Bye bye Samui!

Today we are leaving Samui and heading towards Pattaya! The girls and me have been on Koh Samui for 6 weeks today and Dirk 6 days! Time flies... it feels like I have only been here 2 weeks!! But then I look back on all the posts and I can see I have been here that long :-)

Now we are doing 4 days in Pattaya, 4 days in Hua Hin and last 4 days in BKK. Going to see and meet a lot of new and old friends, which I am looking forward to!!

It was fun to spend so much time here in Baan Laem Noi here on Bang Po, such a great place to be! A little paradise on earth! And if we get a chance again, we will be back!!

It was great to finally meet my friend Annette, her husband Oscar and their children Jing Lan and Chang! We will miss you guys!

And below some pictures of the girls while posing their new funky hat and pink sunglasses! Always fun to see the girls having fun :-)

Dirk and Jasmine.



Me and Juliet, obviously there was more to nibble on my feet than hers :-)













Soon we are on the plane and my next posting will be from the Marriott in Pattaya... IF we have free WIFI like here!! (I really hope so!)

Thaland; just an amazing land!!

Sawasdee Kha!
Mireille

Dirk arrives in Samui...

... and the style of photography changes immediately ;-)

Here a recollection of the fun moments Dirk has with his girls on his first day at Baan Laem Noi.





















The girls were happy that their daddy was there, since he plays much more in the water than I do! They use him as a building block and to stand on his shoulders and jump in the water... or pretend play that he is the water monster and has to catch them, all these games that are so fun to do with your daddy!

Sawasdee Kha,
Mireille

8 going on 18.....

Remember when we gave the girls a spa on the beach? Well, I knew that would be followed up, sooner or later. And I was right! Not even a week later JJ & Jezz asked me if they could do now the peel-off mask. I bought a few ones for the spa on the beach day, since I had no clue which one they fancied... at first the chocolate one was the most favorite, but we used those ones and we only had peel-off masks left. Well, today was the day!

The girls are really into changing... during the day still a kid, having fun in the pool, being silly, goofy with their goggles and hippo....





Showing mommy all their tricks they can do under water, like JJ here standing on her hands....



And Jezz of course posing again :-)



But then at night the girls are 8 going on 18!! The little divas who like their pedis & manis, but now we added a new treatment to that.... the masks!



First they lay patiently on their beds, waiting for the masks to dry and then as if they had done it all their life... peeling off the gooey stuff...



Loving it at first, but at some spots it felt a bit painful... yeah with such a delicate skins...



Life is tough when you want to be beautiful :-)



They loved the peeling-off sensation, but I don't think we will do it soon again, because they found it more painful than they taught it would be. Oh well, since time flies by I am sure that soon enough... at least soon for my taste, the girls will venture again in some kind of beauty product! They already discovered the whipped cream, as they called it, for their hair (mousse).

What is next? We will see!

Ciao or should I still say Sawasdee Kha!
Mireille

a little bit of a football hangover...

We watched the football game last night from 1:30 am till 4:30 am, so this morning we only woke up at 11:30 am... we need a quite day at the pool. A bit disappointed and having a football hangover, we just keep quite today..

But a day at the pool in Baan Laem Noi here on Koh Samui is not a punishment!

Have a relaxing Monday, just like us!!
Sawasdee Kha!
Mireille

Hot or not....

Jasmine and Juliet stay my little fashionistas! Here showing of their new skirts.







We found a little children's boutique in Nathon which has really cool kids and adults clothes, although a lot of it is in tye-die. I guess that is the latest newest style again. Coming back from the 70's but just slightly different. Quite cool! We will be going back for more :-)

Coconut smashing....

On a very sunny day this week, we decided to stay home and just relax by the pool. Actually you think it is always sunny here but we had some cloudy days the last 2 weeks, so this was an exceptional hot and sunny day. Normally it is just HOT! Besides swimming and jumping in the pool, the girls decided to try a new game: coconut smashing!

Next to our resort is an empty lot where a lot of old coconuts are laying around. So Juliet and Jasmine gathered some of these heavy nuts and brought them back to our place. We are directly on the beach, but it is a rocky beach and the girls play a lot climbing up and down on these rocks. Looking for little critters.. anything that moves. But today they found another way of using these rocks. Climbing on top and throwing these heavy coconuts on the rocks below in hopes that they crash and the liquid that is inside will come plashing out. Well, they tried their hardest but they couldn't crack these nuts! However, they had fun trying it, and it kept them busy for quite a while! In the meantime I was relaxing and reading my Kindle... mommy had fun watching them in between my chapters :-)

These are the rocks at the end of our resort. The island in the back is Koh Pangnan.



Jasmine and Juliet gathering old coconuts.



and trying to smash them!



And on the left you see my beach chair, nice and relaxing under a big tree to make sure I don't get too much sun at a time!



A view from where the girls are standing looking back into the garden of the resort.



Looking towards the west, next to us is the Four Seasons Resort.



Looking towards the east, there is my favorite Thai restaurant where we eat quite often these days :-)



Khun Porn, the manager here, thought that the girls were trying to open these coconuts to drink the liquid, the girls knew though that the liquid inside these old nuts is not good, but she didn't know they knew! So she plucked 2 coconuts from the tree and gave the girls these fresh and young ones... but these tasted not well either!! Surprise, surprise the juice out of these coconuts tasted SALTY!! Because the trees on the seaside need liquid too, but the water they use is salty so the juice inside the coconut was salty as well... we learned something new today!

Thailand, the land of fresh coconut juice!!


Did you know that coconut juice is one of the healthiest beverages?

Its unique combination of nutrients gives it incredible health-promoting properties. Coconut water has a normalizing effect and gives the body a boost of energy so that it can overcome a number of health-related conditions. It is effective in relieving dehydration, fatigue, constipation, and other digestive disturbances, kidney and bladder disorders, and vision problems such as glaucoma and cataract. It is reported to turn back time, so to speak, by reversing or slowing down the aging process. Coconut water also has an alkalizing effect on the body, helping to counteract or balance the effects of acidifying foods which are so common in our diets. Research shows that coconut water can improve blood circulation, lower elevated blood pressure, and reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes. Studies have been so impressive that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has approved coconut water to carry the claim that it "may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke."

Sawasdee Kha!
Mireille

Spa on the beach

On Sunday we gave the girls a spa treatment on the beach. Jasmine, Juliet and their friend Jing Lan lined up on the beach chairs on our beach and each got a chocolate face mask, a full body massage and a nail polish on hands and feet done by these 2 'professionals' named Mireille & Annette :-)

So much fun, a great idea for a new kind of business.... "Spa for Kids" or "Relaxing on the Beach for the Missus"! To get rid of all kinds of kids stress, to forget busy school schedules and other things that worry a child's mind! Hey if the daughters of Kimora Lee Simmons; Ming Lee & Aoki Lee can do it, WE CAN TOO!! LOL




So here the line up on the beach. It is not too sunny and a little breeze is going on, perfect weather for a perfect afternoon!
Is this the FABULOSITY life style or what??





Juliet, with her chocolate face mask. An excellent moisturizer that leaves your skin soft and glowing.



Jasmine is realizing that chocolate helps stabilize your mood by initiating serotonin release. It is very rejuvenating and helps you feel more at peace, happy and relaxed.



Jing Lan is already a lot happier than when she came! :-)



The girls and the moms had a fun afternoon! I can't remember that I got these kind of treatments when I was 5 or 8!!
I was playing in the mud, instead of having this mud kind of concoction on my face :-)

By the way; if you like to give your daughter or son a treatment like this, you can make the chocolate mask by using this recipe here, or if you like to do it like us just go to a pharmacy and look for the chocolate mud masque by Montagne Jeunesse, it is really moisturizing & hydrating!
And it smells divine as well :-) Addicting these kind of treatments, but now it is time for MOMMY!!

Sawasdee Kha,
Mireille

A relaxing day at the pool

Some days the girls are just happy to have a day with nothing planned and just play time at the pool. So we do these days as well. Me and my dad sitting in the shade, reading a book or just chatting away while the girls do all kinds of pretend play in and around the pool. Easy, fun and relaxing!!

Making exotic juices for us to 'pretend' drink :-)



Jasmine is into brewing things from leaves and flowers, she can play hours, also by herself, while Juliet is reading... :-)



JJ reading her books at the side of the pool, she can't leave her books alone. These are new ones that Opa brought from the Netherlands.



A view from the beach side, the pool and the girls having fun.



A view from the pool into the garden, our house is the second roof on the right.



And at night sleeping in their new nightgown, the T-shirt they got at the Dutch bar from the soccer match Holland vs Japan. Their faces glowing from all the sun they got...



Today we are making a road trip around the island, this is in total about 100 km. There are different beaches we like to explore, some waterfalls and other vistas.

More about that later.
Have a good day!
Mireille

Fishing; the old fashion way..

Jasmine and Juliet made friends with the daughter of one of the care takers here at the resort. Her name is Nim Tao, and she is 10 years old. While we were relaxing at the pool, we saw her fishing the old fashion way, with just her hands and a little sieve and cup. I told the girls to go to her and help her. But JJ and Jezz were shy and it took a bit of convincing before they finally went over to her and started playing with her. All 3 were happy as a camper, because all day they had so much fun together! The language barrier which was first the reason why they didn't want to go over to her, was now gone! Giggling and laughing trying to catch those little fish with their hands or cup kept them busy most of the day, while I was just enjoying my Kindle in the shade... Yeah I learned my lesson!! And stay out of the direct sun, even though it is overcast!!



The views are very picturesque here. The bay looks out over Koh Phangnan, Samui’s little sister, and is secluded by natural rock formations at either end. So great for the girls to roam around and look for critters.









It is too bad that the local kids still have no vacation, so JJ and Jezz can only play with their newly made friend on the weekends. So they have to wait again a whole week before seeing her!

In the evening we went to a ballet recital from a local ballet school where another friend of us was performing. My friend Annette who lives here on the island, and we have rented the house via her, asked us if we wanted to come and see her 5 year old daughter perform in a Disney compilation. And the girls are already BIG friends with Jing Lan so we were delighted to go and see! So cute all these little girls on stage! We had a lot of fun, but my camera is really acting weird after I dropped it by accident, so the next batch of pictures are hopefully better, since my dad brought me a new one. Which I have to test now...

Below is our friend Jing Lan the 3rd person on the right, in all 3 images. Isn't she cute?? JJ and Jezz love her!! She speaks Dutch as well, but also English and Thai, so they speak in a mix when they play together.







More of our adventures tomorrow!
Have a good day y'all!
Mireille