Koh Lanta

Our latest visitors were Jacob, Laura and cousin Ian. We had a great 2+ weeks with them. Laura is an old hand at Bangkok, having lived here and taught English several years ago, so tour guides were not necessary as she could barter with a tuk tuk driver as well as any of us could. Therefore, they were off on their own much of the time, exploring Bangkok as well as Chiang Mai largely on their own.

However, the group of us did take an extended weekend down to the island of Koh Lanta, nestled amongst a string of Islands of Thailand's west coast in the Andaman Sea. To get to paradise, however, required an epic journey of plane to coach to boat to taxi. Having three youngsters in tow complicated matters and by the time we got to our hotel, we were sorely in need of a dip in the pool and several beer Changs. However, we can now look back at the experience, if not with fondness, then with increasingly less bitterness.

There were some bright spots to the journey, though, such as the views from the top of the ferry.

 

 

And the grueling, un-air-conditioned camaraderie down below.

 

 

 

 

Once there, we were in a hotel full of Swedes, with a beautiful and large pool.

 And located just steps away from a beautiful beach.

Our first morning there, we walked the beach and helped Eliana grow her shell collection.

Once the sun was fully out, we grabbed a spot on the beach and played in the sand and the crystal clear water which had what very well could have been the perfect temperature.

(a second before Shane's first mouthful of sand)

We ate at beachside restaurants, our feet in the sand as we feasted on cheap and fresh seafood (and Jacon admired pictures of puppies).

 

Back in the hotel, the kids engaged in some cousinly bonding.

We went into the old fishing village where they were setting up for a festival.

And then, in the end, got back on the boat for the long ride home...

High Tea with Grandma

Since we moved to Bangkok, we've been talking about going for high tea at one of the fancy hotels on the river. With Gloria coming and interested in doing it, we decided to make it a girls/kids afternoon. We met up with our friend Sachi and her friends who were visiting from Japan. All in all it was a really great afternoon, we ate and laughed, enjoyed the view and ate some more. It was also an excuse to get the kids dressed up....

 

 

 

 

The Shangri-la is a gorgeous hotel. The tea is held in the lobby where there are floor to ceiling windows which offer an amazing view of the river.

 

 

 

The food was delicious with both sweet and savory items, and we added a chocolate tea, which included incredible pastries. And, of course, half of the fun is the presentation of the tiered tray.

 

 

 

 

 

Shane at the Little Gym with Grandma

Shane has been going to the Little Gym for about 6 weeks now. He loves it and they love him there. He typically goes with the flow and is therefore the one that the instructors use to demonstrate the moves with. Grandma was excited to join in for the fun.

When we first got there, he was very excited...

Then we practiced banging sticks together to the music (although Shane usually just tries to eat them).

 

Next somersaults and crawling...

 

 

We practiced doing wheelbarrows and flips on the bar...

 

 

 

Last (and Shane's favorite) is playing with balls and bubbles!

 

 

 

Graaaanndmmaaaa (part I)

Over President's day week, Gloria came to visit for a not-long-enough 9 days. She was able to get on an earlier flight and was therefore able to surprise Eliana by picking her up at camp, since she was out of school for the week.

 

Of course, we had to take her to Eliana's favorite temple, Wat Pho, getting there by Skytrain and then river ferry.

 

 

 

Eliana was excited to show Grandma her school.

 

Shane was pretty excited, too!

We Shopped...

 

the kids got some great gifts...

 

 

 

Went to the Aquarium...

 

 Gloria gave the fish foot massage a try.

 

And, of course, a tuk tuk ride!