Krabi: See Ya Again. Soon

Krabi is beautiful. Serene. Magical! The first time we saw the beach, it was like coming to an enchanted place--the day was new, the sky was cloudy, the water cool, and the whole place was enveloped in mist sprayed by the waves that crashed on the shore. I stood on the shore entranced, my entire being in total surrender to the Majestic Being who created the surreal beauty before me.

A pristine paradise to unwind and relax. A wonderful place to explore. Very few tourists, and the good kind I guess, because the locals are still friendly, the Thai way--unobtrusive and polite. Life is slow and laid-back, my kind of life.

We have to go back. One day. Soon. When Annie is old enough to play in the sand and laugh at the coming and going of the waves; when she can wear a life vest and ride a boat to explore the islands. That won't be long, no. She is growing like a weed and I have a feeling that before I know it, we'll be back there.

One day. Soon.

Now in Krabi

Our lil Annie was a darling throughout our whole travel to Krabi! In the taxi on our way to the airport, she had her hands folded daintily as she sat quietly with her daddy, observing our faces until she fell asleep. She woke up sometime when we were at the pre-departure lounge and was just her usual self, quiet but bright-eyed and carefully scrutinizing the unfamiliar new things around her. We didn't wait too long before boarding was announced but by that time, our baby was sound asleep again. You bet I was crossing my fingers the whole time we were getting settled in the plane, silently willing her to stay in dreamland so she won't feel her ears pop when the plane takes off. But no, oh no! My heart sank when she was jerked awake by all the noise around her, people walking to their seats, overhead bins opening and closing, cabin crew asking if we needed assistance, etc, etc. MY man handed her to me, I had to get myself ready to feed her in case she cries during take off, and although I felt my stress level gradually increasing, I put on a cheery face and talked to her calmly while the plane cabin crew prepared for take off. Why was I stressed out? Well for one, I was concerned that she might refuse to feed because she drank a full bottle not long before we boarded the plane. And mostly, I didn't know what I would do if she started bawling and I couldn't comfort her. I didn't want to disturb the other passengers okay, and hey, I'm normal, I would be very uncomfortable if they shoot out glaring looks at us because of her.

She almost made it. Almost. She was alternatively sucking on her fingers and my knuckle, seemingly unaffected by the air pressure. For a few minutes. Then just before the plane reached the cruising altitude where air pressure doesn't make the ear pop, she suddenly burst out crying. I hurriedly put her in a feeding position and to my relief, she latched on after a few seconds. A few more whimpers and several sucks later, she fell asleep. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

Just as the weather forecast said, it was cloudy and overcast when we landed in Krabi. Even then, as we walked down from the plane to the baggage claim area, we could see the place is beautiful from the wall-to-wall clear windows of the airport. Deja vu. The place kind of reminded us of New Zealand. Thick, lush trees bordered the runways, and oddly-shaped mountains stood straight and tall in the background. A cool fresh breeze greeted us as we walked out of the airport to the parking lot.

We are happy with our hotel--the airport transfer was good and efficient, the staff are polite and hospitable, and our room is spacious and relaxing, looks exactly the way they show it on their website. Rain fell just when we were getting ready for bed, and most of the night, we could hear it pouring, coupled with thunder and lightning. I just loooove the sound of rain! Perfect way to end the night. And start our vacation :D

Yipee Yay!

The search has come to a close. It took me a week but I'm happy and satisfied with my find. We've made bookings and it's final. We're going to Ao Nang Beach, the famed best all-round beach destination. We're staying at Sala Talay Resort & Spa, a boutique hotel right by the beach (actually at Ao Nang Beach, beach hotel means several meters from the beach because there's a beach road separating hotels from the beach). Since island-hopping and other outdoor activities are just not possible for us right now, I had to make sure the hotel has beautiful and relaxing grounds for us to enjoy. I prayed hard for this, and as usual, when it comes to planning all the details of our vacations, God did not fail me. We're getting everything we want... beautiful scenery, room spaciousness, wi-fi access, free baby cot,airport transfer, etc. for a bargain price. Buy 2 nights and get 1 night free not a bad deal, right? ;D

Vacation: Krabi.

As usual, I'm hit by the travel bug. Yes, again. As if I have no baby, yeah? Ha ha ha! What can you expect from one who loves to travel but hasn't gone anywhere for already one year?! No, I cannot say I already know every crack and stain of our walls from being so confined for so long, but the itch to get out is there. And it's not getting any lesser. As my baby's sleep, and my sleep, is getting sweeter and sweeter each night, my longing to explore the world is also becoming deeper and deeper.

So what else should I do if I happen to visit Thai Airways' website (where tickets are always far beyond what we can afford) and suddenly chanced on tickets that are even cheaper than that of the no-frill airlines? Yes, of course (that's Roo's new expression this week! ;D) I keep clicking! And clicking. Until I found myself with a confirmation email that says we have tickets to Krabi!

Ha ha ha! Krabi! With a baby? Yeah, I am crazy! Believe it or not, I realized that only hours after I bought the tickets, and right before bedtime! Yup, you guessed it right. Sleep wasn't sweet that night. One thought after another came. The thoughts evolved into worries. Sigh. I've really got to find out where they sell those "nothing" boxes. So we're flying. So I got rid of the "car seat" crying problem. But what about all the stuff we need to bring for baby Annie? The steriliser? Remember? The stroller? And even if we're not driving to the island, when we get there, we'd still need the car seat. Baby's bath tub, my pillows (yes, I bring my pillows when we go places because the hotel's pillows are usually too high for my neck, gives me neck strain), MY man's heavy cameras, all the baby stuff... How will we lug all these things? Turns out it would be way, way easier for us to just go somewhere near because we can drive our car and bring the whole kitchen sink!

More worries, I booked a late afternoon flight. We arrive there six pm. That's Annie's bedtime. And she doesn't sleep well during the night when we don't follow her schedule. Then I find out the airport is like 45 minutes away from the beach hotels. More worries...drive in unfamiliar territory with the kids at night? The white sand beach, Railay Beach, is accessible only by boat. Can it get crazier than this? You see how much of a worrywart I am??!

Before I became a mother, it was already my nature to worry. Now I'm much, much worse. Borders paranoia sometimes. Good thing I'm married to someone opposite. So in the middle of the night, MY man, while burping Annie, talked me out of them worries. We will make the most of the experience. We bought the tickets, so let's think of enjoying the whole thing. We will travel light (which means no pillows for me, right?). We will arrange for airport transfer. And no, we will not stay at Railay Beach this time. We can do this, my love.

All right. We can do this. I have since stopped worrying and I am now actively looking for a good hotel. Fairly new (read: clean and dust-free). Relaxing ambiance. Near the beach. With free internet. Free baby cot. One that offers airport transfer services.

This is going to be one memorable birthday and anniversary celebration. Can hardly wait!

Heart Disease Eh?

My little man loves to eat anything crunchy and crispy. So he always asks our helper to cook him fried stuff. And indulge him she did. She cooked fried fish, fried chicken, fried beef, fried vegetables. Anything she fried to keep him happy so he'll eat with gusto and finish his food faster than he usually does. So much so that we told Roo that if he keeps eating fried food like that he'll eventually get heart disease. He shrugged that off and insisted that he loves to eat fried. Period.

Well, one day, out of the blue, while the helper was frying food again, he announced, "No more fried stuff, okay, auntie?" The helper nodded okay but didn't think that he was serious. So the next meal, while she was preparing to fry yet again, the little boy suddenly burst out crying. Not just any quiet sobbing. Before I knew it, he was bawling and shouting, "I told you no more fried stuff, auntie! I don't want to get heart disease!" He came running to me and cried his heart out, telling me what his auntie was about to do again. Mommy, auntie T is cooking fried fish again. I'm really going to get heart disease from all the fried food! While I consoled the little boy, our helper hurriedly changed the menu and when the little boy noticed that she didn't continue on with the frying, he dried his tears, smiled, and resumed his play.

Then yesterday, apparently missing his favorite food, he quipped, "Auntie T, it's okay to fry once in a while. Just once in a while, okay?"

On Dreams and Insecurities

I was on my way to school. I was supposed to catch a jeepney. I was with my friends and I remember telling them my stop. The next thing I can recall was the feeling of frustration as I suddenly found myself stuffing laundry into a bag full of hangers. The bag was already bursting at the seams, and I still had books to put in it. It's like the more I try to fit the books in, the more clothes there seemed to be. I was in a state of panic as I know I had to be in class but there I was, stuck with all the laundry in the middle of nowhere.

Another time, I was in the classroom. My teacher announced a quiz and as my classmates scrambled to get paper, I was panicking because I didn't study for the test. How come I didn't know we were going to have a quiz? I remember opening my book really fast, and trying to cram whatever I could into my brain while everybody else was already writing their names on the paper, ready to start.

Still another time, my classmates were excitedly telling me about their project. We were discussing their work when one of them turned to me and asked me where my project was. It was only then that it occurred to me that I hadn't done anything! And the deadline was only a few hours away! I remember trying to come up with something, but the more I tried, the more I realized that I had no clue as to what I was supposed to do! As usual, I was panicking because I just don't know anything about it.

My dreams (or are these nightmares?) occur in different places, different settings. The characters change, sometimes I'm with my classmates in grade school, sometimes my friends in high school, and several times, the people in it were from university. One thing constant about these dreams are the feelings of frustration and panic. They're so vivid that I'm jerked awake with my heart racing. The dreams seem so real that it takes me a few minutes after I wake up to realize that they were just that--dreams! And they're becoming more frequent, used to be just once in a while, but now it's like every other night I have a dream of this kind--the kind where I'm always in school, but never able to do anything I'm supposed to do in school.

So does this mean I want to go back to school? Are my insecurities surfacing and showing themselves through my dreams? Probably. I've been yearning to study again, to engage my mind in learning things other than raising children. Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing, I'm having fun watching my kids grow. But I won't be completely honest if I don't admit to a tiny part of me that sometimes wishes I'm somewhere else, doing something else. When that time will come, I do not know. In the meantime, I am determined to stay at home with my children and live life with its ups and downs, with them and for them. I am after all preparing them for the Kingdom, and that to me, is of the utmost importance.

On My Princess

I remember daydreaming about my own little girl even before I got pregnant. I wondered if she would be as active and full of life like her kuya (big brother), or if she would be a totally different personality, quiet, prim and proper. In a previous post, I mentioned how nice it would probably be to have another child in the house who would just play quietly in a corner, a welcome change from the chaotic and messy state our place is always in.

Well, our little princess is now three months old. She's a preemie--born about a month too soon--so her adjusted age would be two months. She has blossomed from a sleepy, tiny newborn into a robust, healthy infant. Her good appetite and ability to sleep through all the noise her brother makes have enabled her to catch up with her weight, and catch up pretty well at that! I have no idea anymore as to what her developmental milestones should be at her age (I'm not as bookish about this as I was with my firstborn) but just the fact that she's now very bright-eyed, alert, and interactive are enough to ease my worries about her being born prematurely. Baby Annie wakes up with big smiles in the morning, and coos and 'talks' to us, her eyes focused intently on our faces the times she is awake during the day. She can lift her head effortlessly, and yesterday I even caught her trying to sit up on her own. When read to, she puts her hand together, her body all tensed, her toes curled in rapt attention as she looks at the pictures of the book, cooing every now and then as if she understands the story. She responds to her big brother's adoring looks and cuddles with her toothless grin and follows him around with her eyes as he moves around the house during his play. I just love every minute I spend with her--it's delightful to touch her soft, silky skin, and breathe in her sweet baby scent! Needless to say, my panic at not being able to bond with her right at birth is long gone, and I am head over heels in love with my princess!

And like they all say when you're blessed with a precious child, I don't think I'll ever be the same again.