Bluebells (and baby) in Thailand Feb 09

BB-glad you made it with all of your gear. I'll bet that was an exciting 15 minutes to recover your bag.

We have the same feeling when we deplane in BKK. A sense of being at ease. Wonderful, each time.

great start lucy....anxious to read more...

I am enjoying the start of your trip. I have had my own weather hassles at OHare in Chicago, so I know how you felt about getting away from the sleet and slush.

I totally agree about stepping off the plane in Bangkok and smelling the air. It's a sort-of fishy exhaust smell... sounds awful, I know... but when you smell it, you think... "Aaaaah, I'm home."


Enjoy your relaxing visit to Phuket and the Indigo Pearl!

Carol

BB - i am GREEN with envy!!! cant wait to hear more...

Congratulations on making it there in good form - but a trip to the hospital??

Carol- It is a complex smell. I too feel like I'm home when I smell Thailand

A trip to the hospital? Already?
Still, sounds like you are having a good time. Looking forward to hearing more.

Enjoy your trip -- we'll certainly enjoy reading about it.

Glad you came back !

I think we all know what you mean about arriving in Thailand when you know it, you know that somehow things will be great - whatever.

Last year we went to Australia and whilst the family were quite happy I was honestly just itching to get back.
I still feel 'something' as those wheels thump the ground. Australia was great, but "another world" to what we are used to.

Have a great time!

Wonderful, Bella !!!

Yipes! some scary snags at the beginning, but hopefully all will go smoothly now. I hope the trip to the hospital was quick and for something very minor.

One of the disadvantages of flying Air Asia (or any low-cost carrier) is that they will not transfer luggage from one flight to another - not even their own flights. This makes transfers take much longer (that person you overheard at Heathrow would have had to go through immigration, pick up their luggage, go through customs, re-check their luggage at the Air Asia desk, then go back though passport control to their Air Asia flight.

Rise and Shine, Bella! ... (Thai time) ...

... so glad you enjoyed EVA ... now (and you know what's coming), for next year's holiday, perhaps a certain Singaporean airline, LHR-SIN-BKK (with yes, that 'FS stop over') in supreme comfort, with those sensational Girls, tending to your every need ... (within reason, of course) ...

... should you end up finishing this year's break at one of our mutual Bangkok honeymoon hotels, the Peninsula, well, as of ~ ten days back, it was as special as ever.

(Actually, this latest Peninsula business related visit was truly memorable: something to do, in part, with a (briefly) mistaken case of identity involving yours truly, a rather prominent and 'happily married' UK businessman, and yes, his rather lovely Thai girlfriend. ... (Do hope his rather regal and 'titled' wife back in their rather posh London neighbourhood is hip to his 'SEA lifestyle'. ... (Oh yes, Bangkok business travel still has its occasional heart warming and uplifting moments.) ...

... suspect the mrs. and I will miss seeing you and your family this Valentine's weekend 'down by the river'. ... (Guess the venue; it's her call, as always.)

Joyous Thai times to you, Bella. (And do remember those late-night, in-room massage treatments.) ...

macintosh (robert)


... "We know it's your favourite." ...

(My all-time cherished Bangkok Peninsula 'Lobby Hostess', 2_.01.09)

More later but have just posted first photos on Smugmug for my mum - and for you all!

http://johnnycoco.smugmug.com/gallery/7312188_qyZqU/1/470292062_aETFK

Hope it works!
btw - hospital trip, baby had high fever and cough, a cold that had worsened on the plane journey over. She is fine and dosed up on various medicines now - loved the hospital!! oh but the NHS hospitals were like that at home!
more later

Thanks for sharing the photos. It's always nice to see the people who are writing. The resort looks lovely and the b&w photo of your little one is darling.

Lucy
Thanks for sharing your lovely photographs. The Indigo Pearl looks fantastic! Enjoy...

(oh, and keep on posting)

Carol

Lovely photos. Our world is covered in snow and ice so how delightful to be where you are! Enjoy and may all stay well.

Nice photos! Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad the hospital trip was nothing serious. I know what you mean about wishing the medical care back home was more like Thailands!

Thank you for all your comments - I am glad I am not the only one who finds the Bangkok smell intoxicating!

We arrived at the Indigo Pearl at around 9.15pm – but it felt like the 2.15pm that it was in the UK, Bella found it really strange. She couldn’t work out what had happened to the day. So we were all quite wide awake – even the baby. We were sat down on a giant lounger with some iced tea for the adults and juice for Bella, more jasmine scented flowers. We breathed in the air again – different to Bangkok, sweetly scented, gorgeous.
The lobby in the Indigo Pearl is in open sided, as are many are on the beaches in Thailand, and the style of the structure of the building is typically Thai and made of wood. We could feel the sea breeze. The furniture and fittings are modern and quite unique – a feast of textures with splashes of indigo blue and orange. The staff is dressed not in a colonial style uniform or traditional thai dress but in almost utilitarian style dress – it very much suits the dynamic of the resort which was designed by Bill Bentley, the architect who is responsible for many Thai resorts including the Chiang Mai Regent. It has a tin mining theme (this being Phuket’s past) – and I have to admit, that almost put me off. I had visions of it being a bit like Disneyland and the ride there that I call the runaway train ride – I don’t know if it is still there, this is from when I was a child. So I was a bit unsure of a theme but the really positive reviews I read about on other websites persuaded me to try here, combined with a kids club and an excellent deal...the resort style really works.
Everything in this hotel has been thought about and chosen with care – we notice new little details in our room and in the resort every day. The design of the buildings is partly traditional in style – in the lines of the roofs and the wood used but the use of concrete and the colour of the buildings (which is what my friend calls greige) gives it a more contemporary feel. The clean lines of the design and neutral colour scheme could be harsh but for the lush verdant planting which softens everything and gives it an oasis like feel. Indigo blue, pink and orange are splashed throughout in the art, textiles and sculptural light fittings. It is really divine – a feast for the eyes.
We were taken to our room for check in, by buggy. The baby’s eyes were wide open - she normally goes to bed at about 6.30pm, I don’t know if she has ever been out in the dark and all of a sudden she is being whizzed around somewhere warm in a golf cart. We zipped down smooth concrete paths down towards the beach. On our left hand side, bright blue lights and dance music play, beautiful people stand laughing and talking by a cocktail. We pull around in front of this and then stop. It looks wonderful – but is it there every night I worry, will it keep the kids up more importantly? The lady accompanying us to check us in reassures us – it is a function, for tonight only and don’t worry – she can see my look of apprehension – we will not hear it in the room.
We walk up some stairs and down an open sided corridor with room doors on the left and sounds of the sea on the right. I realise that the corridor is beach facing and wonder why the resort has not taken advantage of this and built the rooms facing the beach. My question is answered later when I see that there is a path and beach restaurants between the resort and the sea – and whilst these are low build at the moment, it wouldn’t be within the control of the resort to keep it that way.

We enter through the last door on the corridor, clad in brown metal, a rough hewn raffia star decorates the wall outside. We enter our room and I am delighted. If you imagine a rectangle, the sides from door to window being shorter than the width from side to side. Of that rectangle, a wall and giant sliding door divides the bathroom (1/3) from the bedroom and dressing room area (2/3). The dressroom is split off from the bedroom by the use of a diagonal wall. On one side of the wall is an irregularly shaped but large dressing area with drawers and hanging space and a good deal of extra space for storing bags (and in our case, car seat, buggy etc etc). On the other side of the diagonal wall is the bed, facing into the room at an angle facing a giant flat screen TV up on the wall between the bathroom and bedroom. In the bedroom area there is also a desk and two chairs, foot stool and a table. Rather incongruously of the chicly decorated room is a little cot ready for the baby – no uber trendy bedding for her, but sweet giraffes and elephants! Floor to ceiling glass doors look out over a huge balcony which contains a large day bed (room for the whole family!) and a table and chairs. The right hand wall of the room is covered in what appears to be roughly textured concrete and set into the wall is a giant sliding door made of planks of dark wood. I say appears to be roughly textured because later we notice that the textured lines of the concrete match perfectly with the planks of the wood – as I said, nothing is accidental hear as even if it appears to be rough around the edges, it is all perfectly chosen.
The bathroom walls are also made of this rough concrete and the floors entirely of smooth poured concrete, it feels lovely underfoot. To the right is the w.c. in – almost – a separate room save that is not divided from the bathroom by a door but by a giant curtain. In the main part of the bathroom there is a long unit with two circular wash basins. The taps are beautiful – flowers that tip and tilt to control the water temperature and flow. Opposite this is a long low bench, covered in grey silk – very useful, we are using it as the baby’s changing station...don’t worry, we have a mat. There is a giant walk in shower with both a rain shower overhead and a powerful shower head. All the fittings are sleek and modern. Floor to ceiling glass doors overlook the other part of the balcony – on a raised plinth there is a giant double ended black bath. There are drapes that can be dropped from the ceiling to give privacy if needed – Bella and her dolls haven’t bothered with those though. The view from our room is lovely – overlooking a serene infinity pool, tropical planting and green hills in the distance. We don’t miss not seeing the sea here at all. There are some photos of the views on the smugmug link I posted.
The room has the usual facilities that you would expect – DVD, safe, fridge, kettle etc. It is almost boring to talk about these things – mundane for such a lovely room! I will have to check the rate but I think we are paying around 6700B per night net, including buffet breakfast for the four of us. It is a steal for a resort of this calibre. The service has been excellent, the staff is really friendly and very well trained and incredibly helpful with the children. We are really pleased with our choice.
So on from our arrival. We literally dumped our bags, cleaned our teeth, had a quick wash and a change of clothes and headed out of the resort to the beach. Some had said that the resort was isolated and in the sense that it is far from Patong – hooray! – I suppose it is, but for us it is perfect. You walk our of the resort down a path lined with the inevitable tailors shops and about 25 yards from the resort entrance you hit the narrow beach road. Very little traffic on this, more like a wide path. Across the road are lots of little mom and pop style seafood restaurants, very local little fairy light lit places with formica tables and plastic chairs on the white soft sand of Nai Yang beach. The prices are very reasonable, the food fresh and delicious. This is not the place if you want chic restaurants – although you can find these at the Indigo Pearl. We are very happy though as this set up is perfect for us – we have a 5* resort with all the amenities we would like for us and the kids but on our doorstep we have the relatively cheap local restaurants on the beach that we love to eat at.

We picked a restaurant called Linda¡¦s Seafood ¡V the baby picked it really, she smiled at the man at the entrance. We were charmed, she scowls at most people. We sat out on the sand and ordered ¡V chicken satay and rice for Bella (this will be a standard order every night...) with a banana shake, king prawns in garlic and black pepper sauce with steamed rice for me, fried fish in curry sauce for DH ¡V and we shared a large Chang or two. The food came quickly and as it was cooked ¡V i.e. not all at once ¡V it was delicious. The meal came to 1040B. We headed home well fed and a little fuzzy on beer and banana shake. The baby had played happily in her buggy. Back in the room, jetlag had us still raring to go, so we unpacked and the children played. The baby went sleep first ¡V at 1.15am! John said he couldn¡¦t believe she had stayed up that late ¡V I could. She is a child of routine ¡V it was actually 6.15pm UK time ¡V her bedtime. The rest of us hit the sack at around 2am, by then exhausted.
The baby woke up first the next morning - screaming ¡V at around 8am. She was really distressed. I went to her, thinking she was upset to be in the wrong room, the wrong cot. But no ¡V when I picked her up, she was burning hot and started coughing and coughing. She¡¦d had a cold when we were still at home, and I think the plane had worsened things. Poor thing ¡V she could barely catch her breath between the cough and the fever. We bathed her in cold flannels, administered infant paracetamol and called reception to find out about seeing a doctor. Great start to our first day!! Reception connected us to the Phuket Bangkok Hospital (the phuket branch of the Bangkok one ƒº ) who told us we could come straight in.
DH stayed with our elder child and I dressed the baby and myself quickly, packed her baby bag and a buggy came from reception to take me to the hospital. The concierge had arranged for a local taxi to take us ¡V the price was 550B there but once there the driver said he would stay and bring us back also for 1000B. He was a good driver so I agreed. The drive there took about half an hour I would guess. The paracetamol had kicked in by now so the baby was in quite good humour again and so we had quite a relaxing drive down there. It was interesting to see the landscape change as we left the less developed, green and rural north of the island where Nai Yang is situated to join a 2/3 lane road as we headed south, the locale becoming more and more built up as went.
I am not sure where the hospital is located exactly but it is in a small inland town ¡V I think! I knew the hospital would be good, we¡¦ve been to Bumrungrad and seen the facilities there and this hospital was also excellent. For those of you who have had the fortune not to have to visit a hospital in Thailand, arrival is not dissimilar to arriving at a hotel. You pull up in front, doormen open your car door, carry your bags. A greeter meets you inside and ushers you into register. You take a seat and have a cold drink whilst they sort all the paperwork out, take a copy of your passport etc. Sounds like a hotel check procedure, right?

The baby by this point was doing an impression of being the most well and happy baby in the world – making her mother look like an old fusspot. She was being cooed at by everybody and – if they were male – she cooed right on back. The female staff she regarded with more suspicion...After everything was sorted, we were provided with a little credit card with all her details stored on it and we were taken through to the paediatric clinic. It was fab – brightly coloured and painted with kids characters. The chairs were shaped like teddy bears, there was a big toy play area at the end. The baby was very happy! Everyone was very friendly and the nurses were lovely. We had to wait a little bit, maybe 30 mins, but not long given we had not made an appointment. We saw a paediatrician who examined the Mili very carefully and even though paracetamol was masking her prior miseries, diagnosed bronchitis after listenening to her chest and my description of her that morning. He prescribed some antibiotics, a bronco dilator and expectorant and gave very detailed instructions on when and if to use the latter two. Feeling much happier, we headed off home.
I phoned DH on the way – it was by now nearing midday and we had a reservation for the Indigo Pearl’s famous Sunday brunch which is apparently very popular with expats who live in Phuket. He hadn’t managed to rouse our little girl from her slumber to get to breakfast so he was starving – as was I – and we made a plan to meet at the Rivet Grill where the brunch was being served. Upon arrival, I instantly felt a little under dressed. This was quite a glamorous affair with the bold and beautiful in attendance. The brunch is not cheap by Thai standards but a steal by London standards – for 1295B you can have unlimited buffet and free soft drinks but for an extra 200B you can have unlimited rose wine and sparkling wine. The buffet was, as I had read on flyertalk, spectacular. There was a station where you could have fresh duck pancakes made up for you, the next one along was a noodle station, then a station serving beautiful fresh raw tuna along with delicious Japanese octopus stuffed pancakes. Then a sushi bar along with a salad bar opposite. There was a buffet table and stand with lots of little canapés – delicious and a seafood banquet bar, complete with oysters, giant prawns, crab, lobster, mussels and more. A curry and kebab stand – keeping the British men happy...and pasta bar, fresh barbecue, pancake bar, deserts – the list goes on.
Everything I tried was amazing – I had mainly seafood and sushi and fish from the barbecue. MMMM! DH had some fish from the barbecue – and curry...But we couldn’t make the most of it – although the waiting staff were lovely and tried to help us by fetching us food and helping us with the baby, she was getting groggy and was hard work. Bella was out of sorts and to be quite honest, looking as if she had been dragged through a bush backwards as DH had gotten her ready. In the end, it was just more work than it was worth and the baby and I made a speedy exit before she really kicked off – after only one glass of the delicious rose wine they had on offer . In retrospect, it wasn’t the greatest experience for us but not because of the food, venue, atmosphere or staff – it was just the wrong time due to the jetlag for the kids etc. But I would thoroughly recommend this brunch even if you are staying elsewhere in phuket – I think you are allowed to use the Indigo Pearl’s facilities as well for the day.
After DH and Bella finished lunch, they came back to the room and DH took over the babysitting and Bella and I headed out to the pool. There are three pools at the hotel – one is definitely adult only and I think the one below our room may also unofficially be adult only as well, I’ve not seen any children in it although it is not signposted as such. So we headed to the freeform family pool in the middle of the resort. There is a kids pool to the side of this and we bagged two beds there. I had a lovely relaxing afternoon lazing on a sunbed whilst B played in the kids pool. Occasionally we took a dip in the main pool which has a gently shelving slope that you enter by and a very realistic tree enclosed waterfall as well as lots of little nooks and crannies to sit in. A lovely pool. We headed back to the room as it got towards 5.30pm and when we got back, the baby had just woken up after a long sleep so DH had had a relaxing afternoon reading on the daybed on the balcony also. Bella had a long bubble filled bath on the balcony. We tried to put the baby in the bath but she freaked out – very disturbed I think by its blackness and outsideness! As I said, a child of habit and routine. She didn’t like the shower much either. Once we were all bathed, we headed out. We tried a different restaurant this time – Mr Kobi’s Bar. I had read about Mr Kobi on tripadvisor – and he is a very funny guy, a real character. We had a lovely time in his restaurant and he made a big fuss of the children. Bella had...chicken satay, rice and a banana shake, again. DH had fried fish and green curry sauce – again!! Very boring people. I shared some pork satay with John and had a seafood pad thai. Again, lovely food and atmosphere. This – along with a couple of Changs and a couple of banana pancakes for pudding – came to 1600B with a tip. By this point, it was only about 9pm but I was so exhausted I could barely put one foot in front of the other. We headed back and I zonked out on the bed straight away, leaving DH to put the girls to bed. After 12 hours solid sleep, I woke up the next morning refreshed – but that is for next time as it is gone midnight and I have to get to bed now!
BB

Thanks so much for your detail report and lovely photos. The Indigo Pearl looks lovely! Normally I don't like larger resorts, but the place looks so nice and stylish.

Glad hear the little one is feeling better.

Cool photos Bella. Your kids are really cute. I'm not an M.D., but you may want to be careful with the paracetamol.. It is extra hard on the liver.

Btw, are you going to try Mom Tri's out? I've been researching Phuket since I'll be there in April. I hear its a very good restaurant. Anyway, please keep the photos coming!!

Lovely, detailed report! Thanks!

BTW, paracetamol is only "extra hard on the liver" if one is drinking alcohol or if it is given in doses exceeding the recommended dose by 100% or more. I don't expect either of those apply to your baby, as there was no mention of her drinking the rose or the sparkling wine.

fantastic -- keep it coming

Loving your report - you are so much better than I who can rarely manage any postings during a vacation!
We were just in Phuket 2 weeks ago, (staying at the really fantastic Marriott Phuket Beach Club in a lovely Villa)
We also made a couple of trips to NaiYang Beach and also enjoyed a couple of the beachside eating establishments including Lindas. (also give Hannahs a try - go for the whole fried fish with the Thai style sauce)
Wanted to mention our fav restaurant that's not too far from you. It's right on the beach at Laguna Beach, wonderful in the daytime very clean not your usual place on the sand but a real restaurant, great view over the bay and WONDERFUL food. We have eaten there over 8 times over the last few years and never had a bad meal. It's called Lotus at Lauguna Beach. Well worth the trip. We've only been there in daylight and it's a great view, I would imagine that sunset would be glorious.
Sue

Welcome back Bella!

Glad your're having fun and hope your baby will fully recover soon!

Bella
Sounds fab, loving the details. Your missing more snow and rain here in the UK, VERY cold today.....

Great detailed report! Hopefully the baby is doing better now. It must be stressful to have a little one who is not well, and in a strange place.

I second mango's suggestion of dining at Mom Tri's. There are several places. The Grill at the Boathouse Resort (Kata Beach) is excellent. Mom Tri's Kitchen, at Villa Royale (overlooking Kata Noi) has a more romantic atmosphere and a much quieter location. There is also a new place, also beachside I am assuming, at the Boathouse. It may be a more relaxed setting than the other two (although there is no dress code that I know of at either the Grill or Kitchen).

Enjoy your time on Phuket.

Carol

Joyous Friday morning, and early happy Valentine's, Bella!

Many thanks for the detailed 'in-progress trip report' and pictures (particularly, that b & w of 'bub', awaiting 'lift off') ...

... can't resist the following 'reccos' for you: a fine trip report by a lovely UK couple, 'nickbots', over on sqtalk ... (they have 'memorable' Thailand tales) ...

... and, for full-on colour saturation pics, rock lyrics and literary quotes (I remain convinced he's 'lifting' some of my 'best' material from 'old days' on tripadvisor): 'grantthai' on 'flickr' ...

... (Rather proud to say, Grant is a fellow Scotsman, happily married to a rather lovely Thai woman (well, aren't they all - although rumour has it, a certain 'Singapore Girl' can also have her moments), with three young children, all living in Bangkok.) ...

... should your plans change, first round on us, this weekend, 'riverside' ... (but not Saturday night; that's classified) ... (we'll be hitting both of our mutual honeymoon properties: mrs. m has been in 'cahoots' with 'Mr. K'; figures) ... the better half flies back to SIN on Sunday (guess the airline), and I'm obliged to stay on in BKK for meetings, so perhaps later next week ...

... all the best, and yes, future sweet and smooth (SQ) rides to all of you ...

robert


... The Greatest Show in the Sky ...

Kathie- No insult, but I'd never give any baby Paracetamol. The infant hepatic system is developing and shouldn't be challenged to metabolize such a harsh chemical regardless of dose. There are much better NSAIDS imo.

Carry on!

Hello everyone - just about to post the next instalment! Thanks for the photos and restaurant recommendations - but we are now in Khao Lak! Mango - we so wanted to go to Mom Tri's but the kids are just too much hard work and the baby is in full flood of separation anxiety at 9 months, can't bear to let either parent or her sister out of her sight. It is challenging...She is getting lots of attention here and looks at most people very suspiciously. She likes men we have worked out and ladies with lots of make up and jewellery...

re. the paracetamol - it is prescribed by the baby's GP - it is called Calpol and is infant paracetamol and we give her half the dose that we could for her age. In the UK, NSAIDS are seen as less preferable due to the effect on the stomach for some children - e.g. Calpol can be used for a younger baby than baby Nurofen (ibuprofen) which you can get in the UK. My baby doesn't have a compromised liver in any way but our GP advised to avoid NSAIDS if possible whilst in Asia as her stomach will be adjusting to heat and possible exposure to pathogens so best not to stress it further. I appreciate the views on paracetamol and to reassure you Mango, she has had paracetamol only twice before in her little life - we avoid its use as much possible and use it only if she has a very high temperature in order to bring it down asap to avoid a febrile convulsion as here.

Next instalment...

A much more relaxing day today – no trips to the hospital! I woke up at 9.30am feeling very refreshed – having slept about 12 hours. John and the girls were fast asleep so I wondered down to breakfast on my own. Very relaxing sitting there without children. The spread was fairly typical of an international hotel – perhaps less representation of Asian foods than we’ve seen in the Bangkok hotels. Very delicious – I had fresh fruits and an omelette. Spotted something I knew John would be pleased to see on the breakfast table – bircher muesli, his favourite from childhood stays in Switzerland. Also spotted something that might persuade my lazy daughter to get out of bed – donuts. Managed to persuade them to get up and get down to breakfast upon my return, just in time. I fed the baby in the room with banana porridge brought from home and when the others got back, we finally made it altogether to the pool. We managed to get some beds right next to the kids pool and although it was by now 12.30pm (when you are supposed to stay out of the sun...), it was actually quite cool under the shades. Within the big freeform pool, there are some lovely shady areas – including one near the beautiful waterfall under a huge tree. We spent quite a lot of time in the pool that afternoon, catching a bite to eat at the Tin Mine restaurant mid-afternoon. We had sworn we would not eat at the hotel restaurants and would go to the beach for lunch, but it was just too much effort. It cost us 1060B – green curry for DH, a southern thai fish curry for me (much lighter than the coconut curries) and chicken and veg for Bella and soft drinks all round. Also, I booked through the guest services desk a trip for me on the John Gray Hong by Starlight canoe trip for the next day. I had been emailing with John Gray about this and was going to book directly but had not gotten around to calling Khun Ma who deals with his reservations. The price from the hotel was the same. I was really excited as I was so looking forward to this trip and DH had agreed to look after the girls on his own for the day so I could go. Later on in the day, DH persuaded me (nagged me) to go to the gym. I duly went and managed 30 minutes on the treadmill whilst watching trash reality TV programme on MTV. I was so delirious when I got off that I couldn’t get out of the gym. I spent ages pushing and pulling the door before the fitness instructor helped me SLIDE the door open – felt v stupid.
We went out that night to the beach to eat. We tried to find a place out on the beach road to get our laundry done by weight but had no luck – quite surprised given the type of shops and restaurants on Nai Yang beach road and we have never had a problem getting laundry done this way in the past and have always found it the cheapest way and laundry has always come back beautifully clean. Anyway, found a lovely lady (who was nice about the baby) and so we gave it to her. They did it based on a price per piece as did everywhere else. We were going to eat at the same place (think it was called Pen) but they took the menus away from the front of the restaurant at that point. I thought that they were closing so we went to eat next door at Mama Mia, which I’d seen recommended on a forum.
When we got down onto the beach we realised that Pen wasn’t closing - two people who had just sat down to eat wanted to order and I think the menu on display out front must have been 1 of only 2 menus in the place! At that point, I nearly got up out of our seats at Mama Mia to go eat at Pen as the owners looked a bit sorry to see we had sat down next door - but we didn’t – oh oh oh how i wish i had!!! (More tomorrow on that...).
John had some kind of fried fish, bella had chicken satay and rice (again...) and I had prawns in garlic and black pepper. We shared some spring rolls which were lovely. I had really wanted something with a bit of spice but thought I’d better avoid it as I didn’t want my stomach irritated for the canoe trip tomorrow. It came to around 1500B – John’s fish being the better part of that. Sat next to us on quiet little Nai Yang beach were a group of 10 Australian lads – quite beered up and lairy, but mostly friendly enough apart from one eejit, who turned out to be English, typical. They seemed really out of place in such a little family place – turns out they were just overnighting near the airport waiting to fly to Samui tomorrow to go to the Full Moon Party. That made more sense – god knows what mess they got themselves into. I warned them to limit the buckets they drank at the FMP (made of thai whisky, red bull and cola – they are lethal) – DH reckons that would have acted as a challenge to them, they probably doubled what they would otherwise have had. I am not sure what they ate at Mama Mia – but hope none of them had prawns...

So we made our way back to the hotel. I wasn’t tired at all – and I had been so sure I’d gotten over the jetlag the night before! Luckily, I was reading Bangkok Haunts and was just getting into it so read quite happily until about 2am. At midnight, I started feeling really chilly. DH commented he hoped I wasn’t getting ill as it certainly wasn’t cold but I thought it was just the air con. I woke up at 4am with terrible stomach cramps. By morning, it was well and truly apparent – I had one viscious gastric bug. I have not been so sick since I was pregnant with DD1 and had hyperemesis (not sure if I spelt that right – but constant vomiting). I was so gutted I had to cancel John Gray Hong trip – so so gutted. It was something I have been looking forward to for months. I was really really sad at this point, feeling very glum and sorry for myself. And kicking myself that I had avoided curry in case it upset my stomach – and eaten seafood instead!! Well, I guess we have never had a problem in 11 years of coming to Thailand so had thought I’d be safe. At about 10am, the sickness finally quelled and I fell asleep and only woke up at about 2pm. Just after that, the maid came to clean the room. I really wanted the bed made up so went out on the balcony whilst she came in. It was so hot out there and after about 10 minutes, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I lay on the bed whilst the maid finished up.
DH and the girls came back about 10 mins after that by which point I felt completely delirious. DH took one look at me and said you have to see a doctor. I agreed – my head and hands felt all weird and fuzzy, as if I had pins and needles and the nausea was overwhelming. He called the reception who put him through to the hospital. Initially, he asked for a doctor to come to see me at the hotel as I wasn’t sure I could travel but that would have taken an hour and a half to two hours for the doc to get there and they advised even then I might have to go to the hospital. So we decided I would go in but on my own – he would stay with the girls at the hotel, I didn’t want them having to come to the hospital. I managed to get into a reasonably presentable state and the concierge sent a buggy to pick me up from the room and they transferred me into an air conditioned car, with cold water, towels. Funnily enough, I actually felt okay whilst I was on the move – bizarre as the rest of the time I felt as if I had motion sickness.
At the hospital, I refused the wheelchair and managed to walk in, a bit unsteadily admittedly. I really didn’t wait long to see the nurse. She took my history – and asked if I had a fever. I said no – but perhaps I had had one the night before. She checked anyway – it was 39.8 which she said was quite high. I know temperatures in fahrenheit and can’t translate – anyway, was quite surprised. BP was a bit low, pulse a bit fast. Saw the doc about 5 mins after that, lovely man. First question he asked after taking my history – had I eaten seafood, he asked? Yes, I sighed. Ah, he sighed. Had I managed to keep down any water today or rehydration salts, he asked? No, I sighed. Ah, he sighed. Did I think I would be able to eat if I went home, he asked? NO WAY, I said definitely. Ah, he signed. So, after taking all my vitals again and having poked and prodded me and checked my eyes (?), he asked if I could stay in the hospital overnight. I pleaded no, I had a baby. If I could just get home that night, even if it was late. He agreed, if he considered I was suitably recovered, I could go home. But he really strongly recommended I stay now in the hospital to go on a drip – it would take about 7 hours. He would prescribe antibiotics for the food poisoning and they could administer an anti-emitic injection but I was quite badly dehydrated and if I wanted to get better quickly, they needed to get some fluids into me or my recovery would be much slower. It was 4.30pm already and with the day already wasted, I figured I might as well do as I was told. It also meant I would get a bed to lie down on which sounded wonderful, I felt so awful. At that point, I really wished DH was with me because I then had to deal myself with all the ladies coming to talk to me about bills, insurance, room types etc. I just didn’t care and just wanted to lie down so I waved my Amex card at them and then cried. That worked, the questions stopped and they got me a wheelchair and took me up to a nice room with a horizontal bed. Bliss – I wasn’t sure how I would eek out the last 40 pages of Bangkok Haunts if I didn’t manage to fall asleep so was pleased to find a TV with some cable channels as well.
It was actually all rather nice and relaxing once I was en situ in my hospital bed. I remember this feeling once before when I had to go to hospital when Bella was 9 months old – thinking, how peaceful this is. V sad that one has to be hospitalised to get any peace!! The anti-emitics worked v quickly and then I was told I had to eat and asked if Thai food would be okay? I could order European if I wanted. I thought Thai would be fine – they had already said I couldn’t have spicy, fatty food etc etc. As expected, they brought me rice – but it was in a sort of rice water soup. It was okay – I ate it because the nurse told me the doc would not discharge me until I had eaten and DH had told me that if I went against the medical advice, my insurance would invalidate (not sure if this is true?). So I managed to gulp down a few spoonfuls. The other bits I just couldn’t eat – a boiled egg which I thought would be okay except that it was so so salty and weird tasting. I have a memory of seeing eggs in a market that were called something like 1000 day eggs and that the yolks were dark yellow, as this was. Wondered if this was what I was served?? Perhaps they were just congealed eggs...left them. Also, something that looked like bits of brown fuzzy ropey stuff. It really did look like bits of hessian rope! But it was pork the nurse said. I think I was supposed to put it in the rice soup but I just couldn’t. There are times to be adventurous with food – but it is not when you have food poisoning...
I escaped at midnight and Deen the lovely driver of the air conditioned car came to pick me up. I felt a million times better than when I arrived – my fever and headache and stomach cramps gone. Still a bit wobbly but so much better. Got home, resisted the urge to pick up the baby and made do with kissing her sweet little head and slept for 9 hours. When I woke up, I was ravenous! The hotel had told DH that if I was hungry when I got home or in the night to call up to order boiled rice but I hadn’t needed any food then but by the morning, I practically ran to breakfast. I was careful though – followed doc’s food orders.

So, thankfully better, got on with enjoying our last day in Phuket. The original plan for this day had been to take a drive around Phuket island and see some of the quieter beaches but we decided we had better stay put so I could rest. I was fine lying by the pool in the morning and the beach in the afternoon. Met a lovely older couple from Jersey, Channel Islands who spent 6 months of the year in Thailand – v jealous! We hadn’t been to the hotel’s ‘Beach Club’ whilst we had been staying at the Indigo Pearl. It was really lovely – we were sorry we hadn’t been before! I think I explained before, that the hotel doesn’t own the beachfront in front of the hotel, but they do have use of part of it. It is set up very nicely as a beach club, it is like a modern version of the beach clubs you get in front of some of the older hotels in the south of France. There is a beach bar and grill set up there with tables, chairs and in front of that sun loungers and umbrellas. They keep toys there for the kids and a mini library with books and magazines and newspapers for you to read. There is also a little beach spa set up there with four poster massage beds behind screens.
The service, as everywhere in this hotel, is superb. I really cannot say enough about the service we received whilst at the Indigo Pearl – I think it really has been up there with service at the Peninsula and Oriental, I can’t think of anywhere where we have had such personal service from the staff ranging from the concierge and guest services staff, restaurant and bar staff, bell boys. Just excellent and personal service and so immediate.
We spent a wonderful relaxing last afternoon at the Beach Club and Nai Yang really is a lovely beach. The sand is white and powdery and we found the beach to be very clean. You do get some sea debris washing up and there is some coral on the beach, washed up by the tsunami one of the beach staff told us. But no human rubbish. The sea is clear and shelves gently. We saw people snorkelling further out as well – we had read that there is a reef offshore. The bay is gently curving and is tree lined – causarana trees? I think they might be called – so has lovely shade and a gentle breeze. Towards the left end on the headland, a big hotel is being built into the rocks. It looks as if all the rooms will have seaview balconies – I think I read it was going to be a Hyatt or a Hilton. Looks a bit out of place and tbh, a bit of a monstrosity so might be better to stay in it and look out than be outside it looking in!! Towards the right of the Indigo Pearl beach club, there are the local restaurants but a few hundred yards short of the end of the bay, all buildings and enterprises stop. This is the start of a national park and no building is allowed there – it is beautifully undeveloped and long may it stay so! I would definitely recommend a trip to Nai Yang for anyone staying in Phuket – and also a stay at the Indigo Pearl. We definitely want to return, loved it.
We stayed on the beach towards the end of the day to watch the sun start to set. The beach staff was setting up for a seafood barbeque that night. From 4pm it is happy hour and twice a week, a DJ plays – v Cafe del Mar. I had an oil massage on the beach at 5pm, as the sun was starting to dip in the sky. I lay there and watched the sea, wincing only occasionally, and relaxed. We decided to eat at the beach club that night, sucked in by the atmosphere. 990B++ per person but they didn’t charge for the kids. The food was lovely – although I really couldn’t stomach much of the seafood and stuck to salads and grilled meat. DH ate enough to feed about 4 people so was very content. We headed home happily and as we were getting ready for bed, fireworks were set off on the beach. Not from the hotel, but one of the beach bars. What a nice way to end a lovely day, I thought. They were thinking – what a great way to get the party started!! The hotel the next day were very apologetic – this isn’t the norm for Nai Yang apparently, but what a noisy party that bar had! Tbh, I wouldn’t have minded except that the band playing at top volume at 1am was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!!

The next morning, we had breakfast and packed up our things. That took an age as every time I packed something, the baby would take it out of the suitcase and crawl away really quickly with it, giggling. Monkey. Managed to get out of the room by midday and had an easy check out and bid a sad farewell to the Indigo Pearl.

Next - Khao Lak and Le Meridien...

oh i love the shrimp so much....do i have to give it up??

tell us again what kind of place you ate at?? did they have a fridge?

the rest of your trip will exceed your expectations!!

I've had that food poisoning a few times. Cold sweat, dizzy etc, not pleasant.
The doctors or pharmacy always ask what you ate, there seem to be 2 types of pills, one purple/blue and the other brown, it seems to depend on what you ate.
But they work !
Always go direct to hospitals.
You can buy sachets in 7-11 etc of the re-hydration powder and mix with water. If you buy the water bottles with the open/close caps they are ideal. Makes a good drink anytime you are traveling around.
Looking forward to the Khao Lak report !

Glad things are working out for you Bella.

It seems like a trip to Thailand isn't complete without a short case of the runs, lol.

Bella
Poor you and glad you are on the mend. Muffin had terrible food poisoning in Singapore, the hotel was next to a mall and i went out and bought re-hydration salts and practically forced him to take them over the course of the day. I also remembered a story Karen (Bobs wife) had told us about drinking pop so i got him to sip seven-up and amazingly he was well enough to fly the next day.
Love your detailed report, we had more snow in the midlands last night (not too much - although i heard further north they have closed a couple of airports) think the sleet is heading down south so you are well out of it!!

What an adventure! Makes me even more careful about what I will eat when dining away from home!

But hopefully everything from now on out will be relaxing and stress FREE.

Carol

i was sick about two weeks ago with my first bout ever of food poisoning.....we ate in an upscale italian place in charleston, sc and i had stuffed shells with shredded chicken and cheese.....

as my mother used to say in the summer, "...chicken can be tickle-ish this time of the year..."

hey bob - sorry to hear about the ticklish chicken, bella likes that phrase!! smeagol - it is really weird to think of snow at home, we are so warm!! was kind of hoping it would be more spring like upon our return...perhaps not...to everyone - thank you for your comments, we are having a lovely stress free illness free time now!!

hello robert/oksena - was your valentines hotel a certain suite at my favourite hotel? sadly, dh will not pay for that hotel this trip - but we are at the peninsula from 17 to 22 Feb which is nearly as good

and back to our trip report...

We had arranged for a car to be delivered to Indigo Pearl at 12.30pm so we could drive to Khao Lak, 1200B per day for our 5 day trip up there. it is some kind of toyota saloon. The drive was really really easy, I even was brave enough to do some thai style overtaking. It took us about an hour and a half.

We arrived at Le Meridien and drove round to the lobby. They ushered us, gave us some orchid necklaces which really pleased Bella, some ice tea, lovely lemongrass scented towels. The lobby with its view down to the ocean was beautiful. We had told them we would arrive at 2pm and we were later than that but our room wasn’t ready and they couldn't tell us how long it would be. I found that quite irritating, esp as needed to get the kids changed if we were to swim, but bit my tongue and we headed down to the bar by the beach to get a light lunch.

Our room was ready afterwards and at first glance seemed to be okay. Quite spacious and light, overlooking the kids pool in the family wing, on the second floor.
After about 20 minutes, we phoned to find out what had happened to our luggage as it was by now 4pm and we really wanted to go out for a swim but all our stuff was in our bags. Reception said they would chase it up. We then drew the curtains right back and we could see the room was really looking quite tired and also was really dusty. The floor was dirty, still had sand on it from the previous customers and had clearly not been mopped which was not great given the baby was going to be rolling around it for the next five days. The bags turned up about 25 minutes after that and by this point, we were feeling quite unhappy about the room and the service so far. Perhaps it was after coming from the Indigo Pearl where the service was so good and were it just the service, we could have let it go but the room was in such a sorry state! DH went to speak to a manager and was told they would either find another room or clean this one, they would call to advise. 10 mins after that, two ladies from housekeeping came to the door and said can we help you. At that point, I decided I would go and speak to the manager. I didn’t really think it was fair of the management to expect us to tell the two housekeepers what to clean in the room.

I spoke to the manager, explained our perspective and then she said she would sort out another room if she could but that occupancy was very high. So we went back to the room, and waited and waited. By this point it was 5.30pm – 3 hours after we had arrived. DH wanted to leave and go back to the Indigo Pearl or go to another hotel in Khao Lak. We phoned my mum to get the number of another hotel I had read looked at, Baan Khao Lak. We phoned them, they had availability for that night. I went to the lobby to tell the manager that we wanted to leave, we were tired of waiting and the kids were cranky. She told me they had just sorted out another possible room for us – I agreed we would go and see it but warned them that DH wanted to leave. So we went to see the room – it was cleaner and lighter, being on the 3rd floor – but it was still quite tatty but more to the point, DH had had enough by this point.

I went back to the lobby with the lady who had showed us the new room, to sort out checking out. She asked where would we stay that night – by this point I was so tired and worn out with everything, I just cried!! We got to reception, she got me some iced water and a towel and the manager came to tell me that normally they would charge 100% cancellation fee for our package but that they would only charge 1 night. I knew that if I went and told DH that he would blow a gasket so I burst into tears again. She suggested maybe we should just stay tonight and then tomorrow she could show us more rooms and if we weren’t happy, we could leave then. That really seemed like the best idea to me – I just couldn’t face getting the luggage back out of the room, into the car and driving off into the dusk to try and find Baan Khao Lak, with two hungry children!! (Suspect DH would have driven us right back to the Indigo Pearl as well). She then said that on the next day, many guests were leaving and perhaps they could put us in a private villa. That cinched it. I was staying put. I went to tell DH who was busy getting our luggage collected. He grimaced at the one night cancellation charge issue but agreed we could stay one night for ease. We went to stay in the third floor replacement room for the night. I shall only mention very briefly that our luggage took about half an hour to come back to the room...nevermind.

DH thinks it is like Fawlty Towers but on a very large grand international hotel scale. The difficult thing is, everyone is really very nice and the service from individual staff members is very charming and committed, but somewhere in this big machine, some oil is needed to keep the cogs running smoothly and efficiently.

From our perspective, I think if from the first time we complained, we had been given a clear idea as to show long it would take to sort out the problem and some free drinks, we'd probably have been quite happy. It was the waiting around not knowing that really wound us up, to the point where we nearly left. I think we just expected a bit more from a Meridien 5* hotel and at the price we are paying

Oh my... I had really hoped you would find stressfree relaxation, but it doesn't sound as if that is the case. Hopefully your new private villa (after putting up with one night in the less than desireable one) will be better.

Enjoy the nice weather. We have a bit of snow on the ground here in the midwest USA. I would love to be on a Thai beach instead.

Carol

We went to a gorgeous beach restaurant the first night - Rim Lay (formerly the Tsunami Survivors restaurant). It is about 50 yards down the beach on the left from Le M. There is very little else on Pakweeb beach near the meridien, which makes the beach very dark at night - and so the stars are vividly clear in the sky, it is beautiful. Rim Lay is a little wooden restaurant with tables on a sandy floor, prices are very reasonable, food is v good. I had a red curry with chicken and rice, which was delicious but John's dish - fried fish with three sauces - was scrumptious. I think probably any of the fish dishes would be good, the fish was perfectly cooked. With a couple of changs and a couple of dishes for Bella, it came to about 600B. We made our way back up the beach - taking a sneaky peak at the ocean front pool villas, in our dreams - and fell exhausted into bed.

The next day, we were at breakfast at about 9am - it is fairly typical fare. We knew that we would be in the minority as English speakers whilst here but were struck at breakfast that we did not hear any English spoken at all, other than by the Thai staff to us. Lots of Scandinavians, Germans, a smattering of French being spoken - but no English. Quite unusual for Thailand - and very annoying for someone as nosy as me. I could only people watch, not people listen! Made John translate for a while but he got bored of it.

We managed to get a couple of shady beds by the pool - aah, gone are the days when I would be trying to bag the sunniest spot and bronzing myself all day long whilst sipping cocktails. Now I spend all day long chasing the shade and smothering wriggling octupus like children in factor 50. The pool at Le M is huge - and really empty considering that most of the sunbeds between the pool and the beach were full. The sea is almost empty too - how do these people stay cool? So spent lots of time in the pool, particularly difficult to get Bella out of the pool...a lovely relaxing time.

For lunch, we took the car into Bang La On (Khao Lak town) as I had to go to the main dive shop for Wicked Diving (www.wickeddiving.com) to sort out my equipment. Recommended on a dive forum, I had emailed wicked amongst others but was really impressed by the emails I had received from one of the guys who started the business, Paul Land. DH, bless him, was going to look after the kids whilst I played hooky and went off diving for the day. It took a while to sort out the equipment etc and John and the girls had lunch at Viking restaurant nearby whilst I did this. The cost was 6100B, including a refresher dive course as I hadn't been diving for 6 years!! I was convinced I would have forgotten everything. Bella popped into the shop at one point - and we bought her a little snorkel and mask which she was very pleased with.

Back around 4pm, we went back down to the pool for another couple of hours. We had arranged with the hotel that we would shower in our old room and pack up our things and that whilst we were at dinner, they would move our belongings into the villa for us. The last couple of hours at the pool and beach are lovely as the sun is not so hot, we can relax about the children keeping their hats on a bit. Oh - and happy hour is on at the bar...

At 6pm, one of the lobby reception staff took me to check the Lagoon Villa. oooo - very pleased now! The Lagoon Villa is closely situated to the spa pool and only a couple of minutes walk to the main pool and beach as well. It has butler service and you can eat breakfast a la carte at the Baan Thai restaurant as well as buffet style at Cafe Lilawadee. The villa is huge compared to the room. You enter and on your right is a wall of cupboards with central double doors entering the bathroom. The bathroom has a huge central tub and basins to the right and left - hers and his. There is the requisite wc and to the left of the bath, a big walk in shower. Well, walk through really - you open one door and enter the shower, open the door the other side and you go out into an outside courtyard area with a giant outdoor rain shower. It reminded me of hotels we stayed in in Bali. To the left as you go in the door of the villa is the rest of the room - huge bed, huge flat screen TV, sofa and glass windows on all sides facing onto the lagoon (I would call this a giant pond really, but it is lovely especially as there are two black swans and cygnets on it). Through the double doors there is a terrace facing the lagoon with giant sunbeds to sit on. A lovely room - being upgraded to this more than compensated for the hoo-ha of the previous day. We also had been given a nice bottle of Shiraz and giant fruit basket, with a personal note from the GM apologising, which was a nice touch too. So we are now very happy chappies.

Oh, Bella--what an adventure! Hope you are feeling up to snuff..thanks for the exciting (in unintended ways) report!!

We had another delicious meal at Rim Lay (now DH's favourite restaurant) that night whilst Le Me moved our bags. We had dropped off the most enormous bag of washing there the night before - and collected it that night, beautifully washed and pressed. The meal came to around 600B again - we both had fish, yum - and the laundry to around 900B (I told you it was a big bag!!). It was lovely coming back that night to the beautiful villa - the girls were really excited, Bella by the GIANT TV on which she could watch cartoon network from her bed and baby BB by the enormous floor space which she could crawl around at great speed with glee. In fact she got so excited, we couldn't get her to sleep until about 11pm...

I was quite nervous that night, about diving. The last time I had been diving (in the Perhentians in June 2002), I'd had a funny turn under the water and nearly passed out. It had happened on my last dive there and since then, I hadn't been due to pregnant, inclement weather etc. The experience had by no means put me off diving completely, but had certainly made me more aware of the implications of something going wrong...At wicked's suggestion, I was taking a refresher dive course to go over my skills with a private divemaster and to give me a chance to get my confidence back in fairly easy shallow conditions. After lunch, I would go on a fundive with the same dive master. Oh - also I was being picked up at 7am so reluctantly set my alarm for 6am...

The early morning wake up call gradually penetrated my land of nod and I hauled myself our of bed, leaving everyone else blissfully snoozing. I showered and left the room before I had a chance to lie down for 'just a few minutes' and wake up two hours later. I had a very peaceful light breakfast with a few other early risers and waited in the lobby for my lift to the pier. I was there early and read my book. The pick up was a few minutes late - by this point I had convinced myself that if they forgot about me, I wouldn't really mind. Seconds later, a songthaew pulled in front of the hotel lobby. I hopped into the back. A Swedish couple were in there already, they were staying on Kho Khao Island - at this place http://www.khokhaoislandbeach.com/ and recommended it as a good place for families. The woman wasn't diving but snorkelling - I joked that I wished I was joining her. I was only half joking though!! We then pulled up a dirt track to pick up another couple staying at the Andamania. He was German and she was Thai, getting married next year. Both couples were really friendly and as always, it was good to exchange stories. The German guy had been to Thailand first in 1974 having driven his car from Germany to Calcutta and then flown from there to Bangkok. I wish I could see some photos from back then!! He must really have seen some changes in Thailand during that time.

We drove down to the pier, picking up the divemaster I was going to dive with along the way, Henrik. As soon as I met him, I wasn't really nervous any more. During fun dives in the past, I've not always had good experiences with some divemasters. Some are really just out there for their own laughs and not looking after their clients very well at all. This was NOT the case here - Henrik was great, really level headed, calm, informative. So all was well, I started to look forward to the trip.

We stopped at the pier, visited the happy room and hopped onto the boat. I say hopped - I sort of more had to leap onto the boat. I think the tide was out and so the boat was way below the pier and I couldn't reach my feet onto the boat. I was desperately pointing my feet and inching down from the pier, hoping at some point to feel boat beneath my toes but alas no, so in the end I gave up and took a jump...thankfully by the end of the day, with the tide back in, the boat was level with the pier. Otherwise, I honestly do not think I would have been able to get back onto that pier, I would still be on the boat! The boat was a HUGE speedboat, 2 x 4 horse power engines if that means anything to anybody. It doesn't to me but I was sat next to them and so remember this. I always sit at the back of speedboats - it minimises the bounce and as long as you keep your eye on the horizon, you really are unlikely to get seasick there unless you are just one who is prone to it. There were 3 crew on the boat, 1 snorkelling guide, 3 dive instructors/masters, 5 divers (inc me) and 5 snorkellers - so not crowded at all, we had oodles of room even with all the dive equipment we were carrying. We saw a snorkelling trip going out at the same time and they were packed like sardines into that boat. Our boat had a mix of people booked with wicked and another dive outfit called liquid - the crew were really friendly and relaxed and we were well looked after on the boat. The boat trip over took about 1 hour and 15 mins, quite an easy ride and we were given water and bananas to munch on the way over.

We pulled in first to Honeymoon Bay on Similan Island no 4 - OH THIS PLACE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!! White powdery sand, turquoise waters, bleached driftwood on the shoreline, a giant swing built onto a tree. It is idyllic - and guess whose husband hadn't let her bring the camera!! I sort of understood why - we hadn't brought the cheaper zoom lense and we weren't sure on the set up of the boat and trip. But oh was I sorry I didn't have it when I got there...although I did take a few snaps with my very sad and sorry for itself paltry disposable camera...couldn't even really see through the viewfinder what I was taking a picture of but I am sure it will not do this place justice. It really is gorgeous - and it is a good thing it is a national park as it would definitely have some exclusive hotel built onto it by now.

So, from the shore, I suited and booted up and went through the set up of the equipment. It was coming back to me, slowly...we walked down to the shore in full regalia bar flippers, putting those on after entering the water. The first 20 mins or so of the dive were spent going through skills underwater but in shallow depths, no problems and after that as I had quite a lot of air left, we actually had quite a long time to dive around the reef offshore. Wow, I had forgotten how much I love diving, I mean really love diving. Underwater it is so peaceful and tranquil, you forget everything as you focus on what is around you, spotting new discoveries. The visibility was excellent as well and an abundance of beautiful colourful shoals of fish. We surfaced and with wobbly legs I walked to shore - there had been quite a strong current to swim against at times, I really need to get in better shape! Lunch was delicious - steamed rice with various thai dishes including a really unusual sweet curry with eggs. Food always tastes great after diving I find and I welcomed thirst quenching watermelon for after. We all rested happily on the shore for a while after before hopping on board the boat to go to the next dive site.

The next dive site is called East of Eden, I think on island no. 7? This time, we were diving from the boot and then descending down into deeper water. Visibility again was excellent and I had a lovely dive. It was a drift dive which means that you are diving with the current - it is great, you just float along with little exertion most of the time (although you might have to swim against the current a little if you want to slow down). Its like you are floating along a little stream underwater, watching ocean life go by. Saw loads of different fish - angel fish, trigger fish, puffer fish, moray eel, oh the list goes on. What I was really excited to see was a fantastic amount of live corals and a real variety, beautiful. Sadly, it was over all to quickly - and no more diving till, I don't know when . Diving is very addictive - if I didn't have children, I would have been on a liveaboard the next day!! more soon...

Wow, nice trip report Bella. Glad things are well

>>>hello robert/oksena - was your valentines hotel a certain suite at my favourite hotel? sadly, dh will not pay for that hotel this trip - but we are at the peninsula from 17 to 22 Feb which is nearly as good<<<


Early Bangkok greetings, Bella!

... we missed you, Valentine's, riverside ... (good as ever, three years running, into our three year marriage - suspect it's becoming part of our evolving BKK 'non-expense account' river traditions, along with Loy Krathong) ...

... as for our lodging at the Oriental (yes, her call), not our honeymoon (and that hotel's cherished) 'creme coloured' suite; rather, 'suite times' and fine, exceptionally quiet river views at the 'end of the hall', made even more attractive by a most gratefully appreciated 'frequent corporate guest' rate certain Bangkok hotels have been privately offering of late ... (just like a certain Singaporean airline) ...

... (and, as for 'our Oriental creme suite', I promised it for 'our 25th' - little precious 'kebaya' countered, "our 5th!" ... quite the negotiator) ...

... savour your times, Peninsula side, Lucy. You already know the programme: along with the Bangkok Oriental, simply appreciate one of the world's greatest staffs, from the fine, urbane, GM, 'all the way down', to, yes, the world's most beguiling nurse. She wears the sweet, white 'nurses' hat and uniform, and has the finest 'bedside manner' ... (purely platonic, to be sure) ...

... (and, as for that precious Peninsula v Oriental debate, well, all I can say is being most grateful for 'Mr. K' and his superlative Oriental senior staff for letting 'bygones be bygones' re a certain '97 incident involving yours truly and two rather lovely 'masseuses') ...

... have an uplifting time, Bella. ... (and do give my regards to that lobby hostess) ...

robert


... "Mr. _, are you expecting a female guest?" ...

(Peninsula Bangkok, Concierge/Lobby 'area', 2_.01.09)

Ahh... East of Eden, great dive spot. And how is Emma these days (that's the name of the moray that hangs out there). For a really great drift dive, try the south end of Anita's Reef off Island 5. I had a great decompression stop thrill ride over the boulders there.

Glad to hear Wicked is good. I've been hearing nice things about them and hope to check out Khao Lak one of these days.

sorry for the bad start at the le M...we loved it there....we were just above the spa pool which was perfect....

i'm trying that crying the next time...

Emma is HUGE - she gave me the fright of my life when she poked her head our of her rock...nearly shot up to the surface!! then swum back to have a look, from a distance! Wd definitely recommend Wicked - I liked the co-operative set up and it had a very friendly feel, no posers!

Bob - more to follow but we really like Le M after our slow start, sad to leave tomorrow. Bella LOVES the pool and the river. Had a really lovely time - just watched a fantastic sunset on our last night

We are off to the Pen tomorrow

slumming at the penn again....

some like the brown water at the oriental....

DH picked the Pen and wouldn't stump up for the O - I like the brown water there best!! We stayed at the Pen after our wedding in thailand (2006) and they mucked up our booking and after I cried there, we were upgraded to a grand deluxe suite. This crying thing works - if only I could turn on the taps on demand like my daughter can!

re. the rooms at Le M - I wondered if the adult only rooms over the spa wing are in better nick. The family wing rooms were really knocked about but will have taken harder wear from all the kids staying in them. Spa wing looks divine - the pools is lovely.

some more pics on the smugmug site now, but mainly of the kids

anxious to read how you like the fishing village with tong...

Great reports, I am adjusting my eyes to this new layout, very colorful !

we have just had the best day!!! I was a little nervous about the baby on the fishing trip but it was fantastic - such a wonderful day, Bella says the best day in Thailand ever. Will post more about last bits of khao lak etc later. We are off down to the marriott tonight as john visiting jack for some shirts and we promised bella she could see the thai dancers

i knew you would love it, especially bella....did tong take you?

hi to jack from me....

I'm waiting for the grand finale when Bella, little Bella, Baby Bella and Mr. Bella ALL burst into tears simultaneously.

that should be a sight dog....remember they have an accent like yours, well almost like yours.....so tears and cliped english should be a sight....they may get the presidential or royal suite....

lets try that routine next time when asking for a flight upgrade to 1st class...

Alas, I cannot deliver that dogster. Mr BB is a portrait of sang froid/cold heart - whatever you want to call it...no tears...although I can offer clipped English as Bob proffers, and perhaps a twitch at the corner of the mouth whilst he walks away. Some would call that self-control, some repression - whatever it is, I lack it and probably cry at least three times a day, mostly when I laugh. I make no apologies.

at home now - jetlag is making me feel like i am floating underwater. Sadly the water is grey and murky like the English sky not the azure blue of the Andaman Sea. I will finish the tale when I come up for air...