Phuket Diary - Sabai Sabai

Seven long years ago, we vacationed in Barbados; that was by far one of the BEST vacations of my life. The time we spent with our friends, all the laughter, so many fond memories... I dont know if it was the Island air or the "no problem" attitude of people or all the rum punch I had  .. but I just fell in love with the place. I wondered then how it would be to live in a place that people vacationed.. now seven years later here I am.. in Phuket! (I strongly believe that God was sick of hearing my complaints about Gurgaon that he sent us here to shut me up)

Come to think of it, given the cribber (if that is a word) I am, I should be complaining about the little or lack of help I have here, I should be ranting about Vs work hours, I should be frustrated that I dont know the language and how difficult it is to communicate and get your point across... I mean I could just find something in a second to piss me off... ( I sound so nasty)... but, BUT... what can I say, I love it here! The place, people, food... Its a very relaxing feeling.

No wonder Thailand is called Land of Smiles, people are always smiling... and it kind of rubs off on you I guess.. Always, like always they have a smile (at least most of them, exceptions always exist anywhere and I can live with that). So it doesnt bother me much that I am always using sign language and my sentences sound very practical... "You no come tomorrow" "I no want" "this... what?"... (all the while signing with my hands)

The help I have here is a nanny, shes with us for four hours on weekdays. Those four hours that I deposit K(arthik) in her hands is a huge help for me. I don't mind sweeping, mopping, making bed, cooking, cleaning loos... In fact I like the fact that the chores are done in my order, to my liking.. (yeah yeah call me a control freak)... if something is not done around the house, its because I chose not to (or I didn't get to it)...

Lastly, I know that if I have a bad day all I need is a drive to the pier... or one of the many small non touristy and lonely beaches, where its just you and water and the view, to lift your mood instantly... (affordable wine also is a big help... just saying)

So, its been very "sabai sabai" like the Thais say (All good, chilled out, awesome state of mind)

Trying to pick up the slack

Way too many things have happened last year....and I have realized that these days my memory is certainly not on my side... may be the curse of smartphones and social media.. anyway that's a subject I'd like to write about in a different post altogether - "memory failure". I've been thinking about the blog and updating it for the past month or so... and now finally got to sit down...

Back to 2013...

 We welcomed another baby boy - Karthik Channaraj arrived on May 2nd, 2013. Nikhil has been a real champ and an awesome big brother. I was quite worried how he'd deal with the new comer, given that he used to give us vague answers like "I want a big blue jeep" or "I want a black puppy" when we asked him whether he wanted a baby brother or a baby sister...  but he adapted so well. He loves his little brother which makes me love him even more. My parents were around during delivery/post-delivery which was wonderful.. and I didnt have to deal with Post Partum Depression this time at all, thanks solely to Nikhil. I feel like time has doubled its pace after Karthik's arrival. Days, weeks, months and now we even celebrated his first birthday! Seriously, whats with the rush, time? 

 Sometime before Karthik was due Vicky was given an opportunity to move to Thailand. We went back and forth and given my not-so-happy-about-India phase, I was all for the move. It took a while to fall in place. Vicky kept travelling for two to three weeks at a time while we stayed back in Gurgaon. In October 2013, we had a Kerala trip due for Karthik's annaprashan. It was decided then that I would move to Kerala with the kids while Vicky shifted base to Phuket. Given his travel schedule and the volatility of the project I welcomed the decision to stay with my parents. TLC time :) 

All of us chilled out in Thrissur until March, 2014 when finally visas paperwork all got done and we moved to Phuket. Truth be told I was looking forward to moving and having my own place and set up. 

Its been close to two months here in Phuket now and I can't complain. Its a lovely lovely place. Kids love the new house. Nikhil has adjusted well in his new school. Karthik really has no say :) And I am finally feeling happy. Cribbing less. Which is HUGE, given my constant frowny face while I was in Gurgaon. For now, Life is Good!