Lyndon and I had a little get away over the weekend to Phuket, Thailand. It was for a for retreat for all the Asia offices, so Lyndon did not get to relax as much as I did. We still squeezed in some pool time, and swinging by the beach time. It was a fun trip with just the two of us. I loved every minute of it. Lyndon has been busy with work and not around a lot. I have missed him so much. It was absolute bliss to spend some one on one time with him. Several people asked us if we were on our honey moon, haha. We might have been a little to public with our affection. Insert wink face emoji. Thailand is incredible. My jaw kept dropping from seeing all the islands and gorgeous blue ocean from the airplane. I was in love before I even landed. Have you ever been to a new place and felt like you were coming home, or just so familiar with it? That is how I felt when we arrived in Thailand. I immediately felt like I belonged there. I've had that feeling with NYC, and Paris, like I was coming home and my heart was so full with joy. And I was just at peace and relaxed. Such a nice way to start any trip.
View coming down into Phuket. INCREDIBLE!
Just stunning. I could not believe how insanely beautiful it is.
Funny thing about getting there. Lyndon and I were supposed to leave together, but that didn't happen. I was on my way to the airport with his bag and passport when he called me and said he was not going to make the flight. We figured out how to get his stuff to him, and I hopped on the plane and started the trip off by myself. He made it in time for dinner that night, seven hours later than planned, but hey, we are flexible. Doesn't matter as long as we end up together.
I got to spend the afternoon checking out the resort. I walked down to the beach. It's rainy season here in South East Asia which means the beaches are not the best to go swimming at sometimes. I did not even get in the water, but just from standing on shore I could tell that the current was really strong. It was still beautiful. My body has been longing to go to the beach, and I completely relaxed when I got down to the shore.
I could have spent a lot more time lounging in our room. Wish the trip had been longer.
The resort was fabulous. Our room had an American toilet init, which did make my top favorite things about the trip list, haha. We enjoyed authentic Thai cuisine, and I am now obsessed. So fresh, flavorful, and delicious! I skipped out on the events that Lyndon had to attend. I instead took a cooking class where I learned how to make , and then got a much needed (for the health of my feet) pedicure. Oh man, I needed one so so so bad. I felt bad for the lady taking care of my ugly feet, but she did a wonderful job and now I am not embarrassed when I wear sandals, which is everyday here. And we got to sing Karaoke! After our trip to Bintan we are obsessed. It was really fun. So fun, we stayed past midnight singing with friends.
Our last day there we went to a Gibbon rehabilitation center about half an hour from our resort. It was awesome! I love Gibbons and have since they came to the Zoo Knoxville, however many years ago. Gibbons are native to Thailand, and are endangered, which breaks my heart. I learned that they are not monkeys, but apes which I did not know. The White Handed Gibbon is the one that is native to Phuket. The center takes any breed of Gibbon and ones that are not native to Phuket spend their life at the center and the White Handed Gibbons they try to rehabilitate and release them into the wild. The center is located in a national park that has park rangers patrolling for poachers, and making sure the wild life is kept safe. We learned a lot. Gibbons are very similar to us. They have emotions and depending on how they react to the therapy it is decided if they can be released or not. Although, one White Handed Gibbon name Bo, was released six times but kept coming back so the center decided to keep him there because he would not leave. All the Gibbons there are brought to the center from people who have been keeping them as pets, some of the stories are heart breaking. Never have a wild animal for a pet. We left with a greater respect for these animals.
We then hiked to a water fall not much further from the center. It was a fun hike. I was not dressed for a hike at all. We had initially planned on going to a Tao Temple, but when we looked at the map in the taxi and saw there was a Gibbon sanctuary we changed plans. So I was in a dress and sandals. Not my first time hiking like that, but it worked. It did not hinder my hiking in anyway. The waterfall was beautiful. It was the highlight of the trip for me. And then it was time to go back to Singapore.
Probably why people kept asking us if we were on our honey moon.
Super quick trip, but so much fun. Video of the trip below.
Thailand we will see you again. You are incredible!
We made it to Manila! We flew over the US and the Pacific Ocean to get here. Our total travel time was 55 hours. It was long but surprisingly not bad at all. Cosette was an angel and the Haneda Airport in Tokyo was like a hotel. If those two things had been any different attitude in writing would not be so positive. This odessy of a journey begun way before our first flight. Packing up our apartment for our subletters took a lot longer than we supposed it would. So instead of being refreshed and ready for the long trip over we were tried and I did not want to get out of bed. We got enough sleep to keep on going till our flight from NYC to San Fransicso where we tried to rest. That flight for me was the worst. Cosette did sleep but was up for a lot of it. The plane was cramped and Lyndon and I were seperated by the aile. Thankgoodness for kind and patient people who sat next to us. Playing at the San Fransico airport. Our flight to Japan was awesome. We had a
Remote learning is over for now, thank goodness. We have been doing remote learning since March 20. We are experts at google classroom, zoom meetings, and google meets. It's been rough, but we did it! This post is long and detailed about what each kid had to do everyday for school. It was intense. The kids did wonderfully. Their teachers are amazing! They worked around the clock to learn all the new technology, meeting with students individually. I received personal phone calls from them asking what they could do to help and also talking to my kids. I am so grateful for the teachers they had this year. All three kids participated in remote learning. Each grade/teacher did something different. What they all had to do was answer and attendance question by noon, read for thirty minutes a day, and I-ready (an assessment program that helped determine where they were in math and reading). Third Grade: Cosette's assignments were what she was doing in school. She completed two huge
Happy Valentine's Day! This has become one of my favorite holidays in the last few years. This year especially I am really into it. It probably has to do with my sweet Lyndon who proposed to me on V-Day four years ago. Since then he has made Valentine's Day a fun and special day. He always surprises me with something fun. Usually we go eat some where fabulous and go see a ballet or opera. He likes to do something cultural on this speical day. This year I am getting into the spirit more. Cosette can do a lot more things. We made special Valentine's for our families and made yummy cookies. She kept sneaking cookie dough and eating it. She is my daughter. The finished product waiting for Lyndon. I went to the Cake Boss Bakery last year to get Lyndon something for V-day and was inspired to make the dark chocolate bowls filled with chocolate covered strawberries. It was a lot easier that I anticipated. Oh, and that cloth on the table are the pajama pants
We then hiked to a water fall not much further from the center. It was a fun hike. I was not dressed for a hike at all. We had initially planned on going to a Tao Temple, but when we looked at the map in the taxi and saw there was a Gibbon sanctuary we changed plans. So I was in a dress and sandals. Not my first time hiking like that, but it worked. It did not hinder my hiking in anyway. The waterfall was beautiful. It was the highlight of the trip for me. And then it was time to go back to Singapore. 
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment