I’m a big fan of Maggie O’Farrell, a prolific writer from the United Kingdom. Although most of her work is contemporary fiction, my favorite books of her are her historical fiction including Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait. But this contemporary novel, published in 2000 is a page-turner. Here is my book review After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell.
The Plot
Alice has suffered an unimaginable loss. Her heart is broken and so is her will to live. She takes a train to Scotland to visit her sisters, but while in the restroom she witnesses something horrible. But what is it? Whatever it is it’s enough to send her running back to London. But by the next day, Alice lays in a hospital in a coma. Hit by a car, or was it a suicide attempt?
Interwoven Stories
Throughout the book O’Farrell jumps around from before Alice was born to present day, focusing separately on characters in Alice’s life. Alice’s mother, father and grandmother each have their own story. Alice’s true love John and John’s father play a crucial role. And then there are others…a mysterious man, a high school boyfriend, her sisters who are nothing like Alice.
As Alice lays in a coma, her memories of things she knows float in and out, while people in her room also float in and out. Some of these people are talking and Alice can hear them, although she cannot speak. But missing pieces of her life are falling into place as she listens. Alice’s will to live is diminishing.
A Special Visitor
It will take a special visitor to reach deep into the coma cocoon Alice is trapped in and pull her out. Will that person come to the hospital?
After You’d Gone
O’Farrell has such a way with words that all her books, contemporary or historic, are unforgettable. I hope you enjoyed my book review After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell
We are half way through year eight of our travel life. And sometimes we enjoy a travel perk or two. We have fallen into an easy pattern as we navigate the world. We understand how the system works, we each have our area of responsibilities as we plan and execute our travels, and generally we are content.
However, we are also eight years older than when we first started. And along the way we have discovered a few things about ourselves that keep us happy in our retirement travels. For me, I need an outdoor space, even if it’s small, at our long term lodgings. I also need a washing machine…not a dryer, but definitely a washing machine makes me happy. Simple things but they make all the difference.
Budget
Because we are very cognizant of our budget, we always fly economy. But every once in a while we will bid on an upgrade seat in Business Class. We will never pay full price for Business Class, but if we can slide in at the last minute we take it. It’s the only time I can actually sleep on a plane. We recently enjoyed a fabulous Philippines Air Business Class flight from San Francisco to Manila. It was heaven for this old girl.
That said, we don’t just automatically book the cheapest flights out there either. We try to fly non-stops or one stop maximum. It makes such a big difference for our bodies. After the first few years of living this life on our retirement income, we figured out where and when to spend a bit more without breaking the bank.
Airport Lounge Privileges
If you fly a lot, you quickly learn that most airports, with only a few exceptions, are all the same. Uncomfortable seating areas, expensive food, and way too many people.
Last summer we upgraded our credit card to a Capital One Venture X. This new card provides us airport lounge privileges all around the world (in addition to some other perks). We have been very grateful for these, and have visited three different lounges in the Manila Airport (my least favorite airport in the world but the lounges are nice), lounges in Seattle, Brisbane, Melbourne, Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai so far. Some are nicer than others, but all are better than sitting at the gate.
How Does it Pencil?
By the way, this is not a sponsored post…I’m just sharing how much I like this credit card. The card cost $495 per year, but we get $300 back in travel credit when we book travel using the Capitol One travel site (which has turned out to be surprisingly easy to use and competitive with Booking.com or Expedia, our normal travel standards). So in reality we pay $195 per year less the additional cash back we get for some specific travel purchases.
The way we figure it, before we were hanging out in airport lounges, we could easily spend $50, or more, on a meal and drinks while waiting for a flight. Now we eat and drink for free in lounges. We have enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as full cocktails, beer and excellent coffee. That saving cost alone pays for the card if you are a frequent traveler.
In addition, the Capitol One Venture X also gives us discounts when we book with Bookingdotcom, Expedia and Get Your Guide. All travel apps we use frequently.
Although we have yet to use it, many lounges offer showers and even beds. We usually only have a few hours, so we charge our electronics, have a meal, use the wifi and kick back in seating that is much more comfortable than at the gate.
Travel Fatigue
I’ve talked in the past about the reality of travel fatigue. Our travel life may look exciting, and usually it is. But it also can be exhausting and there are occasional long, difficult days. As we have winged our way around the world, we have learned that our dollars are well spent on a little pampering, to help make travel comfortable and reduce travel fatigue.
Sometimes, since we have all the time we want, we will get a hotel at an airport, so we can sleep and be fresh for our next onward flight. This might be just for the day, or overnight. Arriving fresh at our destination makes us happier, less cranky and excited for what’s ahead.
Sometimes We Enjoy a Travel Perk or Two
Finding perks that are affordable but also keep us healthy and rested, is our goal. Since we travel so much, it pays to occasionally upgrade to Business Class and to carry the Capital One Venture X card. If you only fly once or twice a year, this probably isn’t the credit card for you. But if you are a nearly full time traveler like us, the lounge privileges are really nice.
Thanks for reading my post Sometimes We Enjoy a Travel Perk or Two. See last week’s post Koh Chang Thailand, Taking it Slow. Next week we begin a series of our travels in Italy. Hope you will come back for that!
We love it when you pin, share and comment on our blog posts. Thank you.
I wanted to love this book. I really did. It has stellar reviews and is a NY Times best seller. But. I just struggled. Here is my book review Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship by Catherine Raven.
The Story
It’s not the story I didn’t love, it is interesting and a bit like a fairy tale to befriend a wild animal in the way Catherine Raven did. After she finished her PhD in Biology, Raven builds a tiny cottage on a remote piece of land in Montana. She convinces herself it’s a way station while she decides what she want to do with her life. But really, she is isolating from society, her future, and her past which includes a messed up childhood.
The Fox
Fox arrives one day, and Catherine realizes the wild animal is coming to see her everyday at the exact same time. And slowly she befriends the fox…but really? Can she befriend a wild animal? Should she? She struggles with what is happening, particularly as a biologist. She avoids telling anyone; friends or her online students. But over a period of time the fox and Catherine become friends.
The Writing
Raven’s writing is very analytical, and since I am not a biologist, much of it when over my head. It rambled. Long passages I found tedious and difficult to hold my attention.
In the end, of course a fox doesn’t live as long a a human, but clearly the fox helped Raven deal with her own emotional trauma, her introvert tendencies and her unclear future. Her future was to write a best seller about a Fox. Well played.
You may like this book more than I did, but I can only hand it three stars.
***Three stars for Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship by Catherine Raven.
It’s our second visit to Thailand. We came here for a really long stay when we first began our world travels. During that time, we moved around a lot, packing in as much as possible. Seven years later, we arrived on the island of Koh Change with zero plans and zero expectations. It turns out Koh Chang Thailand – Take it Slow, is a perfect island for just that.
How to Get to Koh Chang
Just off the coast of mainland Thailand, and an hour flight southeast from Bangkok is Koh Chang. There are several islands in this area. Fly from Bangkok to Trat (about an hour flight) and then secure a van on arrival at the airport. The van takes you from the airport, onto the ferry and across, then down the Island to your accommodations. We were the last ones to be delivered since we are so far south. Most visitors stay in the White Sand or Lonely Beach area. Cost for the airport to door service was about $21 pp.
Another option is to take a car or van from the Bangkok Airport. This was something we did not know you could do, and if we hadn’t already booked and paid for our flight we would have done this. This option, though it involves about a 4 hour drive, gets you to Bangkok at your desired time…not when the Trat flight arrives. We had a six hour layover in Bangkok. It wasn’t horrible but if we had it to do again we would hire a car or van.
Where We Stayed
We booked an Airbnb in Bang Bao, which much to our surprise, ended up being at the very ends of the earth in Koh Chang. The road only goes about a half a mile past our condo. But there are still some things in the Bang Bao area; several small bungalow type accommodations, a handful of Thai restaurants easily walkable and the Bang Bao pier where most of the snorkel boats go from. Apparently the road used to not end here. It used to go all the around the bottom of the island, but it washed out and has yet to be repaired. Our guide told us he didn’t think it ever would be.
We chose a lovely view condo at the Tranquilty Bay Residence. It’s kind of a strange place though. We loved the view and the pool too. But the complex, like so many places in Thailand, appears to have over reached a bit. It’s really big, but about a third of the units have not been finished. During our 30 day stay there were perhaps ten units occupied out of forty or more. Apparently there was a restaurant at one time, but not anymore.
We booked our condo through Airbnb and paid $80 per night which was a discounted price due to our long stay. The view though…amazing.
Weather
We spent the entire month of January in Koh Chang and we had great weather. The rainy season is over by November, but there still can be an occasional shower. It was mid to upper 80’s Fahrenheit every day.
Getting Around
We aren’t confident scooter people, but scooters are the way most people, locals and visitors alike, get around. We were surprised to learn the Taxi Union is strong and so Tuk Tuk’s are forbidden on the island. That was disappointing because we love Tuk Tuk’s. Because of the remote location of our condo, you can’t just stand outside and expect a taxi to go by. Renting a car is also a hassle. So, we managed to hook up with a taxi driver and contacted him on WhatsAp the few times we needed a ride.
I need to mention that this remote location brought with it some challenges as far as getting groceries. An easy walk to a decent 7-11 as well as a nice but tiny store that provided fruit, veg, coffee, toilet paper, rice and even fresh shrimp and chicken. We used those as needed but the two times we did tours (see below) we paid a driver to also take us to the much larger supermarkets in the town of White Sands Beach. By doing this we were able to have a good selection of ingredients for meals we made at home and then we ate out about once a week. See more about restaurants below.
Things To Do
Well we spent most of our time just hanging out. We did our morning run in our neighborhood (hilly, and aggressive monkeys hanging out in the road), did yoga on our beautiful deck and then spent a couple hours at the pool most days. I read seven books in the month of January so that tells you how my days went. But all that said there are some fun and interesting things to do on Koh Chang, if you get bored of the beach or pool. Check out this list;
Island Tour
We hooked up with Coco Dee Bo Tours on the island and booked a couple of tours through them. In an effort to get a feel for the island, we did a full day island tour. Our driver and guide, spoke great English and had wonderful insight to the sites on the island. We visited several beautiful view points, an elephant sanctuary, and Klong Phlu Waterfall. We visited a historic fishing village and took a ride in a traditional Thai boat. It was a great day.
Bird Watching
We really enjoyed a private Bird Watching Tour we booked through Coco Dee Bo. Our guide was excellent with an amazing ear and eye to spot some really great birds. Walkingthrough both private land and National Park land we spotted 14 new-to-us bird species. It was really fun and a good little hike too with great flora. Highly recommend.
Bang Bao Pier
Bang Bao Pier is often a stop on island tours, but it is right in our back yard so we visited there regularly. The Bang Bao Pier is home to the snorkel and dive boats…all shapes and sizes. It is also where you might go to do some souvenir shopping as well as pick up fruit and vegetables, seafood or visit an ATM. There are also several restaurants, a few Thai massage spots and a 7-11. A few remaining active fishing boats are here and homes of fisherman. The ferry to outer islands and Cambodia leaves from here each morning.
Ghost Ship
Since we were on a mission to Koh Chang Thailand – Take it Slow we decided to hike to the Ghost Ship instead of hiring a guide. We like to hike and the abandoned ship is about four miles from our condo at the end of a long and dusty road. The story about the ship is that it was part of a resort, but when a guest fell or jumped from the top of the ship and died, people stopped coming to the resort. Today it’s an eerie shell of a place, but on the most spectacular beach. Staff (or an opportunist, I’m not sure which) collects 100 Baht (about $3USD) per person to enter and see the ship, resort, or go to the beach.
Snorkel Tours
Bang Bao Pier is home to the majority of the dive and snorkel trips out of Koh Chang so it was very convenient to where we were staying. There are literally dozens of options; private, huge group, small group, family, slow boat, speed boat, catamaran…and the list goes on. You can do full-day with lunch and stop at five or six islands or choose half-day and stop at 2 or 3 islands. I would suggest use a clearing house like Coco Dee Bo to see all the options and book what works best for you.
Thai Cooking Class
We had the most wonderful three hour cooking class with Napalai Thai Cuisine School. At the class we learned to make ten things, all delicious, fresh and simple. I love Thai food and have cooked it often over the years, but taking the class was a way to learn even more. Our instructor Bunny was great. See the blog post I wrote about it last week here. If you come to Koh Chang, don’t miss it.
White Sands Beach Night Market
The night market at White Sands Beach, also called Walking Street, was a bit of a let down. I had envisioned the glorious night market of Chang Mai from our last visit to Thailand. Well, it wasn’t that. But I’m still glad we went. Mostly because the bustling area of White Sands Beach was fun to see at night….so different from the remote area we were staying near Bang Bao. The number of vendors at the White Sands Beach Night Market (happens every night) varies with the season.
While in White Sands Beach we also ate at Beach Tango, a colorful, toes in the sand bistro. A good choice when in this town.
Massage
Many years ago I had a Thai massage on the island of Koh Samui. OMG I thought they were going to break me in half. But this massage, at the Indie Beach Bungalows and Cafe was much more my style. Just enough pressure and very relaxing – with a little bit of chiropractic service thrown in. I enjoyed it so very much, I went two times. Everywhere you go on Koh Chang there are massage places. It’s a very Thai thing to do. Inexpensive too – starting at about $10 USD.
Where to Eat on the South Island
Since we didn’t have a car we didn’t wander too far for dining out, but there were several excellent places to eat within walking distance of our Airbnb. Although we primarily cooked in our condo, we did eat out about once a week and again the last few days when our food was pretty much gone. The following places we can recommend in the Bang Bao and Had Sai Noi area of the Southern most part of Koh Chang;
Indie Beach Bungalows and Cafe – this lovely spot is owned by our Airbnb Host and was an easy walk from our condo. We ate dinner here three times including once for their Tuesday night buffet. Additionally we ate breakfast here once. It’s a great spot and inexpensive and the view is amazing.
Ido Ido Beach Cafe – right next door to Indie Beach is Ido Ido Beach Cafe. We had dinner here one night. It’s a bit more rustic than Indie Beach but we enjoyed the food and a nice beach view.
Pipin Cafe – with some of the friendliest people we met on the entire island, the Pipin Cafe was conveniently located next door to our Airbnb. We first had breakfast there one morning when the power was out at our condo. Luckily they use gas for cooking and they created an amazing Thai Omelet for me, one of my favorites. We enjoyed it so much we returned for dinner on another night and enjoyed several delicious dishes and ended with a giant Mango Sticky Rice.
Nongyim Seafood Bang Bao – on the Bang Bao Pier we discovered a tiny little place highly rated for Seafood. We had only eaten shrimp since arriving, and really wanted to try the local fish. We we went to Nongyim where we had a whole fried Seabass as well as some great squid salad. Really enjoyed it.
Koh Chang Thailand – Take it Slow
So that is how we spent our month on the island of Koh Chang. Most people don’t come for a whole month. Four days would give you time to see and do a lot. A week would be perfect. Or stay a month, and take it slow.
I have really become a fan of Geraldine Brooks. This is the third book I have read by her ( see Horse and Year of Wonders reviews) and she has many more. This lovely book is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize way back in 2006. Here is my book review March by Geraldine Brooks.
Little Women
Unless you live under a rock, you know the story of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, published first in 1868. The Civil War story is about four sisters and their mother, surviving in New England while their father is away during the Civil War. Alcott’s book focuses on the girls primarily, with the father figure just a mention in the book.
March
Brooks brings to life Robert March, the absent father in Little Women. His story is worth an entire book, and in true Brooks fashion she takes fact and fiction and creates a beautiful novel of love, loss, dedication, and regret.
The once wealthy March finds himself living nearly in poverty after supporting a friend whose business fails. March, a preacher and strong abolitionist feels he is called to serve as a Chaplain in the Civil War.
Leaving his “little women” behind, March finds himself on the front lines of the war where his faith is tested to the core. His faith in God, his faith in man and his faith in himself.
It is a story of the horror of war, the sanctity of marriage and the man who put his ideals and courage to the greatest of challenges.
We have enjoyed a quiet and relaxing month on the island of Koh Chang in Thailand. Koh Chang is pretty laid back, and that was what we were looking for. We did find the energy though to do some fun things, including an amazing Thai cooking class. Thai food is incredible! Simple and fresh ingredients come together quickly for flavorful dishes. If you are coming to Koh Chang, I highly recommend Cooking with Napalai Thai Cuisine School, Koh Chang Thailand.
Cooking with Napalai Thai Cuisine School, Koh Chang Thailand
Located in the Amphoe area, owner and instructor Bunny tells me she started the school eleven years ago. I was very impressed with the layout of the mostly outdoor kitchen, and the quality of the kitchen and fresh ingredients. Bunny’s English is excellent and she has so much energy! Probably where she got the nickname Bunny.
There are three choices of classes daily, and depending on where you are staying you can also get a pick up. We chose the afternoon class. This class is 1200 Baht per person (about $35 USD) and you choose one of two dishes in five categories. So between my husband and I we made ten dishes. The food is also consumed as you make it, so unlike some classes you eat it all while it is hot. I liked that. The class took about three hours. See the other offerings on the website here.
Let’s Get Cooking
At the afternoon class there were two soups offered, two curries (which included making two curry pastes), a choice between Pad Thai and Cashew Chicken and finally two desserts.
Ingredients
Fresh and local ingredients are the key to Thai cooking. Most of the ingredients in classic Thai food can be found in the USA and Europe, although you may need to substitute a few things. Talking about the local ingredients is one of my favorite things about taking a cooking class in most countries we visit. Bunny explained some unusual-to-me ingredients like galangal, finger root and a tiny berry-like aubergine.
Soup
I’m a sucker for coconut milk based soups, and so I chose to make the Tom Kha Kai – a Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup made with lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime, chilies, onions, mushrooms, coriander, sugar, lemon juice, fish sauce and coconut milk. It was fabulous. I will certainly make this again.
Arne chose to make Tom Yam Koong – A Hot Sour Prawn Soup. His was also delicious, made with prawns (or you can use chicken), lemon grass, galangal, onion, tomato, coriander, chicken stock, lemon juice, kaffir lime and fish sauce. Both soups quick and easy.
Main Dish
Arne chose the Pad Thai, a dish most people are familar with. We have made this at home and have certainly eaten it in many places around the world. The recipe at Napalai included noodles, chicken, spring onions, cabbage, egg, two kinds of mushrooms, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, tamarind paste, dried shrimp and chili powder. In a wok it comes together very quickly.
Kai Phat Met-Ma Maung is Stir Fried Chicken and Cashew Nuts, one of my favorites. Preparing the ingredients on the chopping block took more time than the cooking. It was all simple using carrots, baby corn, onion, mushrooms, red chili, garlic, sugar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chicken and cashews. This one is easy to make at home and I have already made it.
Curry
Red Curry and Green Curry are a little different in Thailand than what you might be familiar with in India. Though not difficult, it is a little more time consuming to pound the ingredients for the curry paste. These two dishes were spicier than anything else we made, even though we scaled back on the spices. If you aren’t used to the spicy chilies here, you need to be careful…it can really knock your socks off.
We started by finely chopping our ingredients for the two curries before moving to the mortar and pestle and grinding the ingredients into paste. The pounded ingredients for the red curry included red chilies, garlic, shallot, lemon grass, galangal, coriander, kaffir lime, turmeric, peppercorns, cumin and shrimp paste.
The ingredients for the green curry included green chilies, garlic, shallot, lemon grass, galangal, coriander, kaffir lime, turmeric root, pepper corns, cumin and shrimp paste.
When the curry paste was ready we moved to the woks where we added the chicken, eggplant, corn, basil, fish sauce and coconut milk.
Dessert
Of course the much loved Mango Sticky Rice, Khao-Neeaw Ma-Muang, was on the menu. And this stuff is dangerous. I could eat it every day. One of my all time favorite desserts and it is so easy. We also made Banana in Coconut Milk, Buat Fak- Thawng, which tasted like a Banana Cream Pie without the crust. The freshest fruit and good quality coconut milk/coconut cream, as well as sticky rice are the featured ingredients in these desserts.
Cooking Around the World
For me, taking a cooking class in a foreign country is hands down the best way to get close to the culture of a place. Food is such an important part of people’s lives, religions and culture. Seven years ago I took a Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai. And my experience Cooking with Napalai Thai Cuisine School, Koh Chang Thailand was an exceptional refresher. And I learned some wonderful new things too. Thank you to Bunny for being an exception chef and teacher.
Thank you for reading my post Cooking with Napalai Thai Cuisine School, Koh Change Thailand. If you are coming to Koh Chang, don’t miss it. I hope you saw last week’s post Sensational Singapore – A Visit to the Lion City.
We really appreciate it when you pin, comment, share our posts. Kahp Kah. Thank you.
Original. That’s the word I saw over and over on other reviews about this book by New York Times best selling author Erica Bauermeister. It was that and more. A unique story, or ten stories if you will. Here is my Book Review No Two Persons by Eric Bauermeister.
Dysfunctional Family
Using dysfunctional family in a novel is nothing new. But Bauermeister takes that thread and runs with it with ten seemingly unrelated characters and ten seemingly unrelated stories. It’s all about a book, and how a book, a really good book, can connect, heal, and save all that is broken.
Theo
Alice has wanted to write since she can remember. But her tyrant father and her meek mother are never encouraging. Her only real family is her brother who she loves dearly and who believes in her. When tragedy strikes, Alice life is in shambles and she thinks she will never write anything. Through the process of grief and healing she is guided by a steadfast professor, dealing with his own family drama, and eventually Alice finds Theo. Theo opens her creative juices and a story is born. But developing the story of Theo is no easy task…finding a publisher also no easy task. Alice pulls one final thread on a wing and a prayer.
The Book
Once Theo finds it’s publisher Bauermeister begins to introduce the reader to a list of seemingly unrelated characters; a free fall diver, a book store clerk, a homeless high school student, a Hollywood actor, a literary agent, a struggling artist, a care taker, an intimacy coach. How can one book, about a boy named Theo touch so many lives in infinite ways? Bauermeister makes it happen in No Two Persons.
End
Don’t expect a big happy party at the end where everyone becomes connected…I really liked that about this book. Though there are threads of connections through out, some threads stronger than others, most of these individual stories are individual…how life’s trials can mend through time, tenacity and stories…a connection we can make to others who we may never even meet.
*****Five stars for No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. Thank you for reading my Book Review No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.