Free Verse Vacation

We finally got here

Just in time for lunch

Bed flopping afternoon

We're all so tired

One afternoon of listening

Aiden in our room

Jasmin delighted

With big expanse of bed

Aiden found his stride

Out to play everyday with friends

Fooze ball, ping pong, and swimming pool play

No stopping till bedtime

Bible time

Where were we?

Let's start again at Galatians

Theological discussions

Flora and fauna observations for Jasmin

At least 5 new to us kinds of birds

Nests spotted right at the front door

More flopping  

With books from discovered library

Only under 14 must be accompanied

Fresh yummy food made for us daily

Dessert every meal

Ice cream on demand

No breakfasts for us

Too tired, too full, too early

Only Aiden is up to eat

Beach time strolls

So many shells

Picked, washed, sorted, stored

Art supplies for later

Sand castle times

Sand is so full of clay

Soft and beautiful

Shallow swimming

Live sand dollar discoveries

Could we reach the island?

Tide creep surprisingly swift

Better not try

Anticipated night time beach strolls

Stolen by gnats and mosquitoes

No matter, no stars, cloudy skies

Mom and dad play ping pong

Revisiting when they met

Mom still can't beat dad

Day trip snorkeling

Up early, van ride, boat ride

All well worth it

Returning back

Suitably sunburned and happy

Memories of underwater splendor

Spouting spontaneous praise

Random music story

(A girl with a pencil

Running after ice cream truck

Refusing to do homework)

Kept kids happy with new friend for trip back

A Few Bests:

Dad: rest, uninterrupted time with mom, snorkeling

Mom: Aiden well occupied, snorkeling, made meals

Grace: snorkeling, deep swimming pool, flopping without Aiden

Jasmin: flopping without Aiden, snorkeling, cool new birds, frangipani fragrance

Aiden: everyday all day play with friends; snorkeling

A blessedly simple trip home
Only an hour's delay
Two trains, ferry, and Grab
We hit the ground running
So it's good
Our week away was wonderful

Hit the ground running indeed -
The very next morning
Family day at church
Began with an early morning 5km run!

An Unfortunate - Fortunate beginning to our Holiday

Fortunately, we all woke up and we're ready on time

Unfortunately, there were no Grab (taxi) cars available

Fortunately, we had a friend willing to help us out

Unfortunately, that made us late for the ferry

Fortunately, we could run and managed to catch the ferry

Unfortunately, Jasmin's suitcase bruised her ankle numerous times while running

Fortunately, we got the komuter train tickets easily

Unfortunately, it was not all the way to the border so we had to switch trains

Fortunately, we had enough snacks with us for lunch while we waited for our second train

Unfortunately, we more or less ate them all so we had none left supper

Fortunately,we got on the right train and had great seats

Unfortunately, we only had 1/2 hour at the border to go through immigration and get the next train (our third)

Fortunately, the train was late so there was plenty of time to go through Immigration

Unfortunately, our tickets had been wrongly booked so we couldn't stay on the Thai train

Fortunately, the conductor took us off and tried to rebook for us at Hat Yai

Unfortunately, the trains were all full for that day

Fortunately, there was a hotel right there to ask about buses

Unfortunately, the staff sent us to the wrong bus station

Fortunately, mom's broken Thai was enough to get the problem understood

Unfortunately, they tried to get us to pay way too much for a transfer to the right bus station

Fortunately, dad has a Thai SIM in his phone so we could use Grab

Unfortunately, by the time we got there the bus we were told about was gone

Fortunately, a man listening told us another one was leaving soon

Unfortunately, it cost as much as the train 

Fortunately, we managed to get a hold of the person arranging the taxi from the train station to our retreat center

Unfortunately, we didn't know when we would arrive by bus in order to book a new one.

Fortunately, the double decker bus had a bathroom and usb ports so we could keep the phone charged

Unfortunately, the bathroom was filthy

Fortunately, the journey was quiet and smooth

Unfortunately, sleep was not as easy on the bus as on the expected sleeper train

Fortunately, we all got some sleep

Unfortunately, the bus wasn't actually going to Hua Hin (where we were supposed to meet the taxi)

Fortunately, the bus stopped as it was going by Hua Hin, so we asked about our stop.

Unfortunately, the driver didn't speak any English

Fortunately, mom understood enough Thai to know we had to get off the bus because it wasn't going where we wanted anymore

Unfortunately, we got dropped off on the side of the highway

Fortunately, there was a gas station nearby

Unfortunately, the bus almost drove off with dad

Fortunately, dad got out via the emergency exit

Unfortunately, we had to cross the busy highway

Fortunately, dad had enough load on his phone to call the retreat center for help

Unfortunately, we had to wait an hour for a taxi

Fortunately, we were close enough to a 711 to get some food

Unfortunately, Jasmin bonked her ankle AGAIN

Fortunately, we found a washroom

Unfortunately, it had no water

Fortunately, the taxi driver found us easily

Unfortunately, we still had an hour's drive to get to our retreat center

Fortunately, we made it

Unfortunately, we were a few hours later than usual

Fortunately, it was before lunch so we didn't have to go looking for food again
Fortunately, it was as peaceful an oasis as we remembered
Fortunately, Aiden had lots of new friends there to play with

Little Boy Bliss

 Aiden had a friend to play with this week...

A classmate of Dad's brought his family up from KL for the week...

We sure hope we can get them together again soon...

(the moms got along pretty good too...)

Random snapshots of the Afternoon

Soy milk drinks to get bus change.
Unexpected high tide; hunting a new way to our favorite rocks
Super aware we're bringing a friend along who might not appreciate the wet scramble!
Wall walking bravery with the tide crashing at the base, splashing us with spray.
Chinese practice sitting on the wall, watching three brave adventurers maneuvering over rocks and waves.
Spotting monitor lizards sunning on sea surrounded rocks, creeping crabs, two colored flowers.
Learning more of each other through tck (Third Culture Kid) discussions.
High-rising ocean spray over the rocks in a hazy sunset.
Scooting under a locked gate - a new way back to the road from the beach (to avoid the wall walking!)
Monkey babies clinging to mommy tummies crossing the road high in the trees.
Contented wet and sandy bus waiters creating happy musical improv.
Getting a surprise ride home to end the long bus wait
Too much fun to stop and take photos :)