Oct Break: Railay

I am contracted to teach the same amount of days, 180 per school year, that I am in the States.  However, for some reason I feel like I have more time off.  Maybe it is because we now use our three day weekends, or days off, traveling instead of sitting at home that I feel it is more. Last week was one of those time.  It was the end of the quarter, so we got a week off for October Break. 

We had always planned on doing something that week, but Wade and I were in debate about what. He wanted North, I wanted the beach.  So...the destination and booking of the trip was VERY last minute and helped us make the decision.  We headed to Railay Beach, off Krabi.  It is south of Bangkok and well worth the trip to get there. 

Wanting an adventure (and we are cheap) we decided to take the train there and fly home.  Due to us booking so last minute, the only seats left on the train were 2nd class.  We decided to go for it.  12 hours on the train, I decided I would prefer 1st, but 2nd wasn't that bad.  The hotel we stayed at was also a Groupon deal (yes, Groupon is in Thailand).  It included 3 nights, breakfast, a dinner and a four hour long boat tour.  It was great.  The hotel was not on the beach, but between 3 and we also had access to its 5 star sister's amenities which included a pool on the beach.  All four of us then flew home for around $200.  You can get cheap tickets here.

I highly recommend Railay and plan to definitely go back.  It is an amazing place and quiet.  It has a lot of places to stay, but there are no cars and not the craziness of a city.  It was full of hippy backpackers, families and rock-climbers (number three place to climb in the world).

The train station

Amelia was so excited to take the train.  Our seats turned into bunk-beds and she LOVED it.

Sunset the first night.  Amelia took a swim....in her underwear.

Railay West Beach

Sunset again

More train

Long boat rides.

We rented kayaks one day.  We stopped at a beach for a snack.

Liam enjoying his spring roll.

Just chillin'

The area is covered with these rocks/islands.  We kayaked arounf them.  There were little beached and cool caves.

Hiking through a cave to a sandy beach.

The rock formations climbers love.

Yes, those are what you think they are.  The cave of fertility.

Amelia took this one.  Too cute.

Best shot of a family photo.

Stupid a$$ monkey got into my diaper bag and stole Liam's diaper creme.  They are not nice.

Snorkeling.  The fish were AWESOME.

Roller Coaster

A friend I work with shared this graph on her Facebook page. I had to copy it and share here because it explains visually what living abroad can feel like. The first week we arrived, we were told that come late September/October, the Honeymoon stage will end. It now makes sense. Our shock isn't as deep, but I am starting to think giving us a week off work in October is a planned strategy for International schools to remind people why they moved abroad. I know this past week for us, was a good reminder.....more on that to come.

International Week

This past week at school was International Week.  For three days, students came dressed as "world" themes: Western/European, Asian and Thai.   On Wednesday, there was a big Food Festival where venders sold samples of foods from around the world (mainly Asia) and students did performances.  It reminded me of the Bite of Bellingham.   Of course the most popular vender was Dairy Queen.  Goma brought Liam over for the celebration on Wednesday.  We sampled foods and watched shows.

But the best part of the week.....seeing what the students were wearing.  Western Day (The America's) being quiet funny.  A lot of the students think Americans are all cowboys!  Due to that, Amelia brought in a picture of Grandpa Daryl with Washington's Rodeo Queen from the Lynden Rodeo to share.  Miss Anne, her teacher, said the rest of the class was VERY impressed and Amelia very proud of her grandpa.  Maybe someday he will come for a visit so she can show her real cowboy off in person :) (hint,hint).

Amelia and her class on Western Day.  I had better outfits for her to wear that were more "western" looking, but she was more excited to not have to wear her uniform and chose that one.

High school students representing countries/flags from around the world.

The coconut vender.  Did you know coconut water if REALLY good for you?  Better than Gatorade when you need to get re-hydrated. 

Students dresses in Asian wear.

The fair was in the elementary and high school breezeways.  At least 30 venders.

Amelia and her class going to look at the food.

Love this picture.  I stole this one and the rest off the school website.

Our friend's Walter and Max

Yahoo for International Week!

Our neighbor Anna singing.

Look at the blonde curls thanks to Thailand weather.

I am not in this picture, but the elementary staff got into dressing up.

Khao Mao

Last week Wade taunted me with an email picture of some delicious goodness a friend had brought him.  It consisted of some of my favorite things: coconut, banana and being fried.  None of which are good for my waistline.  

I needed some.

That weekend, I sent him on an early morning mission....

....he came back with Khao Mao.  

Mission accomplished

Street food at its best

Amelia and Wade got 10 for around $3.  We gave some to the neighbors.

Getting the order made.

The Khao Moa stand on 164

Yummy fried goodness.  Reminded me of fair food.

McDelivery

Last night Wade and I went out to celebrate a friend's birthday downtown. The night started out pretty chill, but soon turned into an adventure, as everything here seems to do. I am not going to go into detail about the night. But the lyrics from "One Night in Bangkok" started to make a little more sense to me.



Nights out in Bangkok don't really go hand in hand with having children. They live on alternate schedules. This results in sleep deprived, a little off parents. The morning was tough and Excedrin and coconut water became my best friend. The feelings also triggered old college habits of craving grease bombs to soothe the gut.

Again, Bangkok delivered...literally. You can get almost anything here delivered to your door. Including McDonald's.

One call to 1711 and a half-hour later, I started to come back to life thanks to two cheeseburgers and a coffee float. The best part, I never had to leave the house or change my clothes:).

Pick your poison. This list is just the beginning. If you want to know the cost, divide the number by 30 (30 BHT to 1 USD). There is also a 30 BHT delivery charge for most places.

Fried chicken from KFC.

A whooper from Burger King?

McDonald's.  The nuggets look a little different but the burgers taste like home.  I stay away from the ketchup.  I have my Heinz in the fridge.

Or maybe you have a Japanese craving.  Bento box anyone?

It's raining, it's pouring....

 

 We are in monsoon season and it has blessed us with some crazy storms.  They are mostly at night (I woke up to bright flashes of light in my room last night) and the thunder can rock the house.  I took this video from my bedroom window.  It is dark at first, but watch for the lightning.  During that storm, we think a rod hit our house.  It blew a fuze and we went without power in part of the house for the weekend.

Rockin' and Rollin'

There was another holiday, so we got Friday off. This meant another three day weekend to explore Thailand. We went with a group to another beach town, Pattaya. Pattaya is not known for being very family friendly (big sex tourism spot), but it is the home of The Hard Rock Hotel. To say the least...we didn't venture too far from there.

The Hard Rock was an awesome family resort and reminded me of a cross between Vegas and an all inclusive Mexican resort. We really enjoyed the pool, the rooms and buffet. The whole place was designed with families and children in mind. It had a kids club, foam party on Saturday night and water slides into a sandy pool (and a swim up bar for adults). I hope to go back again some time. Pattaya is only over an hours drive from Bangkok, so maybe just for the day. You can pay just for a day's pass to the pool:).

Foam Party!  In and out, in and out...
I think the foam was made from dish soap.  I may try to make this at home.  Foam block party.

The kids went crazy once the foam started.  Amelia was unsure at first, but LOVED it once she jumped in.  Liam just shock his head "no".

It was above her head on some parts.

At the beach across the street from the hotel.  The surf was a little choppy, so no swimming in the ocean this trip.

Wade joined in the party fun too.

The pool.

Kid area and slides.

Wade got Liam in for a little bit.  When not in the pool, we were being followed again by paparazzi.  Our friends said we need to create a price list sign>>> picture with mom holding him = 1 beer.  Picture with just him = mixed drink. Picture with a smile = mixed drink and beer for dad.

They roosted this pig all day Saturday for the dinner.  Amelia said she was not going to eat it.  There she goes again trying to be a vegetarian.  However, once I bribed her with the dessert bar that pork went down.

Both kids cried when we had to leave.....