So we are at the halfway point of our travels -- six months! We have been to Portugal, Spain, Berlin, the Cascade Mountains inWashington State, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and we are now in Koh Lanta, an island in southern Thailand, less developed than some of the better known beach towns and islands. We heard about Koh Lanta from a young man we met on our cooking class bus in Hoi An,who told us that this island is a little quieter and very nice. He was right.
So we have spent the last 12 days (10 days in Phuket) sitting on beautiful beaches, reading and sleeping and swimming and eating. I know, that may not be kind to some of you who are still working. But after Vietnam, we really did need a break. Susan said that this is the most relaxed Christmas she has had in over 35 years. Being Jewish, she had a little experience of Christmas with goyim friends with whom she grew up. But when it came to being the uber-Santa Claus, she had no peer in our family. From gifts to stocking stuffers to having a nice tree, she was going to make it the best Christmas we could afford. Every Christmas. And on Christmas Eve, we would drink Scotch (later Irish Whiskey, thank you, Kevin!), wrap presents, and watch "It's a Wonderful Life". All too often we identified closely with the limited means of the Bailey family.
So this Christmas Eve, we laid on the beach. In the evening we got a wonderful Thai dinner, then had a few drinks and went home and watched "It's a Wonderful Life". Thank you, Netflix. We did do a four way video chat with our kids on (their) Christmas morning, which was cacaphonous but really nice, at least for Susan and me. Somehow, Susan did not miss the stress of a USA Christmas.
So: a quick trip summary to this point:
Air miles: 25, 690
Walking miles: 150 (El Camino) -- plus a lot of walking everywhere
Hotel/Airbnb beds: 44
Boat beds: 1
Airplanes: 22
Other modes of transport: more boats, sleeping buses, train, taxis, bicycle taxi, regular bus, ferries
As the primary planner of the trip, it has gone well. The worst transport experience we have had (besides the Vietnam evisa near death - See post #13) is planes leaving and arriving an hour or so late pretty regularly in the USA and Europe. The planes in backward Vietnam and Thailand? Right on time so far. My biggest glitch was covering for a 3-day mistake on dates between Hanoi and our Airbnb in Phuket. We ended up at a sweet family-run hotel in Phuket, Casa E Mare, for three days. A good save.
I will say that there are so many elements to this kind of travel that you will not get everything right. Our biggest mistakes so far have been with the country e-visas. I simply did not know about needing one for Australia. With all the research I did, I still do not know how that happened. And our late filing for Vietnam came close to disaster. Hopefully, we have learned our lesson - we filed for Cambodia 10 days before we head there to see Angkor Wat and we will do the Japan e-visa in the next day or so.
I suspect the previous posts have indicated that this trip has been beyond my hopes in terms of experiences and sights and joys. I am just amazed that we still wake up every day looking forward to what will happen next. From finding the right place on a beach, to looking for a restaurant that is not typical tourist fare, to picking excursions to learn more about an area or a country -- we seem to find our rhythm in each place and each of us contributes to the choices, so the good results seem to come from luck and chemistry. There was no guarantee of that, except that we have been together for 41 years. But still, I was anxious about how it would work.
We have both lost weight on the travels. Very little snacking and lighter meals particularly in Asia. We have not excercised except a lot of walking and a bit of swimming. Susan has had a few bouts of stomach issues over the 6 months. I got nailed badly just two days ago by some food bought in a rush at the ferry terminal and am almost recovered. I think Susan enjoyed (just a little) seeing me incapacitated for once.
So, New Years in Koh Lanta? A blast, of course. The resort next door had a dance party and the DJ was playing trance and EDM music from about 7:00 p.m. To the right of the DJ there was a screen with projected images which were a lot of fun to watch. Folks could go behind the screen and project their shadows. Fun. There was a "fire show" on the beach at about 8:00 p.m. where a couple of men twirled sticks and ropes and other fire-wielding instruments to music. There is an open-air shop (a table, really) on the beach called "High Siam" selling alcohol and weed, which was doing a brisk business. Susan is very happy here. We danced for a while and then I ran out of gas and we went to bed about 10:45 p.m. And then the fireworks started at midnight. Blasted us out of bed, we ran to the beach and caught most of the show. And then the music started again and went to about 3:30 a.m., with the bass sounding like it was coming out of our bathroom. It was a New Years Eve that we will never forget.
Sunset in Koh Lanta
Fireshow on the beach
We hope you are all well and that 2023 is good. The last few years have been so tough on so many people and businesses. We know how lucky we are, both for this trip and the friends and family who support us. Stay well! Much love, Dick & Susan
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