Our first blog at last!!!!!! Apologies all round for our tardiness - just having too much fun. We both wonder how we ever managed to work?
Firstly lets hop into our time machine and travel back to Southern Thailand where we spent the last month of our previous trip before heading to Australia.
Arriving back at Baan Pictory near to Pattaya we were welcomed with an upgrade back into the family. We were to spend a beautiful week there just swimming, sunning, eating and generally recouping from our English winter which to be honest was not that cold but very wet.
A week later we packed a back pack each and heading further along the southern coast of Thailand to a small resort at Bahn Pae where we had the glorious beach almost to ourselves. Exploring along the beach we eventually found "the happy shack" a place to chill out, drink beer and listen to music for as long as we cared to stay. We frequented this shack often even though it meant an hours walk paddling through the warm azure sea there and back!!! (Sometimes life can be very tough)
After a week of this luxury (if "our Thailand" could ever be classed as luxurious) we headed by taxi, ferry and sangthau to Koh Chang for a week. This is a little more "touristy" than other places we had been to so we decided to go on a day cruise of the outlying islands which included snorkeling and lunch etc. Sounds really good??? In reality we forgot to allow for all the hundreds of Asian tourists who too were taking the day trip albeit in different boats. Very few could swim so at every island dozens of boats would stop, anchor up and spew out masses of life jacketed, floaty objects flaying around in the water like baby turtles. Each had the obligatory mask and snorkel and yes, you have guessed, the V for victory camera pose. All we could do was laugh - how did we get caught up in something as crazy as this???? The climax happened when an old Asian lady appeared beside us completely covered from head to toe in a one piece suit - the only visible part of her body being her eyes and mouth and, for her, this was completely normal????? A week of swimming in the pool, good food and early nights saw us even more relaxed than ever and we happily waved good bye to our very hard bed and our noisy Chinese next door neighbours to return to Baan Pictory for our final week in Thailand.
Oh Thailand how we really love you. We have enjoyed every minute of every day that we have travelled around you - now however it is time to leave and go see our beautiful new Grand daughter Maya in Australia and go help Carrie and Stefan to get married in Brisbane. We are so looking forward to these happenings as whilst there we will also be catching up with both sides of our families.
And so to Australia where we had a ball. Firstly we met Maya - yes we know we are besotted but she is beautiful - and of course Adrian and Eleni. They have a beautiful home way out in the countryside where they are enjoying being new parents and both were happy for us to do our bit for Maya to help them out. Adrian was happy to cook his fabulous food for us, Eleni was in the throws of starting a new job so an extra couple of pairs of hands definitely didn't go astray. A day or two later Rach and Rob and the boys arrived to spend a week as well so with two hired cars and 9 people we hit the amusement parks, the beaches, the waterfalls, the markets, the lunches, the huge shopping centres and the cheesecake shop! Wow it was hot and fun. I think Nana and Gandy cut it with the rest of the youngsters eh Jamie and Olly????
Great times were had in the pool - diving for Garys eye at one stage - and Rach introducing Maya for her first swim. Time spent chatting as a family around the table was priceless - only one person missing, Brenton. Ironically he is there now, though we are not.
Next stop Brisbane for Carrie and Stef's wedding and to meet up again with Gary's daughter Jodie, Jason, Hayden and Dani and his brothers and sister - all over from NZ.
The wedding was amazing, very low key and natural and was held in the middle of a beautiful park in the shelter of a Chinese pagoda - perfect. The weather was warm and just right, the bride beautiful and the groom handsome. Gary made the most amazing speech at the reception and managed to bring tears to a lot of peoples eyes but also laughter to their lips. Well done Carrie - all your planning paid off - your special day was awesome.
Spending the next day with Jodie and the grandchildren before they went off to do their own thing we discovered a little more about Brisbane and then drove back to spend our last week with Adrian and Eleni. Thank you both for all your hospitality and our beautiful Maya. We will see you again soon. Right now we are heading back to NZ.
And so we are back home - well not really because our home is still rented out - but we are in Nelson where we plan to catch up on Drs, dentists and hospital visits, regroup, catch up with friends and favourite places, repack and resume our journey.
We spend time with Rach, Rob and the boys out on the farm at Wangapeka. It is a place we love and enjoy being. We feel close again.
We spend time with Jodie, Jason and the children. Celebrate Jodie's birthday with her and enjoy seeing Hayden blossom into a teenager.
We spend time with Tina and Bruce - such wonderful hosts - and at their bach at Duncan Bay where Robs grandmother also lives and where we are joined by Rach and her family, plus Hayley (Jamie's girlfriend) and Hayden for a long weekend of boating, fishing, night floundering, walking and happiness.
We finally eat beautifully cooked roast pork with Toni and Tony cooked in their amazing, post flood, new kitchen.
We both have operations. Me my knee, Gary his lumps and we survive. Life is good.
We start to plan our next trip but we cannot break a promise and leave before Ollys birthday on June 11th. We said we will be there and we are - just.
We fly to Auckland on June 12th - leaving some sad people behind.
Here we apologise for making those people sad - it is something we have to do.
Remember - we are still the rocks you thought we were - in that respect we have not changed. Love to all xx
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