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Published: June 18th 2010
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Our second annual journey to Phuket has been a wonderful break from the final weeks in Shanghai. We have been all systems go for months, really, and this week in paradise was everything we'd hoped for and more. I have several key memories that involve trying to recreate great trips or experiences and failing miserably. This attempt, however, was a success.
We returned to the Indigo Pearl, an oasis of tranquility in Phuket. Despite the troubles in Bangkok, we did not have any issues flying through Bangkok en route to Phuket. It was a smooth, easy trip. Oh I did accidentally have a pair of kids' scissors in my backpack (used during end of school, class mom related activities). They were confiscated, a notation was made by hand in a log book and my passport number was recorded, Mark rolled his eyes at me, and off we went. As Miley Cyrus aka Hanna Montana sings it best "Nobody's perfect".
I emailed the hotel from the Bangkok airport lounge and asked them to arrange a sign with Nathan and Emily's names instead of mine. If you've read previous trip blogs of mine, I always get excited to see "Ms. Suzanne
cooling off
no, she's not in the hospital. She's just cooling off with a towel and welcome drink. Slaven" when arriving in a foreign land with tired kids. This time, the kids were the ones on the sign and it read "Ms. Nathan and Emily Slaven" oh well. It did the job. They giggled, we snapped the picture to prove it happened, and off we went. Cool towels and chilled water were distributed to us in the hotel van and we enjoyed to short ride to the hotel.
The joy of returning to our favorite hotel ever is hard to explain. We just love this place. It's beautiful. But it's also comfortable and easy. And after living in Shanghai--which we have loved to be sure--where it is less easy, this is the perfect escape.
We oohed and ahhhed over our lovely room. A suite with a big outdoor area (package upgrade promotions are the best!). We then went swimming and were off to the beach to find dinner.
We dined on the beach the first night and the kids impressed us with their willingness to eat Thai food. We watched a storm brew, complete with dramatic lightening and infrequent thunder before returning to the hotel before the rain started.
We spent the next couple
days alternating between pool and beach, and in Emily's case Kids Club and Pool and Beach. She loves that Kids Club and goes for at least 2 sessions a day. Jewelry making, arts and crafts and other fun keep her coming back. Nathan is not interested at all but takes his breaks in the form of DVD watching in the room or another trip to the pool.
On the evening of the 15th (when it was June 15th here and in California) we had a small ceremony at the beach. We each shared our memories and feelings about my mom and then put flowers in the ocean. We all cried and felt the loss but seeing my kids miss my mom makes me happy too--she wanted them to know her and remember her. They do.
We borrowed bikes from the hotel and road around the area. Mark and I went on our own yesterday and got quite a workout racing each other up and down hills. The competition never ends. Even after 21 years.
We went river rafting one day and while fun, the rafting ride was pretty short. We also went to a monkey cave (or
rather a monkey parking lot) as part of the package and ended with a lunch and trek to a water fall.
We have 2 days left (1 night) and I'm imagining we will do many of the things previously reported again.
Then it's back to reality, mad packing and filling out forms, last shopping and final goodbyes.
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non-member comment
looks awesome
what's been your favorite place to vacation in asia?