I need to catch up- Random thoughts

We're in the middle of our second typhoon in two weeks, and I'm ready for JangMi to move on. I got through 123 e-mails in my inbox today, so now my thoughts turn to my blog. I'm so far behind with it! From our summer vacation I still need to finish Idaho and then do all of Nevada. We've been back in Taiwan for a month and a half, and we just got back from a week in Thailand with my parents and little brother. My broken toe is still swollen and weird, but I've been up and about pretty much back to normal. Unfortunately, while we were in Thailand I ripped half of my toenail from my big toe on my good foot, so now I have 2 gimp feet. When did I become such a klutz? I used to think I had some grace. The morning sickness arrived 4 days after I passed the test. However, it's always 24/7 sickness with me. Does anyone have any good remedies out there? I'd love to try them! I really don't want to sound like another pity party though. Life is WONDERFUL, so I really can't complain. I hope you are all doing well, and I hope to get caught up soon on my blog and be back at reading yours regularly again too. Please say hi though!

An Amazing Day

It was our final day in Thailand, and we definitely saved the best for last! We booked a 9-hour James Bond Discovery Tour, that was just amazing. We started off by riding long tail boats out into the Andaman Sea to view some of the hundreds of islands of the Phang-Nga Bay National Park.


Our first stop was Koh Talu where we boarded canoes to explore some of the beautiful limestone caves and mangrove forests. We even saw some mud skippers. They're crazy fish that use their fins to crawl around the mudflats and exposed roots of the mangrove trees. It was so beautiful and peaceful. My little Kaleb even got to help paddle for a bit.

Next, we stopped at Koh Pannyi's Floating Village for a delicious lunch. We all agreed it was the best Thai food we had all week. There were also some fun souvenir shops.

We then ventured to Koh Tapoo, better known as James Bond Island as the film "The Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed there. There was a whole fleet of "gypsy huts" selling all kinds of souvenirs. I was checking out a necklace and got bombarded by 3 different ladies. I ended up buying something from each of them. There were also vending machines on the island selling Coca Cola, Pringles chips, and ice cream bars- so funny!

Our last stop was to the Island Safari Elephant Camp. We got to go on an elephant trek along a river through the jungle, shake hands with a monkey, go on an ox-cart ride, pose with a water buffalo, and watch an elephant show- where the kids fed the elephant some bananas and Kaleb even volunteered for an elephant massage!

We had to leave all too early the next morning. Good bye Thailand. We enjoyed getting to know you, and we hope to see you again someday!

Resort Life

This morning mom and I went to the Mandara Spa for some pampering. We both got Elemis facials and Indian head massages. Oh, I wish I could enjoy that every day! We all spent the rest of the day lounging around the pool, enjoying fresh coconut milk and pina coladas (virgin, of course). In the evening we strolled back over to the beach to enjoy some spicy Thai food at GinJa. Gavin liked his noodles, but you'll see the watermelon was his favorite!

FantaSea

Today started out rough as poor Papa had a very painful round with his kidney stones. Mom & Leonard took him to the hospital so he could get some relief. We had made reservations for our evening's entertainment, but Papa obviously wasn't up to it. Mom wanted to stay and take care of him and offered to keep Gavin too. So the 5 of us ventured out on the surreal experience "Phuket FantaSea" that can only be compared to Pinocchio's Pleasure Island.

The evening included dressing up in traditional Thai costumes, riding elephants, a huge buffet dinner (that the pregnant mama couldn't really enjoy), Kaleb & Noe holding and feeding a baby tiger, and of course watching the amazing FantaSea show (advertised as "Las Vegas style" and it was- but add in an impersonation of the famous Siamese Twins). It was definitely a memorable evening.

Wat Cha Long

Our final destination was to the HUGE Wat Cha Long Temple Complex. There were so many temples here, I lost count! It really is a must see while visiting Phuket. Here are some of our favorites. I just think the Thai architecture is fascinating.

While I was walking through a grassy area I tripped over a big tree root, and ripped off most of my big toe nail. Now that I've injured both of my feet, I've got to be more careful or I'll end up in a wheelchair- ha! There was also a long row of souveneir shops. We got a few things, and then had some ice cream and ice cold water to cool us off on this hot fall day.