Our Thai Adventure

So, being an animal lover, I was excited for our trip to Thailand because I knew that I would encounter some wildlife that I have never before encountered. And I have. Granted, there are the very familiar Mosquitos here, but not nearly as big as the crow sized, bitumen infused, mosquito-dinosaurs I recall from my years In Fort McMurray. They are, however, equally annoying. They do have these massive hummingbird sized bees here, I think they are bees, haven't been lucky enough for a close encounter. They are so big, they seem to cast shadows when they fly overhead! There are also tiny ants, everywhere. You tend to get used to the little buggers, they don't bite, and are harmless, so they really aren't a bother. When I say tiny, I mean pinhead sized. Itty bitty. No bitey. The other day, I saw a snake in the brush beside me on the road, it was a really pretty green and black, probably about 3.5 feet long, very skinny, and I got the impression it didn't care about me very much- which is the reaction one hopes for when meeting a wild snake on the road. Today I borrowed a mountain bike and left Caoimhe and Dallas for their nap, while I took off to the village to do some shopping and wandering. I decided to take a dirt road for a little part of the trip, to get away from the traffic, and I encountered a cow! That was very interesting! My brain seemed a little delayed when assessing the situation, could have been the heat, but it was, like, "oh wow, that is a huge animal...hmm..he is only about 10 feet from me..is that bad? Holy shit, it's a bull!?" Like I said, slow reaction, good thing it wasn't a lion. I mu st do some brain gym on my DS before our African safari trip! Anyway, I passed the cow, making eye contact in a "I totaly respect your space and have no intention of bothering you" kind of way. I think it understood. Then after shopping, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take the same road back. It was then that I learned that the bull** was tied to a post. I am not sure why, it wasn't a farm, there wer no houses around...nope, still don't know why. I maintained the same sentiment as before and it seemed even less interested in my presence.

Before I tell you about our encounter tonight, I must tell you about a comical evening in our bungalow early last week. W were in bed, Caoimhe fast asleep, and Dallas and I heard a strange sound coming from the side of the room. Now, in order for you to understand my level of concern, you must realize that I had watched an episode of Monsters Inside Me at the last resort- it was about flies laying eggs which hatched into larvae in people's bodies. One little beast actually ate a kid's eye from the inside out!? Wtf. Why do I watch these things? Dallas told me to turn it off, but I didn't listen. SO, here we are, listening to this sound, Dallas trying to shrug it off as a lizard, me- bug eyed, poking him, telling him that I had lizards as a kid and they NeVER made THAT sound! He decides to check it out, realizing that I am not going to drop it and he will probably get a decent nights sleep if he solves the mystery. There he is, flashlight in hand, lifting up luggage, peeking behind furniture, looking inside backpacks (he seemed a little freaked out at that part) but, of course, the noise stopped, and it was impossible to track down. As soon as he climbed back in bed, it started again! This little dance continued until we finally gave up, reconciling with the fact that if a freakish, skin infesting, creepy crawly was going to attack us tonight, he was going to do it while we sleep. I tucked in the corners of the bed, and settled in for a night sleep. Mystery unsolved. A few nights later, we are having our dinner on the patio and we hear the sound. We also see 3 lizards on the wall across from us and conclude that the sound is, in fact, a lizard's chirp. Dallas was right. I will give him this one, after all, it doesn't happen very often. Heeheehee!

So, tonight! I am conducting my regular mosquito massacre before turning the lights off for Caoimhe's bed time, and as I swat a skeeter on the wall, I become aware that I wasn't the only one with my eyes on the nasty little blood sucker- in the corner, where the wall meets the ceiling beam, i see cute little suckered feet sticking out, and beady little eyes, saying "wtf? That was dinner!" Sorry Gary (the lizard, of course), I would have served it to you on a silver platter if I had known, next time, buddy. I am pumped that we have our own little bug hunter in the room! Go Gary!

Anywho, there have been some other encounters, Caoimhe feeds the birds every morning by brushing pieces of croissant off of her high chair. And we have seen at least 5 different varieties of lizards, butterflies of every color, and jumping spiders (persistent little buggers, one that would NOT get off of me, he just kept jumping to a new part of my body!?). I am glad I am not super scared of bugs, people scare me more than any wild animal. When I was in the village today, there were some Thais spraying the underside of a moped seat with a hose, squealing and standing a good 6 feet away, even the men seemed scared. They were all pointing to the tree above and gesturing "effin huge" with their hands. I still don't know what they were so afraid of, but I know one thing for sure, if it makes a Thai person squeal (most Thais I have met are very tough, hard working people), it would probably make me run like hell away. I opted to stay on the other side of the lane and just carry on with my hunt for good deals.

Well, that is all for now, Im sure there are things I have forgotten to mention, but a glass of wine and a movie are calling my name. Dallas is gone to another fight night tonight. We have a relaxing day planned tomorrow, packing, then dinner on the beach, then we are on the 6am flight to Bangkok on Wednesday. The travel home should be interesting, given that Caoimhe has learned to crawl whilst in Thailand, but we are ready to get back to our normal. I am looking forward to cooking, playing with Charlie, and our own bed. It feels like we have been gone for ages!?

Lots of love and light to you and yours,
Sinead and Gary

• *upon retrospect, I realize that it was a bull, so I made changes accordingly

Well, Caoimhe is now in bed for the night and I just realized that I have not given an update on her development over the past week or so! Our little treasure has learned how to crawl! Yep, we are busier than ever chasing her around, keeping her out of trouble. She seems to have a deep affinity for breakable objects, plastic bags, and great heights. No biggie! Her second tooth has popped out, so she now has a couple tootners(as Dee would say) in her cheeky grin. She is learning what "no" means, but she doesn't seem to care for actually following the direction. Whilst trying to keep her from playing with the light switch behind our bed tonight, I said "no" and she simply laughed and waved at me, then carried on her merry way to the light switches...ruh roh...we may have a problem! When I actually lifted her away and gave a firm "no" she fake cried for a minute, then gave up..phew! That's not to say we didn't repeat the aforementioned steps about 8 times over afterthefact, but I am holding firm! If I have learned one thing in the classroom it is that kids have reeeeaaaallly good memories for that one or two times you went back on your "no" and then you're up the creek. Let's hope I can be this strong for the next 18 years!

She is stilll charming the pants off the locals, waving, smiling and she will even make people wave at her when they seemed to have no intention to interact with this child haha! She loves swimming,we were in the pool this afternoon practicing her "jump" from the side of the pool- chill out, grandparents, her "jump" is when I count to 3 and she slides her little arse off the wall of the pool into my waiting arms Tonight, she and I went for a dip in the ocean and played with the sand. You know, it's funny, sand still doesn't taste good after trying it for the 17th time, it's amazing that our brilliant little muffin hasn't figured that one out :p

We have definitely learned a few things about traveling with a little one. We had measured and planned her formula intake to a tee...or so we thought. What we didn't plan is that she would get a wee stomach bug for a few days and we would be taking her off solids and upping the formula. So, we started introducing a new formula last week, one scoop at a time, as we definitely not going to make it home with our similac. This is a little scary, as she takes Similac sensitive and it was the 5th formula we tried! The good thing is, we brought an alkaline stick to balance the ph and alkalinity in her water, so that is at least one constant from back home (we use alkaline water at home). She has dealt with the transition well, although there have been a couple diapers that we could have referred to our WHMIS training for handling, things seemed to have settled down.

We also have become moderately comfortable with traveling without a car seat. It was super scary in the beginning, but we don't travel far and the speed is relatively slow around the island, so we have become quite used to it. It's actually a little handy, don't hate me for saying it! I realize that a child is better off in a car seat, but it is not an option here. I haven't put her on a moped, however, that's where we draw the line!

Okay, better go, Dallas is back from his massage, all glowy and relaxed. We have dinner together on the patio most nights, so we are going to head out for our date on the patio.

Lots of love and light,
Snead

Okay, not quite the end, but we're getting close to the end of our Thailand adventure. I can't say I'm quite ready to go home yet, but we were just chatting about how we are almost "there." I haven't written for a week, since we moved to this new resort, but I have a good reason- instead if writing during caoimhe's morning naps, I have been going for daily Thai massages on the beach The next resort has a beach hut with Thai massage for 250baht (around $9), so Dallas and I have been going for massages everyday. I spoiled myself with an Ayurvedic massage treatment at the spa on Wednesday, and Dallas is at the spa getting his ayurvedic treatment now. This new resort, Zazen, is very different from the last place. It's our "spoil" and boy, is it a spoil! I won't bore you with details, but we are in heaven, on the beach, in a lovely bungalow.

We are now in an area called Bophut, which is a bit more...boutique? than the last area (lamai). We have done some great shopping in the village, and had an experience that, once again, proved that there are good people in the world! We were shopping on a beach street called "Fisherman's Village" and it suddenly seemed to become a total scorcher and Caoimhe was sweating buckets in her carrier. We couldn't find a place open with AC, it was still quite early in the day, so we were a little panicked as to how to catch a taxi on this street that was pretty much limited to walking shoppers and the odd moped. Dallas went up to a young shop keeper and asked him where to catch a taxi, I think our despair was palpable when he said "back down to the other end"- a loooong walk in the open sun. As we walked away, discussing ways that we could possibly cool the kiddo down, the young shop keeper pulled up on his moped. He told Dallas to get on, he would drive him down to the taxi stand and Dallas could come get Caoimhe and I in a taxi! Dallas jumped on, and Caoimhe and I found some shade under the awning of a closed shop. I soaked her with cool water from our bag, and in less than 10 min, Dallas was back with a lovely, air conditioned taxi. Apparently the young man stayed with Dallas at the taxi stand until a cab became available. He wouldn't take money for the good deed, so Dallas dropped a little thank you off with his shop assistant on our way past. Anyway, what a lovely guy! It reminds me of the many times that I have been driving past kids lugging up their school bags, up our mountain, because the bus doesn't go all the way. Many many times I have thought about stopping and offering them a ride, but I worry about the...well...potential lawsuit? I can see the castanet headline now...Why is it that the fear of a lawsuit prevents me from doing a good deed? What does it say about our culture? A waiter came up to Caoimhe at a restaurant yesterday and kissed her feet, she giggled, it was a really lovely moment. I turned to Dallas and said, "what if we were in Moxies, and you just went up to a kid in a high chair and kissed her feet?" seriously people, picture it....it would be weird, right? We automatically think "Pedo?" Anyway, it all just has me thinking...

Dallas had an interesting encounter that he suggested I share on the blog- The other night, Dallas went into Chaweng for some muay Thai fights. He took a cab and the driver was talking a lot of smack about how he used to be a champion fighter in Bangkok and how he would be willing to give Dallas some "one-by-one" lessons in kickboxing. Dallas kind of brushed it off, the guy seemed a little rough and there are big talkers in every country. He offered Dallas a lift back to Zazen after the fights, and Dallas said "how will I find you?" The guy said, "don't worry, I find you" Dallas though it was a little strange, but carried on into the fight to his ring side, sweat splash zone seat and settled in for some serious fighting. Well, guess who was the judge for the fights?! The taxi driver! And when he wasn't judging, he was reffing! I guess he knew the 6'1 bald, white guy would be easy to find in the crowd after the fight Dallas got his number on the way back, and if we ever get back to this island, Dallas has himself a private muay Thai coach at the ready!

I don't have a lot of time to write, Caoimhe is having her evening cat nap. I will write more over the next few days, we have had a lot of experiences-cool, fun, hysterical, strange, allllll of it. We went to the night market on Friday night, it was an absolute blast. Saw some fried bugs, grasshoppers, etc. I tried some street food, sweets. We had to buy a suitcase for all the little things we picked up- and we will be leaving a lot behind to make room!

Lots of love and light to you and yours,
Sinead

Okay, so here are some random things that we have found surprising or at the very least, entertaining, in Thailand. Many of my traveller friends have told me about some of the following observations, but witnessing them is an entirely different game!

- the food is SPIcY, even for a girl who coats her eggs with hot sauce!? Dallas and I were so sad today because we had to leave 2 full plates of food at a restaurant because they were just too damn hot for consumption! Granted, not all food is hot, and we have been pretty lucky thus far, but today was a wake up call that our palettes are still too weak to swing with the big kids
- an entire family of 4 can fit on a regular sized moped whilst mom eats noodles in the back. Oh, and none of them hold on to anything for support!? And I thought I was cool for balancing 3 of us on a norco when we were 11...we had pegs and were not flying down a busy ring road!!!
- pill contraception can be sold over the counter, without a prescription, for very little cost (approx $4 for a month's worth). Isn't it amazing that those poor pharmaceutical companies can still prosper while selling their product for such a reasonable price? Astonishing, I know.
- for having very little police presence, this island is remarkably safe?! When a mall store clerk needs to go for lunch or a break, they just put a string across the entrance to the store with a "gone for break" sign, and leave the store unattended. There are security officers in the shopping areas and patrolling hotel grounds, but they are lovely and friendly- the ones at our hotel stand at attention every time we pass, and play peekaboo with Caoimhe
- now this next one, I know sandy will say "I told you so!" but many white folks will never had heard about this, and I had never seen it in my life. Nearly every beauty product here has a "whitening" version that, I can only assume, bleaches your skin? Meanwhile people are basting themselves with oils, sitting in the ridiculous heat to get a color, Thais are whitening their skin with everyday products, like deodarant! Oh, this world is a funny place full of contradictions and vanity, all part of the fun!
- Thais like their donuts and pastries! There is a Dunkin' Donuts in the Tesco shopping center, and the bakery section in Tesco is massive- I don't even like donuts and I HAD to buy a few today!?
- it is really hard to get good coffee in Thailand, luckily I am a tea drinker and the tea is quite good!
- wine is kind of pricey, but there are a lot of Australian wines available for a decent price
- foreign travelers fail to pick up on societal cues and insist on going shirtless into the shopping center and beach cafes- which obviousy makes the Thai people very uncomfortable, but they are too polite to say anything. I don't know why this is surprising to me, but it is! My mouth continues to drop every time I see it
- you know it's effin hot when the local people say it's hot! It is on those days that we choose to shop indoors and have family time in our air conditioned room! The Irish pub is also lovely and cool, has great food, and even better drink- but we go there for the child, she just gets so hot....
- fisherman pants are the most comfortable pants in the world. Our Canadian-bought clothes are just too tight and synthetic for this kind of heat. I am now living in traditional Thai clothes, 100% cotton, loose and breathable! Ah...now if I could just figure out a way to rock this without wearing undergarments...
- there is a section in the grocery store with supplies for your shrine (every store and house seems to have a shrine for Buddha in front), as well as donation items for the monks (robes, cleaning supplies, writing materials)
- weather forecasts are bullshit. It keeps saying "rain" and we haven't seen a single drop since we arrived! We would welcome a rainstorm or two!
- this one may seem quite ordinary to some people, but it reminds me of my friend Kelly (hi Kelly!). We were in a coffee shop in Kelowna, with the girls in their strollers, and I apologized to a woman for Caoimhe being parked in the aisle as she tried to pass. Kelly said "don't say sorry, Caoimhe is a person too!" It was then that I realized that Kelly was right and perhaps I was following society's perception that kids are separate from us. I have always been annoyed when people say "kids these days" because WE are the people raising these kids!! We should be saying "parents these days!" Anyway, here in Thailand, most baby items are mixed in with the other items in the stores. For example, wipes are with the toilet paper, breast milk storage bags are with the ziplock bags, baby food is with the groceries, baby face cloths are with the towels, etc. they are not quarantined in their own area, they are part of the store. This may sound insignificant to some people, and may even be annoying to others, but to me it speaks volumes about the Thai culture and where children fit in Thai society. It rings true with the way every man and woman cannot seem to pass us without cooing or smiling at Caoimhe, some people even come to kiss her feet!? I have a feeling that there isn't a Thai translation to our phrase "kids these days"...
- translations can be funny. You have to wonder sometimes...today, I bought some peppermint balm in hopes to find a cheap replacement for the peppermint halo I use for migraines and headaches at home (it's $25 at home, this stuff is $2) They also sold some "Buddha Oil" with the promise to help with faintness- but I really bought it because it came in a cool bottle, in a funky box, for about 50cents. BUT the best part of the Buddha oil is the instructions, which read, "Use: Inhaling for relief of dizziness and faint, rub over for relief of flatulency, insect bits." No typos here folks, that is exactly what it says!! Dallas will not let me use it on him for "flatulency" Poor sport. Granted, not sure where to rub it for that ailment.

Anyway, off to bed. Caoimhe is quite the early riser in Thailand, so we usually hit the hay early. She is doing well, her first tooth is gleaming in her big grin these days and the second bottom tooth is moments away from making its appearance -hopefully. It only took a couple of days, but she pretty much has the same schedule of sleeping and eating as she does at home- kids are so much more adaptable than we give them credit for! Dallas is neary done his training, thank goodness! The ball pad of one of his feet literally came off yesterday. Gross. He basically tapes his feet together before class every day. His last day is Saturday, then I think we will get him in for some massages and TLC when we move to our new resort, Zazen, on Sunday. **for those of you who are following the news of the bombings in Thailand, know that I am watching very carefully and checking the Canadian government travel advisories a few times a day- they update their site with provinces to avoid, warnings, etc. Koh Samui is not on their warning list, the only part that could be hairy (thus far) is our trip through Bangkok on Feb. 29th. They basically waved us and our bottles of water, food, and formula through the last time, I doubt they will be so relaxed on our way back.

Lots of love and light to you and yours, Happy Birthday Thomas, thinking of you Mama Holzer,
Sinead xoxox

Good morning! Dallas, Caoimhe, and I wish you all a very happy Valentine's Day, whatever that means! We had an amazing day, although I am not sure "amazing" is the right word... We decided to go to a temple called Wat Khunaram, about a 10 min drive from our hotel. This particular Buddhist temple is special because it dispalys the mummified remains of a monk, named Luong Pordaeng. Pordaeng died while seated, in meditation, and, at his request, his body was encased in glass upon his death, which he predicted. It is believed that his presence serves as a reminder to local Buddhists that this life time is just part of our journey, that death is the necessary step that brings you to the next part of your journey, one step closer to nirvana. It's not far off from the catholic teaching, just replace the word "nirvana" with "heaven" Although Catholics don't necessarily think that we come back in human form again, at least not the Irish Catholics, who are more comfortable with the idea that they can come back and haunt anyone who pisses them off in this lifetime! Kidding! I jest! Sort of...

Anyway, Pordaeng also requested to be cremated, if his body did not "preserve" well but, amazingly, his body seems to have avoided the normal decaying that is expected in a deceased body. He also wears RayBan sunglasses, not to make light or for entertainment purposes, but they say it is either because his eyes did not preserve well, or did and it's super creepy, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer, either way, he wears sunglasses! Many practicing Buddhists on the island come to Wat Khunaram to make an offering to Buddha, the kingdom, and the scriptures, so his mummified body is surrounded by aromatic insence, flowers, and ornate artifacts and architecture. One of the customs of the Buddhist offering ritual is to put gold leaf on the Bhudda statue at a shrine or temple, so in front of Luong Pordaeng sits a beautiful large Buddha, dotted with shiny goldleaf offerings. It is something that a picture could not do justice- I did take some shots, but it felt...uncomfortable...disrespectful.. To take pictures of such a revered and beautiful sight.

What was particularly inspiring about our visit actually happened before we stepped into the shrine for Pordaeng. There were some ladies selling crafts and souvenirs in front and as Dallas and I browsed the crafts, I heard someone calling Caoimhe and I over, under an awning, to the side of the shrine. It was an elderly monk, with a smile that I couldn't begin to describe. He was obviously a monk from this monestary, surrounded with traditional artifacts and offerings. I gestured that I wanted my husband to come, I knew that Dallas would not want to miss this encounter, and while we waited for Dallas to pay for some souvenirs, Caoimhe and I sat in the shade, beside the monk. He began a blessing ceremony, dipping a long stick in holy water, then tapping it on each of our shoulders and the tops of our heads. As he performed the ceremony, he chanted, of course I have no idea what he said, but I could feel his well wishes and I was Very much aware that I was in the presence of something sacred. It was Ike the outside world disappeared, it was unreal. Seconds ago, I was surrounded by busy tourists, cameras snapping, cars passing, and people bartering, then wham. Silence. Just the uttering of a chant from a man who has probably chanted these words a thousand times before, even Caoimhe was still, just watching the man and taking it all in. He must have been over 70 years of age, with lines on every inch of his body, but he had the smile of an innocent child and crossed his legs in meditation stance like he was as limber as a 13 yr old gymnast. When he was done our blessing (stil not sure if that is the right word, but I will find out), he tied a white string bracelet on my left wrist, and one on each of Caoimhe's wrists. Then Dallas sat down and he performed the blessing for Dallas. He asked to hold Caoimhe, which of course we handed her over. I cautiously asked if I could take a picture, he kindly agreed, but as I stepped away to take it, Caoimhe started crying. I got the picture, tears and all. We had a little chat, with what words we could each understand, then thanked the man and walked back into the hustle and bustle of reality, out of his little sanctuary under his awning. Interestingly, as we walked out, speechless, glowy, awestruck, a gorgeous stray dog made a beeline for me and couldn't seem to get enough rubs and love. I don't know why this experience with the monk felt so special, I have been blessed by priests a hundred times, there was just something so sacred and special about this man and this place. We felt honored that out of the hundred or so tourists, he picked us. Or maybe we picked him. Don't know, but we will never forget it.

We checked out the mummified monk, bought some prayer beads from the monestary (they use the money to live and continue their studies), then headed to the Irish pub to take it all in Caoimhe has been teething pretty hard since last night, so I haven't had much time to write and process what has happened over the last few days, but that was some of it. I spent a good hour today on my own at the beach, I think it was the second time I have been away from Caoimhe since we left Canada!? I floated on my back, in the ocean, like a starfish for nearly an hour. Now that is fun!

Lots of love and light to you and yours, happy birthday to my brother on Friday, I hope you have an awesome day!
Sinead

PS if there was an "effin hot" choice for the weather on this page, I would choose it.