How We Spend Our Lazy Days in Chaloklum Bay

 

From Sunrise and Sunset all members of the family are doing something here on the island of Koh Phangnan. With more free time on our hands, we've decided to give you a little slice of island life.

Our village is called Chaloklum, look in the north

For Michele, Nick and I the day starts around 7 with a simple breakfast and often some exercise. Because of time zones the morning is also the standard opportunity to FaceTime friends and family in the States. Then from 9 to noon it's strictly homeschool time. Homeschool is 6 days a week because we are trying to make up for school lessons we missed trekking.
We have different themes we try to incorporate into each day, like Food Friday (putting time and energy into a nice family dinner) Try New Things Thursday (wether it be a different restaurant or a new place on the island) or Water Sports Wednesday. (Snorkeling, swimming, etc)
Motorbike rentals are big here on Koh Panghnan, but because we came here to settle down we rent them as necessary rather than the whole duration of our stay. In our small village, the heart of which is about a 10-15 minute walk, we have a few small markets, many family run seafood restaurants, a plethora of dive shops, a bakery and a real Italian restaurant. So other than big shopping trips or hunting for specific items there aren’t many things we can’t find locally.
I would say the majority of our afternoons are spent by the pool or in the hammock. Nick and I have made some friends at our resort so afternoon soccer games, swims or cricket matches aren’t a rarity. Coconuts are also something we haven’t seen much of in our trip so far. There are a lot of them here though. So many trees populate our resort alone that we are always on the alert for the heavy objects plummeting from the heavens. There have been many times where we have been enjoying some Thai iced tea on the porch and seen a coconut or frond fall, a reminder to watch out! Point taken trees.

Anika cutting off pieces of the daily coconut.
You can see how that would hurt if it hit you!

We also had a pair of monitor lizards bunking in our roof when we first arrived. The smaller of the 2 was at least 4 feet long. After some reasearch we concluded that they will prey on eggs, fish, small birds and the occasional banana. (We learned that in some field experiments) Still, falling asleep to the sound of their scaly bodies dragging across your ceiling is easier said then done. It is with mixed emotions that we have discovered that they have seemed to move out, maybe to the house next door?

Lizards front door

We alternate cooking dinner with dining out. Our meal options are limited as we have a single gas burner for cooking. So far we have enjoyed some pasta, larb (a Thai dish) and some delicious pork ribs! It was fun to balance a rack if those on the back of a motorbike, but it was well worth it, barbecue is a taste we haven’t had in a while.

Sweet Chili Red Snapper at
a favorite seafood spot 

So that is basically a summary of island life. We hope to take advantage of some great snorkeling near by once the weather clears up. We have had only a few days of sunshine since we arrived.