After breakfast the kids would fill their napkins with bread from the breakfast buffet and feed the many carp ponds around the resort with Lola. O knew exactly whom he liked to feed best and after giving a few crumbs to the what we called the “teens” (read: smaller), he’d toddle away shouting “big ones!! big ones!!” to the pond with the biggest carp, who reminded us very much of pirhanas, being able to polish of an entire loaf in seconds.
Just so you dont think we wiled away our holiday without letting the children experience the Thai culture, let me assure you that we also visited the mummified monk and the Wats around it, where N lit incense and shook the fortune sticks. We also stopped off at the Big Buddha, where large mermaid statues jutted from the sea, and both kids were fascinated at the top of the shrine where we had to walk around the area, ring the large bells in line with the Buddhist tradition.
We also made it to Samui’s national park, where the daring N went on elephant safari with her daddy, riding on its head, and later riding a baby one bareback at the elephant show. O was a little less daring, saing “no, no no” matter-of-factly when I asked him if he wanted to ride the elephant as well.
N made great friends with some expat kids who came to the hotel one afternoon, spent hours on the beach, got 2 tattoos (temporary of course!) and was saying “Kap Kun Ka” like a native! O had his first experience using water wings and was in total ecstasy feeling independent in the water for the first time ever. It was wonderful for both the Grandparents and the kids to spend quality time together, and my husband and I got to sneak off on several occassions to sample some of the great restaurants on the island.
Tanned and happy, it was a wonderful holiday, not without its hitches, but with kids, it was a good as it gets!
[tags]Thailand, Koh Samui, Travel with Kids[/tags]
Originally posted on November 20, 2006 @ 12:18 am
