That’s right, this is the real world Phuket!
No no no, not that “Real World”, the one from MTV, just our real life here in Phuket. That show used to be so cool. I just found out it is still being made! My gosh… 31 seasons, nope I don’t feel old at all!
First paragraph of my post and I am already off on a tangent… but seriously, it was a staple of my teen year tv watching. Oh the 90’s…
I hope you are still with me after that strange walk down memory lane. Today, I wanted to talk about our real life here in Phuket. Our daily tasks and and the things that I see along the way that may or may not be different from where you currently are. And what better way to do that, but than to write about Monday…
Welcome to the real world in Phuket, And Three To Go Edition!
I always wake up at the butt crack of dawn… (okay, I woke up at about 7:30 a.m. last Monday-woo hoo, sleeping in!) and let the dog out to do his business (probably right in the walkway) and bark at the neighbors dogs.
I stumble into the kitchen and start the kettle, my vanilla black tea can’t get into my system quick enough. I listen to my Bible app (365 days of listening to go chronologically through the Bible, pretty cool!) while I make three separate breakfasts for each person in the family. Yep, apparently I run a restaurant. Hahah.
I go in and make sure that Z is awake and get her eating her breakfast so that I can get her ready for school.
Ready, Set, GO!!!!
We are LATE! All three of us leave the house at just about the time Z should actually be at her school, that is still 15 minutes away. Oops, oh well… oh wait, yep there is traffic. Of course.
We get through and finally get to the school. We quickly take a couple of pictures, it is the same school that Z has been in for over a year now, but it was her official Kindergarten start, so pictures are necessary.
Z ran inside the school as quickly as she could give us good-bye hugs. She LOVES school. We love that she loves school!
Chad and I make our way to the beautiful Nai Harn lake/reservoir for our jog/power walk to start our day. I LOVE to exercise outdoors. It just feels more refreshing and real. But on Mondays, we have Thai Class, so we can’t do our normal 5 k, only 2k and as quickly as possible (do we jog it all then? heck no! It’s like 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit people!).
As we drive our sweaty and stinky selves to our thai lesson, we slowly make our way along roads full of construction. Small roads, where there are deep, open ditches along the side barely marked with orange cones and with 2 x 4’s laid across them for people to enter the business’s behind it. We drive behind massive steam rollers, and on the wrong side of the road. There are no workers flagging the ways we should go and when, all of us driving our cars and scooters work it out amongst ourselves, taking turns weaving to the wrong side of the road to get around the massive tractors.
Chad and I arrived at Thai class a little late. We dive into the Thai language (ภาษาไทย) and an hour later leave with our heads ready to read and write and speak more Thai. Well, at least for an hour or so before I forget everything I have learned that day.
Chad and I then go to a vegetarian place down the street for lunch. A plate of brown rice and three delicious entrees for each of us and we leave only paying 140 baht ($4 usd). Albeit, the food is probably not that healthy, but it is so good and cheap.
We head home in time to pay the housekeeper for her awesome work making our house shine (yes, I am spoiled, though at only about $11 usd for a day for a clean house, would you say no?). Then we get washed up and dressed. Chad starts his Monday meetings with Beervana and I start working on my many projects (I’m almost done with the c
urrent ones, so anyone needs some website work done?).
Before I know it, it is time to pick Z up from her day at school. Chad is off at sales meetings so I head out on my way.
Z had an awesome first day at school, but she was a bit tired. We stopped and celebrated at Samero’s Gelato Shop on our way home to celebrate her first day. 80 baht ($2 usd) for 2 scoops of homemade gelato, yes please! Z and I took our time eating our yummy treat and then made our way back home.
Z and I had an early dinner, which was small because ICE CREAM. On Mondays, Z and I help my amazing waxer’s son with his English from school. We mostly just talk to each other and play games like UNO. It’s a fun time every time! Hooray for homeschool.
Z’s bedtime is soon after that. I read her three stories, we say our prayers and then she falls asleep right away. Chad was still working so I got back on my computer and worked some more on my projects. And then when the night is young, I get tired and go to bed myself…
There you have it… The real world in Phuket, And Three To Go Edition
That is what a normal day looks like in the lives of And Three To Go on the island of Phuket presently. It is a pretty normal life wouldn’t you say? I promise that the posts on here will get more travel involved soon! Next week we are heading to Bangkok again (my birthday party in the city). Be prepared for some blurry, but awesome photos on Instagram, as well as some blog posts about restaurants and bars to check out in the big city of Bangkok.
Also, we are heading back to the states for a visit in just a short time, so you can read all about my reverse culture shock as I get used to finding shoes my size almost anywhere and the getting over the shock that everyone knows what I am saying. It should be a fun experience and a fun read! So stay tuned!
Now it’s your turn! What is a normal day in your life? Leave a comment and share your story!