When we first started this trip we were planning on spending months in 4 countries with a "vacation" in South Africa. We were going to spend time in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Viet Nam.
However we quickly discovered that we're not cut out for the heat. and SE Asia is hot!
So we wanted to shorten our time in SE Asia and get to disable friendly places with more temperate climates that we found at Wild Spirit Expeditions.
I mean shoot, why not right? If you're not tied to a place but youre looking around and find that the climate of a place negatively affects the health of your family why not find the "ideal" climate.
So we thought we'd spend a week in Chiang Mai, Thailand and stop in a couple of spots (Ubud Bali Indonesia and Borneo) while we're here in SE Asia before we left the region.
Well God changed plans.
So we chose to stay in Chiang Mai longer than expected.
But Si is on the mend, and while Becky's ear isn't 100% we're realizing that the medical care is acceptable here in Chiang Mai, it's not as great as we were led to believe. We now know that Bangkok is the place for healthcare in Thailand. Chiang Mai Ram Hospital works if your in a bind or an emergency, but we'd choose to go to Bangkok if given the choice.
And we have been given the choice.
So we're leaving Chiang Mai.
But before we leave South East Asia we have a couple of stops, and these are all going to be short stops so we decided to buy all the tickets at once.
Gulp.
It's not like I (Paul) have a fear of commitment, but wow there are NO REFUNDS, changes or modifications allowed on these tickets!
Hopefully we don't fall in love with one of these places ;)
Red signifies where we've been, plue where we're headed Zoomable map here.
First Stop, Bangkok.
We were only supposed to be in Bangkok for an overnight but due to a glitch in booking we're going to spend 3 days here before taking off. While there we're going to make the best of our time, we're going to visit a floating market, ride the busses and trains and go swimming in a pool.
While there we're also going to check on a Lasik clinic for Becky. Prices are incredibly cheap and there are two places in Bangkok that are destinations for medical tourism for Lasik. So we're going to investigate in person.
We'll be in Bangkok from May 15 to May 18.
Next Up Bali
Bali is an island in Indonesia. It's a destination for many tourists. But living there off of the resorts is a cheap way to enjoy the benefits of Bali without the expenses. A lot of location independent entrepreneurs (including Dan Andrews) love it in Bali, so we're going to see if we jive with it. We'll be hanging around Seminyak and Ubud.
We're also hoping to connect up with Robin Lim at Bumi Sehat.
We'll be in Bali from May 18 to May 27
Moving on to Malaysia
Sometimes you've just got to stop and smell the roses. This is what we're doing in Malaysian Borneo. (no worries AirAsia was cheaper than Malaysian airlines, so no need to worry that we'll disappear on one of our flights!)
Borneo is shared between Malaysia and Indonesia. Borneo is where there are rain forests being devastated for palm oil plantations. Borneo is the last place to see wild and semi-captive orangutans.
Oh and Sea Turtle Island is just off the coast of Borneo.
So we're going to go check those places out for a couple of days. We'll be in and near Sandakan Malaysia. With a layover in Kula Lumpur to visit the Petronas Towers (something the kids have wanted to do since it came up in a school lesson last year). This is not really a business trip and more of a "we're this close" excursion.
We'll write more about it, but we used to be major supporters of Zoos and Wild Animal Parks and Aquariums. We love animals. However, we've had a bit of conviction on this so now we have to choose which places we support with our money. We've found a place for Orangutans and another for Sea Turtles. (Oh and one for Elephants in Thailand) We'll write more about this conviction when we write about all these animal sanctuaries we're visiting.
We'll be in Malaysia May 27 to June 2.
Back to Thailand?
The order doesn't seem to make sense, but we'll be back in Thailand on June 2 to visit Phuket area and see what the south/touristy part of Thailand is like.
From there we head back to Bangkok for another surgery. This time a totally elective surgery.
A Medical Tourism kind of surgery.
We have joked and joked about Becky getting Lasik surgery done, she's wanted it as long as we've been together and we actually researched it 4 years ago. However she wasn't a candidate then (was still nursing Thys). So when our house sold we realize we shouldn't invest in a permanent house any more, instead we should invest in people. Including ourselves.
So we're using some of our savings to get Lasik done for Becky. Instead of waiting until she is older/retired, doing it now. So she can experience life with her kids without glasses. More splashing in the pool, more wrestling on the floor, etc. without fear of breaking her glasses.
We'll write more about Lasik as we learn more and she has the procedure but she can't swim or fly for a week afterwards, I'll be using this time to connect up with other entrepreneurs in Bangkok (know any I should talk to?) We'll be in Thailand from June 2 to around the 14th.
And where to from there?
We haven't bought tickets for the next leg yet... but we're hoping to head for South Africa with a layover in Dubai for the Burj Khalifa.
On your mark...
Got jet lag just from reading this post? Yup, us too! Let's give it a go and see how the real thing comes off! We leave in 6 days. On your mark...get set.....