Reflections

After a very hot day here at the southern tip of Africa, welcoming home my kiddo's from school with the everyday questions of : How was your day? Who did you talk to? What did you talk about?, I had an opportunity again to be reminded of what this epic journey around the globe was all about. 

'Mum, me and Charle were talking together...I do not realy know how we got started on the topic, but she said that she would love to travel to Greece because she was told that the water is hot there and there are no mozzies. Then I started to tell her about Hawaii, what it was like there .. Her uncle lives in England, and they might be travelling there in June."

Kid's talk, you may agree, but to me it's significant kid's talk. It is kids speaking from experiences that, regardless of their age or stage, will always be with them... burried inside of their spirit men and women ....dictating their actions, thoughts, believes and perspectives.

On the 27th of July 2014, we set off on a journey of exploration, self, one-another and God's creation. We had a spesific vision and mission and I guess, we've came to the stage where we need to evaluate our goals and the lessons learn in working towards them.

Sent off at Glasgow International Airport, 27th of July 2014

So here is the vision the we had for our Round the World Adventure:

Our aim is to connect with the people of the world and share a message of FAITH, HOPE and LOVE with the nations. 

Our intention as parents is to provide an opportunity for our four children to meet the children of the world, to love the unloved, to share and to receive, to serve and to learn how to seek to understand!!

We want to show them God within each language, tongue and tribe and give them an experience of how privileged we are to have been born into a loving and caring family. A family with enough means to provide for shelter and food and so much more.... 

We want to present God's awesome creation to them and teach them to respect and admire the works of His hands. 

We want to teach them to value and to respect themselves. 

Arno and I(Marilie) have been dreaming and African dream for a long time. This will be our 14^th year living away from our place of heritage. Over the last year we've made some tough decisions, but with the promise of returning to South Africa as a fulfilment of a God-given dream and vision. The time has come to relocate to be closer to our ageing parents and to minister to our extended family and friends in a more personal way. God has also given us great vision for the strengthening, equipping and restoration of marriages, based on the application of biblical principles. 

The idea of doing some sort of epic adventure to signify the end of a Scottish era was always present in our minds. So here it is now...we are stepping out boldly into the unknown....
(Extract form my first post on January, 1st, 2014)


Evaluation time:

Boy oh Boy, and have we connected with the people of the world!! From hanging out with our soul-buddies in the States and Cananda to meeting friends of friends in China, Cambodia and India, to being welcomed into houses, ranging form mansions to one roomed gers. Where ever we went, we had opportunities to inspire the awakening of dreams that had been stashed away many years ago. We had plenty opportunityies to encourage, share love and generate hope. By the grace of God we never compromised our faith,rather encourage people to explore their relationship with God in a fresh way. I believe we were successfull in sharing a message of FAITH,HOPE and LOVE with all nations.

Our aim to introduce our kidds to the nations of the world, gave us a wonderful platform to teach them about customs and cultures, and to lead them into understanding the whole grown-up concept of 'perspective'. They also helped us to gain perspective, through the eyes of innocence, through the eyes of love, by excepting each person they met without the grown-up boundries of 'experience'. They taught us again to expect the good in everybody -  to seek it out!!!
As far as possible we tried to find believers and create opportunities to worship and fellowship with them. We attended church in  America, Canada, Hawaii, China, India, Nepal and UAE. Unfortunately, we could not manage to create an opportunity to serve within an orphanage. 

Big thank you's to all our hosts all over the globe: Kent, Radler, Cowie and Stelling families in the States and Cananda; Dransfield family in China, all of our wonderful hosts and super awesome guide, Nasaa, op the Golden Gobi Guesthouse, Mongolia; Linh of Loc Phat Homestay in Vietnam and Channa and Thomas in the best Channa's Angkor Homestay, outside Siem Reep, Cambodia. Then there was also Nok an Noi at the Bamboo Nest in Northern Thailand, and the wonderful Takavesi-family in Kathmandu, our wierd but wonderful driver , Mr Mannu, in India and our fun-filled, trekking guide, Shree, in the high mountains of dthe Annapurna Range, with Earthbound Adventure. Last but running up to christmas bests, our lovely Mackie-family in Dubai. All of these people had a roll to fulfil to help us to see through the lenses of culture, tounge and tribe - thank you!!

We had plenty of reflection time and opportunities of God's destiny for each one of us, referring to situations and opportunities we were born into. The kids hang out with many kids all over the show. They saw how they live, how they play and what struggles they face in their attempts to gain education (school 6 days per week in Nepal, walking over mountains for a few hours to (and then back) to school in the Himalayas. Perspective.....

God's creation...all I can say we were WOWED by what we saw and experienced. What a privilege to have seen the American beauties of Arches, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Zion, Yosemite and Pacific Coast, the Great Smokey Mountains and the Death Valley. Then we were treated to the captivating surf in Hawaii, the desolate Mongolian planes, the geo-thermical earthern forces of Iceland, the Vietnamese karsts and the overgrown Thai Jungles en bamboo forests. The sweetest treats were left for lasts - the breathtaking awe-inspiring towers of the Himalayas, snow capped with the early morning sun gently awakening the dawn into day. God's creation singing it's own love song and we, most humbly could only but joining in...

How can we respect others if we do not love, care and admire ourselves, body soul and spirit. I can only pray to God that our aim to train our children in respecting themselves, will ground them as individuals, secure them in love and give them a compassion towards the unloved, neglected, needy, lonely and abused. Also, to give them a confidence to defend their own rights, and to have the wisdom to know when to just be quiet and to walk away...

In hindsight, we had an idea of doing something different with an everlasting impact for all six of us, individually, but also together as a family. Never could we imagine the result we experienced, and are currently experiencing, of our children slotting into a new life with a totally foreign education system, temperature extremes and an absent daddy (our new 'normal is for Arno to be working in Angola- resulting in him begin away form home for 4 weeks at a time). 
By the grace of God, our children were so prepared, so ready to 'glide' into the Afrikaans culture and small "plattelandse" (rural) school. They are loving the whole expereince of being challenged and tested (jip very many formal testing and assessing still happening here!!) - in short, they are confident, mature and they are flourishing in this new environment. They face their challenges (making new friends and dealing with bullying, doing after-shcool sports in 30 to 40 degrees C and rising at 6am for a 7:15am start!!) in a very mature fashion. I can only credited this behaviour to the spritual growth spurt they had over the last year. 

Travelling with four children(aged between the ages of 3 and 10) through 10,mainly non-english speaking countries, over 5 months - carrying our own back packs, walking  and using public transport, sharing beds at all times, eating evil-looking and -tasting food, not to mention all the different types of toilets(if any...) and cold showers...it just add to a person. It teaches you to appreciate comforts, it makes you strong, if not in the body, defo in the head. It teaches you to be creative, confident. And most importantly, it teaches the principal of putting the needs of others above your own, to the mutual benefit of the group, in our case the family.

It forces you into a new way of thinking, it gives you a new PERSPECTIVE...on almost EVERYTHING!!!

Perspective -  (from Latin: perspicere to see through) in the graphic arts  is an approximate representation, on a flat surface (such as paper), of an image as it is seen by the eye.

Perspective -  Sense of "art of drawing objects so as to give appearance of distance or depth" 

Perspective - panorama, headset, attitude, relative importance, scene, vista, relation

We've seen many images by eye. 
I hope my humble representation of all the sights, smells, emotions, encounters on a 'flat surface' (in this case the PC screen infront of you and I) may have given you a realistic apprearance of the real people in the real world we are living in.

.....the only questions that remains is: which 'eyes' do you choose to 'see' it through, what is your 'distance' from it and to what 'dept' can you bear to look?


Will we ever again embark on another expedition to similar extent?? Yes and Yes again!!

Welcome at Cape Town International Airport, 23rd of December 2014

Arno and I had the opprotunity to spend a good few months in each other's company. As a couple we grew in our partnership of working together as a team to the extend of a new level!! We had to dust off our 'excellent' communication skills, we had to handle conflict in the full view of our kiddo's and by-standers, but we also had the amazing opportunity to love one another again in an adventurous way - we shared in each other's joys, dreams, expectations, exillarations and desires in a very close and personal way. The world was waiting while we were activly engaging into building a stronger marriage. Our African dream incorporates a vision for equipping and restoring marriages By travelling together as a couple, we invested time into securing our own marriage and having fun at the same time. 

As we were embarking form that airplane in Cape Town, a new level of aticipation washed over us. We might have came to the end of our 5 months journey around the globe and although South Africa has always been waiting as our final destination, we knew that our REAL ADVENTURE was just about to explode....

The 'real adventure' of putting down roots, getting excepted into a rural community and start living the dream.

 A dream that can provide HOPE to the hopeless and desperate,
A dream that ankers FAITH
A dream that is washed in LOVE.

              'The furture belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams...'

The long way Home - Week 21

Week 21 (Nepal,UAE,South Africa)
15th to 23rd of December
We've been travelling for nearly 5 months. With a bitter sweet taste in the mounth, we entered into the last week of this life changing adventure. For now I'll just report on our travel experiences towards the east of Kathmandu, Nepal and finaly Dubai, but I will need to write another blog on reflections...which might also interest you keen followers of our blog!!  So first things first!!

Heather and Mika, once again, blessed us in all our needs for dry washing and good Nepali food (Big thanks to Babetha) and helping us with good reliable taxi drivers. 
To my oppinion, you cannot visit Nepal and not lay eyes on the tallest mountain on earth....so we plucked up courage (you need a lot of it to negotiate the traffic and crumbling national roads, mountain-break-neck passes and the throwing-up factor accompany this whole ordeal...!!!) Our first port of call was the authentic city of Bhukthapur, still party down in the Kathmandu valley, but heading in the "right" direction.

The town of Bhuktapur was just such a delight. We've met another traveller in India. He reflected back on his first experience of travelling in Nepal, some 20 years ago. According to him, Bhuktapur, in all is carved wooden delight, is just but a reflection of what the rest of Nepal looked like then. Narrow cobblestone streets wind between the red-brick houses, joining a series of squares and courtyards that are peppered with temples, statues,cisterns and wells. We had to pay a steep entrance fee of $15pp, but we paid it with a smile since it goes towards protecting and maintaining the temples.

Ancient Bhaktapur grew up to service the old trade route from India to Tibet. At the peak of the Milla dynasty(14th to 16th century) the city boasted172 temples, 172 pilgrim shelters and 152 wells. An earthquake caused major damage in 1934, but the locals manage to restore most of the buldings. A German funder stepped in 1970 and the streets of Bhuktapur were paved and extensively restored. They also established a proper sewerage and waste-water managment system.

We were absolutely delighted with our family room above a small inner courtyard in the Kumari guesthouse. It was on a side street, just off the popular Dunbar Square. The low ceiling provided a cozy atmosphere...messing with our minds, since the cute little woodcarved shutters were letting in heaps of (how shall I put it?)'fresh' air.

 Our afternoon stroll around this ancient jewel included a visit to a rooftop restaurant and a go on the biggest manually driven pottery wheel I 've ever seen on the Potter Square. With the help of a very kind local potter, myself, Thomas and Alana created our very own little claypots. Unfortunately we could not take them with us, but Mr Potter gave us a smaller, already baked, money jar. Nina was on the receiving end of the gift and she named her present: Mr Boem-Boem. We also had a demonstration of the whole firing process: first they stack all the freshly made pottery items on a big heap, cover it with straw and then seal the heap by strewing ash over the top. Now the straw gets lit up to burn through the night. Next morning result: neatly created pots, cups, moneyboxes and all the rest.  
  

I, well and truly, fell in love with the amazing Nepali Masala Tea (Actually sitting here with a cuppa now!!). This brew is created by slowly cooking equal amounts of milk and water on a stove, with one scoop of Neapli tea granuals mixed in. Once ready to serve, you add a pinch of masala spice to it. A ture winter warmer....And I desparately needed some warming up!!!! The icy winds from the north were cutting through our bones, BUT we had nice Nepali hats to cover our ears!

At last we were on our way towards Sagarmatha,or at least as close as we could get to her at Nagarkot. Peaceful Cottage and Cafe du Mont is positioned on on of the highest hills in the are. The added bonus of climbing up on top of the roof of the 3 story building, gave us a complete birds eye view of the Annapurna and Manusla Range, Ganesh Him Range, Langtang range, Jugal Range, Rolwaling Range, Mahalangur Range (Everest range) and  Number Range with splendid views of the Kathmandu Valley and  Shivapuri National Park. 8 out of the 13 of the Himalyan ranges...not bad!!!

 Well, we had a love hate relationship with the stay here in Nagarkot.... So we were placed in the ‘newly built’ block, which is quite a number of steps down the hill from the main restaurant and warm cozy gas fire. Well, besides the long hike to our rooms (at least the walking heated us up a bit) it ws ABSOLUTELY ‘BALTIC’ in the rooms. We so totally appreciate the staff’s concern for our frostbitten state...by 8pm on our first night there (we were all tucked up on bed, dressed in gloves, scarves,wooly hats, bed socks and ALL of our warm clothing) there was a knock on the door. At first we were thinking to ignoring the unwelcome guest, but then Arno braved the elements and opened the door. To our surprise, a ‘runner’ was sent to deliver a hot water bottel to each of us. Wow. We were so thankful.

Another sweet memory moment presented itself shortly after our arrival in our rooms. After months travelling in the East, we were well accustomed to the petite wet rooms as an excuse for an en suite (shower over the loo...whole bathroom turns swimming pool after a wash session...). So at the Peaceful Cottage we were taken to our rooms. On inspection we were called over to the washrooms by the excited shrieks of the crew: “Mum!! Dad!!! Real bathroom!!!!!!” They were sooo delighted with the size of the bathroom and the fact that the shower was separate from the basin and loo. Well, their excitement just lasted until we were all jumping around naked, trying to keep the blood circulation going while we were praying for the water to heat up.... well, needless to say, the next night we did not even bother with the shower...baby wipes, you've served us well!!!!

What we missed in central heating systems, the mighty mountains made up in displaying creation in it's breathtaking splendour! Today, I can still see those mountains form our view across the valley - these pictures will be in me..... with me ....forever...

A few last Dahl-baht( '24hour, no bath, no shower' courtesy of Shree, expedition leader) -dinners, and a final 'Namaste" left us all with a bitter-sweet-travellers-good-bye-tear-in-the-eye! We absolutely fell in love with Nepal. I pray that we will have more opportunities to explore this country and her people in the future...the Mustang and Basecamp will always keep calling my name....The short 2h hour flight back to New Delhi gave us one last chance to feast our eyes on the snow covered hilltop country.

An overnight stay in a cheap, close to the airport hotel in Delhi, was just an inconvenient truth. Initially we would have stayed in the airport for a 4am departure to Dubai. The flight time got changed and we had to overnight in India, one final time....back to the swimmingpool bathroom..

Now we were starting to get very excited about our last stop...not just for the fact that we were in the last week of this epic journey back to our roots, but we were soo looking forward in seeing our friends, Scott, Sam, Zac and Mia. This family has relocated here from Scotland at the end of 2012. What a privilege to have started this adventure all those months ago in the presence of our Scottish pastor-buddies in South Carolina, USA and to be spending the last 4 nights again with kindred spirits, faith building  and zealous adventurers. I just love it how God connects people, for a specific purpose and goal. Nothing is a coincidence!!!! 

We were met by Scot at the Dubai International Airport. It's is just such a joy to be looking out for a familiar face!! And it was warm again!!!!!! Yay!!!!!

 At home( a mere 10min away) Sam was waiting, welcoming us with big warm hugs and it took the kids all of 5 minutes to settle down, playing with their friends - like it was last week since our last meeting!!! 

We were spoiled with trips to the Mirdith Mall, Jump-Box(trapoline world), Dubai Mall, fountains by night AND by day, a trip to the beach, an adult-only coffee night out, intro to Nesspresso coffee (flavours galore),machiatto and chilli-mocha, a super car scouting trip, hours of just talking and great fellowship! Thank you friends! We came away from you, refreshed and and re-charged for the next adventure awaiting upon us!!

Our last day had a special surprise waiting:The Birj Kalifa.  At 829.8 meters this is the tallest artificial structure in the world. In a few seconds we were whisked up to the 124th floor (453 meters) to have a nice look-out over the ever-changing vista over of the city and ocean. BIG.

It was was with a churning of emotions, that I started the process of packing our bags for the final time. We aquired a few soveiniers in the UAE and also had to find space for our tailor-made wardrobe, which was couriered here from Vietnam. This 'packing' has the potential to freak a normal person out...but we were now WAY beyond being a "normal" family, with 'normal' things in their luggage...for a start we've been carrying a Vietnamese rice hat with us for more than 2 months, a plastic pipe protecting a rolled up oil painting, we've got an inlay marble platter,a football.... from swimming goggles to ski-jackets and too many pairs of shoes for the counting.

 My heart was not really racing because of the art of remembering WHERE each item will need to be sqeeuzed into ...I think it was just more the realisation that we've seen an almost 'impossible' dream through. We've lived with it for the last 2 years and now we've tasted the pure joy and exhilaration of accomplishing exactly what we envisioned, planned for, worked towards and now experienced.

We've done it!!!!!!

By the grace of God, his protection around us and running ahead of us, we've tased success in accomplishing our dream of travelling around the globe with our 4 kids and we loved it!!!

Our last 8 hour long flight, took us from north to south over our beloved Africa. we were eventually also treated with an aerial view of the Tulbagh Valley(my place of birth) and then...very exciting...a view of the Kasteel Berg and the Riebeek Valley, our new home!

A friendly official welcomed us back at the immigration counter and then the best surprise...a life size African Elephant statue. I nearly started weeping. The last few months were scattered with elephant encounters....Asian Elephants though..... and here we are being welcomed by our own!!! This was God's sign to me that we have made the best decision!

We were home again.....

Chasing Crabs with torchlights TO Underwater Viewings of Whale Sharks - Week 18

Week 18  - Thailand (Koh Lanta)

24^th to 30^th of November

This little stop in Koh Lanta just made all the difference!!!

After four months of travelling we were all getting a bit weary of sleeping in different beds every few nights, negotiating different menu’s and using challenging modes of transport…it was time for a little stop. A little breather….and the island of Koh Lanta could not have been a better destination for this. Close to Krabi and Phuket on the western coast of Southern Thailand, the island is reachable by a water taxi from both of them. We picked up the boat in Krabi and were on KL in two hours. I think it takes a bit longer form Phuket. Another option is to go by mini-bus over land, using two car ferries and do a bit of island hopping on your way there. We used this option for our return journey to the mainland. The island of Koh Phe Phe (the kids are still laughing about that name!!) is also in this area and many tourist do day trips over there. So what makes this area so popular? Well, it needs to be seen to be understood, but I’ll give it my best go!! The clear aqua marine blue see-through water, with the yellowy sandy beaches is almost enough…but then add on year-round 28 to 30 degrees seawater, with visibility up to 30 meters on the hot summers days, the palm trees, great cuisine and breath taking sunsets… Well, what more do one needs for a tropical dream holiday destination? Maybe a hammock on the beach?? Well, they are there too, plus the Thai-massage with the lull of the ocean in your ear and do not forget the marvellous exchange rate!!

As you could gather from Alana and Arno’s posts, we made the absolute most of this opportunity to rest, to play to learn new skills and make new friends!

Our two bungalows were set back form the beach on a hill amongst tropical vegetation. The Narima Resort was started 12 years ago by a Thai family, who has worked all their lives away form their birth island, but always had a dream to return and created a business to serve tourists but also provide career possibilities for native Thai’s. They secured a beautiful private beach and woodland area more than 20 years ago and then established the resort once they retired form their engineering jobs in Bangkok. We were honoured to meet the owner, who was seen to be meeting and greeting guests every morning at breakfast time. He even waved us goodbye on our leaving day!!

We were having so much fun on the beach and beside the infinity(!!!) pool, that we were really not too interested in travelling to far from the Narima. During my early morning run on our first day there, I located the Mini-marts and the big long white sandy beach!!! So after breakfast we took a tuk-tuk over to the shops to sort the little girlies out with new swimmies. We were sooo blessed to successful in one out of the three shops. The only ones available for children were in their sizes!! Ha!!! We decided to walk the 3 km or so back to our resort, but stopping on the beach for a play and a swim. After a little while we realised that it might be a good idea if we were to speed our walk back to Narima up a bit……VERY dark clouds were gathering and we could not really hide from them!! Thomas still has a bit of a ‘thing’ about thunder and lightning, so we were in for an exciting walk back!! Long story short…we did not even put on clothes over our swimmies but just walked back in another torrential rain shower. Here and there we were hiding underneath trees, hotel lobbies until the big water has passed us by. This was an challenging adventure back to our resort, but this unexpected rain shower provided us with the best opportunity to work together as a family. We had to be strong for one another, help each other (either carrying a shopping bag or a little one!!) and persevere to the end…regardless of the circumstances. I will always remember our two hour long walk back!!!!

Now, we met a fellow traveller in Xi’an, Ceaser form Spain. He told us about the cliff top restaurant with the bested sunset view in ‘all of the world’!! My word, Narima Resort was right beside it!!!!! So an energy recovery stop had to be made at the Diamond Cliff restaurant…and Ceaser…it is as marvellous and spectacular as you were making it out to be!! Thank you sooo much. We had some pancakes, coffee and mango-steamed rice (yum) there, while watching the lightning bolts striking the ocean on the horizon. Absolutely magical!!!!

The resident scuba diving school/shop (Scubafish) offered us a free come and try dive in the swimming pool. I saw this as my chance to get a taste for this underwater sport. Thomas joined me and our instructor John was so good at his job!! I did not feel unsafe and had a great time swimming on the bottom of the deep pool! Alana and Arno tried too, but they have already decided that they will be doing the 2 (Alana) and 4 (Arno) day training. You can read some more of their experiences here.

So the rest of us just enjoyed the restful time in and out of the water, while A and A were watching safety and training video’s, writing exams and practising in the pool.

This week turned out to be such a great fun filled ‘holiday’ amongst weeks of extreme travelling. We made friends with Isabelle, Florian and their two boys (Paul and Felix) form Germany. Thomas really enjoyed all the cuddles with little Felix, who just turned one. Paul and our little girls spend hours in the pool, jumping, baby-diving and perfecting their underwater swimming. With the awesome layout of the Narima resort (private beach with beach bar, half way up the steps was the infinity pool and then at the top of the steps the restaurant overlooking the pool) I felt pretty confident to let the children play in the pool or on the beach at their own leisure. What a joy to have ‘swimming’ children. This all gave me some precious chill out time sitting in a bamboo chair doing some reading or writing AND working on my sun kissed look!!

The lovely Isabelle then invited the kids and I to come on a traditional long-tail boat accompanying them on a day trip to the Bu-Bu island on the eastern side of the island. I was so thankful, because Arno and Alana was due to go on a diving boat for their first deep sea dives and for Alana to complete her scuba diving certificate. So, off we went early morning for the 45 minute drive across the island in the signature pick-up truck taxi thingy. We were taken to the mangrove forest that connect the two Lanta islands. A rickety walkway above the dark muddy swamp, took us out to where we boarded our long-tail boat.

An interesting boat ride followed, including a stop to feed the ‘swimming monkeys’. One actually boarded the boat…I just tried to keep the kids and myself well clear from this little mister. I’ve heard of so many stories where monkeys, which are used to being fed, get a bit out of sorts and biting people. For that reason, I will never trust a monkey to come near the kids or I.

Once docked on the Bu-Bu Island, we found ourselves a little quiet spot and just enjoyed the lovely warm water, pretty shells and the Robinson Crusoe feel of the island. Unfortunately the visibility was next to zero, so the planned snorkeling did not happen. We rounded a great day off, with a little trip to our nearby mini-mart for some ice creams. We were also so looking forward to hear all Alana and Arno’s stories after day on the diving boat….

The feedback was one of overwhelming awe about the under-water wonder world. Arno could not wait for his next dive and Alana was so pleased that she was now qualified to dive down to 12 meters, accompanied by a diving instructor or master diver. She was also looking forward in just relaxing for the next few days, examining the sea world, chasing crabs and playing in the pool. So big, but still so little……

You can not visit Thailand and not attend a Thai cook school of some kind. I was soo excited. Alana wanted to join me, so the two of us were picked up by a driver, who was sent by the Lanta Thai Cook School. We picked up a few other ‘chefs’ on the way and arrived at the double story wall-less school. As a group of 7 people, we had to choose 4 out of the 10 suggested options. We decided to make a fried rice dish, a red curry, a ginger stir fry and banana fritters. We first prepped all the veggies, then we tackled one dish at a time, eat it (Yay!!!) and then moved onto the next one!! It was such a great time for Alana and I to cook together and enjoy learning together. The thing about Thai cuisine, I’ve learned during this experience, is that you need to do ALL your prep and then just cook the food quickly. Not one dish took longer than 5 minutes to fully cook…. This was just the bestest afternoon!!!

Another little sweet moment we had was a date night of just Arno and I dining out on our own, just the two of us…yes…we managed to get the kids to bed early and then relaxed at the beach restaurant. While waiting on our food we realised that background music was actually a collection of worship music! We felt soo blessed!!

Then I saw something moving VERY quickly love the sand...with further investigation Arno discovered that the beach were filled with crabs. Apparently they know that there will be nobody to interfere with their own time on the beach, once it is night time...or so they thought.....

The following evening Arno took the kids, kitted out with torches, down to the beach. A new game of finding a innocent crabby AND than changing it to the water side with the light of the torch, excited giggles and delightful squeals following. The kids (and their dad) had the best fun! I even felt that I was missing out and just had to join in too!!!!

Arno’s last day of diving saw him qualified as a Padi Open Water diver, down to 18 meters. He had tears in his eyes as he was trying to describe the beauty of the unseen world to many, me included. His little farewell present was to have the honor to see a whale shark cruising by….

Thailand, especially the Narima Resort, has completely ran away with our hearts. We would absolutely love to come back here….meeting up with our new friends (who’s been here a number of times now)..doing some more diving… Thomas joining Arno and Alana and maybe even the mama……

Our Thai-time was running out now. We’ve met up with wonderful locals and international globetrotters, animal encounters to our hearts content, many hours spend on trains….curries and pineapple-fried rice. Oh Thailand, I will be missing you..(minus the ants though….)

We were very sad to leave all our Narima friends. We were getting a lunch time bus traveling across the Lantas, using two short ferry boats, to the mainland, heading for Krabi Airport. Our final night was spend in the Bencha Mountain Resort. Mr ….. sent a big minibus to collect us from there and transport us the 20 minutes over to the resort. We travelled through palm and rubber plantations and were surprised by a little karst mountain, with the resort at its foot. In the process of into and out of taxi’s, Thomas left his little day pack. We eventually tracked the driver down AND managed to have it returned to us…but all his last saved pocket money pounds were being used for the extremely high fee the taxi driver was charging us for the return of the bag…. A big thank you to the owner of Bencha for helping us to locate the bag and organising the return of it.

 The Bencha Resort consisted out of a collection of stone bungalows perch up a very steep hill. It was an mission to get our luggage up to our house!!  A sweet resort, but a little bit rough around the edges. After our amazingly enjoyable week at Narima, I felt a little bit cheated out of my happy Thai memories. We were just booked in for one night before catching our flight to Delhi, via Kuala Lumpur.