Our First Night in Koh Samui, Thailand

Oh where to begin....  There are so many wonderful things to share.  In fact, our whole trip was simply fantastic. So much so that Kaitlyn wants to move there and none of us wanted to come home.  After a very early wake up call and a 12 hour trip, we arrived in Koh Samui, Thailand to fresh air, fresh fruit, and endless opportunities for family fun.  Bill has had a very stressful past several months with work and was in desperate need for a vacation with the family off the ROK.  We've had some pretty amazing trips, but I think this one took the cake.  Simply fantastic.

We arrived at the Koh Samui Airport, which is a darling little airport.  Samui is a self claimed boutique island and the open air airport exemplified that.  It was small and welcoming and I'll post pictures from that when I get them off the phone.  The skies were blue, the trees were green, and everything but the drinking water was clean.  It felt so good to breathe the tropical air.  It's bittersweet to remember being there as I am writing this from the bowling alley where my kids are unhappily playing indoors by themselves instead of outdoors with friends (though the weather outside is perfect) because the yellow sand particles in the air are at critical levels and it is unsafe for them to be running around outside.  It was definitely hot in Samui, though when you know you are surrounded by water and beautiful beaches, somehow temps in the 90s and 100% humidity seem not only bearable, but enjoyable.

A driver from our villa picked us up and delivered us to our villa around 6:00 (8:00 our time) and after a quick tour and some photography we jumped in the pool to cool off and expend some energy before bed.  We debated quite a while about whether or not to spend the extra money on a place with our own pool and, in the end, we decided that this would probably be the only time we could afford a villa with our own pool, so we went for it.  The cost of our place was about what one room at a nice hotel would have cost in the States.  It turned out to be a great decision.  The kids were in the pool at least twice a day and it was a great place for us to relax after the kids were in bed.  The pool had a quiet waterfall, wonderful lighting, and a great view of the stars.  Stars you can't see in Korea.  It's one of the things we miss most.  It was just a perfect, peaceful place to relax and reconnect.  It was just what our family (and Bill specifically) needed.  We came back refreshed and relaxed.    Did I mention it was hard to leave?  Check out the pictures of our little slice of paradise living in the slideshow below and in upcoming blogs.  You'd have a hard time leaving too! :)