Kite surfers... one of many on Nai Yang beach

A milk white moon, diluted by the translucent shadow of heavy monsoon clouds watches with an enormous, unblinking eye over the sleeping blue of the Andaman Sea tonight. A warm wind is blowing in off of the frothy waves that are still crashing the beach; big fat swells that lazily unfurl themselves upon the weary sand in their endless dance. Frogs and lizards and tiny bugs are signing happy songs to the cadence of the beating of sea on shore. The air is heavy, exactly the temperature of human skin and pregnant with the signature moisture of a tropical night.  

Hannah is playing her mandolin along to Mumford and Sons, the current song on my iPad. Gabriel is visiting with a friend in Germany through the miracle of FaceTime for the iPod. The little boys are sleeping; exhausted from a day of swimming, beach running and adventure.

It’s been a busy few days of exploration.

We’ve looked at so many houses that they’re running together in our heads. We’ve ruled out Khao Lak as a home base and are on to Nai Yang, at the very north west corner of the island of Phuket. We’re in a hotel on the beach while we look at houses. It’s going better here than it did in Khao Lak. We’ve seen two so far and we love them both. We’re hoping for one more tomorrow and then we have a decision to make. 

Do we pick the very cool trio of cottages that make up a Thai style house, with outdoor walkways between bedroom cottages and the kitchen/living house that has an enormous yard and is only 800m from the beach but does not have a washer or much at all in the way of local facilities?

Or do we choose the more “normal” house with a pool that is a 20 minute walk from the beach (we timed it today) and has a washing machine and is walking distance to literally everything we could possibly need? It’s a tough choice. The jury is still way out. Feel free to vote if you like.

The one thing we do know is that we’ve found “home” for a while. We love this quiet corner of Phuket. It’s exactly the vibe we’ve been looking for. The kids have their teeth set for kite surfing lessons from watching the amazing acrobatics of the guys who perform for us each night as we eat our dinners at various beach cafes. Hannah is scoping out places to approach about playing her music in the evenings. Ez is pointing out the SCUBA schools. Tony’s been working away without difficulty. Things are just falling into place.

Hannah waits out the rain

Hannah and I went walking today to try to learn about the area and locate a few key items. We got caught in a monsoon rain, of course. I’ve yet to master the obvious trick of putting my shiny new raincoat, purchased with just such rain in mind, into my backpack when I set out on a quest. We came home soaked to the skin, but victorious. 

We learned a few things today:

• When and where the local market will take place (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, in the empty lot behind the Wat). 
• Where to purchase a power strip. 
• That the pastries that are 4 bht, light, fluffy and delicious looking, are actually filled with some form of pig fat… not so delicious. 
• That Thai guavas are not the same as Central American guavas, but that we like them. 
• That any potatoe chip that is flavoured with any form of fish, or fish derivative is not something we can support, but that those flavoured with Japanese Seaweed are not that bad. 

We also made some new friends, who are actually old friends. The Bradley family has lived on Phuket for a year and a half and Elizabeth and I have been chatting back and forth for quite some time about family, schooling, and of course travel. She’s helped me so much with working out the little details of getting here, so it was a lot of fun to meet them in person today. They joined us for a swim and tonight the adults are going out for the evening while their little Kaya hangs out with Hannah. It’s so much fun when virtual friends cross paths and are instantly converted to “real friends.” 

The next two days will be big ones. We’ll have pictures of the house we choose as soon as the decision is made. Tomorrow will be another day of motorcycle rental and exploration before we commit! 

In the meantime, here are a few pictures to share the last few days with you:

Fresh seafood at a beach restaurant in Nai Yang... prawns are half the size of the lobster!

Shrine in Khao Lak

Waiting for the bus in Khao Lak

Hannah makes a friend on the bus!

He's sniffing me. This man is obsessed. 😉

Lovely flower at the hotel... the size of a dessert plate

The kids thought this was funny and we took the picture for my friend Lee.

Mama got a sunburn!