sunshine.

Honestly, this week was one of the bigger waves we’ve had in some time, and the beach already feels so far away! But as my mind reels, I want to remember this time we had–it was such a gift. We really couldn’t have asked for more. It was full of walking on the beach and swimming in the waves and enjoying the one place where this much heat and sun is a good thing!

We were on the southern portion of the island of Phuket. You can see three beaches here, and we spent most of our time on the middle one and a few days on the further beach.

A fifteen minute drive south takes you to a beach on the southern-most tip of Phuket and the most beautiful beach we’ve ever seen. The water is so vibrantly blue and green; it’s indescribable. We drove here on a few different days to soak up the views and sunsets.

We weren’t really looking for sunny days and dark tans as we spend much of our lives in the sun. Most mornings we’d head to the beach by 8 or 9 to wear ourselves out in the waves until the sun came out in full force. Then we’d head inside until the later afternoon, when it was cloudy and shady for reading by the ocean and jumping in more waves as the sun slowly set.

And then sometimes we could get in another walk along the beach after dinner. Really, we soaked up as much of the beach without the sun as we could!

We had so much lovely food! Above is a Turkish coffee we had with a lunch of Turkish breads & cheeses! We had some delicious crab, cooked Thai style and the best lobster bisque I’ve ever had. We also had some amazing Indian twice, and the second time had enough courage to ask if the waiter was Burmese. It turned out all the staff were and they loved that we could speak Burmese and worked with Burmese people. The waiter ended up sitting down with us for the evening as we chatted about everything you could possibly think of; and we are now connected on Facebook and have swapped phone numbers so he can visit us next time he passes through Mae Sot to visit his family in Burma!

One morning we woke up at 4:30am to drive to the other side of the island and watch the sunrise.

At this point we weren’t sure if it was going to be worth it. We were on a shelly, rocky beach defending our coffee and juice from street dogs.

Turned out to be completely worth the effort! It was a beautiful sunrise and a lovely walk along the pier in the morning light.

One of the things we love about Phuket is that it is a bit developed: there are lovely restaurants and even a Starbucks! We really enjoyed a few cups of coffee there through the week. Stephen commented that he always thought it was annoying that Starbucks was so regulated in the US: everything–from the coffee beans to the pumps to the type of cups and seating–was the same from shop to shop, not allowing for creativity or uniqueness. But he realized that now living here, he loves that he knows whenever he sees a Starbucks he’s guaranteed a delicious cup of coffee, comfortable seating, and a cozy atmosphere where he’s free to sit for hours. Suddenly that predictability is oddly  appreciated!

We were really thankful to be away over Stephen’s birthday, and our hotel even surprised us with a cake! When we came back from the beach that evening, a group of staff came to the door with a cake and lit candles to sing him happy birthday!

Obviously action shots aren’t my specialty, but it was amazingly sweet of them!

Thank you to so many of you who sent cards and packages for Stephen’s birthday! It was so much fun. I brought the cards with us and he opened them through the week. It was a great way to celebrate him!

On his birthday, we went to a lovely restaurant along the beach that had live jazz. It was a beautiful restaurant and just the perfect blend of casual live music, not to mention the amazing food.

The entire trip was just such perfect rest and was such a great way to celebrate Stephen. We met eleven years ago & began dating ten years ago this month; we began spending every day together seven years ago. We moved to Thailand and really began to spend every day together six years ago; we just spent ten days without a minute apart. And with what this past week has held, I can’t believe how happy we are spending all these moments together. He’s the best gift I’ve ever been given, and it was so fun to celebrate his thirty years!