A Tale of Two Cities - Part I

One of the reasons I was looking forward to moving to Australia was to take advantage of the "close" proximity I'd have to places I'd always wanted to visit. (I say "close" with a hint of sarcasm because Australia is far from everything. EVERYTHING. But I am getting used to 8-9 hour flights being considered short.) As such, I decided to take full advantage of a business trip to Singapore by using the weekend in between to travel to Thailand, a destination I have ALWAYS dreamed of visiting.

The next series of blog posts will be around a theme of A Tale of Two Cities....this first post will highlight my trip to the mountainous beach island of Koh Samui, while the next will focus on its exact opposite - Bangkok.

Koh Samui Beach

Koh Samui is located in the Gulf of Siam and is the second largest island in Thailand. They believe it was first inhabited by fisherman 15 centuries ago. The terrain is beautiful with mountain peaks, jutting limestone, thick jungles and white sandy beaches. It is surrounded by 60 other islands that make up the Ang Thong Marine National Park. The inhabitants survived for many years on fishery and coconut tree farming, but now most work in tourism. Buddhism is the major religion, but southern Thailand is a melting pot of people inclusive of Buddhists, Thai Chinese, Muslims and traditional sea-faring gypsies. Everyone I met was peaceful, friendly and kind. While the word "ko" means island in Thai, it remains a mystery as to what "samui" means. Many think is derives from the Malay word Saboey, which means "safe haven". I can attest that it is indeed that.

One of the views from the Four Seasons

The beach at the Four Seasons 

I decided to treat myself and spend the 2 days I had staying at the Four Seasons. I have never before - and will likely never again - experience a more beautiful or luxurious setting. The pictures will never do it justice. The rooms were actually mountainside villas, each with a private plunge pool, large porch and incredible views of the ocean and neighboring islands. Everywhere I looked I saw fresh, brightly colored flowers, gecko lizards and smiling Thai faces. I was greeted at every turn with a "Sa-wat-ee-ka", which means hello in Thai. And the food was absolutely incredible.

The spa rooms were similar...to get to my private spa villa (I can't believe I am even saying that...but it's true), I traversed up and down many many stairs, which took me into a jungle along the side of the mountain with views, once again, overlooking the sea. My treatment involved a Thai massage (where the lady stands over you on the table and proceeds to stretch you here to there and everywhere in between) and then a deep pressure point massage using a handful of muslin local oil/herbs which were gathered into a muslin-covered ball, heated to a high temperature and then rubbed into my sore muscles. Thanks to my friend Stephanie for the recommendation for what was quite simply the BEST. MASSAGE. OF. MY. ENTIRE. LIFETIME. SO. FAR. Another highlight was an early morning yoga session, done on a platform perched atop limestone rocks overlooking the beach with a cool morning sea breeze cooling us off. It was intense (ladies in the class compared the pain in one pose to that of childbirth!!), but amazing and I felt ready to go for the rest of the day.

My personal spa villa

Spa treatment preparations

One evening, we headed into 'town', which is called Bo Phut (and Fisherman's Village) and had traditional Thai cuisine at a restaurant called Starfish & Coffee. The curried lobster was by far my highlight; it was perfect, Delicious food enjoyed under the stars with the salty breeze off the water on a gorgeous Thai night. We topped it off with delicious gelato. Indeed, it was probably the best gelato in Koh Samui. But just maybe.

What I loved most was the peaceful beach setting. The sand was cool and smooth, and the water was warm like bathwater but crystal clear. When I looked out at the next island over, I saw layers and layers of endless blue sea and gorgeous reef. And again, the Thai are so charming. I loved when they would deliver ice water and move the umbrella to give me some "shadow" from the sun. I challenged myself and for the first time tried paddleboarding. Needless to say, I AM ADDICTED. I absolutely loved it; I saw colorful fish, beautiful reef and amazing scenery from atop the board, and couldn't have been happier.

Me on the beach in Koh Samui 

Me & my mad paddleboarding skills

All in all, a wonderfully relaxing time with friendly people, amazing food and utterly gorgeous scenery. In other words....heaven.


Until next time...(Bangkok adventures!)
xoxo

Halfway Around the World and Back Again

Hi all! Well, it's been a month since I last blogged and admittedly, I have missed it! I write this blog to capture the memories I am making while living overseas, but have found that I end up writing just about my life (thanks again to those who pretend to be interested and entertained!). So, if this about my life and any and all memories, I'll start writing again by telling you about my glorious trip home!


I was fortunate enough to travel home to the East Coast of the grand US of A on 9 July. After over 24 hours of travel, I landed at Dulles airport in Washington and was picked up by Patrick. After grabbing takeout from my fave spot and a bottle of wine, we headed to my condo and I was finally AT HOME. Tammy popped by and then I hit the hay, for I was really exhausted. The next day, after a brief but awesome catch up with Eileen, Patrick and I drove to Corolla in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for 10 days at the beach with my family. AND WITH FLETCHER!!


Needless to say, I was delighted to see my family and my booboo Fletcher, who has NOT forgotten me. After an emotional reunion, he didn't leave my side for 10 days and I loved every second.  Highlights of my 10 days at the beach include but are not limited to:


~ SO much time with my adorable nephews, amazing parents, beautiful sisters and handsome brothers-in-law
~ quality time with Patrick, and a 5 am wakeup for a great sunrise walk on the beach while I was still jetlagged
~ wine and Watch What Happens (clue word was "Joe" and it was all NJ Housewives...ahem) with Tammy and Courtney
~ daily walks to Outer Banks Coffee and Lighthouse bagels
~ American bacon, Wolfe bloody mary's, baby back ribs a la Debbie, bbq Lays chips, Big Bucks peanut butter & chocolate ice cream and 4 bushels of NC jimmies courtesy of Patrick
~ watching Fletcher chase birds and roll in the sand


Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Patrick and a fresh catch!

Kevin (my bro-in-law) and Courtney (my sis) 

My dog, me and an empty beach at sunrise

Fresh Jimmies, caught same day!

Perfect beach scene 

BooBoo Fletcher, the most awesomest dog ever in the world

My MOM!! 

My DAD, Fletcher and Sam

Dougie O (my bro-in-law) and Hilary (my sis)

A gorgeous Corolla sunset

Seriously? He is so cute! 

My 3 nephews - Jack, Sam & Thomas 

I then spent 2.5 days in Washington, DC. I enjoyed my condo (though it was weird to be living out of a suitcase in my own home), had a wonderful Lauriol Plaza dinner with close friends (thank you Tammy, Mary, Cat, Ginger and even you Christian) and spent time in our HQ office. Let's just say my trip home was less than smooth -- 4-hour delay in Washington --> missed flight to Sydney and no baggage --> 2 hours spent finding a hotel in San Fran, at midnight, and finally found one 45 minutes our of town --> diversion through New Zealand --> delay in New Zealand --> arrival in Sydney 1.5 days later than planned.

Lauriol dinner with my homies

In the midst of all of this, Tammy had a birthday and Kelly & Juice blessed us with another baby (Nicholas Matthew) in our family of friends. And Jessica Kirkby - whose mom babysat me and then I babysat Jess she was a baby - had a healthy baby girl yesterday! Wow!


It's nice to be back, and I missed everyone in the office. I am not back in the swing of things, until my next trip.....Singapore next week, and THAILAND!! A dream come true! Then back to DC on 2 September for a week-long visit!


Until next time...xoxo

Halfway Around the World and Back Again

Hi all! Well, it's been a month since I last blogged and admittedly, I have missed it! I write this blog to capture the memories I am making while living overseas, but have found that I end up writing just about my life (thanks again to those who pretend to be interested and entertained!). So, if this about my life and any & all memories, I'll start writing again by telling you about my glorious trip home!


I was fortunate enough to travel home to the East Coast of the grand US of A on 9 July. After over 24 hours of travel, I landed at Dulles airport in Washington and was picked up by Patrick. After grabbing takeout from my fave spot and a bottle of wine, we headed to my condo and I was finally AT HOME. Tammy popped by and then I hit the hay, for I was really exhausted. The next day, after a brief but awesome catch up with Eileen, Patrick and I drove to Corolla in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for 10 days at the beach with my family. AND WITH FLETCHER!!


Needless to say, I was delighted to see my family and my booboo Fletcher, who has NOT forgotten me. After an emotional reunion, he didn't leave my side for 10 days and I loved every second.  Highlights of my 10 days at the beach include but are not limited to:


~ SO much time with my adorable nephews, amazing parents, beautiful sisters and handsome brothers-in-law
~ quality time with Patrick, and a 5 am wakeup for a great sunrise walk on the beach while I was still jetlagged
~ wine and Watch What Happens (clue word was "Joe" and it was all NJ Housewives...ahem) with Tammy and Courtney
~ daily walks to Outer Banks Coffee and Lighthouse bagels
~ American bacon, Wolfe bloody mary's, baby back ribs a la Debbie, bbq Lays chips, Big Bucks peanut butter & chocolate ice cream and 4 bushels of NC jimmies courtesy of Patrick
~ watching Fletcher chase birds and roll in the sand


Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Patrick and a fresh catch!

Kevin (my bro-in-law) and Courtney (my sis) 

My dog, me and an empty beach at sunrise

Fresh Jimmies, caught same day!

Perfect beach scene 

BooBoo Fletcher, the most awesomest dog ever in the world

My MOM!! 

My DAD, Fletcher and Sam

Dougie O (my bro-in-law) and Hilary (my sis)

A gorgeous Corolla sunset

Seriously? He is so cute! 

My 3 nephews - Jack, Sam & Thomas 

I then spent 2.5 days in Washington, DC. I enjoyed my condo (though it was weird to be living out of a suitcase in my own home), had a wonderful Lauriol Plaza dinner with close friends (thank you Tammy, Mary, Cat, Ginger and even you Christian) and spent time in our HQ office. 

Lauriol dinner with my homies

Let's just say my trip back home to Sydney was less than smooth -- 4-hour delay in Washington --> missed flight to Sydney and no baggage --> 2 hours spent finding a hotel in San Fran, at midnight, and finally found one 45 minutes our of town --> diversion through New Zealand --> delay in New Zealand --> arrival in Sydney 1.5 days later than planned. In the midst of all of this, Tammy had a birthday and Kelly & Juice blessed us with another baby (Nicholas Matthew) in our family of friends. And Jessica Kirkby - whose mom babysat me and then I babysat Jess she was a baby - had a healthy baby girl yesterday! Wow!


It's nice to be back, and I missed everyone in the office. I am not back in the swing of things, until my next trip.....Singapore next week, and THAILAND!! A dream come true! Then back to DC on 2 September for a week-long visit!


Until next time...xoxo

Sickie Sickerson

Sickie Sickerson...yep, that's been my name since last weekend when I fell ill from a whole smackering of illnesses. Part terrible head cold, part flu, my wretched sore throat, runny nose, cough, stomach cramps and all kinds of other things best left unmentioned made me a goner. Indeed, on the local news tonight, the running story was that a terrible virus was going around the city and I had every single symptom. UGH! This was made even more worse by:


- the fact that the first week of each month is HECTIC at work with wrap-up's and retrospectives for our executive management team on how the prior month's performance came to pass
- two of our General Managers were in town, both of whom I like tremendously and would have loved to spend more time with discussing the business and career stuff
- not really understanding the health system here, and how one with an international health insurance program fits in
- the guys from Maroon 5 being in town and playing on Friday night


In short, a terrible week to get sick, but alas, my body said "I AM DONE!" and I spent 2 days in delirious sleep and am just now, seven days later, feeling well enough to reconnect with the outside world. Sadly, I only made it halfway through a leadership team dinner at Rockpool (one of Sydney's all-time best restaurants), had to stay home from work 1.5 days and missed the concert/seeing the guys. BUMMER. :( Listen, I was even too sick to skype with fletcher. It's true. It was that bad.


My only shining light in the last week was a lovely invitation from friends Leela and Pete for brunch out at Bronte Beach on a lovely sunny Mothers Day morning. Off we went in their car, found a great brunch spot overlooking the ocean, and just enjoyed the day and each other's company. Leela and Pete are so great and easy to be around....I look forward to more great brunches with them!


Here's the simply spectacular view we had from The Bronte Cafe:

Until next time....xoxo