Rayong

I flew back from Cambodia in the late evening of 1 January. I learned a valuable lesson about traveling: never judge an airport by its check-in area! While waiting to check in (I got to the Siem Reap airport too early), I thought "this must be the worst airport I've ever been in", but I found the departures area to be comfortable and elegant. It seems the airport is under renovation. The flight back took all of 45 minutes, and cost just a bit more than the 9-hour bus. I think from now on I'll stick to flying, as long as it's not too much more expensive.

Early the morning of the 2nd, my friend Kelsey and I were waiting at a small Chinese coffee shop outside the Grand Tower Inn Hotel waiting to be picked up for our "family vacation".

P'Chai at the wheel!

Our "Thai family", P'Ja, P'Chai, and P'Joc, soon arrived in an old vehicle with a covered back into which Kelsey and I and our belongings were loaded. Then, we were on our bumpy way east to Rayong.

sunset

This would be a laid-back and relaxing trip. About three hours later, we arrived at a small and comfortable homestay owned by Eddie, a foreign friend of P'Ja and her family, who we met at the wedding in October. We had a giant Thai seafood dinner at a beach restaurant and watched the sun setting over the Gulf of Thailand.

relaxing by the pool

The next morning was equally laid-back. After a breakfast of toast and eggs, I tried to go for a swim in the pool, although it's been kind of cold lately, and the water was too cold to stay in for very long. I also made friends with the dogs, giant Bob, tiny Poppy, and Chicken, a friendly poodle.

Bob and Poppy

After a while, P'Ja took us sightseeing. We drove a little way out of town to a seaside shrine to King Thaksin of Thonburi, the only monarch of the Thonburi Dynasty, the dynasty immediately succeeding the fall of Ayutthaya and preceding the current Bangkok monarchy.

King Thaksin of Thonburi

We hiked up to a scenic overlook by a waterfall which led into the bay. The morning had been cool, but the afternoon sun was bright and hot, and the walk was pretty tiring. Luckily there was more food waiting for us!

I really have to be thankful for Katie for introducing Kelsey and me to P'Ja. She and her family take it upon themselves to "adopt" some of the farang teachers every year. Her husband, P'Chai calls Kelsey and me "my daughter" and "my son", and acts like our Thai dad.

P'Joc, a family friend and "uncle" is always around too joking and laughing. That night, they took us to the wet market to get dinner. P'Chai prepared a huge seafood barbecue for us, and one of P'Ja's old college friends who lives in Rayong stopped by.

P'Joc 

After the busy quarter and a rushed Cambodian holiday, it was nice to have nothing much to do except relaxing and eating with friends. When I miss home, it's nice to have the "family" to make us feel welcome in Thailand.

My Thai family