This weekend was the Queen's Birthday so we were lucky enough to get a 4 day long weekend. Great timing as we were starting to get a bit stale stuck inside the apartment and our only trips out are to the supermarket. I decided last minute to book a bungalow on Koh Samet Island, just off the coast of Rayong, about an hour and a half drive from here and a 20 min (slow) ferry ride. Being a long weekend it was just luck that I scored the last room on what looked to be a nice yet modestly priced resort. So first thing Thursday morning we set off and by 12pm we were arrived and checked in and in the pool. They work so quickly considering the language barrier, but for the bargain price of $98 Aust. per night including breakfast each morning and an unexpected upgrade to a pool side and much larger room I think we did very well. It was slightly overcast, but its like that everyday here at the moment as it is the wet season, it was still over 35 degrees everyday. The pool was amazing, the perfect depth for Judd to play without drowning and a pool bar right in the middle to cater for everything we needed. We stayed by the pool all day. I ordered far too many Long Island Ice Tea's and by dinner time I was beyond tiddly. Our first dinner was at the resort, a over priced buffet that wasn't very nice except for an amazing shallot and ham soup, we had 2 bowls each and had to force ourselves to stop. We popped the kids to bed and crashed out ourselves, unfortunately my slumber didn't last long. There was a big storm that night and knocked out all the power on the island which meant my airconditioning crapped out as well. So I spent the night sweating and worried that Lillie would wake up too hot and then my night would really turn to shit. Thankfully she slept straight through, everyone did except me of course.
Our second day I woke up grumpy and hot but we had a lovely breakfast, headed to the beach for a swim then went back to give the kids a sleep and I went to my Spa appointment. Ahhhh! 2 hours of bliss. I combined a traditional Thai massage with a Thai herbal heat massage. So the pain of the first one was eased with the heat packed being whacked all over me. Of course I fell asleep during this part. I was surprised at how limber the masseuse was, she was climbing all over the massage table, using her feet and legs and sitting underneath my legs. But she did it in a way that you don't even realise she is there. Before I knew it the 2 hours was up and I didn't want to leave, I was so comfortable.
After an afternoon of swimming and eating (no drinking though, had enough the day before) we were told about all the restaurants along the foreshore and the fire show. So we headed down the beach and were amazed to see so many people. Only that morning it was quiet and peaceful, but now there were people everywhere, swimming running, eating at the many restaurants that seemed to pop out of nowhere. We walked along until we found one called the Phoy BBQ and they didn't have the traditional table and chairs. Instead there were all these bean bag seats with low tables out on mats on the sand. Interesting. But after 5 Min's we realised how comfy and great they were and the kids could play and run about. The prices were much more reasonable here, so we ordered a heap of seafood and Marcus got his favourite noodle dish. Judd ordered his usual of rice and cucumber, luckily we learnt how to say his food in Thai which makes it very easy when eating at places where English is harder to come by. Our food was amazing, yet simple. Marcus was in heaven with his noodles.
We then sat around and people watched until the Fire Show started. It was awesome, these young shirtless, good looking Thai men, all with six pack abs twirling and tossing these fire sticks into the air. One guy was even spinning it around his neck, then they would toss them up and make huge fire balls. Luckily we were warned to sit back from the front rows as the fire is really hot as we even felt its heat from where we were towards the back. Judd loved it, he called them Fire Dragons. I tried to get good photos but being so dark it was hard to catch a good shot. Sadly we had to leave mid show as the kids were well and truly past their bed time and starting to get feral.
We wandered back to the resort, passing all the young couples just beginning their evening as ours was ending. It can be hard when you have young children and all you want to do is stay out past 9pm, but I guess they are only this small for such a short time it is worth the sacrifice and they are also saving me from a nasty hangover.
The next morning after a much better nights sleep we woke up to a rainy, damp day so decided to pack up and head home. Good decision considering that afternoon I got a tummy bug from something I ate and have been sick since. Despite the food poisoning it was a great weekend, something we really needed. Being so far from town where we are living it doesn't feel much like we are living in a tropical paradise. So to be able to get out and experience some of what all the tourists do was a nice reminder of why we moved here.
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