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)