Last time I was at Le Meridien Beach Resort in Phuket was November 1997. I’d always wanted to return with Tess because it is a good combo of family-friendly and couple-friendly. The resort has huge pools, so it is easy to find quiet areas, which is probably a good thing considering we are the noisiest family at the moment! Saturday morning the kids woke-up at 5:45 AM. We managed to keep them occupied until about 6:30 AM, then down we went to the breakfast buffet for pancakes. They ate more than you could possibly imagine. (Left: Sela looks at the resort from the balcony.)

Next we were off to "explore the resort." We found the best place to sit next to one of the pools, the Penguin Club for kids over three, then had a long walk along the beach. We couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer, though, and by 9 AM had all four kids playing wildly in one of the many kids’ pools. Lunch saw us at the main cafe where the kids enjoyed chicken nuggets that I am sure were loaded with a full FDA warning’s worth of trans fats. Post-lunch the kids played at the Penguin Club (read Kids Club) for a few hours. Finally they were back in the pool for a final 90 minutes of swimming. We decided since the kids were on holiday another round of trans fat would do no harm, so with the promise of mid-life angiograms, we treated them to Pizza On The Beach. (All part of the hotel complex.) (Left: the kids out exploring early in the morning.)

And this is where they hit the wall… except for Sebastian. Having gone full speed for two days straight (the trip here the kids were super excited, then the first day here even more so) it was inevitable the kids would eventually run out of steam. Upon arriving at the beach cafe the pizza was ready, cut-up, sitting on plates and cooling for consumption. (Tess and I always divide by sending one or the other ahead to prepare everything.) Not long after sitting down, Carys and Sela whined of having to do wee wees. Back-up again to the bathroom they went. Along the path we bumped into Mo, where I handed off the girls. Back to the table, where suddenly it was JJ’s turn to do a wee wee. Back-up again he and I went, wee’d and returned. We took the most direct path whereas Sela and Carys took the long route along the beach. JJ promptly dug back into his pizza. Sela and Carys arrived a few minutes later, sat down, bibs back on, Carys started eating but Sela was holding out.  (Left: Carys crashed out on Mo’s shoulder after dinner.)

Nothing was right: sand on her feet, she wanted her sandals off, blah, blah, blah – whatever – the little whinger wasn’t happy. Even sitting cuddled on Tess’ lap Sela wouldn’t eat. Warning 1, Warning 2 and finally just before Warning 3, Sela volunteered going straight to bed. Tess took her back to the room. Meanwhile, the sausage on the pizza had a real spicey bite, giving the tired kids additional reason to whine. Being in Asia, one can regularly count on finding spice in food every here and there. We always respond with, "well have a drink (of water or more) to cool your mouth." The kids never really respond to these suggestions so I never really know if they get the message. In this particular case they sipped their water, but I still wonder. In all, the kids wolfed down two medium sized pizzas. With only a few pieces remaining Carys began slipping away. After a while Mo took her up to bed. Then it was just JJ, Seb and me. The boys finished the last of the pizza and headed up to bed. Needless to say, it didn’t take anyone long to fall asleep. (Left: the triplets sound asleep after a long day of play.)

This is what a typical day in Phuket has been like for us. Dinner usually consists of ordering room service but one night we’ll get a babysitter so we can go out for a proper dinner. There have been some curious and hilarious moments that I’ll report on in the next blog so stay tuned! (Left: a typical beach scene at the resort. Unlike most resorts in Phuket, Le Meridien has an exclusive beach that is not shared with any other reorts or hotels.)