THE KIDS ARE HERE!!! Feb, 2020

YEAH!!! 2/3 of our kids arrived February 8th for a 3 week visit to Thailand (and to see the parentals of course). So excited to see Ian and Gillian in our new home base. Coronavirus, work commitments, a new fiancé, and an aging cat (not in that order) kept Eric at home. We missed him dearly, but totally respect his decision in these uncertain times. Happy to report that we have not particularly noticed any ill effects of the virus in our travels or daily life. In fact, just the opposite. A lot of tourists have stayed home, resulting in us having several attractions all to ourselves. No crowds, no other farangs … so nice! BTW, lots of creativity demonstrated in people’s quest to protect themselves 😊 …

Its been a whirlwind couple of weeks. The kids flew into Chiang Mai the week after we completed our course. The weekend they arrived was the Chiang Mai flower festival. A parade, beauty pageant, and floral decorations throughout the city made for a beautiful start to their visit. We of course went to several temples during their stay, and although we never joined in, we will certainly miss the monks chanting at 5:30am every morning in the temple across the street from our hotel. The night markets (we all bought matching elephant pants) and the wholesale food markets (still not brave enough to eat the scorpions) added some colour, craziness and cultural immersion.

One of our highlights in Northern Thailand for sure was the Maeklang Elephant Conservation Camp in the Doi Inthanon National Park. We definitely got up close and personal with these magnificent creatures - playing, feeding, bathing and walking with the elephants for 2 days. I thought we might lose Gillian to the camp and specifically to William, the 4-month-old, 500lb baby elephant. So cute and playful and right up her animal loving alley (in fact I think the highlight of Thailand for Gillian was all the stray dogs and cats she saw everywhere).

We stayed overnight in traditional bamboo huts at an Elephant Sky Camp – just the 4 of us and our 2 guides. They made us an amazing mu kratha bbq (a traditional Thai meal that is a cross between a Korean bbq and a Chinese hot pot) and then we enjoyed songs by the campfire (no one knew the words in either Thai or English). In the morning, nothing like a little elephant drool on your pillow to wake you up. The elephants literally stuck their trunks in through the window of our hut in search of a sugar cane treat. So cool!

Next, we did a full day of Thai cooking classes at an organic farm. First stop was a local market, where our guide showed us how to shop for rice and fresh vegetables, herbs & spices. We learned all about the balance of flavours - sweet, sour,

bitter, salty, and umami - that make Thai food so delicious. We each made 7 courses during the day, and because there was 4 of us, we got to try EVERYTHING on the menu. The courses included a stir fry (pad thai, pad see ew, stir fried spicy basil, cashew nut chicken), salad (papaya, glass noodle salad), soup (tom yum, tom sab), spring rolls, curry paste, curry (red, green, panang and massaman) and dessert (mango sticky rice, deep-fried bananas and banana in coconut milk). It was all SOOO good, and I can honestly say it was the first time since being here that I felt like I ate too much. We really appreciated all the strategically placed hammocks scattered around the farm after that!

Our final adventure in the north was the 2-day jungle trek in the Pha Daeng National park in Chiang Dao, including an overnight stay in a rustic cabin in the tribal village of Mae Mae. The trek was definitely challenging and a few tears were shed during the 12 km day one and the 18km the day 2 adventure - including mine when I realized I had locked us out of our cabin at night in the jungle and that our guide was nowhere to be found! Despite the challenge, we all enjoyed the outstanding beauty of the rain forest, stunning bamboo groves, mountain vistas, refreshing waterfalls, coffee & tea plantations, and even illegal opium plants spotted in the distance (no, no samples). And the crystal-clear stars in the jungle night sky were magnificent! The guides were extremely knowledgeable, and I loved how they found & incorporated eco living and sustainability into our trek – bamboo leaves for food packaging, chop sticks and coffee cups made from bamboo stocks, leaves to dry to later sell at the market as brooms & umbrellas, bee hives spotted in trees several hundred feet in the air (the trees were marked so they could be scaled at a later date to collect the honey), and even cigarettes made from tobacco leaves found in the jungle - for us to enjoy at our breaks. To top it all off, we did not see a single other tourist along our journey. Absolutely amazing!

From here we all moved south, literally. The kids had planned on checking out the Thai beaches in the South anyway, but we decided that would be a great place to look for teaching jobs. We heard the air was cleaner than the north, and since we ARE fans of breathing, we followed them. We flew from Chiang Mai to Krabi, but to save money, sent our 2 big hockey bags of “stuff” on a cargo bus. No one told us that the bus “station” in Krabi was an hour out of town and that we needed to rent a car to go and find it (nope, didn’t look anything like a bus station). The car felt like a real luxury, but it came in handy during the week to explore, hand out resumes, and go to job interviews.

Krabi is the west coast of Southern Thailand on the Andaman Sea, and is absolutely beautiful, with limestone rock formations, mountain views, and the gorgeous beaches. We visited the Tiger Temple where we climbed the 1,247 steps up a mountain and were rewarded with stunning views and a contemplative Buddha statue at the top. We spent some time kayaking around the mangroves in Ao Thalane – and met up with some not at all shy monkeys that jumped into the kayaks (not ours) and stole water bottles. The more elementary monkeys just ate through the bottles, but the smarter ones could unscrew the caps!!

We also checked out the east coast of Southern Thailand, on the Gulf of Thailand side, with a 4-day trip to Koh Phangan Island. Although most famous for its wild full moon parties, we were on the quieter side of the island that is typically accessed by boat taxi. However, it was late when we arrived and the water was choppy, so we got the 4X4 land transportation instead. The dirt road was really rough and in the middle of nowhere, and I was a bit scared that maybe we were being taken somewhere remote to be beaten and robbed - but thankfully we ended up at beautiful, remote, rustic beach resort called Bottle Beach. Very laid back & non-touristy. The next day we took a very rollercoaster-like ride on a speedboat through Angthong National Marine Park where we enjoyed snorkelling, hiking, kayaking, swimming, lazing in the sun, and just taking in the 42 islands that make up this park.

I can now say I totally understand the debate I was reading online re: Andaman Sea (west coast) vs Gulf of Thailand (east coast)? and no, I don’t have an opinion yet on which is better, but we will definitely do more in depth research in the coming months!

And then, just like that, it was Feb 26th and the kids were leaving us behind. While they headed off to Bangkok for a last few days before flying home, we came back to Krabi (9 hours of non-glamourous travel via truck, ferry, bus, and van). While we were very sad to see them go, I am happy to report that both Peter and I accepted 12-month teaching contracts that same day. I am going to be a kindergarten and Peter a high school NEST (Native English Speaking Teacher) in NST (Nakhon Si Thammarat), teaching at the Srithammarat Suksa School (say that 3 times fast). It is about 800km south of Bangkok on the east coast of Thailand (Gulf of Thailand side) – and there is an airport close to town (just saying)! It's within 2 hours of all of the best beaches & national parks in southern Thailand, but far enough away to still be authentically Thai and not at all touristy. We start in April, so March will be all about figuring out where to live, getting some transportation, joining a running/biking club, and exploring the area. More on that next time.

Until then, stay healthy, take care of each other, order some yummy Thai food, and try something new that makes you just a wee bit uncomfortable 😊

Be sure the check out our gallery here for the video highlight of our time with the kids as well as more photos.

Miss you all!

Susan & Peter