Backwards Blog: Krabi, Thailand

In June 2010 we made the trek back to the good old United States for the first time since moving to Singapore in 2009. The trip home was a whirlwind of family, friends, food, shopping, and more food. We literally ate our way through two states.

In July we hopped over to Krabi, Thailand. We took advantage of a holiday weekend and I found a great flight that allowed The Man to come without having to miss work. I think Thailand is one of the best places for a family vacation for several reasons: 1) You don't have to buy a travel visa to enter Thailand and you don't pay an exit tax to leave. Travel visas and exit taxes annoy me to no end. 2) Food and hotels are good and cheap 3) Kids are welcome everywhere 4) There is something for everyone. If you're bored in Thailand, you're just not trying. 5) The beaches are awesome and the waves are a good size for both adults and kids. 6) Flights from Singapore to Thailand are ridiculously cheap.

When we arrived in Krabi it was misty and overcast but it wasn't monsoon season so I thought the weather would probably clear up. It didn't. We had been blessed with perfect weather on every trip we had taken thus far but, apparently, Mother Nature had decided it was our turn to deal with some adverse conditions. The weather gave us a good excuse to not really DO anything except swim with the kids, take long walks on the beach, read, and enjoy some good, cheap Thai massages.

Our room was a small cottage that had a porch with steps straight into the pool. This type of room wouldn't be appropriate for families with small children as there wasn't any type of barrier between the porch and the steps leading to the pool, but it was perfect for our family. I managed to find some good books in the lobby that other guests had left behind so The Man and I sat on the porch and read while watching the kids swim. My kids came up with the idea of pool wrestling and The Man was more than willing to partake. The pictures speak for themselves:

One of my kid's favorite things to do is take long walks on the beach. They can entertain themselves for hours outrunning the waves and exploring whatever treasures they can find. The poor weather meant they had the beach all to themselves and they enjoyed every minute. The beach in Krabi was unusual in that it was covered in crushed sea shells. I dug my foot about 8" into the shells but never hit actual sand. It was interesting but not too comfortable to walk on for very long.

We did a good bit of hiking on the cliffs and saw signs like this one everywhere:

My kids often remember the strangest things about our trips. They'll mention a specific dog we saw in Indonesia or something a street vendor said in China long after the trip and it'll take my 33-year-old brain a minute to retrieve the information that is readily available to them. Baby Girl and Miniman both remember the beaches and the hiking and the massages but what really stands out in their minds is that Krabi was the place where they got to order anything they wanted at Swenson's. I guess an ice-cream sundae that's bigger than your head is as memorable to kids as great beaches are to parents.