Koh Samui: January 2006

From The Art Palace Hotel in Chaweng, our entertainment correspondent, Ivor Hangover, soaks up the atmosphere at a Carnival party before Ray and Nikki say farewell to the Islands and head for the mainland and their ongoing adventure.

Having spent the best part of three months on the Islands, Ray and Nikki recently made their way on to the mainland to start their full exploration of Thailand, and fortunately for them, had time to stop en route in Koh Samui for a couple of days in order to attend their friend Lozza's birthday party.

Leaving Koh Tao and the islands on 23rd January - ready for the next adventure

"We spent longer on the islands than I think we intended to" says Ray.  "First, we were trapped by the heavy rains brought by the wet season in Samui, then we stayed on Koh Tao much longer than we thought, mainly because we liked it so much.  The second reason we stayed longer was that I picked up a serious infection and my left arm became very swollen, meaning I had to be admitted to hospital for four days to get treatment for it before we could leave".

Ray,in hospital, sees the funny side of things whilst being pumped full of antibiotics

By the time Ray and Nikki reached Koh Samui for their brief pit stop, they were seriously ready to party!  Their friend Lozza, who runs the Yoga Cafe, (see previous article at Yoga can be Healthy and Fun) was celebrating her birthday and decided in true Hello! Magazine fashion to stage the event at a very new and hip hotel venue called Nathalie's Art Palace (see more at the Art Palace Hotel web site). 

The hotel is located near Chaweng and has a number of interesting features, not least of which is that every inch of wall space and every bedroom is adorned with copies of famous pieces of art, painted by Thai artists.  Some might say this is a bit tacky, but it does have a unique appeal in the region and time will tell if it has found the right niche.

Nathalie (of Nathatlies Art Palace Hotel), on the left, is apparently a famous German TV presenter, and is seen here with one of the many celebrity guests (in disguise!)

The Pool Bar, looking like something from a film set of an Indiana Jones movie

To make her party memorable and add to the ambience, Lozza decided on a "Carnival" theme, which meant that everyone had to come appropriately adorned - a real challenge for Ray and Nikki who unfortunately forgot to pack their Carnival fancy dress costumes when they left the UK four months ago!  "I love dressing up for parties so found it was no problem to throw something together" said Nikki.  "Ray, on the other hand, had to be frog marched (under duress) around town all day to find a suitable outfit.  However, his mood soon transformed as we got ready to go, and he enthusiastically insisted on wearing blue eye liner to complete his look for the night!" revealed Nikki.

Getting ready was a lot of fun as Ray and Nikki got together with a few of the other party goers and they all helped each other put finishing touches to costumes.

From left to right, Kelly, Naimh, James, Nikki and Ray all get ready to join the party

Upon arrival, everyone was welcomed and shown to the private pool bar area to be greeted by Lozza and offerred plenty of chocolate vodka's to drink and DJ Steve was brought in for the evening to provide everybody with loads of good dance music.

Ray and Nikki arrive, only to be confronted by photographers tyring to get a priceless snap!

Nikki with the birthday girl and party host, the wonderful Lozza

A great time was had by everybody and I am sure it will go down in the diary as one of the hottest social events in the Koh Samui calender for 2006.  Here are a few more snapshots from the party:

Everyone enjoying the great music from DJ Steve

Lozza sneaks a quick peek at the breasts of the ladyboy to her left!

Lozza may just as well have waited - he gave us all a view of them later (second from right!

Nikki having fun with a lovely crowd of carnival party goers

Only one of these three (above) is a real woman!

And only one of these three is a real man!

The party continued on all through the night, leaving many people nursing hangovers and needing much rest and recouperation the following day. 

Christina and Brooke the day after the party!

"Nikki and I were really pleased that we were able to join Lozza for her party and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves" said a happy but tired Ray. "Unfortunately, I had to give back the hired wig but it was great to experience having long hair just once more!"

Ray in a throwback to the 80's, with multi-coloured wig and blue eyeliner!

Editors Note: Great pictures Ivor!  It seems that Lozza was well and truly celebrated on her birthday.  And whilst we are on the subject of celebrations, I have some recent news from Ray and Nikki that some very special people back home also have cause for celebration.

Firstly, congratulations to the Davies family on the arrival of baby Rosie.

Rosie, with brother Callum, Mandi and Adam

Next, congratulations to Charlotte and Patrick on the arrival of their daughter, Lola.

Charlotte with Lola

And finally, for anyone who may be travelling in future, you will be pleased to hear that the skies are that little bit safer now that Ray's brother Paul, has just become a Captain with British Airways after several years on the fleet.

Congratulations to Captain "Buffalo" Martin - seen here with four stripes and braid

MOZZIE BYTE

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