To Thailand!
Like a lot of people, we’ve been dreaming of travel. After all, a large part of the reason we moved out to Guam was so that we could explore Asia. After navigating stacks and stacks of paperwork and entry requirements and covid tests (thank you, Tim, for tilting at the bureaucratic windmills!), we got on a fight last night and arrived in Manila. We are now mid-way through what you could call an extended lay-over or a very brief visit to Manila, and in a few hours we’ll board a flight to Bangkok and then on to Phuket. Tim has a week-long free-diving conference there and the kids and I are going to explore the beaches and temples and foods and beauty of the island. We’ll keep you posted along the way!
p.s. I’m trying to get more nimble with the blog posts, which means I’m experimenting with letting go of a little bit of control. I want to figure out how to find a balance between experiencing the trip and reflecting on it…
How absolutely exciting!!! I can’t wait to see your pics and posts so I’m glad you’re attempting to be “more nimble” with your posts.
So that’s where Guam is in relation to both the Philippines and Thailand! Thank you for the map for reference! Love that. I’ve even been to Thailand and don’t remember that was the shape of the country, which countries border it, or that it has very little actual coastline compared to the rest of its landlocked borders. And wow! Burma/Myanmar got all the coastline!
“Sir Duke of the flowing robes” hahaha!
A “week long free diving conference”??? Whoa… what on earth will they talk about for that long?
One of the things that absolutely blew me away in Thailand were the fruit sculptures. Unreal… That anyone would spend that much time carving fruit so intricately and beautifully is a thing to behold. I don’t know how long those sculptures can be displayed before they brown or rot so one is amazed by the incredible artistry and planning put into something completely fleeting. One false slip of the knife and all your work is ruined. Those knives are like exacto knives. I bought one as a souvenir incidentally but never used it for much though I aspired to be able to make better garnishes. I hope you guys get to see some of those sculptures! I think they might be at large hotels that do afternoon tea and that sort of thing. I wonder if these master fruit carvers are so good at what they do that it’s no big deal for them because I cannot imagine doing one of those sculptures for hours on end and then not crying when it has to be thrown into the compost at the end of the day or a few days.
Most of all, I remember the sweetness of the Thai people that I interacted with.
Hey, Chini! Tim’s been training up for this conference for months, including a bunch of online training. From what I overheard, it sounded very technical. I’m guess that they would have plenty to talk about. But also, it looks like at least half of the week will be going out to amazing dive sites.
Today will be all about getting ourselves settled in and starting to explore!
I’m so glad to see your blog again! That means new adventures to hear about. Sir Duke now has the robe to match his crown from yesterday. Your search for balance will be a challenge. I hope you are happy with the result. Your thoughts and the pictures are always fun to follow along. Enjoy it all!
Thanks! Life seems to be about constantly searching for a balance!
Thanks for including me in your blog. Vicarious travel is the next best thing to being there.
It’s fun to share it with everyone!