Nick and Sam

Never a dull moment here. A few days after the pet sitters left and Nicholas and Sam arrived.  Nicholas is my first cousin's son and Sam is his wonderful boyfriend.  It has been a busy start to 2020 and we would not want it any other way.  I think they might have thought they were coming for a relaxing holiday, but I am not sure who they thought they were visiting.  We have ten jam packed full days starting with a the beach today and a Caribbean dinner this evening.  A great first day of the many to follow.

 The hello this morning.

 The beach.

 Sebastian and Aunt Jacqui

 Quinlan and Sebastian, exactly one year a part.

 Sebastian hanging out with the big boys.  It is so great to have Sam and Nic with us and a really good start to their trip with a small gathering of some great people.

Pet Sitters

We have gone away quite a bit since I have been on maternity leave.  People may start to think, what about poor Lola.. Hence this post..  Lola actually loves when we go now, as she gets totally spoilt rotten by the people looking after her.  The website we use is just amazing, the people that have stayed here more than often become friends and well it is just a great idea.  Robi and Stu came from Australia to look after Lola when we were in Myanmar, their 97th house sit.  Lola could not have been better looked after and our minds more at ease.  They sent about ten photos and updates a day but the pictures were like this..

Such a lovely touch and just shows how cared for she was.  To be fair all have been great.  So Lola is still a happy pup, even when we are away.  Love her!

Last Day in Myanmar

So sad to be leaving this country probably for the last time, at least for some time.  I have so much to say about this but want to get my thoughts together carefully before writing more about it.  It was a struggle to decide whether visiting was a good idea.  Does the positive of supporting the people (of the regions we visited anyways) of Myanmar outweigh the negatives of putting money into a horrible government?  I think it does and for many reasons which I will write another day.  But I want to end our trip on a positive.  We had such a great time with the Hopkins, the people in Bagan and Npagali beach were just the friendliest most helpful people I have ever encountered.  The pride to show off their country was in abundance and I was so happy to let them know how much we appreciated it and love their country.  Traveling with the Hopkin/Fisk crew in this special place was just amazing.  It was our third year together and probably the best one yet.  I expect next year to be even better!

 On a village bike ride.  I just loved this working cart.

 Dad went to the market and got us all new beach hats.

 Trying some local sweet rice food.

 Someone is sitting up!

 Our last evening together.
We just had such an amazing time. But I was so happy to get home last night.  I love our home and I am definitely going to miss it next year.  I am actually going to miss South East Asia tremendously.  I love the people, the culture, the places.   But time for new adventures.

Pearl Island

This morning started a little rocky, literally.  I think most people would have thought us crazy as we boarded an old wooden boat that was toppling in the waves to get to an island.  As we finally set off form shore the captain was scooping out water with a bucket.  I think there would have been a lot of judgement on our parenting had there been many Western onlookers. However, the man from the guest house was at the shore assuring me everything was safe and absolutely fine for baby.  And he was right, it was possibly the worlds slowest boat ride to the near by Pearl Island but it felt very safe on the beautiful clam waters.  We enjoyed a morning of snorkeling and sitting on the beach before heading back to our favourite restaurant for a day on the beach where we had lunch, dinner and happy hour cocktails.

 The boat, once we got the water out it was smooth sailing.

 Pearl Island, a tiny bit of paradise.  

 Back at our spot, all the locals want to give Sebastian a cuddle.

The whole team at sunset.  Another brilliant day together.

No Expensive

Just another day in paradise.  We had a great start hiring a taxi to take us to three pagodas in the country side, then the market and finally the beach.  The countryside is just amazing, the villages beautiful and the landscape untouched.  The market was huge and you could find pretty much everything there.  We then found the best restaurant on the beach.  Our server was amazing and we will definitely be spending a lot of time there.  When he found out we were vegetarian he said that the people of Myanmar call us 'No expensive' basically they think vegetarians are just cheap.  It is just such a foreign concept to them and really why else would one not eat meat or fish unless it was to save money.  We explained that in the UK often it is more expensive or certainly the same cost at restaurants to be veggie, he was shocked.

The expanse and beauty of the countryside is amazing.

Some beautiful pagodas in the countryside.

A small shot of the market.

 Cherry Tree Lodge our new favourite spot.

Another glorious sunset

 Our server was just amazing, his English was brilliant even using some pretty great slang.  He told us he learnt it a local school that a women from the UK set up 20 years ago to teach children English.  She has done a fantastic job.