Koh Tao, Thailand

The two-hour ferry to Koh Tao was rockier than expected (we drove into a storm) giving us motion sickness by the time we de-boarded the boat (note to future self: Meclizine).  The hotel driver was waiting for us and we climbed into the back of his pick-up truck (aka local taxi).  Our hotel specializes in scuba certification, so the resort had multiple swimming pools filled with novice divers.  There was a small walking path along the shore from our hotel on Sairee Beach, filled with white sand, small beach shops, Thai restaurants, and massage spas.  A great set-up on a popular and beautiful beach!  

We arrived late in the afternoon and Everett’s scuba lessons started with a 3-hour video.  It was super boring and he cried when he got back to the hotel room because the class was really hard for him.  The content was very technical and he had a difficult time with unknown terminology (disorientation, depressure, cardiac arrest, etc.).  Luckily, the dive instructor allowed Ken to attend the class, so he re-explained the key concepts and quiz answers later that evening.

Everett woke up the next morning determined to succeed.  The first pool session from 8-noon was a huge success.  Waen, his Thai instructor, said he was a rockstar and easily passed all the practical skills tests.  That afternoon was another long, draining classroom session.  On the second morning, he completed his first ocean dive, which he, again, performed like a pro.  The second afternoon was more classroom time and the dreaded written test.  We warned him the test would be difficult and not to be discouraged if it took several attempts to pass.  (We even planned for a 5-day certification window instead of the standard 3-day.)  Well, that kid came back to the hotel room (beaming) and announced he passed with exactly 75%!  He was overjoyed and we were so proud of him!  

 

On the third day, Ken accompanied the class on their final dive and a photographer even came along to capture the moment.  Congratulations Everett for becoming PADI certified!  On the last evening everyone in the dive class ‘partied’ at 8pm to celebrate; Everett drank 4 Coca Colas.  He became friends with a class buddy, Noah, who was 20 years old from the Netherlands; Waen was the sweetest “mom” teacher we could have asked for.

In other news, the tropical storm hung around all week and it rained every day.  Everett convinced us he needed a neon orange “ninja” cloak, aka rain jacket.  I spent my time hanging at the coffee shop (stuck for hours during the constant downpour), researching our next few destinations – a perfect rainy-week activity. 

Last night Everett met a group of kids riding skimboards along the shore near our hotel.  Ken and I sat on beach lounge chairs to watch the kids play.  As darkness fell on the beach, we realized we were sitting in the front row for the evening entertainment… no trip to Thailand would be complete without a fire dance performance.

Traveling sidenote: There is a more complicated balance between planned vs. spontaneous travel on this trip.  “Plan as we go” and “just winging it” has proven to be more challenging than we remembered.  We don’t like to be restricted when traveling and there is freedom to get inspired by the current moment and change our minds.  This takes a lot of intuition and willingness to take risks.  Showing up to a place, not knowing anything, and saying “What now?” is the most adventurous feeling.  

 

On the other hand, having logistics and discipline to follow a plan keeps our family from being a total stress case and wasting a lot of time and money.  Some examples: most countries require “proof of onward travel” which means we need to purchase on out-bound flight before we’ve even arrived.  We’ve also found transport options sell out much farther in advance (trains, buses, etc.) than they used to.  It’s super annoying to book a train a month in advance because it locks us into a specific route and timing.  If we get too rigid though, there is a lot of pressure to “get to the next destination” and we can’t take personal recommendations from people along the way.  So, currently, the working strategy is to plan 1 month ahead for visas and international flights and about 4-5 days ahead for hotels and local transport.  We continue to laugh at ourselves each time we say things like, "The trip was easier to plan before the internet."

 

Koh Samui, Thailand

After recovering from dengue fever, the doctor cleared me to travel.  So, we booked a direct flight to an island on the southeastern coast of Thailand – Koh Samui.  As a joke I bought the obligatory “elephant pants” for Ken and Everett so they would look like “real backpackers” on our departure from Bangkok.  Well the joke was on me because they’ve been wearing them non-stop.  We took the train to the airport and chilled at the lounge for a bit.

Koh Samui is one of the larger, more developed islands but one we had not visited previously.  Twelve years ago, in Thailand we met a Canadian couple (Ken and Crystal) and have stayed friends all these years. How did we meet? Well, Ken Altmann drank so many banana shakes at the local bar that the bar ran out of the key ingredient. The owner told his kid to climb the tree next to the bar and cut down more bananas. Ken and Crystal laughed so hard and talked so much trash we knew they were our type of peeps. Now 12 years have passed and they happened to be in Thailand and invited us to stay with them at their epic, beachfront AirBnB.  It meant so much to us to not only remain friends for all these years, but to meet them back where it all started from. We love you Ken and Crystal! Thanks for hosting us for our epic week on Koh Samui.

The first day was spent renting scooters (surprisingly difficult because everything was sold out), finding the grocery store (our purchases had to fit in my backpack), and getting our bearings along the west side of the island (first things first: coffee, boba tea, ATM).  Day 2 we took a long tail boat (powered by a nauseating lawn mower engine) to a snorkel spot and then stopped at Crystal’s request on “Pig Island,” which is exactly what it sounds like – a mostly deserted island with a bunch of semi-feral pigs.  This farm girl was not impressed – really, we spent money to hang with pigs?  But Crystal was so enthralled with the baby piglets that her enthusiasm helped us all enjoy the experience.  There was one “drinks shack” that sold the best mojitos.  So, after a few hours and many mojitos later the Pig Island attraction ended up a pretty fun and unique afternoon.

The next day our scooter gang of five traveled around the island (Everett was on the back of my scooter and we stopped at another snorkel spot).  The cars on the road were surprisingly chill and considerate given the volume of tourists on scooters that didn’t know how to drive (us included).

The beach at our house is less than 2 feet deep for several football fields out into the ocean.  We can see the ferry boat terminal in the distance but we are 100% removed from other tourists.  There are three beach dogs that frequent our beachfront (they have become our guard dogs because Crystal keeps feeding them breakfast sausages).  And we are now known at the local dinner spot because we’ve gone five nights in a row and have ordered every item on the menu.  What else?  We are averaging 5.5 mangoes per day.  Each night we sit and watch the sunset.  Crystal makes the best cheese and appetizer platters.  Ken Andrukow makes the best drinks and ensures we have the deep conversations of life.  And they even made me brownies for my birthday.

Yesterday, Ken, Ken and Crystal went scuba diving and Everett and I played in our pool and did homeschool.  We are sad to leave our dear friends and now await the ferry to our next adventure- the island of Koh Tao.    

Bangkok, Thailand

I still can't believe the biggest indoor waterfall (every waterfall has marketing these days) and this rainforest is in an airport.

 

Singapore came through for us and the computer was fixed, finally!  Ken had to wait in the rain under an overhang at a random guy’s apartment for 45 minutes (the computer tech accidentally fell asleep).  Our final day in Singapore we went on a long bike ride.  All across the city are app-based bike rentals, but since we only had two working cell phones and Everett was under 16, we rented the bikes from a bike shop along the East Coast Park.  It was a fun (and hot!) afternoon ride.  Kelvis said it was the best day of the trip.  That night we saw the light show at Gardens by the Bay, a super modern botanical garden that includes giant solar-powered trees.

The next day we spent most of the day at the Chiangi Airport, one of the nicest airports in the world.  That evening we said goodbye to Kelvis as he returned to Uganda and we headed on to Thailand.  It was a wonderful experience to have a travel companion, experience new things through his eyes, and give such an opportunity to a deserving kid.  We were worried about sending him solo across the globe (Singapore > Doha > Entebbe) but he did great and even made friends along the way.

Ok, so here’s where the story takes a turn.  For the last six days in Bangkok, I came down with Dengue Fever, which is a viral infection from a mosquito bite.  Shout out to Dr Tanya who told me to go to the hospital.  And shout out to Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital – highly recommend them if you ever get sick in Bangkok.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel our scuba diving lessons on Koh Tao and stay in Bangkok longer than expected.  Ken worked his magic and found us a very nice apartment near the hospital, since I would need to come back several times for outpatient blood work.

 

While I’ve been under the weather, the boys have been by my side but also keeping busy – a hop on/hop off boat, swimming pool, shopping, foot massage, airplane themed mall, Aquaman movie, and the Millennium Hilton breakfast! 

Shelly 12 years ago when she joined our trip.

12 years later, the next generation carries out the tradition

12 years ago...

Like Father, Like Son

The malls in South East Asia are way more modern than the US.  They also have Lambo's, Ferrarri's and Porche dealerships as part of the experience.

Singapore

 

Everyone wanted to stay in Kuala Lumpur longer, but we had already booked our next hotel (non-refundable) in the quaint southwestern city, Malacca.  We easily took the train to the bus station, but all the buses to Malacca were sold-out so we spent most of the afternoon waiting for an available bus.  We stayed in a fun touristy area with our hotel located on the Malacca River near Jonker Street.  The city streets were full of multiple cuisine restaurants, Chinese souvenir/antique shops, and foot massage spas (shout out to Shelley!).  One spa attendant convinced us to get our ears cleaned with “ear candles” (where hot flames melt ear wax – it’s very gross but also relaxing).  Also, oddly, the number one attraction in the small town was the “Huskitory,” a house full of Husky dogs that you can interact and play with (shout out to Dad).  So, between ear candles and husky dogs, Malaysia had surprises around every corner. 

Our bus ride from Malacca to Singapore was five hours (without a toilet onboard!).  I wouldn’t allow anyone to drink liquids all day.  Besides the toilet issue, the seats were comfortable and we spent the time working on schoolwork.  Entry to Singapore was quick, although we had a slight panic attack when officials pulled Kelvis out of the immigration line and we lost sight of him momentarily.  Luckily, it wasn’t a big deal as he needed to use the manual line (vs automated entry) because of his passport.  Interestingly, we didn’t get stamps in our passports, but instead got an email with an “e-pass.”

The first evening we found a “hawker stall” (large food court) on Old Airport Road.  Since sit-down-restaurants are crazy expensive we opted for more reasonably priced local food stalls, which are surprisingly tasty.  Normally we avoid food stalls but everything is exceptionally clean in Singapore so the food is safe.  In the evening Ken took the kids downtown for the nighttime light/water show at Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

The next day we took an epic 10 mile walk across all of downtown Singapore – Little India, Arab Quarter, Chinatown, Financial District, everything!  Everett’s very happy about the food here: dumplings, potstickers, noodles, and Boba Tea.  Although we are not night people, everything comes alive in the evenings (it’s incredibly hot and humid during the daytime hours).  The city is strikingly modern with lush/tropical/green plants on every street corner.  It has characteristically clean streets, courteous people, and everyone speaks English.  If it weren’t so expensive, we would easily stay here for quite a while.  

Unfortunately, Everett’s Microsoft Surface tablet has a cracked screen, which has been impossible to fix given the countries we have been in.  Ken tried unsuccessfully at 10+ service centers across 5 countries.  Everett uses the tablet for online school so we really need to get it fixed.  It’s Sunday here (+16 hours ahead) and there has been a major downpour all morning.  Ken is venturing out into the thunderstorm in attempts to fix the computer for the 11th time.  What a DAD!