Phuket, Thailand

We took a quick trip to Phuket, Thailand, where we stayed at the Laguna Beach Resort. While there, Erin ran the Phuket half-marathon, and then followed it up by accompanying me, Jack and Graham, on a 2K kids race. The hotel property is situated on a terrific series of lagoons, and we had a really fun time windsurfing, sailing (hobie cats), and kayaking in the calm waters. A family of elephants also reside on the property, and Jack had fun feeding the baby (1-year old) every morning at breakfast. We spent one evening going into Patong Beach, which is a major tourist destination and a center of Phuket nightlife, where we haggled with the locals. This was a fun and relaxing mini-vacation.

Sumatra, Part Two

We spent the last couple of days at Paradiso Village, a small, eco-friendly retreat located on Cubadek Island. The resort is owned by Nanni and Frederica, who have lived there for 18 years, and have frankly figured life out. One would have a difficult time describing this place without using the work paradise. The island is in an idyllic location with interesting reefs located just off shore. It is separated from mainland Sumatra by a wonderfully peaceful and spectacular waterway, where the seas are never very rough. The hosts provided wonderful meals (think all-you-can-eat grilled lobster), snorkeling gear, outrigger canoes, and sailboats, all at no additional cost. We were only there for a very short time, so we really didn't have time to go on any of the other diving and trekking adventures that they organized. But this place was really fun, and is highly recommended.

Sumatra, Part One

Over the May 1st labor day weekend, we found some cheap airline tickets to Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. We had a really good trip, so I have lots of photos to share.

We spent the first couple of days in Bukittinggi, a small mountain town nestled near the active Mount Marapi volcano. Bukittinggi is located about 930m above sea level, so while it is very near the equator, it has a reasonably cool climate and low humidity. So it was a pleasant diversion from the sweltering Singapore climate. On our first day, we visited a park overlooking Sianok Valley, which is a big canyon very close to the center of Bukittinggi. While there, we hired a guide to take us through a series of caves built by the Japanese during WWII. In addition, he led us through the bottom of the canyon, and then up the other side to the small village of Koto Gadang. He had a lot of knowledge about the local plants and customs, and really made the entire afternoon an enjoyable one. We met with some of the local silversmiths in Koto Gadang, saw water buffalo and giant fruit bats, and then hopped a minibus back into town. Jack slipped off the narrow trench separating some rice fields, and wasn't too excited about being a muddy mess. One the second day, we took a ride down to Lake Maninjou, a volcanic lake that is about 90 minutes from Bukittinggi. But we ended up getting a lot of rain, so we spent most of the afternoon at a restaurant, which had a nice gazebo sitting out on the water. The boys entertained the crowd with their new guitars.