Kyle and Alan went back to Koh Samui for Chinese New Year, spending time with our Shanghai friends George & Tina, and Jen & Stephen (now Singapore friends). Also, Steve Tai and his girlfriend Peggy returned. New to the group was Ryan and Christina. And of course all the kids, who loved playing with big brother Kyle. Missing this year though was ML, who sadly went to Vancouver to say her final farewell to her cousin.
Kyle and I actually stayed at a hotel 3 km away until the last day because the Villa was full. So we took a cab back and forth for 2 days. On the first day, we went to the Elephant Park for a 30 minute ride, and then walked to the waterfall. We were all happy to return to our pristine villa for a wonderful Thai lunch. The next 2.5 days were spent at the villa, playing in the pool, throwing frisbee on the beach, playing volleyball on the net I brought (same one we used to play with in the Stanford Oval 20 years ago!), and eating, eating, eating. Kyle got his first Thai massage. The ladies found an awesome boutique ice cream store that made a wonderful coconut sorbet, no dairy for me. Many of us had either fresh young coconut or Thai beer with each of the delicious, custom Thai meals. The weather was absolutely perfect, with gorgeous sunsets each night.
At night, we played The Game, basically a custom version of Taboo. Ryan and Christina were very competitive and incredible at the game. They must practice Taboo at home. Best clue of the night was Tina's "plural of drink" for the word "drunk." The guys polished off the 20 year Yoichi Nikka whisky I had brought from Tokyo airport.
Another superb, relaxing, bonding time in Koh Samui, like last year. Will we do it again next year? It's a tough experience to top...
