Penang

July 18, 2017
Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

The Air Asia flight went well. With a stop over in KL and only an hour delay we were happy. This is our second time through KL airport. Next time we will get out and stay a few days.
Arrived on Penang and took a taxi into Georgetown.

I opted for an airbnb since there was not much price difference (dollar goes far in Malaysia) and we were all so looking forward to cooking our own food. I have not stayed in an airbnb in Asia so was not sure what to expect. The apartment was spotless, and no offensive smells. It is modern, but it did not have much in the line of kitchen equipment. The difference between west and east. Many Asians would eat out rather than in. And Penang has the best food in all of Malaysia. Not a great time to pick the airbnb.

Our apartment is on the 20th floor. Bird's eye view.

Luke was insistent that we eat pasta. Just regular pasta and sauce. I found a grocery store under a km away so Jack and I hiked down. Amazingly, it was a western supermarket. We found feastable food that felt like home.

I didn't realize rootbeer is called sarsaparilla.

With a teeny tiny pot, I cooked the pasta in 4 batches and Luke still says that was one of the best suppers he has had in a long time. Asian food has mostly been good, but so much oil is used in the cooking. Everything is greasy and seems unhealthy.

A walk along the waterfront in the evening. As I look at the cool evening temperatures at home of 8C, these evenings feel wonderful at 29C.

A long day after getting in the taxi at 5:00AM, everyone was ready for a good sleep. The beds are even soft!

Phuket

July 17, 2017

Phuket, Thailand

I could not hear the wind this morning when I woke up so I thought the ferry ride would not be so rough. I have long known I would never have been able to maintain a career with the navy and today was another proving day. The seas must be rough every day this time of year. We loaded on the bottom part of the boat thinking it would provide a smoother ride. I was told to look at the horizon, but the window were constantly being smashed with water I couldn't see out. One boat worker handed out barf bags. I could hear a few people some rows ahead of me using them. Luckily I just felt bad, but nothing came out.

Carrying bags to the boat this morning.

The towns on Phuket are not pretty. Surprisingly for such a popular holiday destination. We are staying in the area of Kata Beach. We had been in this area with K and K years ago. The food however, is the best we have had in Thailand. The man at our hotel said that Phi Phi has the worst Thai food. We thought it was bad. He said he could not believe Thai people could make such bad food.
I had delicious green curry soup today. Luke chicken satay, Levi sweet and sour and Nate, prawns.

The beach was rough and sections were blocked off. Good for surfing and boogie boarding.

The hotel is great; $28 for the family size room, can't complain. The pool is refreshing and Nate wants to get into towel origami.

The pet population is no different here than any other part of SE Asia - out of control. Phi Phi felt like Dr. Seuss's Kingdom of Bin with cats everywhere. Only no king walking around on red stilts.

Luckily the dogs have been friendly. There are lots of them.

We are flying with Air Asia tomorrow to get to Penang. The blogs I had read said from Phuket to Penang, save yourself the hassle and fly. I have not gone for the knockoff airlines yet, so I hope this one matches its reviews.

Last Day on the island

July 16, 2017

Today was to be a laid back day. The days go fast even with nothing really planned. Nate did not get to dive today, but much to his remorse, we climbed up steep stairs and hills to the lookout. This was the only activity on the agenda except meeting some kids at the hotel pool after lunch.

I thought the view was worth it. The boys not so much.

Monkey in the middle is popular in any country.

That was the day. Luke still with a very low grade fever tonight. It comes and goes.

We are all pad thaied out. Eating pizza tonight. We all miss home cooking. We rarely ate out in Europe, South Africa and Australia. The boys were so looking forward to not having cooking facilities in Asia so they could eat out. That grows old quick. We have a kitchen again in a few days when we get to Penang. Luke wants spaghetti. I hope we can find that. We talk about the food we will make at home when we get back to Carman. Lots of talk about home and what it will be like. If I didn't have Japan completely paid for, I might be tempted to come home tomorrow.

I think the wind is high again tomorrow. Our 2 hour ferry ride to Phuket I am not looking forward to.

SCUBA

July 15, 2017

Saturday - diving day. Nate had a hard time going to sleep last night due to nervousness and excitement. At 7:30 the boys were debriefed with underwater signals and how the dive would happen.

By 9:00 we were on the boat heading to Viking Cove.

The wind was high again and the boat ride was not pleasant. Tucked into this cove the water was more calm. Getting on the equipment and Nate still nervous. Matteo was awesome. He explained everything so well and was very patient.

They would go down no more than 12 meters. The water was so warm.

After the first session Levi said it was not the best experience of the trip, but the best experience of his life. Nate and Luke felt the same way.

They saw one Nemo and Dori along with coral, trigger fish, puffers, eels, and big clams. Countless beautiful fish. Jack and I were thrilled with our snorkeling.

Jack photobombing. Can't believe how long he can hold his breath.

The boys had two dive sessions and us with the snorkeling.

The boat picked us up first and then went to get the boys. While waiting, my stomach started to lurch. The swaying of the boat, my intake of salt water and the fumes of diesel did not sit well. As Luke said "Swallow your pride and puke over the side." I did and felt better for it. Fish were happy too as they had something to eat. Lots to eat!

The ride back was rough but looking at this view helped.

The boys received Try Scuba cards indicating they had done 2 dives toward their certification. Nate is proud! He is begging to go again tomorrow. Matteo was a fantastic instructor. He gave Jack and I the highest compliment. "If I had boys, I would want them to be like your boys." He thought they were the best students he had had and kept saying how well they followed instructions and learned so quickly. We are proud too.

Thanks for a memorable day Matteo!

Fond Memories

July 13, 14  2017

An early departure from Bangkok. Our flight was scheduled to leave Bangkok at 7:40 for Koh Phi Phi. It took off 45 minutes late but must have picked up speed as it arrived only 15 minutes behind schedule. I had calculated this flight to Phuket to match up with the 11:00 ferry to Phi Phi.

The scams for taxis and ferry rates start as soon as you depart the plane. Yuck.

I was torn about returning to this island. I have fond memories of this tropical paradise from 20 years ago - pre tsunami. I thought I should leave this place alone and live with what I had stored in my brain as a utopia. I knew things would be different. First of all, no Karen and Kenny. Second, we were here prior to extreme development. Third, the time of year is different and I was not sure what that would mean for snorkeling. Giving the kids a chance to snorkel in tropical waters was the main goal of coming to any island. We were torn which island to choose and decided on this one after talking with people and reading online.

I spent the day in a sad state. Although I had tried to prepare myself by having low expectations, I felt so desperately home sick and wanted to leave. I had only booked one night at a hotel close to the pier. The room was fine. The kids and I were tired. The weather was beautiful. The island is beautiful. I wanted to go home. We explored town, which has grown tremendously and were amazed it was low season by the number of tourists.

One thing that got us focused was a dive shop that talked us into going diving and snorkeling. Nate was the most excited and wanted to start practicing with a snorkel immediately.

He had to wait to snorkel as now it was late in the day and we would walk to long beach on Friday and go out off the beach.

Friday we had to pack up the room and change to a more expensive set of rooms in the hotel. Not a bad move. The rooms are lovely; the view is terrible. Best to keep the curtains closed.

Beautiful room.

Less than beautiful view. They said it had a sea view. I guess it's out there somewhere.


With snorkels and masks rented we walked along the beach and through the jungle to Long Beach. Twenty years ago, at a different time of year, go up to knee depth and fish were swimming all around. Not this time. The water was rough and stirred up so no fish to see. We were disappointed. Nate was nervous to go in as the undertow was strong.

The colour of the water is so beautiful and the temperature of it is warm. The sand is made from coral so it is cool on the feet and has many shells and pieces of coral in it.

Reminders are everywhere.

Long Beach

Since the beach was too rough, the pool was where Nate spent 2.5 hours perfecting his ability to clear a snorkel. He is better than most adults.

 Well, I'm over the severe homesickness and Nate made me laugh. We had stopped for a drink and were looking out at this. I said to the boys "That is a million dollar view!" Within seconds a cat jumped up on the table in front of us, sprawled out, and proceeded to lick his testicles. Nate chimed in "There's your million dollar view!"

Three Nights in Bangkok

July 10, 11, 12
Bangkok, Thailand

My run, or plod, early this AM was difficult along the busy sidewalks. My destination, Lumpini Park for some open running space. A beautiful park in the middle of this enormous city. Nate would love the play structures and grassy areas to play tag. At one point, the largest reptile I have seen (apart from a crocodile) crossed my path. It was about three feet in length and I guessed it was an iguana. And me without a camera.

We wanted to head to the area of the Grand Palace. The best way to travel in this city is by water taxi. A bit of a long hike to the river for us, but efficient, interesting and economical (40cents) travel on the boat. The taxis have different coloured flags indicating where they go. The men who work the loading area give different whistle sounds to the captain as messages.

The Grand Palace was extremely busy with mourners. I thought due to the long queue of people dressed in black entering and exiting the Palace that it was a national holiday. A lady explained that it was not a holiday. They were there paying their respects to the King who died October 13. We found out later that up to 100000 people may visit the palace per day to pay their respects. The King will be mourned for one year.

We decided to forgo a visit to the Palace. Just observed from the outside.

Bangkok is the most western of the south east Asia locations we have visited. A trip to McDonalds was promised. Many thanks given to Ronald.

Today’s mission – find a Thai boxing class. Mission accomplished. The end of Khau San road had the most authentic gym for Muay Thai lessons. Nate and Levi were so pumped. Luke, with fever and fatigue did not feel up to it. His on again, off again mid to low grade fevers has had me worried.

The alley leading to the gym. 

Levi getting his hands wrapped.

Nate is willing to give up football and become a fighter. He googled Muay Thai in Winnipeg and is convinced we can fit it into our schedule when we get home.
This trainer was a professional fighter and now runs this gym.

This eight year old boy is someone not to mess with at recess. 

Our last night with Ans and Evert. Almost three weeks travleling together; they have become part of our family. It is hard to say goodbye.

Luke had lost his appetite this evening and still had a high fever. Nate practicing his boxing moves  all along the road while walking to Saint Louis Hospital. We are staying in an area with embassies so we expected good hospitals. Saint George’s hospital. The entrance and intake was good. The doctor, not so much. He wanted me to cancel flights and have Luke hospitalized for 3 days to track his fever. He then wanted to draw blood to check for every tropical and non tropical disease on the planet. Everything from HIV to typhoid fever. He wanted us to see an infectious disease specialist. I asked him to simply check his ears to see if there was an ear infection. He seemed confused how to work the ear light and claimed he did not see anything. He was concerned about 2 pimples on Luke’s chest and thought they were point of entry for disease. I explained he was 16 and this was normal. After seeing the condition of the ear device I asked about the sanitation of phlebotomy needles. He said “I tink dis hospital up to international standards.” I need more than an “I tink”. No thank you. He was amazed I would decline treatment for my son. Hearing I had insurance, I think the battery of bizzare tests and hospitalization was a money making scam. At the thought of hospitalization, Luke’s pace on the walk back perked up tremendously and he agreed to start drinking more water and taking better care of himself. The threat of staying in a Thai hospital does wonders.

Waiting in Saint Louis hospital.

The next day Luke was feeling better and he wanted to try the boxing. We spent the afternoon at the gym.

No one wanted to mess with this lady!

The best food so far in Thailand. Pad Thai street food.

Nate is happy with his new fighting outfit.

Tonight the thunder boomed and the rain poured in through the window. The wet season continues. 

Road Trip Bangkok

July 10

Siem Reap has been good to us. Good food, world famous sights - plenty to keep us busy. Time though to move on to Thailand.

Loaded down with luggage heading for the bus station. We had looked at flying, but the cost difference was too great - so bus it is. Evert isn't a fan of early mornings, but we were all were ready for the 7:45 departure.

The Giant Ibis bus company was the one we had taken from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. They claimed to make the border crossing into Thailand easy, that, and they did not blare Asian music or wait for the bus to fill up before leaving, or require changing and waiting for a new bus at the border.
It left on time, we had lots of leg room, snacks, iced lattes and AC. Perfect!

A few pit stops along the way. Gotta love the Asian toilet.

Poipet, Cambodia was the crossing point. The bus steward took all passports and had them stamped for exit on this side. We needed to walk across to Thailand and go through immigration.

Heading into Thailand. The customs officers were slow and had only 2 counters open. The line kept snaking further down the reception room and finally two more wickets were opened.

So many children begging at this crossing. More than we have seen anywhere else in our travels.

Back on the bus it was a total of 9 nine hours since we left Siem Reap until we arrived in Bangkok. 

The bus depot was on the end of Khau San road. Not a good job on my part of choosing a hostel miles from here. Two taxis haggled for and we were off. Ans and Evert did not have far to go. 

The My Thai Hostel, run by two sisters was spotless, roomy and more than expected. We told the boys a hostel was like camping, only inside on a bed. The boys had a room downstairs and Jack, Nate and I were 2 floors above. After getting checked in everyone hungry. We scoured the neighborhood for pad thai. We settled on some across the street, but no one was impressed. Much too oily! Will try again tomorrow.

No one wanted toads. Insects such as scorpions are popular - but not by us.