Week 1: Ban Krut- Beach and relaxing

Juni 21, 2017

So we have completed our first week in Thailand, one which we would all rate as pretty successful- at least in fulfilling all the objectives that we had in mind: getting the kids a little bit acclimatized, both In terms of weather and Thailand itself; finding an environment that that already knew and felt comfortable with; and having a relaxing week with not too much to organise.

These were the reasons we chose Ban Krut as our first destination after arriving in Bangkok: it is fairly easily reached by train from Bangkok (5 hours), which meant a fairly stress-free trip, it is fairly devoid of tourists, meaning that the kids (and us) wouldn’t be too overwhelmed by new stuff, and we would have the chance to be near a fairly docile beach. Ban Krut fulfilled all our expectations, other than the fact that the beach itself wasn’t what I would describe as so great. The water (perhaps due to the time period we were there) wasn’t so clear- in fact quite a few local fishermen were out in force in the week we arrived, netting the tiny shrimp that would spring out of the water as you moved through it. I suspected the murky water was somewhat caused by “residues” from whatever activities they (the shrimp) were currently undertaking.

That said, the fact that there was so much life in the water meant that it gave the beach an extra dimension for the kids. Niklas spent his time catching small crabs that tried their best to get away from him- there were hermit crabs which buried themselves in the sand at low tide as well as little ones which didn’t seem to have any defence against a rampaging 4-year-old. Then there were the endless supply of new shells, coral formations and “bits” of other animals washed up on the beach, which changed with every new tide. One particular find that Niklas was particularly proud of was a giant (dead) porcupine fish, fully inflated with big, googly eyes. In short, the beach was not only a place to swim, but was also the place for exploring. Oscar wasn’t quite as adventurous, his main objective was getting into the water, particularly flat, shallow bits. Nevertheless, any announcement of a find was also welcomed by a cry from Oscar “Zeig!” (Show me).

Not much else to report- we slowly got used to the food, and tried out most of the restaurants nearby. All were good, without being outstanding- I already knew I liked Thai food before we went, and Ilka and the kids are slowly adjusting. Ilka is finding dishes without meat difficult to find, and the kids still prefer plain spaghetti, which is thankfully not too hard to find. We visited the markets a couple of times, tried a few new fruits, ate there as well.

I would conclude this entry this way: Thailand hasn’t overwhelmed us yet, but that was exactly the idea.