Sunday, March 23, 2014

Week 8: Dramatic Abandonment, Bioluminescent Planktons, Elephants & Mangroves.

17 - 23 March, 2014

Bulk of the week was spent in Krabi, so I guess I will focus this post on the trip.

So yes, what was initially meant to be a snorkelling trip with my dad, turned out to be a full blown family vacation with dad, mom and the little one, given the recent developments at home. I had already booked tickets and hotel, so decided to stick to the original plan which was to be honest not very toddler friendly. But we decided to make the best of it. And here are the highlights.

Dad, Mom, Little One and I went on an Elephant Safari.
In other words, we comfortably seated ourselves on chairs atop elephants that walked through the jungles and streams, and I realized that the massive to and fro motion as the elephant took each step, was not at all comfortable. The Little One probably felt the same but all she did was sit tight without uttering a single sound. It was probably her quietest hour during the trip.

Dad and I went snorkelling while Mom babysat the Little One.
We were picked up by the snorkelling guys in a fancy wooden box attached to the sides of a scooter which resulted in the most fun ride ever, we enjoyed the fast longboat ride over choppy waters, we explored a ton of corals, saw hundreds of multicoloured fish and once even a crab, got bruised and cut all over when we were dropped off at the wrong end of very shallow waters and tall corals, we walked along a sandbank that appeared between two islands during low tide, walked through extremely rocky waters to a pristine beach, watched the most beautiful sunset ever, got stranded in a boat for close to an hour when the boat got stuck in the rocks thanks to low tide, and the best part of all, we, for the first time ever, saw bio luminescent plankton in the pitch black sea - these fascinating creatures are like glowworms, but in the ocean, and they light up when the water around them moves! Watching them glow as I slapped around in the water, was nothing short of magical!

Mom and I went kayaking in the sea and through the mangroves, while Dad babysat the Little One.
Well, initially it was my mom and I on the same kayak, with me trying to paddle away. But when I, albeit my best paddling efforts, fell behind all the others in our group who were primarily being driven by tall, strong, beefy men, my Mom got cold feet and wanted to get a paddle boy for her kayak. So I was unceremoniously fired as the kayaker and we switched boats. While she lounged comfortably in her kayak being rowed around like a "queen" (words of a fellow tourist), I sat miserably in between two guys in the middle of another kayak, not let anywhere near a paddle. But the experience of kayaking through that maze of mangroves with the constant sounds of crickets and birds, sightings of monkeys (one even jumped onto a kayak!) and cool atmosphere in spite of the blistering heat outside in the open ocean, it was indeed an experience of a lifetime. My mom thought the same too, except that whenever she mentions it, she ends with a "Should have gotten that paddle boy earlier. You could have drowned me!". I did try pointing out that drowning was impossible with life jackets on, but that is simply acknowledged with a "Still, you never know!". Sigh.

Other exciting things happened too.

Dad and Mom went shopping while the Little One and I hit the pool in the hotel. Dad discovered a few tour options as they ventured out, so he left Mom at the beach to quickly get back to the hotel to check my opinion on them. On the way to the hotel, Dad lost his way pretty badly. Mom sat at the beach all alone into the night for a couple hours with no money and no phone. Mom thought she was abandoned by her family (yeah, dramatic). Dad got back to her after much delay and heartache and tension. Dad and Mom got back to the hotel to me and the Little One who were oblivious of anything happening. All we thought was that Dad and Mom were doing a little bit too much shopping.

The Little One made friends with everyone at the hotel. They were all kinda inseparable by the end of three days. She also made friends with everyone at the airport, getting into deep conversations with Russians and Indians and Malaysians and Thais, as we waited for our very delayed flight. In the process, she decided to improve her vocabulary and out of nowhere started saying "Eka" (her name), "apple", "Aana" (elephant), "Dudu" (milk), "eyes", "kose" (I think she means "nose" because that's what she points at), "Kaaka" (crow), and such. I decided that she might just be the scientist that her dad wants her to be and not the actress that I believe she might turn out to be. But then when we got back to Singapore airport, we went to our favourite Ananda Bhavan for dinner, and there, she demonstrated that actress might be more her thing anyway. After feeding herself dosa and coconut chutney, when convinced that she had had her fill, she used the remaining chutney to delicately apply on her cheeks, very much how she does with her (and my) multitude creams, as part of her daily beauty regime. Also, there was one instant when she threw a tantrum and I pointed out to her a bunch of strangers watching her from a distance. She quickly dropped the tantrum and picked her best toothy grin and waved at them. Yup. Actress, it is.

So yes, it was an eventful trip. I did miss the hubby who was left behind (rather, he chose to stay behind because 'work is priority' and all that talk), and was very glad to be back.

The Little One on the other hand, didn't seem all that pleased, and immediately walked back to the lift as we reached the door of the apartment. Clearly, she had a great trip.

And so did my parents.

Except that my mom keeps retelling the story of how she thought her family abandoned her with no money and no Thai linguistic skills in the middle of a beach in Krabi.

I guess we will have to live with that.



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