The Singapore Years: A week of recovery

View from our holiday dinner

I thought that moving country would be a lot more stressful than it was, and I am sure it would have been if I made the change without any help or support. Luckily for me, I’ve got Nick, who has already done all the hard work (sorting the flat, working out where everything is and how it works, and he even supplied me with a temporary local pay as you go phone to get me through the first few days – what a good boy!).

When the plan to move over to Singapore was first made, it felt highly likely that by the time I had moved and settled a bit, I would be in need of a holiday – so thanks to a little bit of luck and a bit of planning, I had just one week in Singapore before the Brown family took their annual winter holiday out to The Village, Coconut Island in Thailand, which we duly gatecrashed.

With a beautiful beachfront villa, complete with it’s own swimming pool, easy access to the beach activities, and a very short walk to the amazing island eateries, it was the perfect spot to unwind for a week and get used to living in Asia.

We started our trip two days early, heading straight to Phuket town from the airport to meet up with a couple of friends who live in the town and who were to be our hosts for the weekend. There was a bar crawl planned straight from the airport, then a full day dedicated to a BBQ at their house (which has doors in the kitchen that opens out straight into a lap pool (pure luxury!) and then a day at the beach. It was a drunken few days, but it was great to see a bit more of Phuket, and to try out a couple of the local bars and pubs.

Thailand - they do good beaches!

A BBQ isn't a BBQ until there's a dangerous drinking game being lined up

Having spent a very necessary day recovering at the beach, we then headed over to the villa to get everything sorted ahead of the rest of the family’s arrival.

Once we had all gathered, the week was then spent in a most amazing blur of pure relaxation. Days were filled with sleeping, sunbathing, reading and eating (an awful lot of eating!).