Island Vacation

We have to leave the country we live in every six months for visa renewal, so while we were out this time, we decided we needed a vacation.  When I was single this meant that I wanted to explore new places, have an adventure... but now it means that I want to relax.  I have never been much of a beach person, but the beach sounded like a perfect place to take Silas so that I  we could relax.  We found a good deal on a nice hotel right on the beach.  One highlight of the hotel for us was the breakfast- complimentary buffet with waffles/pancakes/beef sausage/pork bacon, and every kind of pastry you can imagine, plus fresh fruit juices, omelettes...They also had a really nice pool that Silas has a lot of fun swimming in.  We enjoyed eating beef and other western foods at the restaurant too!

The view from our hotel room

We took a tuk tuk around to visit different sites (driver is in the picture).  This monkey really wanted  Silas' airplane but he settled for the leaf that Silas had in his other hand.

Mommy didn't spend too much time at the beach, but Silas and  Daddy had a great time.  Silas was mesmerized by the waves.  I think he could have just stood and looked at the water for hours.

I preferred the pool- much less sandy.  It was nice to go at sunset and watch  the sky change hues.  One night there was a rainbow in the sky as the sun was setting- it was so beautiful.  We also met some Chinese people at the pool one night so it was fun to talk with them (though it is sad how rusty my Mandarin is).

We went to a Sea Turtle hatchery.  It was interesting learning about  the turtles and seeing them at different ages.  Because only 1% of eggs hatched are female, they keep all the girls here until they turn 5- then they release them into the ocean where they can reproduce.  I am holding a 1 day old male turtle who will be released into the wild at 5 days old.

On our way back from the turtle hatchery and batik factory, we stopped and ate at a restaurant right on the beach.   We had some good food with a great view!

Aside from seeing Silas have so much fun, my favorite part of the trip was getting to see my good friend Ann in her home country.  Unfortunately our time together was short (bad planning on my part), but it was good.  We also got to see some other friends and eat dinner with them in their cute apartment (I have to confess kitchen envy).