Friendly Bank Managers

As always it's been a busy week. Plans are afoot for our trip to India and Nepal. We can't decide whether to go at the end of Feb or middle of March. Either way we will fly to Dehli from Phuket and then overland to Kathmandu.
The aim is to travel super light so now we have to plan on what to do with all that we have accumulated here in the past ten months. Ah, the challenges of the nomadic life.

Last night I went into the bank at central (big mall in the middle of the island) to find out why the 200 Baht payment for phone credit I had made with the online banking system had not worked. (Bear in mind that 200 baht is about £5.) I had about 3 women helping me on the phone to see what had gone wrong. While they were doing that the bank manager came to chat to me and started showing me photos on his computer of his holiday a few weeks ago to Austria and Germany. Only in Thailand would you get such friendliness and people being so helpful over such a small amount of money!

The weather has finally picked up and we have lots of sunshine. Whoopee.......more beach afternoons!

On a sad note my friend Chika is in hospital and is very sick. They think it is dengue. This is very worrying as it is now the 3rd person in our little circle of friends here who has contracted this illness. I have been super strict with Nick and the girls about keeping up with our vitamins and the homoeopathic tablets that mum sent.

Our weather last week

Stuff is nonsense

So I have been thinking lately about all the 'stuff' we saddle ourselves with. All the crap that we think we need. In reality there are very few things in life that are really necessary. Living here in Asia for 9 months or so has opened my eyes to what we in the western world think of as 'things we desperately need and cannot live without'. I have come to the conclusion that life is less stressful if you manage to keep it simple and lean. Experiences are what count, not things.

So we had a trip to Bangkok. It was so good to get away from Phuket for a few days. The manic hussle and bussle of the big city was ironically a well needed break from our island life. Our days have  become very predicable and serious. Not a good thing at all. Not to mention that we are now in high season and the driving has become even more of a nightmare than before. It was refreshing to regroup and think about being true to ourselves and how we have always lived. Starting this week we will be changing a few things and planning a two month adventure trip before we go back to Blighty. Nick has always dreamed of Nepal so that will definitely be on the itinerary. I would love to visit Tibet, so maybe that too. Our tentative plan is to get to Nepal and then make our way through Tibet and  China and down through Vietnam. Bhutan would be amazing but not sure if we will fit it in on this trip. So first we will just book our journey to Kathmandu and see where the wind takes us. No definite plan on how long to stay or where to go. All we need to do is get back to KL for the flight back to London on the 30th April.

I read half the LP Vietnam book on the beach today. So exciting. The planning of a trip is almost as exhilarating as doing the actual trip itself. Tomorrow I am going to buy the Nepal book. We have a rule about LP books. They are a sort of souvenir of where we have been but we are not allowed to buy one unless we are definitely going. So all the books in our collection are places we have been to.
Today we went to Nai Thon beach, and although there were more tourists now the high season has hit, it was still a haven of peace and tranquillity. We swam in the sea and it was amazing to see the change in three weeks since we were there last. It is so much calmer and the lifeguards were obviously not needed as much, no crazy big waves or rip tides. Nothing on earth is as relaxing as a long afternoon at the beach reading James Paterson and eating ham sandwiches. Totally rejuvenating.
Back to crazy madness tomorrow but with a difference. 

The art of Non Conformity

Well I have been very remiss in keeping up with this blog.
I think part of it is that I am not sure how many people actually read it. So if you do please encourage me by commenting at the bottom of this post.
Even if not many read this, it is a great record of our unconventional life for my girls to look back upon. It's amazing what you forget!
I have been reading a great blog over the last couple of days: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/about-the-project/
It's called The art of Non Conformity. A great read, but I must warn you, you are liable to loose a few hours of your life getting sucked into his excellent writing. I thank my friend Jamie from Florida for introducing me to it.

Well what have we been up to....
Mum came to visit, which was awesome in so many ways. It was great to show her around. We went on some amazing trips. One of which was Phi Phi Island. Now that was a trip of a lifetime. Between snorkeling with the fishes  and swimming in a bottomless lagoon where the water was the colour of dreams to walking where Leonardo Di Caprio has trod it was unforgettable. We even saw a Leo lookalike which totally made Candace's day!
We also did the James Bond Island trip again which was a beautiful experience. Even after being totally ripped off by a so called Marine National Park 'warden' it was a day to remember.

Apart from the excitement of all of that, life has just been very ordinary really.
We have all been pioneering over the last few months and also working our butts off. Some of us on new ventures and others on the 'same old, same old' stuff.
Life got a tad stressful after mum had left, with us all feeling a bit 'Thai'd' out. Not being able to afford to go away for a couple of weeks, which is what would have fixed it, was tough. All of a sudden everything here seemed harder than it had been. We were desperate for some Western influences. I think we all miss our family too. Not being able to be a part of Brychans first little year of life has been harder than we all thought it would be. It seems like a very long seven months till we go home.
Mum very kindly reminded us what great work we are doing here and how we are needed (thank you Mum!) and Victoria who experienced the same gave me an understanding ear. When I thought of the alternative..an ordinary life back in the UK, I cheered myself up and remembered to be grateful for all we have here.
It will just make next year spending time with our family in France (and Liverpool) that much more amazingly special.
This weekend we are off to Bangkok for the long awaited convention. Lara is getting baptised (and we have a part too) so it will be super exciting. It will be nice to leave the island for a few days. I even got some ironing done this afternoon so everything is ready for our flights tomorrow afternoon. We only live 15-20 mins away from the airport now which is very handy.
I'll leave you with a couple more photos. The first is mum's last day at one of our fave beaches, Layan. The other is on the JB island trip in the longtail boat. Yeah I know life isn't that bad right now! At times though I would give it all up for one little Brychan cuddle...........

Oh and how about this to see how time flies!
Our trip 2007 is the first one. The other is a recent 2010 one.

Koh Lanta

Did I mention that life couldn't get any better?! Well I was totally wrong. After exploring some lovely beaches and driving across the middle of the island we found an amazing place to stay our 2nd night. Moonlight Bay Resort. As soon as we saw the beach bungalows I knew that we had to stay there, even if it stretched our budget somewhat. The stilted houses were right on the beach and overlooked the sea. Each had a huge bed, kitchenette and awesome bathroom, oh yes and a jacuzzi on the balcony, overlooking the sea (have I already mentioned that!). It was without doubt the most wonderful place we have ever stayed. It even had a swimming pool just off the beach.
The place was so wonderful that we didn't even want to go out for dinner, so we popped down to the 7/11 and bought picnic stuff to eat on our balcony (overlooking the sea!!). Ham sandwiches and crisps have never tasted so good.
It was everything I wanted and I just sat outside, listening to the surf and reading for hours. I can't actually remember the last time I felt so relaxed.
The next morning after a wonderful nights sleep we did some beach combing and found lots of lovely little shells and loads of sea glass. We left it as late as possible before we left, but the 4 hour journey home meant we couldn't stay too late. Just as well we didn't as most of the trip it poured with rain. Coming through the Krabi region was amazing though as the tall karst cliffs were topped with clouds and mist and looked almost surreal.
It was a bit of a shock coming back to Phuket with all the business and traffic, but for now it's home. We can't wait to go back though and are definitely planning to in September, when the Moonlight Bay reopens for the season. A week in one of those beach bungalows is definitely something to look forward to. Who knows maybe we will stay longer!!

Malaysia and Koh Lanta - Day 1 and 2

Up at 6am to get all my emails done before heading off at 7.30 for the trip down to Malaysia. It was a gorgeous run down and so nice to see more of Thailand. Once we got to the north of Phuket the traffic started to thin out and after leaving the island it was quite calm and quiet on the roads. Candace had made a load of sandwiches so we only had to stop for the loo and to stretch our legs. We got to the border around 3.30 in the afternoon and it was the easiest crossing ever. Just stamped out of Thailand and into Malaysia then the same on the way back. After a quick stop at the duty free to load up the car with White and Mackay and some other amazingly cheap booze bargains. At least a third of the price that we would pay in the UK. Now all we have to do is not drink it all at once when we get home!
After looking at the map we decided to head for Hat Yai to find a hotel for the night. After a lovely trip through some Thai countryside looking for the right road we arrived just as it was going dark and found a hotel that was very basic but nice and clean. After a nice shower, and a whiskey of course, we headed out for something to eat. What a lovely surprise that right around the corner was a decent looking Japanese restaurant. Even better the food was amazingly delicious.
After another early start we drove back up towards Krabi to catch the ferries to Koh Lanta. This is somewhere we had wanted to visit for a while so we were rather excited. There are two Lanta islands. The first is not very inhabited but you have to drive across it to get the ferry to Koh Lanta Yai which is where the tourist spots are.
It was definitely not what we expected at all. It reminded us of Koh Chang somewhat in that it was not as developed as Phuket and a bit scruffy. Obviously as soon as we got off the ferry there was all the trashy tourist bits and cheap digs. The further we got away from there though the better it got. One of the best things being the lack of cars, bikes and people. It is low season now in Thailand but this was so wonderfully quiet after Phuket.
We found a lovely place to stay the first night called Clean Beach resort! Great, if rather warm bathish, pool and across the narrow road was a super beachfront restaurant. The girls dived in the pool and Nick and I went for a walk on the beach. I had spotted as we came in that there was a massage place so after our walk I went and booked a foot and head massage. The place where they did it was part of the restaurant and right on the beach so as I lay there smelling of coconut oil and listening to the waves and surf I wondered if life could get any better.
We finished off a lovely day with dinner at the restaurant which was extremely tasty and with a location that couldn't be bettered anywhere in the world.
We sure slept well that night!

Life for now

Another weekend and another week gone. How time flies when you are having fun.

The end of May has been busy with work and ministry. We have had some wonderful experiences talking to the Burmese, Nepalese and Indian tailors and market workers. They are so grateful for time we spend with them talking about the bible etc. What a contrast to the UK, US, France, in fact everywhere we have lived before. THIS is what it is all about. Everything else, is secondary. What a wonderful privilege we have to be here.

We are very much enjoying the use of our new pool. Nick and I swim most mornings before we go out on the ministry or start work. Today we have a rainy day but everyone is swimming anyway. Cool! The girls make good use of it too in the afternoons. Mr Pong, our landlord, has just fixed the lights too, so now we can swim at night.

My sweet and gorgeous little nephew is doing much better. He is still in hospital and his poor parents are exhausted but he gets stronger and stronger every day. He is slowly learning to feed properly and we are praying that he will be able to go home very soon.

Next week is our first visa run. Our plan is to drive down to Malaysia. It's a 9 hour drive from here but we will just do it in a day and then stay in Ko Lanta for a couple of days on our way back. It will be nice to see some more of Southern Thailand and to have a change of scene for a week.

We are having a party tonight, yeah! Our lovely friends, Mayumi and Yomiko, are leaving to go back to Japan so we have invited some friends over to say goodbye. Hopefully it will stop raining so some can swim. I love our international brotherhood here. Tonight we will have friends from Japan, Australia, Thailand, The UK (of course!) and the good ole US of A!

I'm Back!

Sorry haven't written for a while.
Well it's been a very eventful time since my last blog post. I am now an Aunt to a gorgeous boy, Brychan Wyn. He has had a tough start in life and is still in hospital, but we are hoping he will be able to go home soon. He was born a couple of weeks early and had some big problems with his little kidneys, heart, lungs and platelet levels among other things. The time he was in intensive care was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. My heart was breaking for what my sister and her husband were going through. He is much stronger now though and as soon as he starts feeding properly we are hoping he will be able to go home. I don't think there have ever been so many prayers said around the world for one little baby.

We have also moved to a better house. At least we thought it was better until someone came in yesterday and stole Nick's phone and £100+ from my purse! We were in the house at the time too. Scary. Anyway it was a wake up call as we had been rather lax about locking doors etc. Not any more!
The pool is gorgeous though and right in front of the house. It is only shared with three other houses, and we are actually the only ones who use it anyway.
We now have AC in the living area and kitchen too which makes a huge difference to concentrating on our work and enjoying watching a film in the evenings.

We had a wonderful 20th anniversary on the 5th. Nick and I went out for breakfast after getting some lovely presents from the girls. We then found a super beach with absolutely no one on it. The day was finished off perfectly with a meal at Da Vinci's with cocktails. The money mum gave us as a gift enabled us to buy loads of gorgeous plants for our new house including some amazing orchids.

We are looking forward to a trip down to Malaysia next week for our visa run. It will be nice to see some more of Thailand and get away from Phuket for a change of scene. We haven't seen much since we came here and are definitely ready for a trip. Two other places we are planning on visiting are Vietnam and Nepal. Not sure which will come first.

Troubles and other fun happenings

A very eventful week indeed.
Lots of great ministry done and bible studies started.
Unfortunately we came home on Thursday after a nice early start at the pool for a swim and breakfast, them a couple of hours running errand to find that not only did we not have electricity but that our electric meter had been removed. No electric is more uncomfortable than it at first sounds. It wasn't just that we couldn't work as we had planned as we had no internet but also no AC, no fans, no water (it works off a pump from the well)..not anything. It seemed that our landlord hadn't paid his bills for a while! It had already happened with the internet about a week after we moved in. Nick was merrily trading and all of a sudden no www. We tried resetting etc and finally went down to the local office where they told us he hadn't paid for 5 months. It was all sorted after a few hours and quite a big loss for Nick.
So as you can imagine this was the last straw. We had lunch, a very hot and sweaty one, and got a call from the landlords friend who speaks English saying she was sorting it out and it would be sorted by 6pm. Great but that was 5 hours off so we phoned some friends and decided to meet in an air conditioned coffee shop for the afternoon. It was very nice and relaxed and by the time we got home at 5.30pm the meter was all back in place. We told the landlord though that we were not staying there the 6 months now though, that he could use the deposit we paid for next months rent and we would leave after that. We figured that if he can't even pay a 1400 baht electric bill the chances of us getting 23,000 baht back is virtually nil!
We have a whole month to find somewhere though so we will take our time and make sure all is correct before we say yes.
Today we are watching the sad news reports from Bangkok and wondering if our assembly will be cancelled at the beginning of May. It hasn't affected us here in any way and hopefully it won't.
This week though is the Thai new year, Songkhran, so a few things are cancelled such as ministry Monday and Wednesday. For two reasons, some drink too much and drive so it is not safe to be out Tuesday and Wednesday, also they throw water as part of the festival, which is only OK if you are dressed in shorts and t shirt. Anyway it will be a good opportunity to catch up on some work and laze about by the pool.

Memorial and Ministry

Well it has been a very busy week. Last Tuesday which was the memorial we went on the Thai ministry for the first time. We all worked with someone who could speak Thai and they helped us to learn a few phrases so we could greet the householder and leave a leaflet. It was lovely to get to know the Thai brothers and sisters and also to see how differently it is done here. It is so laid back and easy going. Everyone goes to the same little street and stands next to each other to knock on the doors. 10.30am sharp we stopped for a drinks break for 15 minutes. Then on till 12 by which time we were very hot and sweaty and definitely ready for lunch.
The memorial was lovely and we had 76 attending which isn't bad for a group of only 22ish.
Yesterday we had the best day we have had since we got here. We went with some friends, Philip and Katy to a beach they knew near where they live towards the north of Phuket, Nai Thon beach. It was an overcast day so we were able to stay in the sea for hours. It was so clear and blue and the waves were amazingly strong but fun too. The sea was so clear that we were standing in water up to our shoulders and could see our feet down below. We ate lunch at a little restaurant right on the beach and stuffed ourselves with delicious Thai fried rice, cashew chicken and noodle soup. We did get a little too much sun though, so today we are a little burnt. We also took a couple from Mexico, Amy and Levi, that are staying here for a few weeks. They are so much fun and have some great experiences to tell so together we all had a great day, finished off at Nick's new favourite restaurant where the food is awesome and cheap and the place is spotlessly clean and best of all is only round the corner from our house.
This morning was ministry again but English this time, which can be a bit frustrating because of the type of people you meet. We are looking forward to doing some with the Burmese people here next week though.
We received our tea bags too this week from mum so can start the day off properly once more!! It is about the only thing I can't do without, a decent cup of tea. Very British, I know!

As I sit here listening to the birds chirping outside and I feel the fan blowing intermittently on my neck, I realize how much life has changed.  We live such an outdoor life now, with windows constantly open unless we have the AC on in the bedrooms. We swim in the pool every day, eat outside at night, either here at home or at a restaurant and visit beaches almost every other day. I compare this to our year in Chester where for a large percentage of the time we were shut in with the heating on, wrapped up in layers and layers of clothing. Even when we wanted to go out it seemed such an effort to drive somewhere for a walk. Going to the movies required almost a 2^nd mortgage (not that we had one of those, a mortgage I mean!). There always seems to be something to do here that doesn’t require money or much of it anyway.

Another thought is that we eat much healthier here. Lots more fruit, smoothies for breakfast etc. Salads galore and no pasta, no cheese (It’s very costly here), not nearly as much bread as we used to eat, just rice dishes and the occasional pizza to satisfy our western needs.

We took the girls to see Alice in Wonderland on Monday night. Lara in particular had been dying to see it and we had already gone the previous evening and been very disappointed to find that we had missed it. Fortunately we found another cinema on the island that was still showing it and for just 120 baht we sat in air conditioned luxury in seats so comfortable that had the movie been boring we could have fallen asleep.  For 500 baht you can have a reclining seal with a blanket and pillow with food and drink delivered to you while you watch!! Anyway we all loved the movie apart from Nick as it wasn’t really his ‘thing’. Mr Depp had seriously strange eyebrows and emerald green eyes but was his usual wonderfully talented self.

We went out on the ministry yesterday for the first time. Richard took us on some of his calls to ease us into it gently. It was nice to see so many out. There is a lovely French family here for a few months from Toulon who don’t speak much English so it has been great for us to practice our French.  We went for lunch at a Thai restaurant with a family from the Thai congregation. The setting wasn’t so great, near a busy road but the food was awesome, probably the best we have had yet. The lady who ran the restaurant had tiny twins and Richard told us that two days after having delivered them by c section she was back working in the place. That is how hard people work here.  There seems to be a much greater divide now between the rich or well off and the poor. The Thai brother we ate with works a 12 hour shift for just 600 baht (£12).

We are off to find a hidden beach this afternoon. Apparently it is one the tourists don’t know about, just the locals. We also need to go to the market for our fruit and veg.

Don’t  forget to check out the photos I upload regularly. Just click on the link to the left of this page that says ‘travel photos’.

A week of Phuket life

Well we have been in our house for a week as of tonight. I can't believe how much we have packed into it actually. I'll start at the beginning. When we looked around this place a week ago we told the lady that we wanted to move in asap as we were in a guest house but that it may take us a couple of days to get the rent and deposit money. She said 'Oh just move in tomorrow, we'll worry about the money later'!! Don't you wish everything was that easy. No credit check, no asking what we did for work and needing proof, just a friendly Thai lady who was willing to let us move in without paying a penny first.

Not that everything was that simple of course! It took us a whole, very frustrating, day to sort out the internet. We found out that the club house and pool was not included in the rent and would be an extra 23,000 Baht (a lot of money!!) for a years' use. So we thought about it for a day or two and realised that you can't exist here as a farrang (foreigner) if you haven't got a pool to cool off in. 

It was lovely to go to the meeting on Wednesday night though and meet everyone. We had a great welcome and quickly realised that we will be kept very busy here with only about 20 in the cong. 

It has been a challenge learning how to shop and cook here again. Wine is def out here as Jacob's Creek is about £12 a bottle!! The rum and whiskey is about £4 a bottle though which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it!

The three kitchens in our house are interesting! The inside one has the fridge, cupboards and a sink and we use it just for making drinks. The next one is in a room like a laundry room that has an outside door and it is where I cook on a large version of a camping stove. It also has a sink. The third one is just a sink really outside for doing the dishes. That is a good idea as it keeps any waste food outside so cuts down on bugs. For the style of house you would imagine a much better sort of kitchen but I think the Thai's eat out a lot as it is very cheap to do that, also it is really too hot to cook. We went to a food market the other day and I have never seen such an array of perfect veg. Such great quality and so cheap. I got a huge bag of strange mushrooms for just 50p. We stayed clear of the meat though. No fridge, just out in the dusty open air, no thanks!

Today we found our perfect beach again, Layan beach. So quiet and peaceful. The water was refreshingly cool though so we just chilled for a while. 

I had forgotten how great it is to wear minimal clothing. It is so much quicker to get ready to go out. Although you do see some rather disgusting sights of Europeans baring almost all!!!

It's 7.30pm and we are going out for some dinner. The girls want pizza, I want Thai, not sure about Nick. It will probably be pizza!!

Journey to Phuket

We finally got to visit China Town, which was an amazing experience. The incredibly narrow alleyways were packed tightly with a mixture of people and stalls with mopeds and delivery motorbikes narrowly missing everyone. I think it would have been possible to buy absolutely anything you wanted and in any quantity. It takes a strong constitution though to cope with the smells of food, drains and people along with the constant throng pressing past you and towards you.
The rest of the day was spent getting some things sorted out. Changing money, getting some Thai sim cards for our phones and booking the trip down to Phuket.
Our plan was to go by 1st class sleeper train but unfortunately as it is a Thai holiday at the moment it was fully booked all week. We have already tried the 2nd class option and didn’t fancy that again so the option was to fly or go by bus. We opted for the bus as it was only £20 each compared to at least £50 to fly. The ‘VIP’ coach ride was a 12 hour journey that was a grueling endurance test which only took us to Surat Thani where we had to get a mini bus to take us the rest of the 4 hour journey. Fortunately it dropped us right outside the Talang guest house where we quickly checked in after a quick scare after being told that there was only one air conditioned room. After some persuasion we managed to change it to two, thank goodness. As after hauling our heavy bags up the steep stairs, with the temperature hovering around 35 degrees, to the 2nd and 3rd floors where our rooms were located, we were in desperate need of some cooling down. Rarely have we felt so filthy and sleep deprived.
By the time we had showered it was just 11am so we all collapsed into very basic but clean beds for a couple of hours sleep. It was so tempting to sleep on and on but we knew if we did that we wouldn’t sleep that night. So all feeling a bit grumpy we dragged ourselves out for our first decent meal in well over 24 hours.
What a treat! Curry, chicken, noodles and rice for all of us for 300 baht (about £6 / $9!) The little restaurant was obviously owned by a vintage toy enthusiast as there was a long cabinet down one wall with everything from VW Beetle corgi cars to an old Mickey Mouse toy. Our table had a glass centre with star wars toys displayed in it. The walls were covered with old advertising signs and Chinese medicine ads. With the front all open to the busy street it was a perfect place to watch the world go by and while away the hours till bedtime.

First few days in Bangkok

Well after a leisurely morning at mum's and counting the slow moving minutes until the taxi's arrival we were finally on our way to Manchester airport. Everything went well at the check in, no over weight bags etc.
Our first flight to Dubai was excellent. Yummy food and plenty of drinks and movies. We even managed to sleep a bit. Our arrival time there was tough, 4.30am UK time but we only had a couple of hours to wait until the next flight so by the time we checked in again and sent a few emails we were ready to board.
A nice surprise was that it was one of the new double decker airbus a380 planes. It almost defied logic to imagine that this huge object could take off never mind actually stay in the air! Plenty of room and so comfy it was almost like business class (well, maybe not quite that good!).
Our arrival in Bangkok went very smoothly too, nice friendly immigration (unlike a certain other country we have spent time in.....) and in no time at all we were in a taxi heading for the city. It may be that we happened to get stuck with the most annoying and irritating taxi driver ever. Most drivers here double up as kamikaze pilots, however this one found it hard to break 30 miles per hour and the more he talked the slower he went. Not easy to cope with when you are as tired as we were. His main rant seemed to be that he wanted to drive us around for the next few days while we were in BK. Erm, no way Jose!!
Finally we reached our hotel, which was quite a bit more expensive than last time we stayed and we needed two rooms as they wouldn't put an extra bed in for us like last time. However it was just nice to be here and get a shower.
Our meal at Hippie Hi was all we had looked forward to for so long. It was great to be back breathing in the fumes as we whizzed along in the tuk tuk and winding our way through the madness of the Khao San Rd.

9 days to go!!

Well things are a little mad around here! Boxes everywhere that we keep tripping on and stubbing our toes on (esp Nick!). We are counting the days now and getting organised. Our shopping trip yesterday yielded t shirts and shorts for the girls, a travel bag for Nick and all sorts of other goodies. I ordered loads of Burt's Bees stuff today, sun cream, insect repellent, hand sanitizer etc. My local health food shop loves me at the moment as I have spent a fortune in there on vitamins and supplements to keep us healthy while we are there and to build us up before we go. Much better than inoculations that aren't really necessary. I am nagging everyone multiple times a day at the moment "have you taken your vits?!".

I can't decide what I am most looking forward to. Obviously it is the trill of the trip and the challenge of something new but also having something meaningful in our lives again instead of being consumed by the materialism that is prevalent here in the UK. It is impossible not to be caught up in this rat race. I am looking forward to having time on my hands again. Time to just take a picnic to a beach for the afternoon, time to explore, time to walk, time to try new things. I am looking forward to living a more outdoor life again. I hate being cooped up inside.

I am looking forward to meeting new people, learning a new language and working hard in the ministry and congregation where there is such a great need.

We're off again!!

Well the Fowlers are off again on some travels. Slightly different this time and probably the biggest move ever.
Ok start at the beginning...When we last visited Thailand we saw what a need there was for witnessing there, particularly in the English speaking field. Fast forward a couple of years and our life in the States is finished and we are back in Chester, UK and not very happy campers. Total rat race and miserable weather, not what we signed up for! So.. we started looking into the possibility of making another trip to Thailand. We wrote to the Bethel in Bangkok and got a lightning fast response telling us they would be delighted if we would join the new English speaking group in Phuket as they needed help. So that was it, the start of the biggest life change so far.
Initially we thought of going for 3 or 4 months to set things up but when we thought of the cost of doing that there seemed no point.
We have worked harder than ever in these last few months to get some money together but funnily enough everything has gone so smoothly. A wise person once said that you 'don't need to see the whole staircase just a couple of steps at a time'. In other words, don't worry about everything, just plan a bit at a time. This is what we have tried to do and as I said everything is going to plan. We sold the window cleaning business without any hassle whatsoever, which was a major part of the plan.
We now have our year long visas as of this morning! and we booked our tickets last night! We are so excited but also a little fearful. Moving to the USA and France is one thing but moving to Thailand is a whole different ball game. We are a great team though and are all working together to make it happen.
We fly from Manchester on the 7th March. It will be so fun to be back in Bangkok for a week. A much needed weeks vacation!!
I am happy to be starting up this blog again as I finally have some interesting stuff to post!!