Welcome to our Daily Blog! - Thailand

Saturday - 24 May 08

Wow, what a day! We slept in this morning as we sat up watching the footy (AFL) on the Australia Channel, the only thing is it didn't start until 11pm and finished at 1am in the morning, it was a shocker of a game and I just can't get over Geelong loosing. Ho Hum!

Rick and I quickly packed our backpacks and got ourselves ready to check out and move to our new accommodation. We decided to catch a meter taxi rather than try and haul our backpacks, computer, mini suitcase and all the other odds and sods on a Songteaw. We were only going a couple of kms up the road and it didn't cost us much more in a taxi.

We arrived at the Samui Cliff View Resort & Spa at 12.30 and check in was easy going, we were greeted with a warm face washer and cool drink while we waited for them to check us in and explain how everything works. As the resort is built on the cliff and the rooms are at the bottom and the reception at the top on the main road they actually drive you to your room. How Cool! Thank god cause its a bloody lot of stairs to walk down and up. When you want to go out anywhere and leave the resort you just dial reception and they send the little bus down to pick you up at your room and drop you where you want to go. Even better!

When they showed us our room we couldn't believe it, it is total luxury and the view is to die for. We thought the Samui Peninsular Spa & Resort we stayed at here in Samui last November was plush but man this one is super plush. It is decorated in the usual beautiful, chunky Thai timber and the furnishings, the colours and decoration is out of this world. The huge bed is situated in the middle of the room looking out of huge windows out over the Gulf of Thailand and it was decorated with all fresh tropical flowers, orchids, frangipani and hibiscus. We have a computer area and a loungesuite, tea & coffee making facilities and all the lighting is push button on a keypad. But wait there's more! The bathroom is another story. We have a Jacuzzi (with cushioned headrests) that looks out of a huge window out to the Gulf of Thailand and the view is spectacular, I know where I will be relaxing for most of the week. The bathroom floor is all loose white large pebble stones and has big stepping stones from shower to Jacuzzi to toilet and sink, the shower is huge (but not as exciting as the outdoor shower we had at the Peninsular last trip). We have Wi Fi internet which we need as we spend so much time on the net so now we can use our laptop again and catch up on stuff and I can keep up to date with the blog. The balcony is nice also with 360 degree views of the Gulf and Chewong and Cheong mon, and overlooks the pool and spa and the private beach. I have taken heaps of photos of everything as it just blew us away and the views at night are awsome.

All I can say is I am so glad we became members of Absolute 2 years ago when we first travelled to Thailand because we have now stayed at 3 of their resorts, that cost us nothing when we do, and they have all been superb, we spend our last week here at Kamala Beach in Phuket at another of their resorts and we are looking forward to that because they really are 5 star luxury.

We had no sooner put our backpacks away and the resort delivered a fresh fruit basket and then while we were having lunch in the restaurant a short time later they delivered us a bottle of champagne to welcome us to the resort. Talk about being treated like kings & queens.

This afternoon after we spoiled ourselves and had lunch in the resort restaurant, Rick rested his old and weary bones while I did our washing. Rather than do it all by hand, I filled the jacuzzi, put the soap powder in and turned on the jets. Wicked! I did 2 loads of washing in under an hour. Hung the underwear on the little line over the jacuzzi (glad I thought to bring pegs) and the rest over the balcony furniture.

Tonight Rick decided we should eat out somewhere else as the restaurant is a little exxy if you want to eat western food. So we climbed all the stairs to the top and he decided we should walk and go to the 7/11 to get some milk, water and munchies. Of course Rick has no sense of direction as to where we are situated which is between Lamai and Chewong and there are no shops within the vacinity so we walked and walked in the rain until he got sick of me nagging and taking the mickey out of him and we walked back to the resort and asked to be driven into Lamai so we could have some dinner, so the resort driver drove us to our room (language barrier) until Rick explained we just came from there and wanted to go into Lamai, so the driver finally drove us there and said he would wait to bring us back and we told him we would catch a Songteaw back which we did, when we arrived back at the resort the driver was waiting to drive us to our room.

The rest of the night is Rick watching Bloomberg and me doing the usual internet and email stuff. Tomorrow is a day hanging out here at the resort, swimming in the pool and exploring the rocks around the beach area and just enjoying this luxury. Of course breakfast is first thing on the agenda as we got free breakfast vouchers for the week for both of us which we get a full American Breakfast and seeing as there are only about 10 rooms occupied and the resort is pretty quiet as far as guests goes we mosey on down whenever we feel like it.

So it has been an awsome day, and we are going to enjoy this week in heaven. Stay tuned and until tomorrow.

La Kon