Beautiful orchids throughout the resort
There is an amazing thing that happens once you are airborne over Islamabad, making the ascent to leave. A huge weight lifts from your shoulders, you breath a bit easier and you can feel the tension leaving your body. This was especially true as we took off from Benazir Bhutto Airport this past Saturday night, en route to the island of Ko Samui, Thailand.
I don’t really know why it is that I always feel that way. I’m never particularly scared or uncomfortable in Islamabad, but there is always some sort of tension just beneath the surface. Or, maybe it’s just fun to go on vacation!
John and I were never huge vacation goers, so our frequent R&Rs are still a source of amazement to us! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were at the wonderful Tugu Resort in Lombok, Indonesia, or on home leave back in Arkansas.
We found a nice, quiet little resort on the island. If you picture the island as a clock, we’re at about 7:00. It’s lovely. The best thing is that I have time. Time to go to the gym without rushing. Time to surf the internet. Time to study Spanish (and there’s a lot of that going on). Time to read a book. Every now and then we pull on our swimsuits and walk out to the beach or sit by the pool. Or we sit in the outdoor restaurant reading while we watch it rain (there’s a lot of that going on and we love it!).
Or we go next door to the little beach bar and have a beer and feel the breeze. Ahhh!
John at the beach bar
In addition to the great atmosphere, we’ve enjoyed the spa at the hotel quite a bit, too. Salt scrubs, steam rooms, facials, massages. Nice.
The most exciting thing that has happened is that John pulled the crown off a tooth the first night we were here. Luckily it didn’t hurt and was fine until we went the dentist in a little town not too far from here:
John holding his crown (glad he didn't swallow it!)
Baan Luck Fun Dentist - not sure how fun it was
While we were in Lamai to fix John’s crown, I walked around a bit. There’s not a whole lot to see, just a little beach town. Before we returned to the hotel, we stopped for a beer and a bite to eat at Ta’s Cafe. Great pad Thai and coconut milk soup with shrimp – and cheap.
Lychee fruit
Yesterday we went to the tiny village up the road from the hotel where we had some more great local food. We also stocked up on some wine to bring back to the room. It was fun to sit at the outdoor restaurant there and watch folks coming and going. Locals carrying fruit and vegetables, as well as tourists going to the snake farm next door (we took a pass on that).
Village Entrance
Palms