Learning Thai

Well, we had a lovely vacation/mother's day/Tom's birthday celebration on Koh Samet over the last few days. We traveled 3 1/2 hours by bus and a half hour by ferry and were in a completely different environment from our city home. Aaaaaah. We enjoyed the sights of countryside on the way down- rice fields, wats, coconut palms, etc. On the bus, Claire summed it up for all of us by saying...."Every day I see something new that amazes me!" (a quote from one of her favorite Peep movies). So true!!

We weren't able to make hotel reservations before we arrived on the tiny island, so we were a little nervous about what our accomodations would be like. We traveled on the island in the back of a pickup over incredibly rutted roads. After observing the party scene and crowded beaches on the way, we were even more nervous. BUT, we ended up in a lovely spot with semi-rustic wood cabins right on a sparsely populated beach. Perfect!
Highlights of our time:

-Night and morning rainstorms that cooled things down and were really refreshing, and lovely sunny afternoons
-Endless games of Yahtzee on the front porch after the girl's bedtime (huddled around the mosquito coil!)
-Eating every meal on the beach- and I mean literally ON the beach. Heavenly! The girl's favorite? What they called "eggs on the beach" and discovering oysters.
-Sleeping with the sound of waves.
-A long walk on the rocks and beach for Tom's birthday supper and chocolate cake and coffee on the beach by laternlight on "our" beach.
-Swimming in the nice clear water. It was perfect for the girls because the waves were small.
-Eating lots of fish and shrimp and squid...mmmmm.

Of course you can't have a vacation without a few lowlights too.... two were the mangy dogs that roam the beach-(just like the streets of good old Bangkok) and swarms of mosquitos after dusk. Oh and the several days a bunch of trash washed up on shore and had to be raked up by the staff- it was really horrifying. As Claire said, "that's not taking good care of the earth!"

But overall, we had a terrific time and are feeling nice and relaxed and refreshed and ready to get back to work and school. Here are a few pictures of our time.....

Our little cabin. We loved being in a woodsy area but looking straight out on the beach!

Day one: Armed and ready to dig!

Lovebirds on the beach.

How beautiful is that!? Right around the corner from our beach (Tom took this picture on a very rainy walk one morning).

Claire on our walk to Daddy's birthday supper. She loved every minute of playing in the sand and walking on the beach!

Tom's birthday supper. We ate every meal like this right on the beach! Happy Birthday Baby!

How Claire and Eliza spent 80%of their time at the beach!

Another one of those "just because I took this picture and love it" pictures. (Claire on the ferry on the way back to the mainland).

-Candice