Samui Flights Remain Grounded

The weather in Ko Samui turned wet late last week as I was finishing a week long holiday. By Friday the rain was becoming torrential, and hotel guests at the First House hotel sat on their balconies generally looking sad as their holiday in the sun evaporated. or more correctly drowned. Friday night we attempted to go to The Reggae Bar near the boxing stadium. The entire city lost power even on Beach Road. Most bars were closed, but some attempted to open with candles illuminating the night. We sat in one roadside bar drinking beer and watching the water rise. Most roads in the area were already flooding with large pools of water covering the entire surface in some areas. We road around on a motorbike getting drenched, and noting that only the big hotels had any electric power from generators on site. Luckily we were staying in one such establishment, and never went without power. The friends I left behind last saturday tell me things have continued to worsen with hotels emptying qiuckly, most bars closed, and both locals and tourists chagrined and very unhapppy now. I Pray for sun now in my favorite place in Thailand, an end to the torrent, and now worry about the people I left behind.