Spring Break Trip to Sri-Lanka Part III - In which we venture into the Deep!

One of the big draws of Sri Lanka is the opportunity to see Blue Whales.  Yulia had scheduled us for a boat tour to go whale watching on Saturday.  We arranged with the hotel to have us taken to Mirissa to go on the tour.  We had to leave the hotel at 5:30, so it was an early day.  Our whale watching boat was a two-story boat that was about 40 feet long.  It was not a very fast boat, but it was okay.  We were some of the first ones that arrived, so we got seats on the top level of the boat.  We took Dramamine before we left to help with seasickness.

Got settled on the top deck

Lina is ready to roll. 

Yulia

These are a couple of other whale watching boats similar to ours. Most of them got really crowded. We were really happy we chose ours!

Fishing boats in the harbor

Leaving the island

Waves!

Well, the Dramamine did not work for everyone.  Sophie, who is our kid who gets carsick and seasick was the first to go.  Two of the other girls also threw up (Nika and Lina) and Lexa felt sick.  They all ended up laying down on mats on the deck for most of the trip.

Nika and Sophie, the seasick buddies!

Lina and Lexa

We saw two huge pods of dolphins (with at least 50 dolphins in each) who were very playful and social and who stayed near the boat for about 10 minutes or so.  We were out on the water from 6:30 until just after 1:00 p.m.  We were far enough out that land was not visible and we were out in the sea lanes so we saw a lot of big container ships traveling West from Singapore and China.  We were fed a nice breakfast (that was wasted on some of us) and snacks of fruit and crackers and a bottle of coke during the day.  Overall it was a pleasant day - hot and sunny.  The ocean was quite active, but not violently or overly so.

Beautiful reflection!

Dolphins!

This one got very close to the boat.

We did not see any blue whales on our trip.  Our captain told us when we got back to the harbor that he had information on where to find the whales, but it would have taken us 2 or 3 hours to get to them, and then we would have to return to shore.  He said that some other captains would stay out for 12 or 13 hours, but he wouldn't.  We had the opportunity to go out again the next day for free.  The girls were willing[1], but we opted out.  We gave it a shot and we had a nice adventure.  The nature of life is that sometimes you don't get to see or do what you want.

Back in harbor

Harbor

Some of the zillion fishing boats in the harbor

We were given a coconut (King coconut) and a straw when we got off the boat.  The coconut water is quite refreshing.  After drinking, we got in the van back to the hotel.  The driver pointed out a colony of bats hanging in a tree (they were big ones!).  He also showed us the pole fishermen out fishing.  We stopped at a sea turtle hatchery as well.

King Coconut is sweeter than the regular coconut

Huge bats hanging off the tree.

A couple of pole fishermen. They mostly do it in early morning.

At the hatchery they hatch the turtles so that tourists and fishermen and locals won't dig up the eggs.  Six species of turtles lay their eggs on the beaches in Sri Lanka.  The hatchery also rehabilitates turtles who are injured in fishing nets, so we got to see some larger (adolescent) turtles that were 10-20 years old.  The turtles don't lay eggs until they are around 30!

Eggs buried at the hatchery

Two week old sea turtles

They are super active and super cute!

I think this one was a 7-year old rescued turtle.

And another one.

Eggs of different types of turtles that come to Sri Lanka's shore.

It was a nice little detour and one that we hadn't planned.  When we got back to the hotel, we swam and napped and generally just relaxed for the rest of the day.  We had accomplished the one thing we had really planned on doing in Sri Lanka successfully!

Relaxing at the swimming pool at night.

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[1] Especially if they could do it without throwing up.

Spring Break Vacation to Thailand Part II

Monday, March 23, was our second day in Phuket, but our first full day. We let the kids sleep in and we did the same.  We got up and took the shuttle to the other Marriott property where there is a cafe that serves a buffet breakfast.  We got a 30 percent discount and the twins eat free, so we got a good deal.  The breakfast had a wide variety of tropical fruit, omelet and pancake stations, as well as a Thai noodle soup station where you can make your own soup.  In addition there is a wide variety of other breakfast and other foods available.  The kids also loved the wide selection of juices and smoothies.

Riding the shuttle to the JW Marriott and breakfast.

Breakfast!

After breakfast we came and played in the main pool at our property.  It is about twenty meters from our back door, so quite convenient.

Sophie jumping into the pool.

Sophie doing a cannonball.

Swimming in the pool.

After swimming for a few hours, we walked down to the beach.  The waves and current were a bit stronger than the night before and so we limited the kids to wade up to their knees.  They are getting better at swimming, but none of them are really strong yet.  I didn't got out much past my waist because the current was quite strong.

At the beach.

Finding shells.

Lexa intent on finding the best shells.

Looking out across the Indian Ocean.

Sophie with the Sand Castle.

Hard at work.

Sophie buried in the sand.

Oh heck, sand up to my neck!

The kids managed to spend about three hours at the beach playing in the sand, finding shells, and wading.  We came home and swam in our pool for about 45 minutes or so before giving the kids showers and going out to dinner.  We went to the same Thai cafe for dinner, and then went to Swenson's Ice Cream for dessert.  By the time we got home it was after 8:00 and the kids were beat, so they went straight to bed.

Dinner at the Thai Cafe.

Turtle Village hanging out.

Eating ice cream to end a long and happy day.

Spring Break Vacation to Thailand Part I

In October we booked a vacation to Phuket, Thailand.  It seemed like it would be a long time away when we booked it.  We had the cards paid off for it in December and we were busy living.  And then March came, and it was a reality that we would really be heading to Thailand for our first tropical vacation.  It is also the first real non-travel vacation, or a vacation where we just go and stay in one place for a long time that we have ever taken.

Our flight from Astana left at 9:30 on Saturday evening.  We ordered a minivan taxi to pick us up at 7:30.  We left our dog, Yuki, with our friends, grabbed our three suitcases and two backpacks and headed for the airport. Our friend, Chris Keeley was traveling to Bangkok for a training session for the US embassy, so we waited at the airport with him.  Our flight to Almaty was uneventful.  In Almaty we had to walk to a different building outside.   Almaty was above zero (Celsius), had no snow, and had green grass.  Astana has been hovering around zero (Celsius) and some days had gotten plus enough that the snow and ice began to melt, but there is still plenty there.

Waiting in Almaty for our connection to Bangkok

We waited for a few hours before boarding our flight to Bangkok.  That flight was full, but nice.  We really like the Kazakh airline, Astana Air, because they have a bit more leg room than most US carriers. That extra two inches really makes a difference in comfort for tall people like me.  The kids slept a bit, watched the television, and ate their snacks/dinner on the flight.  We landed in Bangkok at about 9:00 a.m.  The airport was huge and we got a bit lost trying to make our connection - we had to go through passport and customs before making the connection.  We had plenty of time, so we were okay.

After checking in to our next flight and going back through security, we went to eat with the girls.  We went to McDonald's since our kids were quite broken down after a sleepless night and we knew that they would be happier with something familiar.  We had a nice slow lunch and then went to our gate.  We were still a few hours early, so Yulia and I stretched out and rested while the kids played.

Lunch at McDonald's at the airport in Bangkok

View of a garden from our table at McDonald's

Our flight to Phuket was only about an hour long and we were served a nice snack lunch on the way.  When we landed we had to get our checked bag.  It did not come out on the carousel, so we were a bit worried.  Then an airport employee told us that we could pick it up with the international bags.  We had checked it all the way through, so it went to a different carousel and we had to walk through customs with it.  Success!

Our Thai Airways flight to Phuket.  Happy travelers!

We found the taxi company holding up our name on a sign and then took a minibus to the Marriott resort.  It turns out that there are two Marriott resorts and we went to the wrong one.  It was okay - we were treated nicely, given a cold towel and a cold drink, and then driven on a golf cart to the correct resort about a half mile down the road.

Riding the cart to the correct Marriott resort (Marriott's Mai Khao Beach).

We were asked at check in if we wanted to upgrade to a room with a private pool for an extra $30 a night.  We thought, why not?  So we did that.  We were in a two bedroom suite with a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a laundry.  It's about the size of our apartment in Kazakhstan! We let the girls put on their suits and swim in our pool for about an hour.

Swimming in our private pool.

Our living/dining room in our suite.

After swimming we walked down to the beach and we all waded a bit and saw the sunset. Then we went and found a place to eat.  We found a little Thai place that is like a chain restaurant for Thai food.  We ordered and loved everything that we tried.

Walking to the beach (about 300 meters) from our room.

Kids, meet the ocean!

Wading.

The water is so warm - even warmer than our pool at our apartment.  It's fun to play in the surf.

After that it was home to our suite for a well-deserved Rest.