Railay Beach, Krabi Thailand

In mid-October, Chiang Mai International School had its' midterm break for one week.  We booked our 2 hour flight to Krabi, Thailand and headed to Railay Beach for 5 days.  The only way to get to our hotel was a 45 minute van ride from the airport and then a 15 minute speedboat ride to the hotel.

Here we are arriving up to the beach at the hotel, The Centura Grand Beach Resort and Villas Krabi.

Millie enjoying the beautiful beaches.

The view from our room.

Relaxing on the deck.

Since the hotel is located in a national park, there is lots of wildlife out and about the grounds.  This was a minotaur lizard that ran across our path on the way to the beach.

There were so many monkeys running all over the place.  They were so smart that you had to lock the door from the balcony to your room. Even if the doors were closed, the monkeys were smart enough to have learned how to open the doors and head straight for the mini bars located inside.  I even saw this one jumping into the jacuzzi to take a bath.

Monkey sneaking in between our deck sun shades to figure out if he can make a run for the mini bar, bottles of booze and packages of M & M's.

Mike had an umbrella that he used to chase them away.  The Thai staff all carried sling shots.  Mostly, Millie and I thought it was fun to have so many monkeys playing around.  Mike liked them too, until they yawned and he noticed how big their fangs were.

Millie trying out paddle boarding on the ocean.  It was a bonus to learn that the hotel offered free watersports everyday, so we also spent an hour sea kayaking. 

We were pretty isolated at the hotel, but discovered a path through the jungle called the monkey trail, that lead us to another beach around the next cove and into the town of Ao Nang.  So we went everyday on this crazy steep path into town to explore and eat dinner.  All the cheap massages were there in town too. 

Sunset over Ao Nang Beach.

Our boat ride back to civilization and home to Chiang Mai.

Sawadee ka (Hello), Chiang Mai

At the end of July, we moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand.  I am working as a pre-school teacher at Chiang Mai International School. Millie is in third grade at the same school.  I used to live and work in Chiang Mai back in 2000.  I am amazed at how much the city has grown.  It used to be very easy to get around and traffic was bad only at rush hour before and after school.  Now the city is huge and has grown and expanded more than three time the size it used to be.  The traffic is intense, as well.  But we have settled in and it is all becoming normal in a way everyday that we are here.  We are always hot and sweaty, but doing well despite it being the monsoon season.  I take Millie to school on the back of my motorcycle.  Those days it is raining, we are happy to have Mike drive us in the car. 

We live about 15 to 20 minutes from school in a subdivision.  Here they are called moo baans.  Our moo baan is called Pimuk 1.  Lucky us, we have a swimming pool that is just a short bicycle or walk from our house. Here is Millie swimming with a friend.  She lives about 5 minutes motorcycle ride from us. 

One of our first weekend trips was to Bua Tong waterfalls (also known as the "Sticky waterfalls.")  Here is the beautiful view standing next to the top of the falls.  We drove in our car to get there.  Mike has been embracing the very crazy Thai traffic.  It was a bit nerve wracking for us passengers, but he is now driving like a local.  Which means never looking as you merge in traffic, going the wrong way down the road, parking on the highway and going shopping if you feel like it, etc.  There will be more posts and pictures dedicated to our traffic here in Asia.

Me and Millie posing on the sticky waterfalls.  The rocks are not slippery, so everyone has so much fun just climbing up and down.  

Millie loves how big some of the leaves are here.

Going for a bicycle ride here in the back of our neighborhood.  We took this trail to get to our local Sunday Thai market.  They sell lots of delicious cooked meals, desserts, drinks, clothes, and really any cheap trinkets/plastic things for your house.  They also have a bouncy house they put up for the kids.  

Some pretty cool plants on the ride home.

Here I am with Millie and the other pre-school teacher making play dough for our classroom.  I have been so busy settling into our new home overseas and starting school at the same time, so more detailed posts and pictures to follow shortly.  

Days of Summer in Whidbey

We have been having a beautiful summer this year and have been trying to enjoy every moment of it before we leave for Thailand.  Most of you know I accepted a teaching job at an international school in N. Thailand. Millie and I will leave in less than a week now.  (I can't believe how fast the days have gone.)  Mike will follow us a week later to make sure that all is settled here in the U.S. (It is a quite a daunting feat to make sure we are ready to go. )So, the end of June, we decided to take a weekend break in Leavenworth and Chelan before things got too busy.  We went camping, had the best time ever at the waterpark in Chelan and enjoyed beer and brats in popular Leavenworth, WA.

Camping near Chelan.  It was so windy that night our tent was almost flattened.  After a few noisy, but exciting hours (for Millie), the wind completely disappeared.

I loved the knitting shop here in Langley, Knitty Purls.  They had a few classes and I decided afterwards to try my very first hat.  So addictive and now I want to make more.  Hey, it gets a little cold at times in the mountains around Chiang Mai, Thailand.  I need to knit a hat for myself and Mike next. 

Millie's 8th Birthday party at Castle Park playground.

Millie and I were running around the yard playing, when I stopped to look at a windchime I had hung in our madrona tree.  Then I noticed this little clump of moss, but when I looked closer, it was a hummingbird nest.  So amazing!  Langley has truly been a treat with its eagles, red-tailed hawks, osprey, orca whales, seals, deer, rabbits, etc. 

Millie and I watching the Maxwelton 4th of July parade with friends. 

Finding sand dollars

This is definitely the biggest sand dollar we have ever found.  We found it just laying in the sand on Maxwelton Beach in Clinton, WA. 

April

The month of April is always when the Tulip Festival is held.  So we headed up to Skagit Valley in Mt. Vernon to take pictures of fields of tulips. Over 300 acres of these gorgeous flowers are grown here in Northwest Washington.

Millie and I hiding in the rows of tulips.

Time for some sandwiches before heading home at our favorite sandwich deli.

Then a few weeks later we celebrated Easter with some very good friends we have made here on Whidbey.  The cakes and food were both beautiful and delicious!

All "the boys" were preparing the plastic easter eggs with toys and candy before the big hunt.  (A little bit of playing was going on too.  I think we had 250 eggs!)

Plastic eggs being hid all around the yard.

 

The kids are getting the Easter hunt briefing right before the "big dash" to load up their bags and baskets.

Off hunting for eggs!

Five golden eggs were hidden.  Here's Millie with her special find!

Counting up the eggs after a successful hunt.

My favorite people on Whidbey Island!  Such fun friends.

 

Being silly.

Enjoying good drinks, nice company, a strumming guitar in the background and the warming sun.

A great Easter day.