So, yesterday we arrived back in Koh Chang, but now on Lonely Beach, which is the most Southern beach and more of a backpacker area. Our hotel is a lovely little resort amongst shacks and bungalows, and again, different experience from the first two, but also lovely! We stayed the first night in our booked 'Villa by the pool with roof top terrace'. It looks like a sugar cube, with large window areas overlooking the pool! Great, but not in Thailand... And the roof top terrace is so hot you can't really sit up there... And besides that one, there is only steps leading up to the room, so no other outdoor area what so ever... And with a little one, it is nice not to just have to sit inside the room when he's asleep or resting... even though it's really hot. So today, I spent two hours (could have been done in half an hour, but miss communications along the way) to upgrade us to a room by the sea front. And this one has a little patio out the front, and is decorated a little nicer, so we feel very good about the change! Also, the baby bed they had prepared for George was really nice, but way too small, so he had to sleep in our bed... And we're not really used to that so none of us got very much sleep, apart from George... The new room has a 'day bed' which we'll use for George. Everyone's a winner!
The beach wasn't brilliant today, or, it was nice, but not as nice as we've seen now, so not sure if we'll just laze by the pool tomorrow or what we'll do. Only two more days in the sun, then it's Bangkok and culture galore! Bye for now!
måndag 15 mars 2010
Shantaa Experience
We're back in Koh Chang, but first let me tell you a little bit about our Koh Kood and Shantaa Resort Experience - It was lush! We left The Chill hotel after five wonderful days, and got a taxi down to the small fishing village of Bang Bao. There, on the same speed boat that would take us to Koh Kood, I bumped in to an old friend... How wierd, all the way over here... Mind you, it's happened every time I've gone travelling in Asia... Anyway, he was off to a different island.
At noon we arrived at the pier by the Shantaa Resort and was picked up by their car. The place was lovely! Completely different from the Chill. Not contemporary the slightest, but so much attention to detail and wonderful atmosphere. We checked into our room which had a nice little patio area outside. Only downside was that the aircon was only on between 5.30 pm - 8.30 am, meaning it was sweaty Betty if you were in the room at any other time, even with the fan on... It's veeery hot here at the moment.
Went down to check out their little beach strip, which was nothing really and George was really miserable cause he hadn't slept all day and was really hot and got bitten by an ant... Oh dear... Back to the room to watch a dvd, and then he fell asleep at half past five in the evening...
Went down to have dinner around eight, George back up by now. Lovely food and lovely service, a real treat this place! Went to bed very happy but a little dubious about the beach which was the only downside, and no pool...
So, day two, sorry mum's (Eva and Christine), but we rented a scooter! Which we went along on in snail speed (Matt was driving, George wedged in between us, all wearing helmets!) to a really nice beach further down the coast. It was great to come out and see a little more, and the beach was perfect for George! So spent two lovely days at that beach actually, driving to see a little fishing village and found a great little restaurant along the way! The food at the Shantaa was amazing too. As a little celebration to ourselves, we ordered fresh crabs for our final evening meal, and some deliscious deep fried whole fish, which Matt is determined to re-create so everyone look out for that yum dinner!
We checked out after our third night, very happy with our stay! Pics to come...
At noon we arrived at the pier by the Shantaa Resort and was picked up by their car. The place was lovely! Completely different from the Chill. Not contemporary the slightest, but so much attention to detail and wonderful atmosphere. We checked into our room which had a nice little patio area outside. Only downside was that the aircon was only on between 5.30 pm - 8.30 am, meaning it was sweaty Betty if you were in the room at any other time, even with the fan on... It's veeery hot here at the moment.
Went down to check out their little beach strip, which was nothing really and George was really miserable cause he hadn't slept all day and was really hot and got bitten by an ant... Oh dear... Back to the room to watch a dvd, and then he fell asleep at half past five in the evening...
Went down to have dinner around eight, George back up by now. Lovely food and lovely service, a real treat this place! Went to bed very happy but a little dubious about the beach which was the only downside, and no pool...
So, day two, sorry mum's (Eva and Christine), but we rented a scooter! Which we went along on in snail speed (Matt was driving, George wedged in between us, all wearing helmets!) to a really nice beach further down the coast. It was great to come out and see a little more, and the beach was perfect for George! So spent two lovely days at that beach actually, driving to see a little fishing village and found a great little restaurant along the way! The food at the Shantaa was amazing too. As a little celebration to ourselves, we ordered fresh crabs for our final evening meal, and some deliscious deep fried whole fish, which Matt is determined to re-create so everyone look out for that yum dinner!
We checked out after our third night, very happy with our stay! Pics to come...
måndag 8 mars 2010
Genie in a bottle
We've had another lovely day on the beach, doing almost nothing, could get used to this... Tryed another little restaurant/bar place just down the beach. Very nice. Almost like back in my backpacker days... Low tables and triangular thai cushions. George loved it, was nice that he could run around and be the same head height as us!
Then he took one of our empty water bottles, filled it with sand and ran down to the beach, chucked it in and shouted 'Flaskpost'! (Message in a bottle). Who taught him that? Hilarious!
Then he took one of our empty water bottles, filled it with sand and ran down to the beach, chucked it in and shouted 'Flaskpost'! (Message in a bottle). Who taught him that? Hilarious!
söndag 7 mars 2010
Back from another lovely evening with great food! George's buzzing, very funny! Today he wanted to carry the beach bag on his shoulder 'like mummy', and whilst climbing the stairs to our room, he said 'i can't carry you mummy, cause i'm carrying other things'... haha, that's what i always say to him when i have shopping bags!
He's also being a little star, playing with his bucket and spade in the sand, or his cars, whilst singing little songs to himself. And he loves being in the water, so that's good! He haves one tantrum a day, where he screams his head off, really really angrily... All we can do is wait for it to pass and try to distract him. The tantrums have so far been when he's tired and we won't give him candy...
Tomorrow we're thinking of going to see the elephants! Will let you know how that goes. Oh, and we have forgotten the camera lead, so no pics until we get home. Sorry.
He's also being a little star, playing with his bucket and spade in the sand, or his cars, whilst singing little songs to himself. And he loves being in the water, so that's good! He haves one tantrum a day, where he screams his head off, really really angrily... All we can do is wait for it to pass and try to distract him. The tantrums have so far been when he's tired and we won't give him candy...
Tomorrow we're thinking of going to see the elephants! Will let you know how that goes. Oh, and we have forgotten the camera lead, so no pics until we get home. Sorry.
lördag 6 mars 2010
Second day in paradise
We had a lie-in until nine! Very nice, since we were all very tired from the long journey over. Breakfast at the hotel. Also very nice. A buffet with all sorts of food and fruits. Spent the day on the beach. And now I have to go... Will tell you more tomorrow, will re-open this post and fill it in... Goodnight from us.
Hello again! It is almost noon now, day three. I will try to tell you a little bit more about yesterday:
We had a great lunch in this small noodle place, very Thai with plastic chairs and plates. Spot on, and Matt is really loving all of this wonderful food! Hot as a hell hole, but thera are fans everywhere and there is a nice breeze on the beach. Plus air-con in the hotel of course, which is bliss! George managed to go to sleep in the push chair at lunchtime, despite the heat, and we rolled him back into the hotel room afterwards where he continued his nap, and we had one too! The we made our way back to the beach in the late afternoon. It was lovely, the sun was low, it was a little cooler and George and Matt were playing like mad in the pool and on the beach, whilst myself was resting on a beach lounger... We'll definately try to have a break in the middle of the day like that I think, and return to the beach in the afternoon. I've never been much of a sun lover really so I haven't really experienced the beach after three o'clock... It can be recommended!
We had dinner around half eight. George had ice-cream and rice! And watched the Gruffalo for the millionth time... Me and Matt shared a few different dishes, four massive tiger prawns was one dish! The bill landed on hardly nothing and the prawns took up more than half the amount! A banana pancake on the 'strip' and then we went back to the hotel. George stayin up almost as late as us... but it means he sleeps until nine, which is lovely.
Today is a Saturday. We've been chillin' on the beach and when George got a little restless, I decided to go to the lovely reception area and write you all a little update! See you later! Hugs and kisses from pardise.
Hello again! It is almost noon now, day three. I will try to tell you a little bit more about yesterday:
We had a great lunch in this small noodle place, very Thai with plastic chairs and plates. Spot on, and Matt is really loving all of this wonderful food! Hot as a hell hole, but thera are fans everywhere and there is a nice breeze on the beach. Plus air-con in the hotel of course, which is bliss! George managed to go to sleep in the push chair at lunchtime, despite the heat, and we rolled him back into the hotel room afterwards where he continued his nap, and we had one too! The we made our way back to the beach in the late afternoon. It was lovely, the sun was low, it was a little cooler and George and Matt were playing like mad in the pool and on the beach, whilst myself was resting on a beach lounger... We'll definately try to have a break in the middle of the day like that I think, and return to the beach in the afternoon. I've never been much of a sun lover really so I haven't really experienced the beach after three o'clock... It can be recommended!
We had dinner around half eight. George had ice-cream and rice! And watched the Gruffalo for the millionth time... Me and Matt shared a few different dishes, four massive tiger prawns was one dish! The bill landed on hardly nothing and the prawns took up more than half the amount! A banana pancake on the 'strip' and then we went back to the hotel. George stayin up almost as late as us... but it means he sleeps until nine, which is lovely.
Today is a Saturday. We've been chillin' on the beach and when George got a little restless, I decided to go to the lovely reception area and write you all a little update! See you later! Hugs and kisses from pardise.
fredag 5 mars 2010
Thailand bliss!
We've got internet in the hotel! So I will be updating you with our adventures on a regular basis! Not sure about pics yet, but if not, I will add them later and you will have to re-visit these posts.
The journey over here went sooo well. I mean 18 hours travelling and George whined for five minutes tops! He's been an absolute star! Kept us busy for a few hours on the plane, and then fell asleep watching 'The Gruffalo' on his new dvd player. I put him on the floor in front of our seats, it worked really well and he slept for a good 3 hours. Then it was time for breakfast and then we landed...
At the Bangkok airport, I realised I hadn't brought the tickets for the Bangkok-Trat flight... gulp! Sent mum a very late text message asking for help, but before she had time to reply, the friendly staff had helped us print out new ones!
So then another couple of hours wait, 45 mins on a smaaaaall airplane and then we landed at Trat airport, which was so pretty! It looked like a luxurious hotel resort, with lots of greenery and bungalow style houses!
A mini-bus trip and ferry ride to go, and then we arrived at The Chill Hotel in Koh Chang... Me and Matt felt we'd hit the jackpot! Overheard another couple in the mini-bus saying 'Ooh, this is rather swish!' ha ha... The hotel is LOVELY! Absolutely all we could dream of at the moment! The surroundings are beautiful. It is modern withot being over the top. A lovely swimming pool, and it is right on the beach! Yep, have done really well here!
And everyone loves George of course. A little bundle of blond hair and smiles... He's been pinched in the cheeks, in his bottom, sniffed and cuddled like mad! We knew Thais loved blond children, but didn't imagine it to be quite this mad! As long as George is ok with it we are...
And so we've had a really nice evening with ridiculously cheap beer and food (Lovely red snapper on the bbq and some green curry). George has entertained the bar staff so that we could have an after dinner drink, and now it will be time for bed...
It's been really nice getting away from it all, and I was lying on the beach today hardly believeing we were in cold Sweden less than a day ago. Reality is with us, but a little more faint. We've toasted Arnfinn and spopken about him many times already, but it feels good to be here. Love to you all! H, M & G xxxx
The journey over here went sooo well. I mean 18 hours travelling and George whined for five minutes tops! He's been an absolute star! Kept us busy for a few hours on the plane, and then fell asleep watching 'The Gruffalo' on his new dvd player. I put him on the floor in front of our seats, it worked really well and he slept for a good 3 hours. Then it was time for breakfast and then we landed...
At the Bangkok airport, I realised I hadn't brought the tickets for the Bangkok-Trat flight... gulp! Sent mum a very late text message asking for help, but before she had time to reply, the friendly staff had helped us print out new ones!
So then another couple of hours wait, 45 mins on a smaaaaall airplane and then we landed at Trat airport, which was so pretty! It looked like a luxurious hotel resort, with lots of greenery and bungalow style houses!
A mini-bus trip and ferry ride to go, and then we arrived at The Chill Hotel in Koh Chang... Me and Matt felt we'd hit the jackpot! Overheard another couple in the mini-bus saying 'Ooh, this is rather swish!' ha ha... The hotel is LOVELY! Absolutely all we could dream of at the moment! The surroundings are beautiful. It is modern withot being over the top. A lovely swimming pool, and it is right on the beach! Yep, have done really well here!
And everyone loves George of course. A little bundle of blond hair and smiles... He's been pinched in the cheeks, in his bottom, sniffed and cuddled like mad! We knew Thais loved blond children, but didn't imagine it to be quite this mad! As long as George is ok with it we are...
And so we've had a really nice evening with ridiculously cheap beer and food (Lovely red snapper on the bbq and some green curry). George has entertained the bar staff so that we could have an after dinner drink, and now it will be time for bed...
It's been really nice getting away from it all, and I was lying on the beach today hardly believeing we were in cold Sweden less than a day ago. Reality is with us, but a little more faint. We've toasted Arnfinn and spopken about him many times already, but it feels good to be here. Love to you all! H, M & G xxxx
måndag 1 mars 2010
Världens bästa Beste
Det är svårt att hitta orden att beskriva det jag vill få fram, men jag känner också att jag inte kan fortsätta blogga utan att först tala om vad som hänt och hur det hittills påverkat oss.
Världens bästa Beste har lämnat oss. Världens bästa Arnfinn. Denna fina man som funnits vid mammas sida under nästan hela min uppväxt. En stolt norrman, stilig som få. Inte min biologiske far, men en fadersfigur ändå med allt vad det har inneburit.
Han rycktes oväntat ifrån oss, alldeles för tidigt och alldeles för fort. Sorgen är enorm och saknaden växer sig starkare och starkare för varje dag. Kanske för att jag inte längre kan tränga undan sanningen - han är borta och kommer inte åter. Idag är det exakt en vecka sedan Arnfinn dog. Idag har varit en riktig helvetesdag. I morgon blir det förhoppningsvis lite lättare, och kanske även i övermorgon. Jag vet inte. För mamma är det självklart ännu värre, och det smärtar dubbelt när jag tänker på att just den person som ska stötta henne i denna största av sorger inte finns här och kan göra det. Ironiskt eller hur. Jag finns ju här förstås, och Matt, och George, och resten av familjen och vänner, men det är ju inte samma sak.
George verkar förstå att Beste inte kommer tillbaka. "Beste har åkt till himlen" säger han och sympatigråter med mig när jag är ledsen, vilket framkallar ett skratt även i en svår stund som denna. Och George är även ett glädjeämne för mamma, han håller hennes tankar sysselsatta på annat håll och det känns bra.
Vi får ta en stund i taget nu, en dag i sänder, och så hittar vi tillbaka till vardagen så småningom. En vardag utan Arnfinn, men med Arnfinn levandes i minnet och i våra hjärtan.
På torsdag åker vi till Thailand. Förväntan har självklart grusats och det känns inte så viktigt längre, men jag ska försöka tränga undan de tankarna. Vi behöver komma bort ett tag och värme, sköna stränder och god mat lär göra oss gott! Det hade i alla fall Arnfinn sagt!
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