Mark's Retirement Party

Having a classroom across from Mark has been impossible the last few weeks.  I knew way too much! I knew his sons were flying in for a surprise and Jane was organising a big retirement party. I managed to keep it under wraps and act surprised when his sons appeared.  And somehow an entire staff managed to keep it a secret.  As we had Wednesday off Jane was able to orgnanise it for Tuesday and it was a hit.  It will be a different department next year, new people, new head of department, and I miss my daily lunches with Mark. In fact, he is the only other staff memeber who will eat lunch outside so i guess I shall be alone next year.

Nesta Resort Hoi Ann

A lovely hotel in between the beach and the old city.  The staff were so friendly and the hotel was perfect.  The only thing and I suppose this was primarily the weathers fault is the pool was boiling.  And Ido not say that lightly, I love warm water.  I never complain that the sea is too hot and not refreshing (often I hear this in Thailand in April/May).  But oh my goodness, this pool was like a hot tub.  We managed a night swim one evening and a short afternoon of play in it.  But it was extreme.  The breakfast was nice and a beer was only 1USD in the mini bar, at a nice hotel that was quite amazing.  It was something we really noticed, how much cheaper Vietnam is than Thailand.  Everything was well over half price of what we pay here.  In some cases 70 percent less.  It was a great little mini break that I would highly recommend.

Shore Club AnBang Beach

We spent the days at the beach.  I found this great spot and we spent our days between the beach and the pool. Sebastian  developed a deep love of avocado toast and each day he had between 7-10 pieces.  The staff were shocked to see how this boy eats.  We did the banana boat which I sadly got no photos of. The beach was nice and the restaurant shockingly inexpensive especially for a 'beach club'.

Hoi Ann Vietnam

A late birthday present for Luis, in fact it is probably closer to his 42 birthday rather than his 41st.  But we had to delay it a bit based on all our visitors this year.  As it happens it meant we missed a few days with his sister and niece who made a last minute decision to come here (that is a whole other post) but we made it and will see them too.  I had high expectations for Hoi Ann.  I have only been to Vietnam once before for a few days and loved Saigon.  Hoi Ann did not disappoint.  The old town was so lovely with old French colonial buildings with of course the Vietnam charm.  It as also extremely busy and we visited not in the height of the season so I cannot imagine how busy it gets.  We spent two nights visiting the town, having dinner and a boat ride down the river.  

Darts at Sportsman

Yesterday after school our dancing was cancelled so we went to The Sportsman to play darts.  Last month we did that and I was the winner. This put some pressure on Luis to even things up.  It came down to the wire in the third match where we both had to go out on 3.  Annoyingly, Luis managed the win.  Now we are all tied up, I have to get out in practice before the big tie breaker.  A nice way to break up a buys week of marking and masters.

Baantonkla Cafe Bangkok

I cannot believe I have never been here before.  I have spent almost four years trying to find all kinds of kids outdoor play areas and Bangkok and have never come across this one.  I am not a fan of going to the indoor soft play places and having to sit around waiting or chase behind children.  I like a place where adults can have lunch and the children are entertained a few hours.  And this is a great spot!  A bit far from our central location but well worth the 25 minute drive.  Sebastian and friends were fully entertained for 4 hours and we could have stayed longer.  I was also super impressed with our bill, 660 Baht and he had two lunches, I had one and even a beer.  That is a super price for the day out.