Rocky's Resort

Hey everyone,

We've had a great day today! When we woke up and opened the curtains we couldn't believe how beautiful the view was, as we didn't get to see any of the resort yesterday due to arriving at night. We  are staying at Rocky's Boutique Resort, which is out of the main touristy part of the island. It's fantastic -  small enough to be chilled out and not very crowded, but big enough that it's got everything you need. We got a cheap holiday package through 'My Thailand' which included our flights (with a stopover in Singapore on the way home), accommodation, airport transfers, breakfast, dinner and even a couple of massages all for $5000. It is wild how much you save not being tied to school holidays!!

We started our day with breakfast. Eliza was in a bit of a weird mood not wanting to eat too much, but Rob and I enjoyed it. Then we went for a swim at the resort's beach and beach pool. Both were really relaxing and enjoyable, and Eliza loved them. We noticed the resort next door has no shade at all, whereas ours is really well thought out and has lovely trees by the pool and beach that you can shade under. Eliza enjoyed watching a man ascend the palm trees to cut down stray leaves and coconuts.

We showered and Rob stayed with Eliza whilst she had a nap. During this couple of hours I read my book by the pool in the shade and enjoyed a pina colada (which was VERY strong and only about $14 Australian). By this point it was so hot out that I even got a bit too hot in the shade and had to put my feet in the water. After Eliza's nap we went to reception and confirmed our plans for later in the week, and checked out the other pool near our room. We had some cold drinks, Eliza enjoyed a mango smoothie and then went for another swim. She's very pleased that there are communal pool toys and balls to play with and had a grand old time playing with them up there.

Dinner tonight was outside facing the ocean which was lovely but still hot. We get a three course dinner included every night. Rob and I both ordered spring rolls, and Rob had Pad Thai for his main whilst I had Pad Si Ew. For Eliza we ordered fried rice from the kids' menu, but she didn't really want to eat anything and was in a funny mood tonight. I guess it's all the distractions of different sights and sounds, being a bit tired still and different food to home. There is a Canadian/Australian family that have met each other here from the Yukon and Sydney and they collectively have four little kids. Eliza is fascinated by the two nearest in age to her and just wanted to stare at them and chase them. It's funny too, one of the waiters came over and asked her for a cuddle. A year ago in Samoa she would go anywhere with the staff easily and smile. Now she points at us and says "Mama" and "Dada" and immediately shies away. Probably a good thing, she knows you (sadly) can't always trust people that are unfamiliar to you.

We ended up cancelling our dessert as we were all a bit hot and bothered, so headed back to our room instead and I typed this up while Rob and Eliza read books, played with toys and sang some songs. The clever girl sings along with animal noises to "Old McDonald" now. She is learning so much these days!!!

Love to all
Claire 
Xoxox

Journey to Koh Samui

Hi all from Koh Samui,

We’ve had a big week! I worked full time covering a friend at school this week, then took Eliza into the Anzac Day march and football match on Saturday (go pies!). Finally, on Sunday morning we left our place at 5am for our trip to Koh Samui and Singapore.

There was no traffic, and we got a carpark right near an airport bus stop. Things were going our way! And they continued to - the bus driver was thoughtful and considerate re Eliza and our pram, and so were the Singapore Airlines staff, checking our luggage quickly and befriending Eliza. We got some quick McDonald’s for breakfast and then headed through security. Before we knew it it was time to head to our gate. Everything takes a lot longer with a toddler! I ran into someone from school that was on our flight too, and then we were taken downstairs for priority boarding and to check our stroller. Eliza was so excited to see the planes out the window, and the good luck continued. Once we boarded, we had been given seats at the front of a section with extra leg room and bassinet, and the doors closed and the third seat was empty. So much room, yay!! This meant at times we could play on the floor or have Eliza in her own seat.

Eliza was a superstar just as she was at the footy. She had a nap on me, played with toys, did some drawings, ate snacks (and some of my lunch) and made friends all over the plane. She kept pointing to Rob and I and saying “mama!” “dada!” proudly so everyone knew who her Mum and Dad were. She barely complained or got upset at all despite having woken up two hours earlier than usual.

Our layover in Singapore went fairly fast. We passed the time by visiting the Butterfly House, having a snack and then going on travelators (Eliza thought these were amazing!). Then we boarded our second flight which was with Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ equivalent to Jetstar. It was surprisingly on time, clean and relatively comfortable. We got given some snacks and Eliza slept virtually the whole two hour flight across me. We even arrived 20 minutes early in Koh Samui.

Eliza was so fast asleep when we arrived that I carried her down the stairs onto the tarmac still asleep on my shoulder. We boarded a golf buggy style mini bus and she then woke up because the airport here is very “island life”. Planes were coming in and taking off right near us and she was absolutely fascinated. We then walked into the “terminal”..... this is a strong word! The buildings were all open air and outdoors. It was hot, and we hadn’t realised we needed to fill in a digital arrival card. This should tell you how busy I was last week as I’m always onto that type of stuff!! The internet wouldn’t work so we had to use a machine, and we somehow managed to put in my old passport number for my maiden name. The immigration officer was so chilled out and friendly that she let me through anyway (??!!). Imagine that happening at home!!! We then picked up our luggage and thankfully our hotel airport transfer was there waiting and even had a car seat for Eliza. She loved watching out the front window.

We got to our resort and from what we could see so far it's lovely. I'm glad we aren't staying in the main town as it looked very busy and touristy. We booked a holiday package so you don't get much choice as it's so cheap. But overnight we slept fairly well and then woke to bird noises. I've opened the curtains now and we can see the ocean, frangipanis and trees. It's lovely!!

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox