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| Dustin & Rina in a tuk-tuk |
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| Life will not always be like this little one. |
Our dear friend Dustin turned 30! How do you celebrate such a momentous occasion when living in Hong Kong? You fly to Thailand, naturally.
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| Cute baby, ugly passport. |
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| Lil B in airplane bassinet |
Eight of us (plus baby) rented a villa in Phuket for a long weekend in May (May 2-4 at home, Buddha's birthday in HK). Amazing. It was lil B's first flight so there was some prep work in terms of getting a passport (hideous photo of an otherwise cute baby), getting his visa (oops, missed that step) and figuring out what to pack (oodles of baby stuff). Luckily HK customs was pretty forgiving of our illegal son being allowed back into HK without a proper visa.
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| The boys: Foley, Lil'B, Dustin, Rhys |
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| The Girls: Natasha, Heather, me, Rina, Beth |
In our crew were the bday boy Dustin & his wife Rina, their visiting friend Heather, our engaged Brits Natasha & Rhys, the hilarious wild-child Beth, Foley, Lil'B and moi. A stellar group of friends and a baby.
Being a 30th birthday celebration, the general scene wasn't typical for a 10 week old baby. However the beautiful thing about little babies is that they adjust. He napped on the villa sofa, took his 'bath' in the shower, and slept through the late night drinking and partying happening around him. He even slept in a couple of mornings. Best. Baby. Ever.
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| sleep in... zzzzzzz... |
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| 100% UVA protection |
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| Not bad for a first swim! |
Our days were pretty relaxed and lazy around the villa. It was Brennan's first swim in a pool... sooo cute. This mom *may* have gone a little overboard with the sun protection. We played cards, swam, napped and ate. Granted, Mike and I had a slightly different weekend than our friends; with far less drinking, less sleeping, and more poopy diapers, but it all worked and we all had a great time. I took one night 'off', when Mike fed lil'B formula and I participated in the nights activities... a fun highlight for me until the 6AM wake up.
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| YUMMY thai food! |
A few things that make Thailand one of my favourite places:
1) The truly kind people. I wasn't even worried when two of our friends went 'missing' for a night. After a wee bit too much sauce, they got lost and couldn't find their way home. In most countries this would be cause for concern, but in Thailand you just know some locals will eventually help them find their way home. To generalize, the people we have found to be caring and sincere.
2) Delicious Food! Who doesn't love Thai food?
3) Above and beyond service (ESPECIALLY when compared to HK, which is NOT service oriented). A guy at our favourite restaurant would drive us home after meals and even came to pick us up in the rain without asking for a penny (consequently, we ate there a lot).
4) Lanterns! A beautiful thai tradition to light lanterns on the beach and release them. We didn't do this last time Mike and I were there, so I was glad that we did it all together this time.
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| Beth & I with lantern |
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| Natasha & Rhys with lantern |
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| The Foley's with lantern |
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| Dustin & Rina with lantern |
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| Taken by Mike Foley... those certainly aren't my feet. |
Finally, here are some pictures of the beach, random fun times, and our lovely villa on a hill...
It was a great holiday we were happy to spend with such great friends. Thank you for celebrating your 30th with us Dustin!
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| Taken by Mike Foley. |
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| Living room with walk out to pool deck |
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| The kitchen |
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| The pool with a view |
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| Electric Circus tuk tuk... complete with black lights and pounding bass. |
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| Natasha, me, Rina, Beth |
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| The beach at night. |
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| Auntie Beth, Brennan & Foley |
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| Some people are tough to impress. |
A few things that make Thailand one of my favourite places:
