Thailand 22/01- 26/01

So we've been here four nights now and haven't really ventured from the pool, we go to the beach late afternoon for a stroll, but honestly, I'm living a bit in fear of when we have to move our asses and have a look around / do something, it's so easy as it is! 

The kids are getting into their sleeping pattern after a false start or two. On the second morning Ellie woke up at 7 and I just couldn't pull myself awake so left her with the iPad and a pair of headphones sat sniffing away very loudly, right by my head. By the time Joey woke I was up too, started to open the curtains and Ellie flipped her lid, she didn't want the curtains open, she didn't want milk, she did want milk, she wanted to stand up, she wanted to sit down... Stuff like that, so she got sent to her room, we checked on her about 30 seconds later and she was fast asleep, she didn't wake up for three hours! 

Our main daily activity is a walk to the beach late afternoon before dinner, these can be fairly entertaining. The first night we were just near the beach and Ellie started sniffing a wall announcing that it smelt strange! We looked up and just behind this wall was the hotel kitchen with a fan in the wall, so in fact she could smell the kitchen!

But every time we walk past this wall now, she's convinced it's the wall that smells! Joey does well on the attention front and I would actually say that he steals Ellie's thunder a little over here, they love him! He normally just has a vest on and is a sizeable baby so I think maybe very few people are used to such big blonde cuteness!

Although saying that... Never one to be upstaged, Ellie takes her baby jake along, baby Jake is well known among our close family and friends as I always refuse to describe him, wanting Ellie just to know that he's her baby and not "brown" baby. But in Thailand, I'm not sure that they have anything like it, literally, people burst out laughing and point at it! I'm quite chuffed she doesn't get why.

Last night when we were at the beach we decided to have a drink while it went dark, about 7pm, so we had two Singhas and Ellie had a Sprite (I kept it zipped as I'm always moaning about her sugar intake and feel guilty) so for about one and a half minutes we sat there feet in sand, enjoyed a nice cold beer, smiled at each other pretty chuffed and then... Ellie's sugar rush hit! She must have said "shall we play?" Fifty times and we just ran up and down to the sea over and over with no sign of her getting tired, Joey was set free from his pram after some considerable whining and kept climbing up this back of his pram eventually (don't get me wrong here, he was being watched at all times) he fell off, open eye first into the sand. We stopped the tears, which helped to be fair, and then Ellie wanted to play some more and Joey wanted to climb. We got the bill. Walking home we decided to stop off at Emmy's which had been recommended to us on our way into town by the people staying below us at Baan Puri, it was a very cute restaurant, busy, very importantly, and full of cool chunky wooden furniture, wooden floors, tree trunk tables, that sort of thing. Ellie was still on her sugar rush and walked up and down the steps over and over, found a rocking horse by our table and rocked back and forth at twice the recomended speed and then found a bouncer...Joey tried to join in, so more tears from both. The food came and Ellie wouldn't sit on her chair, only my lap (commencing come down) then wouldn't eat her food, only mine. Joey was fairly good but gave up with the food early and the tears came back. We ate pretty frickin quickly and I headed back to the apartment with Joey (running at top speed down the pitch black sand path) queue Joey turning angelic!! Need less to say, we desanded them, got them full of milk and into bed pretty bloody quickly so we could sit on the balcony with two lagers... 

Before we left, my brother in law Jack / big Jack said we should get a # to go with the blog. After last night we were thinking #doingitforthekids for no other reason than to remind ourselves after nights like that why we're doing it!!!  

Journey to Thailand and the first day (21st - 23rd January)

We headed off from the Woo at 3ish with Big Dave on board as he was bringing the car back. Never ones to have a straight forward life, the car's airbag light switched on as soon as we got on the motorway. Having spent a fair amount of years in car hire I am aware that ain't good and should go into dealer, however, being a Powell having previously travelled to Manchester airport as a child with my family, car started to make a loud noise so we turned the radio up, car broke down and had to get towed home missing the flight, I was conscious we should ignore it because these things don't happen twice!!! We did, and haven't heard from Dave about any dramas so hoping /assuming all ok.

Manchester airport was nicer than I remembered, we had a couple of lagers, got the kids into their PJs and mooched around (mainly trying to decide if we were going to buy the dirt cheap vodka so Jim could make his 007 drinks here, decided easier not to). Our flight with Etihad left on time, we were treated excellently, right from the word go, and had front row seats with fantastic leg room. The only problem being Joey is way too massive for a bassinet and the seats didn't have arms that go up and down so later in the flight Ellie became quite upset she couldn't lie down and lifting arms would have been useful. I didn't get any sleep, Joey got a few hours so that was good, Jim got a couple and Ellie probably had four or so. After being given the wrongest "breakfast wrap" I have ever eaten we got off at Abu Dhabi to switch planes. I was quite surprised it wasn't more regal, I found it a bit disorganised and shabby, I thought it would scream "hi, we're loaded here!" We got sent to a gate to board and then they switched it as the original plane needed to go back to Dusseldorf for the technicians to see, arriving at the second gate to be told "you need to queue better!!!!!" Luckily during all of this they have areas where you can borrow a pram from as ours was in transit so at least we didn't need to lug Joey around. 

We were delayed in boarding our Air Berlin flight by about an hour having switched planes, so I think we got on board about 9:15 local time (I think about 5:15 am UK) and by this time I'm done, I feel sick, tired, moody and I was sure it was getting harder to breath! I did see a guy with a full top row of silver teeth in the queue which made all of this fine!! Nuts! So we got on board, Joey went berserk, gave him a bottle, he fell asleep. I was finally drifting off myself when the pilot said we were going to have to go back to the terminal, the technicians wanted to look at it. I swear to god, if I had the energy, I would have cried at everyone! Any way, considering my mental state I decided it would be better to sleep, not really sure what happened and when but the plane took off just before 10 local time, which I think was about 6 UK and 1 Thailand. By this point I had no idea what time to go by, whether to feed Joey breakfast or lunch or what... Needless to say Joey woke up about ten minutes later and this flight was just generally hard. We had front seats again which was nice and the armrest between the two middle ones lifted. Joey would cry or sleep (only when food arrived, each and every time actually, that food arrived on the whole journey, he would have fallen asleep five minutes before just to make eating a nightmare) there was no in between, it pretty much sucked, luckily the twenty minutes or so sleep that I did get did the job so I wasn't feeling too bad, plus, being in daylight worked. 

Eventually we got into Phuket about an hour late, I went out to find our lift and remembered instantly the craziness that is Thai airports on arrival, everyone wanting to drive you or book rooms, or anything for a quick buck. Head down, I dragged Ellie through the crazy, luckily she decided to start doing her pretend falling over jelly legs routine (brill) so that added to the fun! We found our driver and headed off on our 40 minute journey. Our apartment is lovely, nice and spacious, good quality furnishings, view over the pool, just great. I suppose Joey's nosiness would make everywhere hard work at the moment so we've had to move some objects to the top of the kitchen cupboards but generally, not much clutter.

We did go for a little walk out following directions from reception, to get water, we got sent down a sandy path with a lot of cheeses music at the end, but literally, it was pitch black, you couldn't see a thing, and there were just hedges either side, you know the kind of road, like the ones that the Sun Newspaper tells you not to walk down if your receptionist tells you to on your first night in Thailand as it's a set up to rob you because you haven't emptied your bag of all of your cash yet... Just like that, anyway, I was nervous but Jim went ahead and literally, 15 meters away around a slight corner, there's a small strip of shops and bars etc! I am so dramatic! Ellie was quite anxious too, it's all very different to the UK and also it was dark so didn't like it and was a bit quiet. So we walked up there, got Singha and water and headed back down dodgy path, luckily making it home!! It took 23 hours door to door, not quite sure how that happened but hey ho. Kids went down ok ish at 10:30 in the end,but Ellie was up at 12:30, waking Joey who went into full scream mode, did the old "as soon as you think I'm fast asleep you'll take me back to my cot and I'll wake everyone back up" thing, so backed down and he stayed in our bed which was when, I'm not so proud to say, he learned to jump and was wide awake!! It was three by the time he was 100% dead to the world! Ellie was back up at 5 thirsty and I got back up at 5:30 to give her calpol for her cough. Everyone did then manage to stay quiet until 8 when I woke up to find Joey sat up in bed laughing at me - the cutest wake up ever. I put the terrible night down to being one I would have longed for the night before so hoping a bad first night and everyone getting settled. 

Our first day was nice, I opened the blinds in the morning and Joey spent a full minute just sitting there and absorbing it, when I eventually had to go and wake Ellie up I opened our bedroom blinds and she was gobsmacked! We had a nice breakfast at the on site restaurant here (our accommodation is Baan Puri in Bang Tao (I think) and it's probably 60 or so privately owned purpose built appartments around a pool, Gym and restaurant with a reception, most of which are let out to holiday makers so it means we have a two bed, modern, nicely decorated apartment with a kitchen, next to a pool, for about £60 a night), we then spent the rest of the day around the pool which was nice and quiet, the only complaint being Joey's poor knees crawling around, although he's walking a few steps and getting more confident and then headed into Bang Tao about 5 minutes away and had a walk along the beach. Typical Thai area consisting of the odd modern building, randomly built shacks, bars, restaurants, shops all with people just sat outside. Over the odd drain cover which stank. Brilliant if you know it, scary for Ellie, she's still not 100% comfortable. We finished off the day with a trip to the beach  and a delicious meal at the restaurant on site. We've had the perfect first day, just looking forward to doing absolutely nothing now!!!

Getting ready for the off

So obviously the week is flying by at an alarming rate. We're starting to move clothes and various holiday objects from room to room, hoping deep down that counts as some form of packing and organization. The kids are naturally both becoming ill with a cough and a cold ready to peak on the plane and really give other passengers a reason to hate us and we're heading out for a family lunch today to say bye for now to everyone. We have a lot of cleaning to do, fine tuning Joey's toy selection, actual packing, planning for objects / medicines / food for Joey (as he's an infant, he isn't given food..) to take on board, fingers to be kept crossed that the iPad doesn't break, talking Jim into agreeing my straighteners will be a beneficial item to take (we don't need all that frizz in this world) and my daily obsession with the fact I want to measure and log Ellie and Joey's height and weight on Tuesday and I know I'm going to forget. I could of course, do it today, but it won't be the same. Update from final day in UK, past couple of days have been frantic cleaning, packing, unpacking, repacking, reorganising... You can imagine! We're ready for the off! Kids in plane outfits, Joey's t shirt is a cute Little Bird one with airplanes and Ellie wore her amazing birthday present off Liz and Soph, a very practical pair of shorts with cute tights set (tights will be removed in warmer climates). I've weighed us all, ladies obviously don't reveal their weight although I will admit that thanks to his sweet toothed office, mine is a fair amount less than Jim's! Ellie weighed in at 2 st 9 and Joey 1st 11 (although he wriggled a lot, not sure I trust the scales!). Off we pop then, Manchester Airport is our first destination!

Opening blog...

In 2012 Jim and I quit work and planned a trip around Europe with Ellie, to return to the UK in September ish and then head on the South East Asia, Australia, Hawaii and so on. So we left work on the Wednesday, headed to my mum and dad's in Torquay on the Saturday to spend our last night with my folks, sisters and nephew and the three of us left for Plymouth on Sunday 22nd April 2012 on our big trip, first stop Santander. It turns out... Four of us got on that ferry! Bless our little Joey, he changed our plan!

With this in mind, we just stayed in Europe, spending ten weeks in Mallorca, with Jim's oldest friend Mark (Raybumbum as Ellie calls him) and his lovely wife Ellen, off to Italy on the ferry trip from hell, Switzerland, France and home. During this time I decided to write a journal, I loved it and hated it all in one. Day in, day out I had to up date it and it's a great record of what we did but it was such a pain. I was pregnant... So sober... So it was a good hobby to have. 

Here we are now, 2014, and we're going to finish the trip off. We are flying to Phuket in 6 days, then Sydney two weeks later to see Jim's younger brother who he hasn't seen now in over two years. We'll be in Australia for 7 weeks before we fly to Singapore. After that, we have no plans until a flight out of Phuket on the 9th of April to come home! So being a glutton for punishment, I've decided to become a "blogger!" So I can update my "journal" daily and keep my friends and family up to date. I'm hoping I can attach pictures and make each entry current and more visual.

While we're away I'm going to be missing my bestest friend's third baby arriving which I'm incredibly gutted to be missing but gives me a great thing to look forward to come back to and I can't wait to meet him. Also, it's Boo / Rachel, my baby sister's 30th!!! And I won't see her get that first wrinkle and grey hair:(. Ellie will be leaving nursery and all of her amazing new friends. She/we have had such an amazing term there and it's given her so much confidence (and a little extra attitude with the new information gained from new friends), fingers crossed, when we get back, they'll be able to offer her a space back and she can slot back in.

This trip will obviously be an amazing experience, it's what we love doing. I was telling someone today who was asking if I was married, we aren't bothered about marriage, this is what we do instead, I would far prefer to spend money on this than one day! I am nervous about flights, I'm not a nervous flyer, but I'm nervous that Joey is flipping massive, strong and stubborn and he'll be a nightmare through the flight, especially as he's too young to get his own seat. I'm also nervous that the flight is through the night and if no one sleeps, my whole family will turn against me and against each other... We just have to get there, realise it's just a few hours, let go of any tired strops and get our toes in the sand with a singha! We have several things to get organised, out of the 11 weeks, we only have about four and a half weeks of confirmed accommodation! We have also just clicked tonight that we need a baby back pack thing to put Joey on as we won't be able to have nice beach walks with his stroller. Jim has to get his jabs and naturally, we've got to have a party to celebrate going on a really long holiday! So the family are up this weekend to eat and get us organised.

I feel a bit like my sister Boo did on the day she moved house to a house about 6 doors down the road, she knew loads needed to be done but couldn't quite see where to start. We just opened up the boot in my car in the end, ridiculous as  it sounds, and just drove forward and backwards A LOT, I need to just get some plans of what I need to be doing and get on with it, I have started washing clothes and dragging suitcases out of the attic today so it's a start, having completed the far more important purchasing and wrapping three months worth of birthday presents and cards (priorities not quite right!) and everywhere is clean (in the morning before Ellie gets back from nursery and Joey wakes from his nap, Groundhog Day style)

I think I will regret starting this as I can't get out of it now! Happy reading, I hope you enjoy and I hope I, and the kids enjoy looking back in years (I'm pretty sure jim won't read it, maybe in twenty years he'll have a little look).