Kevin's Bday in Thailand - Part 3

We went on a day trip into town to explore the little village shops, restaurants and the beach. A taxi van picked us up from our resort and dropped us off in the middle of all the busyness. We first walked around town popping in and out of dark, hot and stifling shops. None of the shops had their lights or ceiling fans on. I guess it was to keep the energy bills down, or the tourists out. Kevin was smart enough to stay outside with fresh air, while I bravely ventured inside.  They were so dark, that I seriously had a hard time deciphering what I was looking at. I couldn't tell if I was looking at a dress on a clothing rack, or a dress on another person's back! I didn't last long in these shops. I came out of the last one with glistening beads of sweat on my upper lip and a red face. Kevin looked at me with big eyes and wasn't sure if he should dump his water bottle on me or not. I'm not prone to sweat in buckets or waterfalls like Kevin, but when I'm hot enough to where my upper lip breaks out in a sweat dance, then I'm on the verge of either getting really cranky or passing out!

We ventured out onto the beach and walked around taking in the beautiful views. We passed by little huts lining the beach with massage cushions and ladies calling out trying to talk us into a $10 massage. Not a bad price at all! But we were too hot and sweaty which made a massage sound like an unappealing idea at the time.

Local peddlers passed us every few minutes carrying large display boards filled with handmade Thai jewelry, crafts and various nicknacks. They have a hard time accepting the words "no thank you." They seem to understand the words, but don't want to hear the words. They strongly urge you to buy something so you can bring them good luck for the day. I did find something I liked, but I'm definitely unable to bring anyone good luck. But I do hope that I'm a blessing to someone instead.

It started to rain so we took cover under a large banyan tree at a restaurant. I knew I was relaxed and on vacation when I took delight in watching an ordinary (Thai) squirrel run along the twisting branches of this ancient tree. We cooled off for awhile and waited for it to stop raining. Once the rain let up, we headed back and spent a relaxing evening back at the resort.

The following is a collection of pictures of the rest of our tropical getaway in Koh Samui, Thailand.

Beaches and Boats Photo Gallery

Kevin's Bday in Thailand - Part 2

Evenings in the Thai tropics is nothing less than breathtaking. The sun starts to set behind a backdrop of soft billowy clouds, and casts a warm glow of vanilla, soft rose, amber and flaming red hues that reflect off the rippling sea. It's the conclusion of another perfect day.

Every night we ate dinner at one of the outdoor restaurants. The resort has three restaurants to choose from with different menus. The Thai restaurant is situated on a hillside with individual dining huts on split levels with spectacular views. The second one is called The Lanterns. This Mediterranean restaurant is at poolside with three dining huts with cascading drapes for added privacy.  The third restaurant is the casual Beach restaurant with tables lined along the sandy beach. We ate at the Beach on the evening of Kevin's birthday. We sat at an umbrella table with just enough candles and lights to softly illuminate the table and sand.

View from Thai restaurant

The Lanterns

Personal touch at the Beach restaurant

One evening we ate at the Thai restaurant while watching traditional Thai dancers. I'm glad we chose the buffet, because I kept getting out of my seat and walking down toward the stage area to take pictures. I wasn't the best dinner date that night.

These two dancers did the Fan Leb dance, which means fingernail dance. They wore very long, pointed bronze nails on every finger except for the thumbs. It was a lively dance of romance using precise hand movements and fancy foot work. They danced to traditional Thai instruments.

Pad Thai wrapped in egg nest

After dinner, we walked around and visited the gift shop and lobby area. Here I noticed this incredible and most unique display of flower petals and leaves. Someone took a large flower pot and filled it completely with water, right up to the edge. They painstakingly placed one leaf and one bougainvillea petal at a time, until the whole surface of the pot was covered. They are floating on the water. Brilliant! I must try this back home some time.

Relaxing in the lobby

Kevin being swallowed up by a huge leaf

 
Believe it or not.....stay tuned for Part 3 of our Thailand getaway!

Kevin's Bday in Thailand - Part 1

I know it's been over two months since Kevin's birthday, but I'm still going to talk about our wonderful getaway.  Singapore is in such a great location for quick escapes to exotic destinations. There are many choices for traveling to places that are only 1 - 4 hours away, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia. Kevin has been working so hard at his job, that we wanted to go somewhere relaxing for his birthday, which was in May, so he could totally disconnect and unwind.

We chose to go to Koh Samui, Thailand, which is a beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand, to enjoy the warm water and tropical breezes. The water was clear, but not as blue as I would have liked. It only rained once while we were there. The resort was called Napasai, which was owned by Orient Express. We would love to take a train trip on the Orient Express that goes from Singapore to Bangkok, Thailand, but it's so expensive. The resort was a more affordable option for us.

We flew on Silk Air from Changi Airport in Singapore directly to a beautiful little airport in Koh Samui. We landed and disembarked outside and got into an over sized golf cart. We cruised along the tarmac enjoying the sunshine and breathing in the wonderful aroma of jet fuel. Where's the tropical breezes I read about??  The airport buildings were made out of teak beams, and the roofs were grass covered. Passport security, baggage claim and passenger waiting area were all open air surrounded by tropical plants and flowers. We later arrived at our resort and were greeted by friendly staff and a fresh, cool coconut. Very refreshing!

We were led down a winding path through coconut palms, bamboo, orchids, torch ginger and bougainvillea to our little tropical villa.

Coconuts waiting to fall on someone's head

Entrance to our villa

Bougainvillea in coconut shell

Cozy retreat

Kevin Relaxing

Back of villas

The view from our porch faced the gulf and the private beach of Napasai. Part of the beach was rocky and covered with shells that washed to shore every morning. I found a few little shells to take home with me.

There was all kind of activity to observe from our porch. I watched a Pacific Reef Egret walk gracefully along the water's edge, a large lizard playing peekaboo around a palm tree, someone wind sailing, and a fisherman gathering his nets.

Breakfast buffet was included every morning. There was an omelet station, fresh pastries, local Thai favorites, yogurt and berries, fresh ginger tea, juices, and tropical fruit. I enjoyed trying new exotic fruit, such as guava, dragon fruit, mangosteen and longan. We had plenty of company whenever we ate outside. Myna birds serenaded us with song and also begged for our food. If someone wasn't paying close attention to their breakfast, a myna bird or two would bravely fly onto the back of a chair and then hop onto the table to help themselves to plates of leftover food!

We walked along the paths and beach area on the resort and ended up at the spa for a relaxing massage. We chose not to do the traditional Royal Thai massage where they gently pull, twist and manipulate your body in various positions. I went to an introductory Thai massage demonstration here in Singapore awhile ago, and did a sample massage. I can see how beneficial it could be for someone who isn't over cautious about their neck. I found myself tightening up my neck and back muscles when the therapist was trying to work on me. I think she thought I was a lost cause and wouldn't benefit from this traditional massage. So, this time I chose a hot herbal poultice with sweet basil and kaffir lime. It was blissfully relaxing and the aromas were heavenly. It was a great massage that will be hard to beat.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in Thailand!!

ESL Party

When I realized that God was leading me to serve in the ESL (English as a Second Language) ministry at church, I was excited and nervous, because I've never taught ESL before. It was time for God to use and stretch me in Singapore to fulfill His purpose. I've been truly blessed to be a part of this special ministry. The ladies in my class are so sweet and eager to learn. There are about 17 of them. It was interesting to learn about their different cultures, and they enjoyed learning about American life. One of the first questions they asked me was did I ever meet any movie stars. I told them I met Kevin Kostner and some actors from a TV show called Hill Street Blues many years ago. Not much reaction. Then I told them that Renee Zellweger and George Clooney came to my town to film a movie. "Ohhhh.....GEORGE CLOONEY!!" Amazing. Women way over here in South East Asia also goes ga ga over George Clooney!

Ladies from my class

With the weekly lesson preparations I did, I quickly learned that it's one thing to speak my native language without giving it a second thought, but it's another thing trying to explain English grammar and other rules to someone learning the language. I had to teach the teacher so I could teach the students. I definitely learned some new things about English that I forgot years ago, or never learned in the first place. One thing I had to do in my lessons was translate certain American words that aren't used in Singapore, such as car park instead of parking lot, and lift instead of elevator. Since there is a strong British influence here, I had to change some American words into British words so they would understand. I had fun with that......

If I ever go to England again on holiday, I will rent a car with a large boot for all my luggage and drive to the countryside. I will have to stop somewhere and get a snack. Ummmm, maybe I will  fancy some bangers and mash or crisps and a biscuit. I will then throw my rubbish in the dust bin. After visiting the loo, I will be on my way. When I arrive at the Inn, I will park my car in the car park, check into my room, and watch some telly before bed.

Classes just ended for this term and concluded with an end of term party. What fun that was! It was an international celebration of all the students, teachers and staff together. Many students and a few teachers volunteered to show off their talents by singing, dancing and playing instruments. They proudly represented their countries, which were Japan, Malaysia, Korea, China and Myanmar. One of the American teachers represented India with an energetic and fun dance. She was dressed in full Indian attire. Everyone looked beautiful in all the colorful outfits!!

Japanese Drum

Myanmar Dance

Indian dance

Japanese ladies (my friend Keiko in center)

Creepy Fog

There are few things in life that really set my nerves on edge. I've encountered all kinds of new and unusual experiences that I've embraced while living here. I've seen huge spiders in Bali, large lizards lurking overhead on walls and little ones scurrying across our kitchen counter, an old man with both feet facing almost backwards, and reaching into my handbag and feeling goo. In case you're wondering, the goo was from a forgotten piece of Halls throat drop that melted in my handbag. It's so hot in Singapore, that throat drops and hard candies don't have a chance against the merciless heat and humidity. But one thing that sends me running for the hills....is the bug fogger!

Shortly after we moved to Singapore, I heard the sound of a weird motor. Curious, I looked outside from our 4th floor and noticed a greyish fog drifting upward into the trees and then dissipating into the sky. I saw a man walking around carrying something that looked like a strange leaf blower. This was the bug man. Mosquitoes and other insects are pretty bad here, so buildings are fumigated frequently. Exterminators walk around buildings, surprisingly without masks, blowing around this chemical fog, and it floats everywhere. I am thankful that when it's time for our building to be fumigated, that signs are posted in the lifts telling the tenants when to expect it.

(I'm so excited!! As I was typing this post, I heard the fogger outside. So I grabbed my camera and took these pictures. I didn't have any pictures to show until now. Trust me, this will be the only time I will show excitement over the foggers.)

When I hear that familiar sound now and I'm home in the apartment, I make sure the windows are closed and everything's good. But one day I was doing laundry and the back window was open with the dryer vent hanging out. I heard the fogger, saw the smoke approaching and then I remembered the window! I sprang up from my chair at the computer, ran down the hallway and threw myself at the window to slam it closed just before the poisonous gas drifted in and killed Gracie and me.

One time Kevin and I were in a gondola leaving Sentosa Island, and I spotted the fog below us. It was drifting up and our gondola was heading straight for it! The windows were open and couldn't be closed. We were trapped liked two caged rats. No where to go. We quickly covered our faces in our shirts, gagging on the stinky fumes infiltrating the gondola.

I thought about including some pictures of the lizards and humongous spiders, but that would have set my Mom's nerves on edge.