy in the afternoon, as local Farang (Westerners) chill out after another busy low season day (well they got up before midday, didn't they!).

Serving cheap beers, Cheeky has friendly staff, happy locals and if you are peckish Mr Somchai's Wife (the only guy I trust to fix my bikes) makes some delicious traditional thai food for just 50 baht!

See you there!

Mellisa

The view from my house this morning!

It is a beautiful sunny day, here in Thailand, so I thought i would make you really jealous and show you the view from my house this morning!

Thaksin's Sister to be the next Prime Minister Of Thailand

A surprise for many but Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, scored a clear victory with her party Pheu Thai (264 seats to the current incumbents 160). A political novice but a business woman in her own right, Ms Shinawatra will become the first female prime minister of Thailand.

Yingluck Shinawatra

However, many see her appointment as merely the voice of Thaksin, the Prime Minister who was ousted out of government by a military coup and then forced into excel to Dubai over corruption charges. Her victory was delivered by a huge vote in favour of her party in the North of Thailand where Thaksin and his party are hugely popular, here in the South there is considerably less support for her and there was a high turnout for Prime Minister Abhisit.

Thaksin Shinawatra

But all parties fought the election on a promise of unity and reconciliation and both the Thai population and the Westerners living here really hope that she will deliver, but clearly the army generals who deposed Thaksin in 2006 and the Yellow Shirts (those who have shown vigorous opposition to Thaksin) are not going to be happy with this result.

However, the wonderful thing about living on a island such as this, is that you feel remote from all politics, Thai, English and World and envisage any disruption caused by dissenters will not affect our beautiful island. So our one day of politics is over on the island, today the sun is shining and sea is tranquil, something we hope for the whole of Thailand.

Mellisa x

Red Snapper Open Agains on the 7th July

Joyce and Ed have been on their travels and after being away for far too long, Red Snapper, their fantastic restaurant is opening up again on the 7th July. Serving delicious Tapas, the best steak and some great wines.

So head down to their jungle location about 100m south of 7/11 in Phrae Ae (Long Beach), beachside.

Joyce, get the big wine glasses out...... I will be making a visit!

Sore Neck?

Well I have got this blog bug real bad, so i am now suffering for my art and my neck and back started to seize up from sitting in such a bad position.

So a friend of mine, Steve, recommended a masseuse (as mine was busy!!!! hello it is low season), Manee Lanta (Klong Dao beach, just off main road near the Flintstones restaurant). Beautiful place and the staff speak good english and more importantly know what they are doing. This lady actually teaches here and in Bangkok.

So how was the massage? Wow it hurt! but it was good, at one point i thought she was going to kill me with some maneouvre she did with my neck. Her hands are like steal! I am told they adjust the massage to the pressure you prefer, but I was trying to be brave! But most importantly it worked and everything moves as it should now!

Election Time in Thailand......

So it is election time right now, every road is littered with large placards advertising one of the 34 candidates for the post of Prime Minister of Thailand. After the battles over the last few years between the red and yellow shirts, I unfortunately don't think this election will resolve any of the issues. It is highly unlikely anyone is going to get a majority verdict and so horsetrading with those parties with only a few percent of the vote is a necessity (hmmm sounds like the UK right now).

For us on Lanta, well life, as always goes on as normal, except for the next few days we will all be teetotal as there is a blanket ban on all alcohol sales.

Restaurant/Bar of the Week

So it is low season and the island is real quiet. But on Koh Lanta there is always a good night out somewhere. So over low season i am going to introduce you to some of the great bar and restaurants still open on the island. In low season there are still quite a few people here but they all tend to hang out together.

Ling Uan (Fat Monkey) is run by Ning and Will (who the bar was named after) and is one of the best places to go during low season, as the staff are friendly and the food and drinks great. Will is an fully trained Cocktail barman, so the drinks are allways great here (I especially recommend the Mojitos!) You can sit at the bar or have a quiet table in the restaurant and enjoy their fantastic burgers, yummy pasta and great tasting Thai food.

Ling Uan is located on the main road, halfway along Klong Dao Beach (just past 7/11) and open most days except Sunday (Sorry just been told that has changed, they are now shut on Tuesdays).