Phuket

Since Tuesday, May 1st is Labor Day here in Malaysia, my kids were out of school on Monday and Tuesday and Chris had a holiday on Tuesday so we decided to go to Phuket, Thailand.  Unfortunately, direct flights from Penang to Phuket aren't everyday so we had to leave on Friday and come back on Monday.  The kids weren't too sad about missing an extra day of school. 

Once we arrived, we had a van take us the 40 minutes to our hotel where we were greeted with cold drinks and leis.  The resort was beautiful.  There were 6 pools and it was right on the beach.  Luckily, we were able to get a family room (which meant it had a king size bed, a twin bed, and they added a roll away twin into the room) and we didn't have to get two rooms.  Finding hotel rooms for a family of four is quite a challenge over here!  We were there at the beginning of the "rainy" season so it wasn't as crowded as other times.  It did rain on us some, but not enough to keep us from enjoying our trip.   

Cade's birthday was on Saturday so we told him he could pick one thing he wanted to do special while in Phuket.  He chose to ride an elephant.  So, after breakfast on Saturday, we headed out for an elephant ride even though it was raining.  It was quite an experience.  I am sure Cade will always remember his 9th birthday!

 We were able to surprise Cade at dinner and they brought out a cake and sang happy birthday.  He was completely surprised by it. 

The kids had a great time hanging out at the beach, playing in the sand and the waves.  They also enjoyed swimming in the different pools that were at the resort. 

Racha Isle

On Sunday, we took a boat out to Racha Isle for some snorkeling and relaxing at some other beaches.  Cade and Cara had recently gotten snorkels, masks, and fins and had been enjoying using them in the pool.  Once we were in the sea and they got to see the beautiful coral and fish, they finally understood the point of snorkeling.  I don't think they will ever find snorkeling in the pool to be as much fun!

Cade caught a hermit crab.  He wanted to bring it home for his pet.

A few of our favorites from this trip were the elephant made out of towels on the bed in the hotel room, the elephant ride, the snorkeling, and getting to eat "real" bacon!   It was also great to just relax on the beach or by the pool.  Phuket is a beautiful place.  I am so glad we were able to go and I am hoping we might be able to go there again.  I am also grateful that there weren't any tsunamis while we were there since when the earthquake hit a few weeks ago, they did get hit by a small one.  I did check out where we were to go in case of a tsunami warning just in case!

Elephant towel