OMG ... Amazing Day Trio Today (In the language of the boys)

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Well first of all I have to say thanks so much for the lovely comments you have made ... it is great to know that people are actually reading this blog and enjoying hearing about our travels! Sorry I have not replied ... just been SOOOOO busy doing SOOOOO much and yet still SOOOOO relaxed! Also sorry for all the typos ... there is no spell check and lets face it ... I'm on holidays!

I can hardly remember what the last blog update was ... but I think it was our quiet morning in the unit enjoying the place and the view! We used our inifinity pool and read books ... the boys played hide and seek (there are just so many places to hide here!) and we headed off after lunch on another adventure! By the way ... we are loving the car we have hired. We ended up getting a deal with a local vendor (despite my initial concern over insurance etc etc). But the car is almost brand new and I read the insurance policy (99% was in Thai ... but I had a good "look" at it). Koh Samui has just one ring road around the island so it is hard to get lost. Scott is a great driver here ... the horn gets used a bit (sort of like saying ... we are coming through so move over!) and we miss the turn off ALL THE TIME! The boys can't work out why we keep getting lost ... and we keep reminding them that we have NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE!!!

Anyway, yesterday off we went in search of a place that was meant to be great for kids ... we found the turn (actually got it right first time which was sort of wierd) but about 1/2 km up the road there was a roadblock and we were turned around. Apparently that way was only for motorcycles. AS IF WE KNEW! So we had to go around a LONG way to get to the place ... called Paradise Park and it was about 600m up a mountain (hairy drive) on a road off the ring road, but lots of signs on the side road to find our way (surprisingly). Actually we have learned that there are road signs on the ring road but most are in the direction opposite to that in which we are travelling. WE think it is beacuse we are not in a touristy area and we therefore drive the opposite way to most tourists to get to things. So we have worked out that if we look backwards, we can see the signs and turn around as required. Funny!

Anyway, Paradise Park was fantastic. The boys fed and played with lots of animals. First up was the birds. We entered a large area that housed hundreds of budgies and they landed everywhere. WE were lucky to escape without any bird droppings on our heads! Scott and I found they liked our rubber thongs ... that was a wierd feeling having little birds jumping around your feet nibbling your toes and thongs. Talk about giggle 😊

Next we fed the coloured doves and rabbits and then it was time to hang out with the friendly monkey. He was very funny. He held hands and wanted us to brush him. But every time I walked near him he bent over and poked his bum at me!!! How rude!!! He didn't do this to Scott or the boys ... must have been the colour I was wearing. Anyway the kids thought that was just the best thing ever so it was the joke of the day. Anyway we spend a good couple of hours here just hanging out with the animals ... and it was very hands on. There was no sitting and looking at animals ... it was all touching, feeling, playing and handling them. This sort of thing is not something the boys would get to experience anywhere at home in the same way. It was fantastic!

Getting home we took the wrong turn about 2-3 times... all of the signs take you to the place but there are no signs leading us back to the ring road! So we eventually found our way and Blake wanted to stop and see the "Mummified Monk" as we passed. This is exactly what the name suggests ... and Blake has a new found fascination with Monks after his blessing earlier in the trip. Well we stopped and there it was ... a real Monk ... mummified ... in a glass enclosure next to a temple. It was quite a scary site. Blake was obsessed! He studied it like nothing else. Thankfully a heavy downpour of rain came over so we had an excuse to get back into the car ... then the questions started. "Was that a real person?" "Why was he wearing sunglasses?" "Why was he in a cage?" "Was that really a dead person?" etc etc etc. Oh we had to do lots of explaining then ....

Dinner was at a lovely local place on the north west tip of the island .... complete with swings and hammocks that the kids played on until our dinner arrived. We are loving the Thai food .... Kobe too. Blake is eating lots of fried rice ... and Dylan is hopeless with Thai food. We have almost given up and we have resorted to giving him plain rice. Oh well he is surviving.

On to today ... what a day!!! I'd mad a booking before leaving Australia to go on a speedboat to Angthong National Marine Park. It was cancelled on Sunday due to windy conditions but we went today instead. The speedboat trip from Koh Samui to Angthong was about 1 1/2 hours. It was pretty rough ... but we trusted the 2 x 200 hp charged 36 foot speedboat (you would like that Cam!). There were 13 of us (tourists) and 6 staff. We were treated like royalty. As I said it was rough ... and we all got soaked even though we were under cover (but we are here to tell the story!). The boys loved it by the way !!!!!

On arrival we snorkelled and saw lots of amazing fish and coral. The guide showed us lots of different marine life. Dylan did well but didn't want the snorkel or fins. So he just held my hand and put his head up to breathe as he pleased.

We then moved on to another area for a walk up very steep stairs to an inland sea on one of the islands. I should remember the details ... but I don't and its too late to find them now.

Then lunch was served on another island on a private beach ... sounding like heaven on earth ... it felt like it!!!

We then kayaked through the sea ... under rock overhangs and cliffs. It was amazing. The boys just loved loved loved it!!!

The wind picked up again when we were kayaking so that was an adventure. Scott and Blake were together, Kobe was with a Thai guide and I was with Dylan. Coming back to the starting point was very hard. The headwind around this headland was very strong and our kayaks kept getting blown off track. I didn't have the strength to keep paddling against the resistance without my kayak turning the wrong way from the wind. Scott and Blake got around after a couple of attempts and Kobe and the guide were ok too. Thankfully the crew on the boat came and rescued us ... the rest of the tour group that is. It was not just Dylan and I that got caught out. Everyone else did too!!!!

The final stop was a little beach were we could see lots of wind monkeys playing in the trees and running around on the ground. It was fantastic to see them in this natural environment rather than in cages in a zoo!!!

There were lots of sleepers on the way home ... even though it was still rough. We were heading with the wind on the way home so it was not as bacd as the journey out. Even Kobe fell asleep ... that is a first for him I'm sure!!!

Dinner tonight was at another little Thai place on the Bang Po water front - the beach just down the hill from our resort. It was lovely. I'm glad I did lots of research at home to find these little places as these sorts of outings have been the highlights of our trip!

Getting later now ...everyone alseep (Scott too!) It was a hot sunny day today so we are all a bit zapped.

Will be in touch again ..... xxx

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Comments

[Noelene]

Wow! Looks like you're having a fab time! Really enjoying seeing your updates :-)