Just like coming home!

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This trip started off with a few scary moments.
I woke and noticed a brightness outside despite it only being 4am in mid winter. Looking out the bedroom window the thing we'd been dreading had happened. Everywhere was covered in a blanket if snow.
Our taxi was due to pick us up at 5.15am to take us to the airport. By 5.20 when it hadn't arrived I began to feel nervous so phoned the taxi company who assured me a cab was on it's way.
10 minutes later it pulled up outside, the driver jumped out and proceeded to scrape ice from his windows. He confessed to us that he'd just been woken up and asked to take us and to be quick about it, apparently non of the drivers on the nightshift were prepared to take us due to the road conditions.
He assured us he wasn't afraid of driving in snow and set off at break neck speed, we assured him we had plenty of time and insisted he slowed down.
Somehow, miraculously, we arrived at the airport in one piece.
Now to find out if flights were running to schedule.
According to the information board ours was on schedule. Phew!

However once we were all boarded on the plane we sat for over an hour while the wings were de iced. It was a huge Emerites 380 airbus so de icing the massive wings was no easy task. Eventually we took off and arrived at Dubai airport with half an hour to spare rather than the two hours expected for the next flight to Kuala Lumpur. At least that plane took off on time meaning we wouldn't miss our onward local flight to Krabi in Thailand.
From krabi airport we took a mini bus right to our accommodation on the island of Koh Lanta.

We had booked a bungalow in the same resort, Blue Sky Bungalows, we'd stayed last time. As we entered the gateway Mr Ekk came over to us calling " Hello Sheila and Stan, welcome to Thailand" and threw his arms around us.
This sure is the land of smiles! Everything was so familiar it felt more like coming home.
He showed us to our bungalow and said not to worry about checking in, that could wait till tomorrow, just relax.
Within minutes I heard a familiar voice calling " oh they're here."
Sharon and Scott along with Jake and Kyla had come around to see if we'd arrived. The kids seemed thrilled to see us and chatted non stop, both at the same time. My fears of them not remembering us were soon dispelled!

They went off for dinner in a restaurant, nearby, that we know so we could settle in and I joined them an hour later, leaving Stan behind to sleep a while. By this time we'd been travelling for over 30 hours!
Later, it was time for the kids to go to bed, I went back to our bungalow to find Stan refreshed and ready to go out for a much needed drink. We walked down to Jam Bar on the beach front and were greeted by Pak the owner. He'd been expecting us. A Swedish Couple, Tina and Uluv, who we knew from last year arrived and later Sharon joined us when the kids had gone to sleep.
It wasn't long before we were in desperate need of sleep again.
Soon we were lay in our little bamboo hut, with the fan purring away, being lulled to sleep with the call of the nightime wildlife around us.

Next morning after breakfast in Funky Fish restaurant on the beach ( where all the staff there remembered us too) we met Sharon and co on the beach.
Hard to believe one day we are slipping about on icy pavements and two days later basking on a white sand beach swimming in the warm blue ocean.

That night we all went to Thaicat restaurant for dinner, all along the beach colourful lights lit the way. From here Stan and I joined a group of people we met in Jam Bar and headed to the Treehouse nightclub. It was party night and a live group were playing. It was a fun night out.
The following evening after another lazy day on the beach, we all jumped in a tuk truck to a bar on the neighbouring beach to watch Swedish children performing a fire show. Jake and Kyla sat in deck chairs transfixed for a while before racing up the beach to another performance we could going on.

And I guess that pretty much sums up our routine for the next few days at least.

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Comments

[Eileen]

Looking good Sheila and Stan enjoy your paradise island holiday. Bury weather today bright grey with a light moist breeze, another glorious winter day! ?