First of all, let me say this: I STILL cannot believe that I went to THAILAND!!!! It has been #1 on my bucket list for so long now that it's strange to think I actually visited it! It was just what I thought it would be...and MORE!! I am in LOVE with Thailand.
We left Doha at 1am on Friday morning, March 21st, 2014. Flew to Kalula Lumpur, then on to Phuket, Thailand! I was kind of freaking out that we were flying through Kalula Lumpur because just 2 weeks ago the Malaysia Airlines flight 370 left from that airport and has not been seen or heard from since! A total mystery that is yet to be solved. I've been obsessively following the story and it was a bit scary to fly through here! The boys did great on the flight, as usual:) Thailand is beautiful with purple orchids growing everywhere. Palm trees are all over the place and if you look up the mountainside all you can see is green jungle. I want to live here. It's warm and slightly humid, but not bad. Mosquitos are the only down side to being here. The evening we arrived, we headed to the beach and enjoyed the sunset and resort pools. We are staying at the Katathani Resort on Kata Noi beach. It's family-friendly and quiet and affordable and beautiful. Seriously-I'm in LOVE!!
The next day, Saturday, we woke up at 10 am (4 hour time zone change) and hurried to the buffet breakfast which ended at 10:30! Eat up kids! Their selection of local fruits are my favorite part. Also, I had pad Thai and bacon for breakfast, just because I can! Most things around here are all indoor/outdoor type open places so you get fresh air and breezy gusts. It's fabulous!! Then we headed to the beach and resort pools all day on Sat and Sun. James has conquered his fear of swimming. With his floaters on, he goes all over the pool and sticks his head under water to hold his breath. He also goes down the kids slide hundreds of times per day. He is one happy little fish. Jake likes to swim as well but doesn't like getting his hair wet or putting his head under water. Eli is chubby and happy. The Indian Ocean is warm and the white sandy beaches are nice to walk on because they are soft. The water is a pretty blue but not clear blue. It is not too shallow for too long so the boys have to wear floaters when they get in, just in case. Their favorite part is the swimming pool. We get the drinks on the beach every day: fresh pineapple and orange smoothies or lemon or watermelon, or Pina Coladas. Eli takes a nap in the afternoon but the older boys stay up and play:) for dinner we went to a little Thai restaurant just up the street from our hotel on both evenings. We ordered pork satay, papaya salad, stir fried veggies and spring rolls, and a pastrami sandwich with fries for the boys; everything was tasty! Both nights we also got fresh local fruit. Eli loves the watermelon--good to know! For dessert we have had fried pineapple which was excellent!! Also mango flambay, which was ok. Both evenings we watched the sun set on the beach together. I had a Thai massage for 1hour and it cost $9 and a pedicure at the pool for $6. Worth every penny! My boys are happy here so that means mom and dad are, too! James said "I love the Indian Ocean! It doesn't sting my skin like the Dead Sea did." What 3 year old says that!? I hope they remember some of this cool stuff!!
On Monday we went to Old Town Phuket. We got a driver and went to Buddhist Temples (where we met a Monk), saw the Big Buddah, and fed Monkeys bananas. It was hot, but we survived with an umbrella. At the Chalet Wong, or main temple, they get 'points' or something for doing certain things. Buying lotus flowers for the Buddah and setting off fireworks in the outdoor oven are some of the merits they redeem. It's interesting to see another global religion.
On Tuesday we did the Elephant Safari. It was even better than I thought it was going to be!! Turns out elephants are kind of cute!! The boys had a good time, too. They showed us baby elephants that you got to stand next to and touch and get pics with. They had trained elephants to play a harmonica and hula on its trunk. We took some great pics of it. That afternoon we swam. Having the boys enjoy the water is a total game changer!! Jake and James go down the slide, jump in and put heir heads under water, and swim around with their floaters! It's really enjoyable! They have done a 180 degree turn since coming here as far as their swimming abilities and apprehension. I think it's going to be a fun summer of swimming!
Wednesday we got babysitters and Matt and I went snorkeling. The surf was too large to see much, so we ended up just playing in the ocean.
Thursday was another beach/pool day. It was a great trip!
One funny thing that happened while in Thailand was when we were trying to get the boys to lie down for a nap, an alarm kept going on and off in the hallway. The boys freak out when there is a fire alarm--I mean freak out! (We kind of taught them to do that!) we kept saying to them "Don't worry, it's just a test. Go to sleep, there is no real fire. It will stop ringing soon." The boys did not believe me at all. Finally, I was getting upset and said sternly "go to sleep. It is not going to ring again!!" And just then, it started ringing!! It was hilarious! We all started laughing and everyone got up-we skipped naps that day:)
Poolside at our Resort
Our room, the shower was a great big walk-in, my fav!
We love that Jamsey!
IF WE GO AGAIN: April was quite hot. Maybe try Feb or March? We had planned for mosquitos, but we didn't get bit, luckily. Another month may be another story, though.
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