Tices Take On Thailand

Since we started living in SE Asia, we promised ourselves that we would spend some time in the Southern Thailand sun. I also promised myself that I would drink less beer and eat fewer chips. It was time to make good on our promise...of going to Thailand that is!

Our first stop on our nearly three week adventure was at the Angsana Laguna Phuket, right on the Andaman Sea. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Phuket was actually a pretty strategic stopping point for traders traveling between India and China. Now it is a strategic stopping point for drunken foreigners.

Our friends Judy and Jon have a resort in Bali. Apparently, they are able to trade resorts with other travelers using this handy online program. Anyway, they invited us to stay in this amazing resort and we happily accepted (thanks again guys)! Our mutual friends from Burma, John, Sara, Tate, and Maisen all joined in the fun as well.

Best part of this resort? You walk out of our room right into a pool! It was quite the splash! Best pun ever...

Penelope also enjoyed the big playground and the local teachers who taught her how to say hello in Thai: Sawadee-Ka!! You end most statements with "ka" if you are female and "krab" if you are a male. It almost sounds like "krap" which I already like to say.

Myanmar, Thailand; where to next kiddos?

My best friend Reid flew down from a business trip in Dubai to join the fun. Interestingly enough, one month after this, Dre and I would be accepting a job in Dubai!

My ladies enjoying some much needed beach time.

Penelope wearing Daddy's tank top. She kept reminding me to put on sunscreen. We'd been in Bali a few months earlier and I had turned into a lobster...or Bobby Knight on steroids. I had a very red face.

Along the roads of Phuket are many fruit stalls. The most familiar of fruits of course are the "bananas," or กล้วย. In fact, there may be as many as 100 different types of banana in Thailand alone.

Just for fun, we crashed an Indian wedding at our hotel. It was a pretty sweet dance party and they even served us some food. After a few intimidating stare downs, however, we felt we likely had worn out our welcome and swiftly departed the premises.

I think we each gained about 10 kilos on the breakfasts alone. Free breakfast buffets are dangerous for a gluttonous man such as myself. I really have no right being thin.

Let's not forget about Phad...amazingly fresh and delicious every day.

Penelope and Tate were pretty much inseparable during this trip. They had many balloon duels.

I'm dreaming of a white...sand Christmas...

John renamed Penelope, "Peasy" on this trip. Peasy for sheezy.

Pea's Auntie Judy and Auntie Sara. These two have been friends ever since working in Korea together for a number of years. They are reuniting next year as they will both be living and working in Myanmar.

While eating some Tom Yam Goong (amazing soup), I gazed at this view. Phuket is really beautiful. You could even say it is "Phukking" beautiful. The name Phuket is pronounced "poo-ket" by the way, so my joke doesn't really make sense.

Reid and I joined these jazz musicians for a stunning rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas." We took it to a whole new level that it probably never should have reached.

Then, while our children were baby sat, the adults ventured onto the mesmerizing and equally horrifying, "Bangla Road," known worldwide for its ping-pong show and other magnificent feats of the human body. 

To enter, all you must do is pay for a drink which costs about 10X the normal cost of a drink. Nevertheless, you get to see many things that you wish you had never seen! It is just one of those things you must do in Thailand.

We are not in Gig Harbor anymore...

Thankfully, the performers of the show did not allow pictures. And my apologies, I will not be providing any description. You will have to use your imagination.

Let's get back to Penelope!! And she has a starfish!!

And Penelope again to wipe the memory of Bangla Road away!

After an amazing and somewhat peculiar time in Phuket, we were on our way to the Phi Phi Islands via ferry boat. Reid made fun of me for taking a selfie with my iPad, but you can't argue the results. That is a quality selfie that only a giant screen can frame.

Ferries run pretty cheap ($7-12 USD) from the different islands of Southern Thailand and are very comfortable.

Phi-Phi (pronounced pee-pee) is a big party island with beautiful beaches and no dearth of booze. In retrospect, it is not the most family-friendly location. There was periodic shouting at night and numerous other strange noises that made sleep slightly challenging. HOWEVER, it was beautiful and we had a fantastic time.

On Phi-Phi, we had the pleasure of meeting another one of Judy and Jon's good friends, Brisa, who also just so happens to be living in Dubai and was vacationing in Thailand. Months later, in reflection of this time, the serendipitous reality of an old friend and a new friend both coming from the same place, the location of our next home, it is very intriguing to ponder; How things seem to connect and flow in life really begs the question of whether fate exists or not. I think you could argue either way.

I'm sure we will take many more photos together in Dubai!

Santa Claus apparently does not ab-stain.

On the island of Phi-Phi, one can find buckets of alcohol. Drinking one bucket to yourself will cause major impairment. I recommend sharing with a friend or two. Buckets of fun!

On Christmas day, my friend of 28 years and I ventured up to the look out of Phi-Phi. Pretty awesome view.

Phi-Phi is pretty beautiful.

Hap-pea Christmas from Pea on Phi-Phi!

The day after Christmas, we were on our way again, this time on a tour of the other surrounding islands. You can take the slow Long-tail boat tours at a lesser price, but we opted for the group speed boat so we could get around a bit quicker.

One of the beaches was called "Monkey Beach," aptly named after its local residents, a gang of Macaques. I've ran across these primates before, and do not trust them in the least. I'd avoid Monkey Beach unless you are keen on seeing some macaques. But be weary, they will steal your shit!

One of the many tour boats we saw in high season. Christmas + Great Weather in December/January in Thailand = Loads of tourists.

One of the more stunning locations we had the pleasure of swimming in was Maya Bay, the beach made famous in the film, "The Beach," featuring Leonardo Dicaprio. It makes me giddy to think that I probably doggy paddled where Leo doggy paddled.

We were having a fantastic day, highlighted by snorkeling and swimming with black tip reef sharks!

The many surrounding limestone cliffs are absolutely stunning.

Within these cliffs, local fishermen live and work. They are basically batmen.

Damn, my wife is looking good. Bamboo island is a cool spot with a huge beach, good local food, and plenty of places to hang a hammock.

Known as Koh Pai in Thai, Bamboo Island features many nice swimming spots, especially for a little one.

Toward the end of our tour, a storm began to roll in and we reluctantly worked our way back to our boat.

Of course, this storm also lent itself to some fantastic photo opportunities.

Back to Phi-Phi, Andrea and I took turns having nights out. We met all sorts of interesting travelers from all over the world.

This is a delicious meal from Anna's on Koh Phi Phi, a highly recommended place to eat and hang out. They have good Wi-Fi there as well. I spent an afternoon at Anna's, drinking fresh fruit smoothies, and engaging in a job interview on Skype. I ended up getting the job, so it is also a lucky place to eat!

Pea really enjoyed Phi-Phi. Pea even took a pee-pee on Phi-Phi. Actually, she took may pee-pees on Phi-Phi.

If in Thailand, you should totally let your wife convince you to get a Thai massage. It is very wise choice.

After an amazing 5 days on Phi-Phi, we hopped aboard another ferry headed to Ao Nang beach in Krabi. Although Krabi is one of the main ports to Southern Thailand, it only hosts a population of about 50,000 people. This lends itself to a nice small town feel.

For our last 4 of 5 nights in Thailand, we stayed at the Ao Nang Orchid Resort. The view was worth it alone.

We spent almost the entire last part of our trip drinking beers and playing Frisbee in this pool. Time well spent I think.

In between vast amounts of pool time, the fam and I decided to ascend the great Tiger Cave Temple, also known as Wat Tham Suea, considered one of the most sacred areas in the province.

The origins of this temple and cave date back fairly recently but have some ancient origins as well, and the top is a bit of a nosebleed at about 600 meters high.

Scaling 1237 steep steps with a then three-year-old was a challenge to say the least but well worth the incredible views that we later gazed upon.

Once at the summit, one can gaze upon the giant golden Buddha. This begs the question, how in the world did they build this so high up?

These Buddhas were stunning especially with the karst topography as a contrasting backdrop.

How did Pea feel about being dragged up 1237 steep steps on a hot day of about 35 degrees Celsius? Not so happy, but we bribed her with candy and that changed her attitude (but not her altitude).

This is one of my favorite family photos. We worked hard for this one!

Pea was even enthralled by the incredible vistas that laid before us.

Once we came back down the mountain (a bit easier on the way down I might add), we scaled another few hundred stairs to this Monk sanctuary nestled in the jungle.

Penelope likened herself to Dora the Explorer on this hike and although I urged her to refer to me as Diego, I became Boots.

Pretty cool looking snail, and quicker than you would imagine! He made it across that leaf in like 2 minutes!

On our last night in Thailand, we stayed in Krabi Town. There is not much to report there, but the night markets were interesting. This is a picture of Penelope crawling on a crab statue by the Krabi River in Krabi town. She herself was not crabby though.

This woman does not appear pleased that I was taking a photo, but she later smiled afterward. The point of this photo is to show the many amazingly flavorful dishes you can eat in Krabi at a very cheap price.

Laéw-jer-gan-krab, Thailand! We had an amazing holiday!