Thailand

Hi all,

Well, I'll be adding pictures on a separate post, once they upload to my computer (since we took hundreds, it's taking a few hours). We just got back from Thailand, or Tae-Guk as my kids call it. We departed bright and early on Wednesday morning to Incheon airport, and spent the next 6 hours flying over the South China Sea towards Bangkok. We landed in the afternoon, got our tickets for our next flight, and had our first meal of the day in Thailand.

I had my first of many coconut-based drinks while in the airport, literally straight out of the coconut, along with Pad Thai. This will become somewhat of a theme for us on this trip, as you might imagine.

We linked up with Daniel, who was taking a separate flight via Hong Kong, and then the whole lot of us flew out to Koh Samui, on the south-eastern coast near Phuket. I should add at this point that our group included myself, Jen, Daniel, Sumi, Paulina, and Ashley, all members of the teaching team at our Academy. Daniel invited us down to stay at his Aunt's guest in Mae Nam/Bang Phor (pronounced pour).

We got there late at night, and, after meeting Daniel's lovely relative, Linda, and her roommate, Louise, we settled in for the night, and made plans.

The next morning, we went out to Chaweng Beach (Ban Chaweng), on the east coast of the island. It was Jen's first time swimming in the ocean, and my first time in the Pacific on this side of the world. I considered it a life-long goal fulfilled, to have swum in both sides of the two biggest oceans, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. A goofy goal, perhaps, but I was glad to do it.

We ate lunch at a place called Aladdin in Chaweng. Anyone going to Koh Samui is recommended to visit, as well as the Sea View restaurant in Mae Nam, where we ate that evening with Linda and Louise. While I shall spare you any further references to how awesome the food was (since that was not the main point of the trip), suffice it to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed being able to eat such great food on the cheap. A Pad Thai with eggs, ordered from a street vendor (like an American hot dog stand) cost 35 bhat, which equals 1,500 Won, or about 1.75$CAD. We were, in short, in paradise, food wise.

The beaches, meanwhile, were simply amazing. The view was gorgeous at Chaweng, with a view of the Pacific stretching out to the horizon, deep aquamarine seas that went on forever, and palm trees everywhere. We spent most of the first day on the beach, getting a little crisped by the heat. The temperature was about 40-50 degrees each day, so we all felt a little tired at the end of the day, but it was entirely worth it.

The next day, Daniel and I went off to explore the island while Sumi, Paulina, Ashley, and Jen got facials at a nearby spa. Daniel and I checked out Ban Taling, Hat Lamai, a few temples, got lost somewhere in the south-western end of the island for an hour, before driving through Ban Nathon (na-tawn), where the docks are, and back to Mae Nam. We checked out all sorts of stuff, and it was a good chance to chat with my coworker and get to know him better. We've been working together for 8 months, but Daniel is sometimes a private person, so it was nice to talk with him.

Over the next few days, we would check out Lamai beach and Big Buddha Beach (Bo Phut, in the north), a Muay Thai fight or two at Lamai market, and Jennifer and I went clubbing at the Green Mango club in downtown Chaweng. It was a great scene, and we both enjoyed it. Our coworkers gave us a polite push in the general direction of the club, insisting that we spend some time alone with each other. It was a cute gesture on their part, and we appreciated it, since we both love dancing.

We got a Thai massage (or two) on our last couple of days in Thailand, and checked out Chaweng one more time before we left. It's probably the best beach of the bunch, given that it's so central, and has such great water.

We also went on a bit of a tour around the island, checking out a waterfall, a restaurant on the top of one of the mountains on the island--the view was spectacular, and, as I said, I'll have pictures up ASAP--and riding on an elephant.

In short, we really, really, really needed this vacation. We were all of us stressed as the last four months went on, and I for one have had almost zero break time during that period, between working the kindergarten class on Saturdays, the new curriculum, 4 out of 5 classes having essays, and a mess of other changes at work. I like my job, but, don't get me wrong, I was bushed.

Linda and Louise are great people, and I'm grateful to them for their patience and generosity in putting us up in their guest house this week. We were literally in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by dogs, water buffalo, a few snakes and scorpions, flowers, chickens, the endless sun, and the trees. It was, in short, perfect.

While I have to get back to work this week, I'm feeling a lot less stress, and Jen looks like she literally shed a year or two from her face. My kids all think I look more relaxed, which is good--they still have tests, though, despite the flattery!

All in all, well worth it.

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Movies

I love this week-end: Wolverine, Star Trek, and Angels and Demons are all coming out at the same time. I've seen Star Trek already, last night, and am going to see the other two over the next two days. Movie marathon! I'll post a review on the weekend.

Cheers,

Chris