Time with the Thielmans!

The Thielmans met us in Hua Hin on the 20th. It was so, so good to see them!! We had such a fun, full, eight days together at the beach.

Day two was filled with the beach and simply the joy of being together. Zach, Kelly, Megan, and I kayaked out to an island that looked pretty close. We discovered that Monkey Island was in fact, named appropriately. As soon as we jumped out of our kayaks a bunch of monkeys appeared from behind the trees to meet us/ eat our paddles and steal our water. A lot of people take boat tours out to the island to feed the monkeys, so I think they were expecting food from us…they weren’t too happy to find out we didn’t have any. We attempted to hike up to the top of the island-that was interesting. It was super steep and extremely overgrown. After a few scrapes too many we turned around and headed back. After a couple (very funny) falls on the way back down, and what seemed like a forever long kayak back to shore, we spent the rest of the day hanging out on the beach.

Day three was spent with our guide for the day, Nut. In the morning we drove about 2 hours to a national park where we hiked up to really pretty waterfall. On the way we stopped at a pineapple field for a look after a conversation in the back seat between Mr Andy and Zach that went something like this- A- “What do you think that this?” Pointing to one of the many, many fields we had passed. Z- “ I don’t know…it looks kind of like pineapple though.” A- “pineapple doesn’t grow in the ground, it grows from trees. Z- “no it doesn’t, it grows in the ground.” So, we then had to stop and learn about how pineapple grows. It was pretty funny.
After hiking up to the falls, Nut told us that whoever caught one of the HUNDREDS of fish by hand from one of the many pools beneath the waterfall, would get a free chocolate milk. Lets just say that looked MUCH easier then it really was. After about half an hour of trying, someone asked him if anyone had ever done it before. Nope. And we didn’t change that. We certainly tried to though. For a long time. It actually provided about at least an hour of entertainment.

We had lunch at a little local place, and then drove about an hour back towards Hua Hin, to the elephant village. We got to spend about 2 hours trekking around trails on elephants. That was so cool! Definitely a first.

Day four Zach and I introduced the scooters :) Zach, Mr Andy, Kelly, and I headed into town to make a grocery run. Who knew the grocery store could be such an adventure? That night we all headed into town to the local night market. That was a cool experience. We tried some of the local street food for dinner, and found some gifts for peeps back home. In Thailand you can find just about any type of food on a stick-they really seem to like the skewers. We tried chicken on a stick, pork on a stick, fruit on a stick…etc. It was all pretty good! We steered away from most of the weird stuff :)

Day five was Christmas Eve! It was the 1st year that it really didn’t feel like Christmas Eve to me. We had to keep reminding each other what day it was. It was a fun day though! Spent the morning playing frisbee at the beach and then took a boat tour out to Monkey Island. This time, armed with bananas. Monkeys are actually pretty nice when you have food for them…all except for the one male that stole all the other monkeys' bananas. Not cool. He wasn’t my favorite. Every once in a while one of the smaller ones would randomly jump on somebody looking for more food-that was always pretty funny. As long as it wasn't me. After they finished off the bananas, we got back in the boat and got a tour of the island from the water. It was a beautiful boat ride! God’s creation is amazing.

That night, we had Christmas dinner. Definitely not my mama’s cookin', but it was good. The best part of dinner though, was Santa. Apparently every year the resort has one of the guests volunteer to dress up as Santa and come during dinner, call all the kids names one at a time, and hand out gifts that their parents have pre-wrapped. This year no one signed up to be Santa. So guess who volunteered? Mr. Andy. It was pretty funny. Santa rode in on a rickshaw and delivered gifts to all the kiddos. Pictures below :)

Day six was Christmas! Definitely the most unique Christmas I’ve ever celebrated. I knew it was going to be a hard day. When think about Christmas I think about my Jesus and my family. I missed my family so much more during the holiday season. There are just so many traditions and memories that go along with that time of year and it was hard knowing that things were going to be so different this year. Knowing that the time of year when families are all together, mine was going to be so far away. It made my heart hurt. Jesus was so gracious to let me spend that time with people that I love so much and are so special to me, even though we were an ocean away from home. It was still really hard not to be with my whole family, but I was so incredibly thankful to be able to be with my brother and the Thielmans. That was such a huge blessing. We had so much fun, and made memories that will last forever.

Christmas morning we opened a few presents/stockings, made a quick grocery run, (nothing like Tesco on Christmas morning) and then Kelly, Megan, Zach, and I, packed a lunch and took the scooters to the national park for most of the day. We had so much fun! Kelly and I also learned that going over speed bumps too fast can result in a flat tire. That evening we all headed back the night market to find a Mexican restaurant that we remembered from a few nights before, for dinner. We had Mexican for our Christmas dinner, and it was delicious :)

Day seven we drove about 4 hours to the floating market. Took a while to get there, but it was a neat experience. You hop in a little paddle boat and shop from the water. All the little vendors are set up and when you go by, they grab a long stick with a hook on the end and pull your boat over to see if you want to buy anything. It was pretty crazy. After that, we drove about two more hours to the place where we ate, and then drove a little ways to a little village where we went bamboo rafting on the river Kwai. It was a little slower then any of us expected…we were pulled up the river by a long tail with a motor and then just drifted back down with hardly any current, but it was very peaceful and the river was really pretty. We also had a great sunshiny day for it, which was perfect. Towards the beginning of our four hour drive back home, we stopped to see the bridge over the river Kwai. That was cool. It was neat to see in person and learn more about the history behind it.

Day eight Zach and I went to Hua Hin and hung out together for the day. The Thielmans were really sweet to give us that chance to be together- I didn’t think I would care that much…we had just spent a week together, but it was really nice to have one more day with him before he went home. He’s a good bro:) That night Kelly, Megan, Zach and I played spades (trying to finish our ongoing tournament) until about 1:00am when his taxi was scheduled for the ride back to Bangkok. Bummer goodbyes, but they all seem to be. I always hate those. It was so, so fun to explore Thailand with him for almost 2 weeks though. I’m so thankful for that special time that we had together. Sweet memories were made for sure.

Day nine the rest of us headed back to Bangkok to catch our plane to China! We made it to Shanghai about 9:30pm. So much fun to see where the Thielmans have been living for the first time, and a glimpse of what their day to day life is like here.

a taste of family . . .

I have five of the most legit brothers in the world. They’re hard workers, tons of fun, and they love Jesus. I look up to them all, and have so much respect for them. I miss them all like crazy. But I got to spend two weeks at the beach with one of them, and Oh my goodness, it was so.much.fun. I’m so thankful for the time that we got to hang together. Zach flew into Bangkok on the 14th, I met up with him, we stayed one night, and then headed down to Hua Hin via bus the nextday.

We spent a week swimming, playing cards, exploring the national park on rented scooters, (pretty much just driving around and exploring around the world and back on said rented scooters as well) caving, eating yummy Thai food, hiking, visiting local markets, walking the beach, talking about life, doing nothing, and just having fun being together. He’s the best.

Koh Jum

Alright. From now on I promise to be consistent in my blogging. It's been a little bit harder then usual this past month and a half because internet has been so scarce, but I have wireless now, and I'm done with the excuses :)
Here's what I saved on my computer everyday when we were on Koh Jum.

Day 2

Today we hung out at the beach in between the rain showers. Not the nicest day ever, but still fun. It’s so weird having an entire day with no agenda and a bunch of stuff that needs to get done. Especially knowing we are going to have 2+ weeks of this. Sometimes it’s so hard to slow down. You want to, but you also have to almost force yourself at the same time. It’s nice in a way not to have any internet and be “cut off” to most extents. It’s been a while since that has been true, and I’ve forgotten how nice of a break it is to just pull away for a while. My goal is to read through the New Testament over these next couple weeks... we’ll see how that goes. This afternoon Dave, Micah and Levi took the kayak out and went fishing. They ended up catching quite a few squid. Dave then gave the squid to the cook, who made them for dinner. I’m really not a big fan of seafood in general, so squid’s pushing it. I did eat it, and it was just as gross as I thought it was going to be. But like I said, I did eat it. I actually was pretty proud of myself if we’re being honest. Ended the day with a quiet walk on the beach with my Jesus under the stars.

Day 3
Today was pretty rainy like yesterday. Still hung at the beach quite a bit in between showers though. Late this afternoon I went kayaking which was beautiful. I was out there for a couple hours and then sat in a little cove and watched the sun set. One of the prettiest sunsets I’ve ever seen. I didn’t want it to end. It really was picturesque. Our Creator never ceases to amaze me. Tonight for dinner we decided to walk down the beach a little ways to the next set of bungalows. That was a good choice! We discovered that their restaurant is MUCH better then ours, and will probably be eating over there from now on. Put the boys to bed and then headed down to the beach to call my mama and sit under the stars.

Day 4
Still rainy. Hung with a couple friends down the beach a ways that we met yesterday though. Oh, and we had PORK for lunch…what?!?

Day 5
Today Mel, Micah and I ventured into Krabi. Kind of a bummer that the one day it decides not to rain, is the day that we made plans to leave. When we first got to the island we took a ferry, (among other things) but after being here a few
days have figured out how the locals get back and forth between here and the mainland. Their way is much cheaper and much simpler. So that’s how we decided to go. Paul and Pauline, the sweet older couple that owns the place that we’re staying, were already going in today and asked if we wanted to go with them which was perfect. We headed down to the pier in Paul’s 1947 Land Rover that felt in every way shape and form like it was going to fall apart at about 7:15 and caught the 7:40 longtail boat off the island. Spent the majority of the day in Krabi getting things done and then headed back the same way. We went grocery shopping which is a little tricky since we have no fridge or kitchen, but we bought a little Styrofoam cooler that is now full of milk and yogurt, and a bunch of cereal and snacks. Now we just have to make sure the monkeys don’t find out about it :)

Day 6
Today we decided to kayak down the beach a ways and try out one of the other restaurants. Dave and Micah took one, and Mel, Levi and I took another. The place that we ended up was owned by a French couple and the food was delicious. We met a family from Canada with 2 little girls who were almost the exact same age as Micah and Levi, so we ended up staying for a quite awhile since they all seemed to be rather instant playmates. Seems to happen when we ever so rarely come upon English speaking children. Unfortunately, the same time we decided to head back, there was a huge storm heading the same direction. We decided to just paddle fast and try to beat it. Lets just say, we did NOT in fact beat it. We did get back safely though which is always a plus. A little wet and extremely tired, but safe. What’s a day without a little adventure anyway?

Day 7
Today was sunny! Sunny and Extremely hot. When you’re on the beach though, that’s a very nice thing. The water turned a gorgeous crystal blue when the sun came out and pretty much all we did today was swim, eat, swim, read, swim some more, and sleep. It was wonderful.

Day 8
Today I spent the morning with my Jesus and it was so good. It’s amazing to me how He chooses to be so personal with each of His children. I love it. Dave, Mel and the boys, kayaked all the way down the beach, had lunch and explored and then rented a motorcycle and drove back. About an hour before they got back I was sitting in my bungalow and for some reason started thinking about monkeys, and how everyone said they were all over the island, but I hadn’t seen a single one since we’d been there. After this occurred to me I was telling Jesus that I was so thankful for not seeing any, and telling Him how much I hate monkeys (He already knows this though…definitely told Him this one before) and how nice it was not to have to worry about them. Seriously not 5 sec later I start to hear weird sounds coming from Dave and Mel's bungalow next door. Knowing they were gone, I went outside to see what it was. It was what I was hoping it wasn’t. Monkeys EVERYWHERE. From my balcony I could see them all over the porch, roof, and climbing in and out through a back window that was wide open. Did I mention I hate monkeys? And to be honest, due to some scary situations in India I’m also rather scared of them now too. But I knew what had to be done. Grabbed a broom and headed over, making very loud noises all the way. I pushed the door open and was greeted by 20+ monkeys staring straight at me. I screamed at them and they just sat there. It was crazy. One was sitting there pooping while eating peanut butter out of the jar that he had screwed open, one was eating cereal out of the box, many were sitting there peeling oranges, and a whole bunch were just sitting on the floor. I hit one with the broom and they all freaked out. As did I. Not really sure what to do, I started yelling and just banging stuff with the broom. They all left very quickly via the window, and I started cleaning up the massive mess they left behind. God’s got a sense of humor.

They came back early afternoon and the plan was for Mel and Levi to take a nap, and Dave, Micah and I to take the motorcycle back to town, get the kayak, and paddle all the way back down the beach. This plan was going well, until the crew sent to retrieve the kayak ran out of gas. That’s always fun. Picture this. A big tall white guy with a fisherman hat and no shoes walking a motorbike that won’t start. Behind him a ways, a white girl in a tie dyed shirt with no shoes and very muddy feet, followed by a little boy with no shirt, no shoes, and very happily eating fried bananas. On a dirt road in the middle of what seemed like nowhere.

Everyone was staring, but no one seemed to want to help with the gas tank.

Having not a clue where the next “gas station” was, eventually we stopped at a house that looked like it had somewhat of a bike repair shop out back in a shed. The lady spoke no English so eventually Dave just walked up to the shed and started looking for gas. We were successful in finding enough to get us to the gas station. Got some gas, returned the lady’s gas, and eventually returned the bike and paddled home. Not a real adventure till something goes wrong.

Day 9
Pretty much just a normal day on the beach. Sunny, beautiful, and restful.

Day 10
Today we hung at the beach all morning, had lunch, and then Mel and I headed into town to find internet while the boys slept. We rented a motorbike from the bungalows down the beach and headed into town. Koh Jum is a very small island and town really doesn’t consist of much, but there are a few small grocery shops, an internet café or two, and some touristy type shops. The dirt roads are so bad that it takes almost 30 min to drive into town. The way there was no problem aside from the pot holes and occasional “mud holes” along the way. We found a decent little internet café and did what we needed to do, stopped and had a cup of coffee at a cute little restaurant, and then headed back to the bungalows. About 2 minutes after we started home Mel made a comment about the clouds that seemed a little bit dark. About 2 minutes after Mel’s comment was made it started raining. About 2 minutes after it started raining it started POURING. Did I mention the roads were dirt? Makes for a very slippery, muddy, wet ride home :) It was pretty funny. We were fishtailing, getting stuck, couldn’t hardly see, completely drenched, full of mud, and all of the sudden, the only motorbike that was dumb enough to still be on the road. Just as we were both wondering aloud about where everyone else who had been on the road a few minutes ago was waiting out the storm, we passed a house where some people where sitting out on their porch. The lady waved us down and told us to sit on the porch with them til the storm passed. They were very sweet. Our pathetically wet selves were given towels, chairs, and told to sit until the rain stopped. We sat for about 20 min or so and then decided that the rain really didn’t look like it was going to stop, the roads were just getting worse by the second, we were already soaked and so we might as well just drive the rest of the way back. The lady did not think this was a good idea, but we went anyway. The rest of the way home was just as funny and hard as the first try, but we made it eventually. And, we gave our friends that we rented the bike from, a good hard laugh at the site of us. Sometimes you just have to suffer for the story, right?

Day 11
Today was a wonderful slow day filled with, Jesus, reading, kayaking, sun, and good food. Just can’t go wrong with that.

Day 12
We all hit the road early this morning and headed into Krabi for the day to get some stuff done. Grocery shopped, mailed stuff at the post office, found internet etc. It turned out to be a pretty long day, and we didn’t get as much done as some were hoping, but I guess that’s just life some times. Good days, bad days. They both happen. The beach was a welcome sight to all at about 5:00 pm when we got back. The sun was just starting to set and it was gorgeous. One of Jesus’ gracious ways of reminding ourselves of His face.

Day 13
Today the weather was gorgeous and we spent every bit of our day outside enjoying it. Swam, read, slept, kayaked, ya know the usual.

Day 14
Today we moved from our little bungalows to the big house at the end of the beach. I leave in a couple days, but Dave, Mel and the boys will be here at least another week while waiting for their visas, and Mel decided she would rather not do it in the bungalows. They were great for a while but no hot water, kitchen, washing machine, internet, or space, gets hard. So we moved. Not gonna lie though, it was a little bit awkward moving all of our stuff out of our bungalows and then not leaving, but just moving down the beach a little ways. Especially because we have to pass the place that we had been staying, in order to get to the place that we eat everyday. Oh well. Spent the morning moving everything, figuring out the new house, and enjoying the hot shower :) Played at the beach all afternoon, ate a lunch that we actually made for the first time in over 2 weeks due to no kitchen, played at the beach some more then ate a yummy supper with our friends down at Bon Homie. I ended my day down at the beach under the stars….talking to my family and spending some time with my Jesus.

Day 15
Today was my last full day on the island. I fly to Bangkok tomorrow to meet up with Zach!! So excited! Today the weather was pretty off and on. This morning was rainy, but it cleared up this afternoon and so we decided to jump in the kayaks and head down the beach for lunch. Someone apparently told Dave about a certain place that had “really good burgers”. Even though we knew it was probably too good to be true, we decided to try it out. Unfortunately it was in fact, too good to be true. They were not burgers. They had chicken burgers, but that’s just not the same thing. Lunch was still pretty good though. The other unfortunate thing was that the clear sky that we enjoyed all the way over, wasn’t looking so clear anymore when it was time to go. Why does this always seem to be the case? Everytime we’ve tried to go anywhere on the kayaks, we always get stuck in a storm on the way back! You’d think we’d learn our lesson, and just quit trying. Anyways, turned out to be a very longggg, cold, wet ride home in the huge waves. But we made it eventually, and then spent the rest of the rainy day inside in cozy clothes. Tomorrow I get to see my bro!!!!!!!!