Incredible Thailand

What an amazing vacation! Phuket was just what our little family needed! I cant express how incredibly beautiful Phuket was, it was like a dream. Our hotel was right on Patong Beach which is a very busy tourist area. The beach, however busy, was well maintained, no trash and the water was incredible! It was clear and beautiful and the water was like stepping into a warm bath.

This was Ella Mae's very first time at the ocean and although a bit apprehensive at first once she started splashing she was hooked! Between the 3 beautiful hotel pools to the gorgeous Andaman Sea there was plenty of water for her to enjoy. She did amazing on this trip, she never ceases to amaze me. She was perfect on the flights and took her naps in the stroller, the car, the boat or the room depending on where we were when she got tired. She really didn't put up much of a fuss. She even cut a tooth while we were there and although it disrupted her sleep a bit, her mood remained happy and playful.

I have always wanted to see Maya Bay, where " The Beach" was filmed and now we were only a boat ride away. We talked about it more and more and realized, although Ella Mae would handle it, we would be asking a lot of her and putting her on a boat for a very long day out in the sun, so in the end our plans changed. I have to say this change turned out to be better than i dreamed. Our hotel suggested we take a half day trip to Khai Nui and Khai Nok where we could snorkel and the fish swim right up to you so it is a preferred trip for people with kids. We were sold!

The boat ride out was enjoyable and i was awe struck again by the raw beauty of this place. The water was an amazing deep saphire over the reefs next to this gorgeous bright sea green covering the whitest sand i have ever seen. The water was so clear you could see forever and the fish flourished. We arrived at Khai Nok, a tiny island to small to go ashore. The boat stopped off shore and we were offered to snorkel off the boat surrounded by amazing reefs. The water was a little rough that morning so we all decided to go on to the next island where we could snorkel off the beach. There are no words to describe the beauty of this island, it was small, uninhabited amazing white sand beach surrounded by the most amazingly clear and beautiful water that i have ever seen! The ecosystem is so healthy that this little island off the reef was a nursery for juvenile fish and they literally swim to shore and swarm around you. During Ryan and my time of snorkeling we saw a variety of fish, the trumpet fish and a beautiful clown trigger fish were our two favorite of the day. Ella Mae loved looking at the fish that swam near the shore, she had an amazing time on this incredible little island!

In our week long stay we enjoyed the aquarium, walking through the street markets, but most of all we enjoyed our time in the water! I am dying to get back and explore more of the island, it just had so much to offer that we have barely scraped the surface! Phuket Thailand should be on every ones destination list if possible, it is AMAZING!

We spent a little bit of time in one of our very favorite places, Bangkok, and we even took Ella Mae on a long tail boat ride. She loved the boat and seemed to enjoy the wind on her face. It was an amazing vacation! Next stop.....BALI!!!!

Expat extravaganza!

So today is the first day of our block off (vacation) and it has been nice to have Ryan home while we get ready to go, normally he would work right up to when we needed to fly out but he picked up an extra shift to get today off. So as our countdown hit 2.5 hours until departure Ryan decided to take a shower while i fed Ella Mae. All was good until i heard him trying to open the door, followed by "Karen, i need some help." Um yea, that was not good!

The bathroom doorknob had broken so when you turn it, it no longer pulls back the pin that lets the door open. He asked me to slide a butter knife under the door, but there is zero clearance on these doors and so now we had a bigger problem, the door could only be fixed from his side and i had all the tools on mine. There is a window in our bedroom near to the window in the bathroom, but still much to far for reaching with an arm and they also put bars on all windows here in our complex so it just wasn't happening. I decided to attach tools to the broom handle with a pony tail holder and pass them to Ryan that way, and it worked!!!

We had a flight to catch in just 2 short hours so this, although a bit funny, could potentially be a problem! I called the maintenance office explaining the urgency but everything takes a long time here so i knew that even if they sent someone and he could do anything it would be awhile. I then called another of our Expat friends and i know they really wanted to laugh, but said they would be right over! I said a little prayer and began to feel a bit better.

Ryan was having no luck with the butter knife and the doorknob was nearly impossible to remove so we were stuck. Our friend's arrived with tools in hand and one kept Ella Mae company as we assessed the situation. We passed more tools to Ryan who attempted to take the door from its hinges, but again showed that the craftsmanship of these doors, jams, and knobs were a true mystery. Everyone, trying to maintain a level of seriousness but having a hard time considering that my dear husband was locked in a tiny room with nothing more than a towel on while a growing group of us were gathering outside the door trying to figure out what to do. The maintenance guy arrived and he cracked a smile a few times when he realized what was going on, but had no suggestions on what to do. So it seemed we were going to have to break down the door. Our 2 friends were prepared to start ramming when they decided to see if we could first remove the handle from the outside and so one returned to his apartment for more tools. Ryan continued to struggle with the flat head screwdriver trying to pry back the pins. I began envisioning them having to cut the door down with a hacksaw!

Finally, by answered prayer alone, Ryan got the door open and turned to the maintenance man saying "these doors suck." The man who spoke little to no English said nothing and seemed a bit shocked at my husband in a towel. I about died as the rest of us cracked jokes with Ryan, still in a towel. With much thanking everyone went back about their day and after being sure that the door would not lock on me, i took a shower. I realized that if the tables had been turned i would not have known what to do and it would have been worse, me being stuck in there. God was looking out for us for sure! Ryan then commented that it would have been bad if that had happened when i was all alone caring for Ella Mae, YUP, THAT'S IT NO MORE SHOWERS FOR ME WHEN I AM HOME ALONE! LOL

So we started off with a bang and i think actually it was nice to find humor in the situation, after all, no harm done and it happened when we were here together so now we know there is a problem that needs fixing.

Time for a week on the beach of Phuket Thailand!