And then it was off to the island. The third vacation within a vacation, and I have to say that Cathy just nailed the sequence. Starting off in the city, really digging into the changed rhythm of daily life. Then moving to the mountains and jungle, more adventure and less comfort, a greater level of known for all of us, since we'd had a week to adjust.
And ending this trip with a week on the beach was a stroke of genius, and I'm so glad it worked out the way it did.
We relaxed in a way we haven't in a long, long time. We hung out and got to know each other and just enjoyed the moments.
Koh Mak is not your typical Thai party island. It's small, lush, quiet, and pretty sleepy, with very little traffic at all and no nightlife to speak of.
But there's beach and seafood and curry and sun, and we partook of all of those with gusto.
I took a cooking class with Smile Koh Mak Thai Cooking School and it was absolutely a highlight of the trip. I learned to make the staples--phad Thai, green curry, tom kha gai, and sticky rice with mango.
Leng was an amazing teacher and I learned a TON.
We did some snorkeling. We took a day trip to Kho Kham, a small uninhabited island a very short boat ride from Koh Mak. The abandoned resort makes the place a little weird, but the quiet and smooth water and the ease of everything made it worth it.
Koh Mak was a great success.
Thailand was a great success. Theo is a great traveler, Cathy is a great planner, and we do well as a team. Really looking forward to the next trip. Might be New Zealand. Could be Thailand/Cambodia/Laos. Maybe even Sri Lanka. Wherever it is, I can't wait.
