Some Pics of Thailand

I am sure you are dying for photos and I am dying to share with you just how beautiful Thailand is . . .

The shopping stall were so overwhelmingly full, it was crazy!

Our beautiful resort was built into the hill overlooking the ocean. It was gorgeous!

The setting sun was so brilliant.

The icy cocunut was such a refreshing drink; and a better thirst quencher/elctrolyte replacer than gatorate. Sooo yummy!

The ocean front view from our hotel.

I absolutely loved the tropical flowers!! They are so beautiful.

One of the most delicious desserts Kim introduced me to - mango with sticky rice and coconut cream!

My beautiful friend, Kim!

The Thai Sampler

Since I was so light on the details - I thought I should recap our first day in Thailand (Saturday):

It started with our lovely breakfast buffet and heading directly to the pool. Kim and I had chosen chairs that were poolside close to the little canteen so water and coconuts were handy!  It was incredibly warm out and the sun was shining so the close proximity to these were very important.

The routine seemed to gos sunscreen  pool, sunscreen, read, sunscreen, pool, sunscreen, water, pool, sunscreen, read, pool, sunscreen, coconut, pool, sunscreen, read, sunscreen, pool, sunscreen, lunch, sunscreen, pool - you can see the pattern - lol! Mercies it was hot but my diligence was worth it when i picked up some fantastic color and only got a little burn in a couple of places.

After the pool, we headed up to shower and went for a quick jaunt into town for a pedicure - well the rest of the girls got a pedicure - and I a manicure. Hmmm it may have only been $7 but it kind of looked like it was only $7. I was glad that I had a pedi before I left as 2 girls got cut (ouch). My manicure didn't involve blood but the polish certainly wasn't nice and smooth. Oh well - the experience was worth $7 - that is for sure.

Then it was back to the hotel, piled into the back of a truck that is covered with benches lining the sides (Kim and I were loving it as the farm girl was coming to the surface) to pick up the stragglers and head into town. We got dropped off at the Burger King (of course we did) and started down the street. The shopping consisted of a lot of knock offs, various clothing stalls, jewelry, etc. All in confined little kiosks. The odd time you would pass a nice air conditioned stored that had the same type of stuff just pricier. They had to pay for their air conditioning bill somehow.

Shortly into our walk, we bought coconuts. What a refreshing treat as we wandered down the sidewalk. This effectively killed my shopping as I no longer had a free hand to browse. Unfortunately it also killed my picture taking as I no longer had a free hand for that either. As always, I was the last one done mine and had to carry it forever looking for a garbage can.

By the time we got to the end of the street we were ready for the beach - we hiked up this little road that cuts to the beach, passing by a motel boasting - "Not great but good" the consensus among the group was that was an understatement - we probably would have advertised - "Not okay but survivable". The beach was such a nice break. The water was beautiful and warm, the sand soft and white for as long as you could see.

As we strolled, we passed roasting corn and satay's. Coconuts and jewelery vendors. Sea doo rentals, fishing boats, locals and tourists. Beach side motels and lovely restaurants. As it was towards the end of the day, beach lovers were starting to pack up and restaurants were claiming their spots on the sand. This gave us an advantage for the evening to know which restaurants may look beautiful by night but not so fantastic during the day.

We got back to the hotel, quickly freshened up and were off for dinner. There was a pretty big group of us - maybe 15 of us - so we found ourselves a little spot along the beach. What a delightful way to dine - al fresco with the stars shining, cool breeze coming up from the sea. We sent up a Thai lantern in honor of Todd and Mish and enjoyed a relaxing night. I had my first Thai curry - Green Curry with Prawns - it was delicious.

The perfect way to spend our first day in Thailand! A little sampling of everything!

Our last day in Thailand

I felt like I had written so much for my Thailand posts as I was on the iphone typing away and now that I look at them - sorry for the quick detail. I am not too sorry though as it was much more fun enjoying the place so now that we are back in Singapore and I am having a lazy morning in bed while Kim is still sleeping I will give you a fuller update.

Our last day in Koh Samui came upon us before we knew it. We woke up to the light pitter patter song of rain again and so got up, packed a little and got ready for breakfast.

The breakfast buffet that came with our hotel was a beautiful spread of local fruits (I tried them all) and salad bar, breads and pastry, jams and peanut butter and then a large hot section that had ham, bacon, sausages, variety of curries, dim sum and an egg station. But I didn't vary far from my usual - fruit, a chocolate croissant (I know I didn't really need it but they don't serve a lot of chocolate so it was my one hit for the day) and an omelet. In case you think I was eating light - the plate is the size of some people's heads and I had it filled! The attendants would come around and bring you fresh coffees that were soooo delicious as well.

After our breakfast we climbed our stairs up to the room. Now,  I don't really think I told you much about the resort yet so let me try - the hotel was build into a hill with a gorgeous ocean view (if you are lucky I will get a few pics uploaded when we get back from Bali). From the Beach to our room (we were one of the top villas) is approximately a 30 story change in elevation. To get throughout the resort we walked up and down these beautiful stairs that wound along past greenery, koi pools and gorgeous water features filled with lili pads. Beautiful treed flowers lined the walkway giving off a perfumed scent that delighted the senses. I tried to take a couple pictures so if I haven't described it well enough - that might help.  It had 2 pool areas and a beach.

Since I hadn't taken the time to get any beach pics yet (it is always awkward wandering around with your beach bag and the fancy camera so I chose the beach bag over the camera the last two days), Kim and I wandered down for one last look at the beach. Gorgeous!!!

Back to the room for a quick shower and to pack up the last of our things. We had decided to head into Chaweng for a final walk around and a walk along the beach before we had to be at the airport and so checked our bags at the front.

What an interesting little network of shops. Every third stall boasting similar items and needing to barter. I did okay - but thankfully had Kim's help and found myself with four little souvenirs for my boys. We found our way to a little sea front restaurant and spent our last hours having great conversation with Helen and Paul (one of Kim's great couple friends) and gazing over the spectacular view. It was absolutely delightful!

All too soon it was time to head back to the hotel, grab our bags and take the 5 minute taxi to the airport. The airport was a delightful little spot as well - as Paul said it reminded him of downtown Disney with the shops lining both sides of the street. Since we were there early and traveling in these little Asian airports is much more casual then back home, we couldn't walk by the ice cream store!

Our flight was non-descript, we were through customs in no time, took the 15 minute taxi to Kim's and quickly unpacked. I jumped in the shower (that is one thing - I love the heat - but my body feels the need to turn on it's cooling mechanism on high and I find myself more humid than Kim's closet - ick - oh well by the time I leave in 2 weeks I am sure I won't be dripping every day) as Kim tossed in a load of laundry. We then sat down with a cup of tea and Eat, Pray, Love on. Love is filmed in Ubud, Bali which is where we head to today and so we couldn't not watch that movie!!!!

Today we are jetting around Singapore a bit before our 4:30 flight. Kim promises a beach walk, we will 'freshen' up our polish and maybe reflexology - awe - this is the life!

Rainy days and wedding dresses

On Sunday we woke up to the beautiful sound of rain!. The air had cooled slightly and smelled so refreshing. After some coffee on the deck we headed down for breakfast and hopefully a massage - we were in luck!

The massage was wonderful. I had decided to get a traditional Thai massage. Our girls lead us up to this beautiful room overlooking the sea! It was stunning. Changed into my little Thai pants and shirt and proceeded to the chairs where they washed our feet. Then came a fantastic 90 minute massage - walked on my calfs and hamstrings (which felt incredible after the previous days long walk along the beach and stair climbing); did lots of stretches; for a tiny girl had amazing strong pressure as she kneaded by back - delightful!

We killed the rest of the day leading up to the wedding eating sticky rice and mango, taking photos, getting ready.

The bride is a good friend of Kim's from Singapore. It has been fun visiting Thailand for the wedding and even more fun getting to know a bunch of Kim's friends that she also teaches with. The wedding was gorgeous - the girls stunning & men dashing; food was delicious - fresh seafood and incredible curries; dancing was so much fun - lots of good music (a good chunk of everyone there was from Canada and U. S. ) and cold cloths.

I was positively exhausted by the time I crawled into bed. Thanks Todd & Mish for including me in your special day!

Our first day in Thailand was perfect: - delicious breakfast - poolside chairs - refreshing coconut - wandering the town - manicure - walking along the beach - dining sea side under Chinese lanterns and fireworks - swimming in a beautiful salt water pool with a gorgeous view - meeting new friends - delicious green curry. Truly a delight.

Welcome to Thailand

We made it and are all checked in and unpacked. Cannot wait to explore tomorrow. And snorkel. And have authentic Thai food. And swim in the ocean. And read in the sun.

Koh Samui

During my time there Kim and I are jetting off on a little weekend outting to celebrate a wedding of one of her friends in Thailand. I am quite excited to spend some time with Kim's peeps in Singapore, to see Thailand and to enjoy a little beach time.


Here are a few pics off our hotel website:

Our hotel is on Chaweng Beach. It claims to be one of the more touristy areas and promises 5km of white sandy beaches, shopping and fantastic restaurants!

On my way

Well after 6 months of incredibly stressful work, seeing more of my corner on the couch than I have of bed, the beautiful sunny days or of my fabulous husband, I am finally about to log some hours in the air and go visit my beautiful and funny friend Kim!

In just 19 short sleeps I will be on my way! Doesn't the temperature look fantastic?

So here is the agenda:

• Arrive in Singapore and spend a couple days getting aclimatized and recovering from the jetlag.
• Fly to Koh Samui, Thailand to attend a wedding, check out the beaches and eat some delicious Thai good.
• Tootle around Singapore a little more.
• Fly to Ubud, Bali to enjoy delightful massages, check out the monkeys in the sacred monkey forest, and do a little shopping.
• Enjoy all that Singapore has to offer including Arab street, the broadway show Wicked, poolside reading and of course a little shopping

I cannot wait to catch up with Kim again. I am so excited to visit a new part of the world I have never been to. I am dreaming about the photos that I will get to take. I will use every minute of relaxation to recharge my batteries.

Stay tuned to hear the adventures as they unravel. I am sure they will be entertaining. Especially with Kim in on the stories!