A bit late to post this month, but here is our monthly roundup for June, this is our time to reflect on the month and what we’ve been up to, what we’ve been eating and even what we’ve been watching.

One of the things we love most about long-term travel is the community and how everyone supports each other. We’d love for you to share what you’ve been up to in June and answers to any of our ‘what’s’ below.

Let’s get going…

What we’ve been doing

June was our first full month back in Thailand and that meant taking a trip to Immigration for our visa extensions. We’ve done this a number of times now and so know exactly what to prepare and what to expect. If you’re planning a trip to Thailand and want to know how you can extend your time here you can check out one of our previous blog posts: FAQ – How to extend your visa in Thailand.

Sadly there is no easy way for us to extend a second time so in July we are having to leave the country, this means having to plan a ‘border bounce’, which basically involves hopping on a coach at 3:30am which drives you all the way across the country to the Malaysian border. On arrival you get off the coach and cross into Malaysia, get a passport stamp, then turn around and go back into Thailand and receive another 30-day visa. We’ve got that booked for 7th July and it cost around £80 per person.

Aside from visa appointments and planning border crossings we’ve mostly spent our days relaxing by the pool, or enjoying lazy lunches at the local restaurants in the village. Our afternoons are always reserved for work and then vegging out in front of the TV. All the fun is reserved for weekends where we’ve mostly been hanging out at some of the beach clubs on the island or visiting the pub for a Sunday roast.

What we’ve been eating

We’ve been experimenting with lots of 7-Eleven foods this month, mostly packet noodles including the TikTok famous Buldak noodles, sushi, dumplings and rice dishes but that hasn’t stopped us from enjoying lots of delicious Thai lunches at our favourite beachside restaurant in Fisherman’s Village, La Brisa. If you want to check out some of our other favourites you can click through to our most recent blog – The best restaurants in Fisherman’s Village 2023.

What we’ve been watching

Glastonbury

The headline acts at Glastonbury this year were pretty impressive. I really enjoyed Lizzo’s set, she always amazes me with her energy and talent. Didn’t rate Elton’s set very highly and Dave Grohl (although he is a hero) sounded totally chaotic.

Hell’s Kitchen S21: Battle of the Ages

Still one of my all-time favourite cooking shows. I think the prize outweighs any other, $250,000 salary and a head chef position with the Ramsey group, just incredible. We had the final two nailed from the very beginning, we loved them both so would have been happy with either outcome and just really enjoyed how they supported each other during the final.

Life’s too short

We were late to the party with this one, but whilst searching for Extras episodes, we came across the first season of Life’s too short available on Youtube.
Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant are such talented writers it is funny, awkward, heart-wrenching at times and brilliantly put together, the cameo appearances are so good in this, a particular highlight for us was Johnny Depp, who absolutely lays into Ricky for his Golden Globes speech. Genius.

Travel programmes: The Real Marigold Hotel & Cruising with Jane Mcdonald

I love travel shows almost as much as cooking shows, and Jane Mcdonald’s energy is just unmatched, she is such a ray of light and we both love watching her sail around on these incredible cruise ships, visiting amazing destinations. I haven’t ever been on a cruise but every time I watch and episode of this I’m so tempted to book one, she just always seems to have so much fun.

We’ve actually watched all seasons of The Real Marigold Hotel before but it’s a real feel-good programme, I love how all these older celebs interact with each other and form wonderful friendships whilst experiencing the vibrant Indian culture, well worth a watch.

What we’ve been reading

The Museum of Ordinary People

I finished this book early in the month and it was such a warm and lovely story. The Museum of Ordinary People contains items that people can’t bare to part with but have no room or use for, everyday items that hold memories but little value to anyone else.

I think it struck a cord with me personally as having lived in Brighton for years and visited the Sunday boot sale every week, I took up a fascination with a stall which belonged to a house clearance company. They would go and remove all the furniture, clothing, tools and decorative items from houses where the owners had passed away. You could tell a lot about the person from these items, what football team they supported, what their hobbies were, if they were a keen gardener, whether they had grandchildren or not, what holidays they’d been on and it always made me a little bit sad that their life was laid out on a table for people to rummage through.

I used to buy little pieces of people’s history, a handpainted dish from a holiday in Portugal, a china teacup that was once part of a set, a 1970s cookbook with notes scribbled on the pages, things that make up a small part of someone’s life and would otherwise be forgotten. In a way, I have my very own tiny Museum of Ordinary People (although it’s all packed away in boxes at the moment). Yeah… loved this one, highly recommend.

The Keeper of Stories – Sally Page

This was a lovely story about a cleaner who collects other people’s stories. It’s a heart-warming tale of friendship, courage and the ups and downs of life and how no matter how bad things get there will always be people who support you and understand what you’re going through.

The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell

I think I finished this in about two days, ended up staying up way past my bedtime to read the second half as it was so gripping. Essentially an adopted girl inherits a very large house, that holds a lot of secrets about her past. What I didn’t know when I started reading this was that there’s a second book, so of course, I have immediately purchased this and will be diving straight back into the sequel.

What we’ve been listening to

Diary of a CEO Podcast

Russell Brand FINALLY Opens Up: Escaping A Lifetime Of Anxiety, Addiction & Finding Love

I find Russell Brand both equally fascinating and infuriating, I think he has a wonderful perspective on life and a really interesting story to tell but when he does interviews I’m always left feeling really confused. For example, this interview is 1 hour 45 minutes long and I do think his story is an important one, sickly mother, young, drug-addicted kid, seeking fame and acceptance, recovery, spirituality, the lot, but honestly, the story could have been told in half the time if he didn’t use all these diabolically long words that no one understands and which don’t add to what he’s saying. He actually says he likes using these long words to make himself sound superior… I mean Bartlett said it during his introduction ‘self-confessed narcassist’ and isn’t that the truth, still, a good listen if like me, you’re both intrigued and irritated by RB.

What we’ve discovered

7 Eleven do some pretty tasty snacks

As I already mentioned we have been trying to reduce the number of times we eat out and so have been relying on our old friend 7 Eleven to supply the goods. 7 Eleven is probably most well known for its cheese and ham toasties, anyone who’s anyone knows about the toasties but we have fallen hard for the 35p carbonara packet noodles, sushi selection, chicken dumplings and the prepared coconuts. Last year we were all about the pork noodles and the crab fried rice but those have taken a back seat as we’ve got a little more trusting and a lot more adventurous with our choices.

Frozen wine

So I’ve wanted to try out Frozee since it popped up on my Instagram last year and it really is at good as it sounds. Frozen wine cocktails served slushie style in a fancy copper glass with a pretty purple orchid. 10/10.

What we’ve been struggling with

A good work routine

Trying to get into a proper routine with our online work has definitely been a challenge, we’re so easily distracted. For me that involves up to 5 hours a day of Virtual Assistant work, time on Linkedin looking for new clients, blogging, and social media. For Carl that involves not spending every minute of the day on Linkedin working, and trying to set aside some set time each day to sit at his laptop and work. We’re slowly getting into a good rhythm and next month will have a proper dedicated workspace to ensure we’re getting shit done.

Trying to find new accommodation

My Mum comes out to visit us on the 8th of July and sadly we can only stay in our current two-bedroom apartment until the 17th which means we’ve got to move. The island is getting busy with European schools breaking up and so we’ve been doom-scrolling Airbnb and Booking.com for weeks trying to find suitable accommodation for the next two months.

We finally found a great little place for the remaining five days of my Mum’s holiday and then a decent-sized studio apartment for the rest of July and August.

There are some beautiful places available for the summer in Koh Samui, if you’re looking for a place to book check out these properties on Booking.com:

Khwan Beach Resort – Luxury Glamping & Pool Villas

We stayed at Khwan Beach Resort for three nights last September, neither of us had been glamping before so we weren’t really sure what to expect, but it’s safe to say we officially LOVE glamping. In fact, we loved it so much that we extended our stay for an additional night.

Khwan has both one and two-bedroom glamping tents available with all the luxuries that come with a hotel stay including a lounge with smart TV, a comfortable king-sized bed, a beautiful big bathtub, plenty of plug sockets and air-conditioning of course, plus a huge private outdoor shower.

During the stay, you can make use of the pool with its very own waterfall, enjoy a nice cocktail at the bar and dine at the in-house restaurant, Passa. The Thai dishes were a particular highlight.

It is a unique and beautiful resort, perfect for birthday celebrations, honeymoons or just a luxury weekend away.

Tembo Beach Club & Resort

We’ve never had the pleasure of staying at the Tembo Resort but we do spend a lot of time at the beach club. It is a colonial-style beachfront property with comfortable cabanas, great music, daily happy hour deals, 3-for-2 Tapas on Tuesdays and weekly music events including a very cool saxophonist. 

It is located on Bangrak Beach, just a 5-minute drive from Fisherman’s Village. Its beachy blue and white decor is relaxed and very chic, with floating beanbags, beachside love seats and comfortable cabanas, can you see why we spend so much time here?

We’d definitely recommend this venue to anyone visiting Koh Samui, whether it’s for a luxury stay or a day at a beautiful beach club.

Hacienda

We stayed at the Hacienda last year for one night and it is a fantastic boutique hotel in Fisherman’s Village. If you can book the beachfront suite with private terrace we’d highly recommend it, you get direct beach access and incredible views, but the best views are from the rooftop pool, absolutely spectacular. You can read all about our stay in our blog post here.

What we’re looking forward to for July 2023

Carl’s Birthday

It’s Carl’s birthday on the 4th of July and we plan to spend the day at one of our favourite beach clubs, The Deck, hoping for some beautiful weather so we can sunbathe and enjoy the pool with a bottle of fizz.

If you want to know the best beach clubs in Koh Samui, you can check out our blog here.

Mum’s Holiday to Thailand

My little Mum is coming out to visit us on the 8th of July, we’re both looking forward to spending some time with her and showing her our little island paradise.

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How was your June and what are you most looking forward to for July?

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Until next time…

While you’re here why not check out some of our previous posts for travel tips & inspiration