Vacation and More Vacation

Our weekend in Koh Samet was a blast! I'm sure we'll head back when we need a quick getaway from the craziness of Bangkok, but from the sounds of it, we have plenty of vacations and getaways planned already!

We have the official staff bonding trip scheduled for September (the date keeps getting moved, but as of today's email, it'll be the weekend of the 9th). The email we received states the following: We are going to beautiful Kanchanaburi! We will be lodging at the fantastic River Kwai Village Resort on the River Kwai. It has excellent facilities, good food and lots of a fun activities to help us bond – there is nothing like shooting someone with a paint ball to promote bonding! There are spectacular waterfalls, including the famous 7 tiered Erewan Falls and numerous historic sites, like the “Bridge Over the River Kwai,” which we can visit nearby. Travel time to the resort will be about 4 hours, primarily due to the nasty traffic conditions around Bangkok on Friday afternoons, but the bus rides are usually fun and a good time to bond as well. The trip is all expenses paid, with the exception of some voluntary activities, so you can’t beat the price. This is a wonderful thing that the school board does for the staff, so be sure to take advantage of it! http://www.kanchanaburi-info.com/en/about.html

Today, Leah and I just booked a trip to the island of Phuket in southern Thailand. Plane tickets on AsiaAir are incredibly reasonable and we scored this round trip ticket for only $65. A large group of TCIS teachers have been telling us about what a wild time it is to go during the Vegetarian Festival http://www.phuket.com/festival/vegetarian.htm the weekend of October 7, so we figured we shouldn't miss it. Apparently, it's quite the sight to see! If you take a look at these scary photos http://www.2camels.com/festival_photos62.php3, you'll see what I mean, but first read the other link because it includes the background and cultural information on the festival and may make you think of it as a bit less freakish...maybe not, though.

Jenifer (pictured here) and Kellie (the blonde in my Koh Samet pics) are going, as well, so we're going to stay in the same guest house. We're also all on the same flight, so it should be a good time. It's their second year teaching at TCIS and they've already been to Phuket, I believe, so they should be able to show us around. I'm also planning on going to India with them during Christmas. We were all talking about where we wanted to go for that break this past weekend in Koh Samet and the two of them mentioned India, which is exactly what I've been planning to do. The planning is in the early works, but I'll keep all of you posted when I know for sure.

We also have a 10 day break in October and Leah and I are throwing around the idea of heading to Vietnam. Others are heading to Bali, but I've already been there (although I LOVED it and would go back, but there are too many other places on my list to hit first), and Tyson is going to Macau/Hong Kong, but we were told to take only a long weekend for that trip. I have a Lonely Planet Vietnam book and both of us have been reading it, which has tweaked our interest. Leah's father is a Vietnam vet who hasn't talked much about his experiences there, but Leah doesn't think he'd be happy about her going. She may just tell her mom and notify her dad upon her return. She hasn't decided yet.

So that's the scoop on the next few months...a little long-term planning, but necessary because travel around here during the holidays can get crowded and planes tend to fill.

I'm enjoying receiving emails from all of you. I had to laugh at my dad's last email and his comments about the river taxi, "I'm sure everyone on the river taxi was told where the life jackets were and instructed on their use. Osha is on the way". I responded letting him know that safety comes first around here! If you're riding on a scooter with two adults and four children side-saddle, the driver MUST wear a helmut!