The Thailand Trip

A temple-guarding dragon we passed in Chiang Rai. 

Since Matt and I received orders to leave Okinawa in May, we knew we only had the time to go on one last trip. We wanted to go big, so we took three different plane rides to end up in Chiang Rai, a small town in northern Thailand. We wanted to see the White Temple (which will be the next blog post), and the cost of living in the rural part of the country was very low. As a result we were able to afford a very luxurious resort for our three night stay. Before I describe all of the luxury and fun we experienced, I want to remember that no matter where you stay travel always is accompanied by unexpected surprises. Matt and I had to sit in separate rows on the full flight to Thailand, my luggage reappeared wet and smelling of fish at our final destination, and though I packed for the appropriate number of days I had to find laundry services after I sweat through all of my outfits days early. After the heat and smells and strangers I was ready for our resort, and it was so worth the trip!

We stayed in a villa at The Legend in Chiang Rai. They greeted us with flower necklaces, a cold towel, and juice from an unknown fruit. Inside our room we had water and fruit and flowers everywhere. They even replaced the daily flowers in the soap dish. I didn't even know soap dishes required fresh flowers! Outside we had a PRIVATE POOL that we used every day due to the sticky heat. I think I'm forever spoiled now  - "What do you mean I don't have a private pool and soap dish flowers!?"- me at every other hotel I stay at from now on.

We did occasionally leave the resort. We went shopping and sight-seeing which was always interesting not speaking a lick of Thai. The hotel would book a taxi for us and tell the driver where we wanted to go. The taxi driver would show us where they parked at our destination so we could find them when we were done. We paid per hour for the taxi. I'm sure the driver would have preferred we sight-see longer, but after a few hours Matt and I would be red and sweaty and have to retreat back to the pool. The taxi was necessary for longer trips, but just going to the city center for dinner our favorite way to travel was by tuk-tuk. It's basically a motorbike with a covered two-person seat in the back. It roars and putters down the back streets, and the wind through my hair from the crazy driving was always refreshing.

The view from the back of the tuk-tuk. 

The walking street where I purchased floral Thai pants and an embroidered clutch.

The clock tower that performed a musical light show on the hour. 

Our favorite cafe on the Kok river. 

Our visit to the Choui Fong tea plantation on a hot, hazy day. 

Honey lemon iced oolong tea!

We loved our resort and all of our short trips in and around Chiang Rai!

The Sunday Snapshot

Recently returned from Thailand- a nation that loves their king and the color gold. Seen on a back road in Chiang Rai.

The Sunday Snapshot

My first Dining In! A confusing combination of formal dining, alcoholic beverages, and mandatory shouting.

The Search for Sea Glass

One souvenir I plan to keep from Okinawa is different colors of sea glass displayed in clear jars. My jars are currently only half-full, so we took a trip to add to my beautiful, free collection. Next to Camp Schwab where Matt works is a cove known as sea glass beach. I assumed there would be sea glass available, but I was amazed by how many pieces littered the sand among the coral even though we were not the only visitors that day. As Alex said, "It feels like cheating," the finding of colorful pieces was so easy. Matt and I don't usually relax on the beach, and you would not want to here as the sand is rough with coral and glass. We all really enjoyed combing the beach and listening to the waves that make a silvery, tinkling noise when they roll in and out from all of the glass.

Blue, amber, green, brown, clear, and yellow glass in just one spot!

Alex found a rare purple piece!

Light turquoise is my favorite color of sea glass. 

"What did you find?"

The Sunday Snapshot

So true, vending machine, so true. 

The Day as a Marine

I was invited to participate in Jane Wayne Day at Matt's unit, a day where spouses are invited to come and participate in some of the highlights of our husbands' jobs. I say highlights because we only did the fun parts without all of the pesky paperwork and cleaning that accompanies all of the activities. I am so grateful to all of the marines who drove us around, and transported and cleaned the weapons we used. So many people worked to make this an awesome day!

The first step of Jane Wayne day was to be issued our own kevlar (helmet), flak jacket, and ear and eye pro. Matt had to help me put on and take off the bulky flak jacket- even when I had to go to the bathroom! He also provided me with a pouch that snapped to the front so that I could carry my own snacks. No low blood sugar today!

We then boarded an AAV - amphibious assault vehicle- to drive us to the first range. We were crammed in the back while the driver sits in a turret in the front. We put in our ear plugs since the engine is so loud inside the metal vehicle!

At our first range we were given a breach demonstration by the combat engineers (Matt's job!). Marines close by laid suppressing fire with machine guns, and in the distance we saw marines setting a charge and exploding an obstacle with a huge fireball! Then we got to witness an LAV (light armored vehicle) shooting a 25mm cannon. It was so loud! Now it was our turn.

Each of the spouses got a turn to shoot 25 rounds with the M240B. This was my first time shooting anything and it was a machine gun! We had a coach that loaded the weapon and told me when to shoot so all I had to do was pull the trigger. I never could get the right angle to look through the scope with my bulky gear, but my coach aimed for me and I hit the target on my first try. The loud noise scared me so I only got off two rounds at first, but you are supposed to shoot for a few seconds each burst and I finally got there.

Spouses in all of our gear!

The next activity was the shooting range. We were given a five minute safety class before being allowed to shoot rifles and pistols. I felt very unprepared, but my coach made sure I couldn't hurt anybody. He loaded and unloaded the weapons, kept his hand on my weapon if someone was downrange, and even turned on and off the safety for me. All I had to do was aim, and unfortunately I was not very good at that part. 

The rifle was really heavy, and while I could at least see through the scope I could not aim very well. I only hit my target's hand with the rifle. I joked that I was just disarming him. The pistol was lighter, but the kickback really surprised me and I kept tensing up. I got one shot in the ribs. When all of the other spouses had multiple chest shots I complained that my guy was probably still alive after I shot him. 

Shot in the wrist, elbow, and shoulder. He had so many chances to walk away before that one body shot. 

On the beach Matt gave a class on how to eat MREs and we got to explore the contents of the pouches as the AAVs were being readied. Our last adventure was riding into the water in an AAV. It was very dark inside, but once we were in the ocean they opened up the hatches so we could see that we were eye level with the waves. Our driver did donuts in the ocean and we were all splashed. Even though Matt's day to day is not nearly as fun, I am so glad I got to experience just a little bit of the cool stuff today. 

The Sunday Snapshot

Sunny day on the Sunabe Seawall