In a bid for constant appreciation

Something sad happens when you have been travelling for a while. You see all these amazing places and meet amazing people and do amazing things. But you do these things so often that you start to forget how amazing they are. You start to become a bit blasé about it all. Another breathtaking beach, another sensational meal, another great tour. I am forever reminding myself out loud as I do things how fantastic they are and how lucky I am. I am currently refusing to take the world for granted.

The beach

Right now we are staying at a resort, a treat to ourselves of approx 40USD per night. So it is pretty out there. It is almost easy to spend money once you have none left, as strange as that sounds. This is one of those moments where I look out the window and remember how amazing value this is. The astounding sunsets and the rolling waves, right out our window. I love Thailand. It is a very tourist friendly country. Which is just what we need this far into our travels. Somewhere that makes travelling around, eating, showering, emailing and everything so easy (so much easier than it has been anyway!).

Another observation that has become even more pronounced the more I travel is the nature of the kiwi. Most kiwis are part of a culture where we don’t push in lines etc. Take an airport for example, where our nature has become prominent. We wait at the boarding line, we never push in front of others or try the ‘sneaky’ entrance from the side of the line that many people do. We do the same while waiting for our bags. At Phuket airport the other day half the belt was broken, so people were crowed in trying to retrieve bags. Spike was at the back tippy toeing to see and waiting for others to take their turn. Mean while I watched many other people grab bags, take them out to waiting friends and family with trolleys and return to wait for more bags by pushing through the crowd to get to the front again. We are considerate by nature and I have discovered this is actually a rather rare characteristic. Conclusion: Kiwis rule.

Spike recovering after just getting a massage

I am going to miss all the massages when I get home. We have been getting massages every other week. They are cheap and great. I m not sure how my body will survive without them. I am hoping I won’t need them so much with a decent bed! 

I am proud of the amount of books I have read while being away. Although it could have been many more if I wasn’t so distracted by my laptop, movies, TV and rugby games. But it has remindedme how much I enjoy reading and that I can still read!

Me with our moto on Koh Lanta

Lastly, a quick update on our latest moves. Plane down to Phuket, where we stayed in Patong beach for the night (horrible place). The next morning we left at 7 and took a minivan and two boats to arrive in Koh Lanta about 1pm. It is absolutely beautiful here and quiet, as the low season has started. Under a month until the Thailand monsoons.

Random fact: We ate elephant food. Well actually it is a fruit that we feed the elephants on Koh Lanta when we first arrived in Asia. It is a kind of pear tasting thing. Not too bad.