Better late than never, right?
I might be a tad late with our July roundup, but hey, time flies when you’re having fun, as they say! So if you’re curious to find out what we’ve been eating, reading and watching this month, then stick around. And while you’re here, we would love to hear all about your July adventures too! Let’s swap some stories, and recommendations down in the comments.
Alright, let’s get going…
What we’ve been doing
July has been a busy month, we had to do a border run to Malaysia (15-hours on a minibus + two 1-hour boat crossings), we had Carl’s birthday, my Mum came to visit us for a two-week holiday, we moved apartments twice, won a little bit of money on the Thai lottery (£150), enjoyed lots of lovely days out with my Mum, ate some great food and for the last week have been setting up a new business venture. It’s been a rollercoaster of a month, but we’re finally winding down from all of our indulgences and trying to be better at spending time at home, making our own food and focusing more on our business.
What we’ve been eating
It’s no secret that we love a good Sunday Roast, Carl has even been known to rent a villa for the weekend with an oven just so we can have a home-cooked Sunday lunch, so it’s no surprise that we visited The Shakespeare Pub three times in July for one of their famous roast dinners. If you’re ever in Koh Samui and missing home comforts, you need to check it out. During the week they offer fish and chips, sausage and mash and mince & onion pies, but if you plan to go on a Sunday, make sure to book a table in advance through their Facebook page here.
Next up is a new discovery on the menu at one of our faves, La Brisa (in Fisherman’s Village) – fried fish with garlic & panang curry sauce. Whenever I’ve ordered fish from here in the past, I’ve always asked for it to be barbecued, but Ton (the manager) told me to try it fried with garlic and a side of panang, it’s SO good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Khao soy, which is a traditional curried noodle soup. You don’t seem to find this on many menus in the south of Thailand as it’s a northern dish. It’s more similar in flavour to Indian curry with lots of earthy spices and is always topped with a crispy noodle nest and served with fresh lime, pickled cabbage and shallots. Delicious.
Another one of our favourite spots is KohCo Beach at Cielo and they recently launched a brand new pizza menu under the brand ‘Casa Cielo’, so I had to try the mushroom and truffle pizza. The dough was just perfect, crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside and the toppings were so flavourful. Highly recommend the mushroom & truffle combo.
Last up was the best-ever scrambled tofu and avocado toast at Cafe KOB. We had a brief stay in a duplex apartment just outside of Fisherman’s Village and Cafe KOB is located at the end of the street, I was desperate to try out some of their delicious pastries and breads but we ended up sitting in for an unforgettable breakfast. Carl went for the American breakfast which was super meat-heavy, but he thoroughly enjoyed the ‘proper bacon & sausage’ as so often in Thailand you get streaky bacon and hotdog sausages. I choose the scrambled tofu & avocado toasts and this was easily the best scrambled tofu dish I’ve ever had… we’ll be back for sure.
What we’ve been watching
Inside Man
This was a really interesting 4 part drama/thriller, about a death row prisoner (Stanley Tucci) who helps solve murders from inside his prison cell. David Tennant gets himself in some deep trouble whilst trying to protect someone he believes to be vulnerable. There are so many twists and turns, it’s well worth a watch.
Wham Documentary
Carl is a huge George Michael fan and prior to that was a huge Wham fan so we were so looking forward to this documentary. We actually watched it on the day it came out on Netflix and was so wonderfully put together. It’s a beautiful story and great insight into how Wham came to be and the relationship between Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael.
Bombshell
This is a super powerful film and a must-watch. I only vaguely remember this scandal but the acting and the cast were perfect. I know that it is based on true events but it’s still so shocking that things like this still happen in business. The three female leads played their parts so perfectly and it’s no surprise to me that Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie were both nominated for Oscars.
What we’ve been reading
Kindle has been king this month, but I have managed to score a couple of books from one of our Airbnbs so next month I’ll be having to read with the light on. This month I only managed two reads, both were ‘soft-crime-thriller’.
The Charity Shop Detective Agency – Peter Boland
This was giving me Thursday Murder Club vibes and I really enjoyed the first half of the book, I felt that it lost its way slightly towards the end, but it was still a lovely, light-hearted murder mystery. If you love TMC and are patiently waiting for book number four, then maybe give this one a go.
The Family Remains – Lisa Jewell
This is the follow-up to The Family Upstairs, and just like the first book, I could not put this down. I love Lisa Jewell’s writing style, short, snappy chapters that each relate to a different character, it’s a sure-fire way to keep me reading. It follows on directly from the last book and is action-packed, with a few twists and turns. Highly recommend these books. Lisa Jewell has gained a new fan.
What we’ve been listening to
I love Bailey Sarian’s Murder, Mystery & Makeup videos on Youtube, I’ve watched them for years, she’s a brilliant storyteller and if you love murder mysteries and makeup, then Bailey is your girl. I’ve started listening to the Dark History podcast on Spotify, it was a great help during our border run to Malaysia.
What we’ve been celebrating
Carl’s Birthday – 4th July
Birthdays are always a bit strange when we’re away travelling, as you never receive cards or gifts, there are no decorations and you rely on messages from your friends on Facebook to make you feel connected. But having said all that, we always try and make the day a special one.
For Carl’s birthday this year, we headed out early to visit our Thai friend Rahul who sells clothes at a small market stall in Fisherman’s Village and bought Carl a ‘birthday shirt’. He received lots of love and wishes from all our friends in the village before we headed over to our favourite beach club – The Deck. His friend bought us a bottle of fizz, we lounged, ate some great food, drank beers and cocktails and the team even surprised him with a birthday cake and a sing-song.
Safe to say, he had a wonderful day and this year there was no threat of a tsunami (in 2021 we were in Phuket and ended up being asked to leave the beach bar we were at as the staff were fearful of a tsunami warning).
My Mum visiting us in Thailand – 8th July
In 2015, my Mum and I came to Koh Samui to visit her friends, we stayed for two weeks and I just completely fell in love with Thailand, how laidback everyone is here and how beautiful it is, this in part is why we’ve ended up living here so it was so amazing to have my Mum back here in Koh Samui and get to show her lots of new places that we didn’t see eight years ago. Sadly, her second week here the weather was awful and we didn’t get to do the boat trip we’d planned as the rain was pretty constant. But it was so nice to be able to spend a couple of weeks together, enjoying frozen cocktails, delicious Thai food and even just relaxing by the pool.
Bastille Day – 14th July
Our favourite beach club – The Deck – is owned by a wonderful French couple, Henry and Karine and they were hosting a party to celebrate Bastille Day, we love a good party, especially one with our favourite Samui DJ, Fred Canal (also French) and a fire show so we went along to celebrate. It was a fantastic day, great food, great vibe and the most impressive fire show, these guys really do know how to throw a party.
What we’ve been struggling with
Both of us struggling with our work. The business that Carl has been working for has been put on hold, potentially indefinitely and so he is now trying to find something new to get stuck into. Then, my long-standing client has outsourced a lot of my work to a lovely girl in the Philippines, which has impacted on my earnings. I’m also struggling to gain traction from new clients, I’m not sure if the time difference is offputting to people, but despite several interviews where I really seemed to get on well with the interviewer, I’ve still not been able to bring on any new work. So, if you know of anyone who is looking for a Virtual Assistant, please send them my way. You can check out my Linkedin profile here.
Due to Carl’s accident when we first arrived, we’ve blown through all of our savings and even had to borrow some cash to help pay for his hospital stay, so we’re hoping things improve in August otherwise we may have to head home early.
What we’re feeling grateful for
The connections we’ve made since we’ve been travelling. We’ve met some incredible people over the last two years, fellow travellers, adventure seekers, and local people from all around the world. We miss our friends and family dearly and so all of these new friendships and connections mean the world to us.
What we’re looking forward to for August 2023
This may well be our last month here in Thailand, so we are going to make the most of it, enjoy the sunshine, spending more time outdoors and more time exploring. Our feeling is that if we head back home in September that we won’t be back here for a couple of years, as we’ll likely spend some more time in Europe, exploring some of our favourite countries: Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain and France.
We are going to explore a new business idea, of working with local beach clubs and restaurants on their social media, so many fantastic venues in Koh Samui lack any kind of social media presence, so we’re hoping we can help with that and in turn make enough to stay for a few more months. Watch this space…
So, what did you get up to this July and what are you most looking forward to for August, share it with us in the comments.
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Until next time…
travel eat sleep repeat 