Babymoon: Koh Samui, Thailand

Hey guys! Don't think I forgot about you. All is well here in Singapore. The haze has finally lifted and things are progressing well with Baby D. Time is flying by like crazy, as it always does this time of year.   

The other weekend Michael and I took a much anticipated trip to the beautiful, sleepy island of Koh Samui, Thailand. With various obligations and plans from now until we return from our Christmas travels in the New Year (and I am no longer allowed to fly) we took advantage of one of our last free weekends and planned a little island get away - I suppose this trip qualified as our official 'babymoon.' 

Urban Dictionary defines a 'babymoon' as the following: Supplement to the honeymoon and baby shower. Mandatory vacation for both parents before the live birth of a child. Maybe a weekend, maybe a week. Requires the male end of conception to pay for all expenses out of his pocket. Travel, lodging, preferably at a seaside hotel, and gifts (to the mother to be, not the baby,) are an absolute necessity. Eases away the stress and woe of pregnancy. LOL

A photo recap below: 

This was our second trip to the island. We traveled to Samui back in May with the Duvall gals and loved it so much we decided to return. The flight is super short and the island has a much more laid back vibe than other places in Thailand we've visited. 

We stayed at the lovely Sixth Senses. We were even given a room upgrade because we were visiting during the low season. Woo! 

Michael most certainly enjoyed himself... :)

We pretty much spent the majority of our time hopping between our pool villa and the main pool, listening to tunes and playing the guitar, napping and hanging at the resort bar for cocktail/mocktail hour and a game of scrabble or jenga before dinner. Life is good. 

Outside of all that relaxing we did manage to head into town for a beautiful, local dinner on the beach.  

The popular Fisherman's Village is the perfect spot for strolling, light shopping and some fresh local cuisine. We treated ourselves to the best mango sticky rice of all time from a small cart on the street. There's nothing better.  

More snaps from around the pool. Michael was such a good sport - the wrath of taking unflattering photos of a pregnant woman in a swimsuit is no joke ;-)

MUAH! 

Having had a very successful journey into Fisherman's Village, we decided to venture out again to nearby Chaweng Beach. Spring breakers take note, this is where you want to be in Koh Samui! Tired pregnant ladies? Not so much. We took a long walk on the beach and had some laughs, but quickly scurried back to the sanctuary of our resort. Wow, are we getting old or what. 

Thanks again for the magical stay, Koh Samui. I have very found memories, photographs and about 85 mosquito bites to remember you by. 

Coming up: a quick weekend and wedding in Hong Kong, the big 3-0 and just a handful of short weeks before we journey home for the holidays! 

So much love. 

XO,

CD

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Koh Samui, Thailand

Howdy all! We are still reeling from yet another wonderful weekend spent traveling with family and making memories. With another public holiday back in Singapore, Michael and I were able to join the Duvall gals on their final stop in Asia - the tranquil, sleepy Thai island of Koh Samui. As I type this the gals are safely back in Kansas City and recovering from their adventures. We were sad to send them home, but spent a wonderful three weekends together {recap here} and Thailand was the icing on the cake. A recap below - 

With it's grainy sand, emerald green bathwater beaches and lemongrass curries, I can't believe we haven't visited Thailand in almost a year. I forgot how much I love it - and it's so close. Koh Samui is just a quick 1 hr 10 min flight from Singapore. {We traveled on the boutique airline, Bangkok Air} Easy-peasy. 

Our first day on the island was spent doing nothing but lounging, swimming and being serenaded by Michel on the guitar. A picture-perfect Saturday.  

The four of us stayed at the ultra-quaint Belmond Napasai. It is conveniently located on the northwest corner of the island and comes complete with small villas lining the beach, kind staff and an awesome breakfast spread.  

Paddle boarding was pretty short-lived, but {not pictured} we spent quite a bit of time navigating the open waters with the cutest little Hobie Cat sailboat. (Being from Nebraska, I had no idea how it worked and kept inadvertantly referring to it as a 'tabby cat').  

Chill zone. 

Taking a break from our leisure time, we ventured out to rent a couple of scooters. Renting scooters when we travel is Michael's most favorite activity which I never let him partake in. You may be risking your life, but hey, it's only $6 / per day, what's the worst that can happen- and we totally have international insurance, right? 

How about I watch you take it out for a test drive before I get on... 

After conquering my fear of the road, I soon thereafter declared that I would be a great paparazzi street photographer. Also, can we stop and give major props to Elaine for her bravery in driving a scooter, on the left hand side of the road, through the mean streets of Thailand? I drove Michael and I a mere 100m down the entrance of the resort and it was pretty terrifying for all involved.   

Pro tip: when in Thailand, one must seek out a local beach restaurant. The tastiest, freshest Thai food you will ever have and the cheapest beers you will ever find. YUM. 

As long are you are okay with eating outside in 260 degree heat (I've witnessed more than one heat -induced meltdown that concluded in stripping down and running into the ocean for a reprieve), it's the perfect and, really, only way to spend an afternoon in Thailand. 

The location we lunched at was was called 'Rerax'. {Not a joke} 

Then back at it at le pool. 

That's a post-grad, pre-workforce smile if I've ever seen one :-P

After a final joyride, we sadly returned the hogs and spent our last evening in paradise whipping up our own dinner to the tune of a magical sunset. 

Good night, Thailand. Thank you for being the prefect host. You are the best. 

Much love to the Duvall gals - come back soon please.

XO,

CD

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Bangkok, Thailand: Part II

Remember that time our friends the Fitzs came over to Asia? I can't tell if it feels like yesterday, or a year ago. A final recap of events... 

As you may recall we had the best time on our first day in Bangkok. Saturday afternoon I was exhausted after our trip to the market and was laying down for a nap and scrolling through my instagram feed. I came across a photo from a magazine in Singapore that I follow. Two words: Elephant. Polo. After some googling and convincing the rest of the group this was a real thing, we made big plans to check it out the next day. We were fully sceptical with a hint of excitement during our 40 min, $8 taxi journey to get there. It was quite possibly the coolest, strangest, best thing I have ever seen in my life. It was for a great cause, we met a lot of cool people (2 people who had lived in Kansas! weird?) and got our moneys worth at the VIP tent. All-in-all a top 10 day. 

So, a little background from the organizers :

The welfare of the elephants participating in the polo tournament is paramount, with strict rules in place to ensure that the pachyderms are well cared for at all times. Thanks to Thailand’s advanced micro-chipping programme for all legal domesticated elephants and research into DNA tagging, by imposing a “no micro-chip, no game” rule, Anantara guarantees that all elephants who play have been domestically bred and not captured from the wild or smuggled in from neighbouring countries. 

In addition to the 30 rescued street elephants who now enjoy a comfortable lifestyle at Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa’s onsite Elephant Camp, the annual event allows a further 50 young elephants to be taken off the streets for the two week period during the tournament, providing them with a native forest environment, the best food possible, as well as the only proper veterinary check and vitamins they receive all year.

Anantara always ensures that the elephants are treated as well as our two-legged guests, while the event also plays a crucial role in raising much needed funds to help protect all of Thailand’s elephants and their heritage. This important work is carried out by Anantara’s own elephant charity – the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF).

For more info. visit their website here.

First stop - elephant petting! Gah!

I love this pic :)

It didn't take long for the boys to purchase and promptly change into team jerseys.  

Line change. 

What a fun day - this was one for the books. 

Sunday evening we had a wonderful (and omg spicy) Thai dinner and checked out some of the night life. I kid you not we walked past at least 5 bars and they were ALL playing Oasis cover songs. Ha.

Monday it was up and at'em to check out some of Thailand's famous temples. We went to the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. This is the part where I become an absolutely horrible blogger and tell you to check out the wikipedia pages for the history behind the temples. 

In short, the Grand Palace was build in 1782 for the Kings of Siam. It is not necessarily one palace, but a bunch of buildings. I understand the monarchy no longer lives there, but the Palace is used for a variety of official events. It was also built as a newer more LUXE location to house the famed Emerald Buddha. We checked it out and it was stunning - and a little smaller than I expected (no photos allowed). I loved all of the spires - which are a major part of Thailand's architecture and culture. 

See us down there? 

This white-ish one was my favorite. 

In Bangkok they had a bunch of huge billboards off the highway and various signs stating 'Buddha is for respecting - not tattoo, furniture, souvenir,' etc. It is apparently against Thai law to purchase and take a Buddha statue out of the country. They greatly frown upon the buying and selling of Buddha souvenirs (even though they are everywhere?) as it is taken as a sign of disrespect. Kissing Buddha is also a no-no. So next time you see someone rollin' around with a Buddha ankle tatt... people are serious. The more you know, kids.    

The details and level of LUXE was insanity. ("Luxe" kind of became a running joke, but seriously there is no better way to describe it). 

Cheese! 

Quick long-boat trip across the river to Wat Arun. Not going to lie, E and I were white-knuckling the 5 min journey. I watched a TV show once where a girl was riding a similar boat somewhere in Thailand and water accidentally splashed up into her mouth and she got really sick and died. I probably shouldn't have told everyone that story. (we ate dinner on the water right back there at Sala Sunday night! the view of the Wat at night was outstanding)

One more temple...plus a hike.

After our last day in Bangkok, we all flew back to Singapore for a feast of delivery Indian food and Varsity Blues. What an amazing, memorable, weird, fantastic trip. We can't tell you how much we enjoy it when friends and family come to Asia to visit. Until next time...  

XO,

CD

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