Hong Island and an Amazing Race moment

It might not a big deal for some mothers/parents, but I wasn't sure how we'd fare bringing an 18mo toddler on a half-day island hopping tour in Krabi. I was worried about whether Kit would eat the packed lunch provided by the tour vendor as he is a very fussy eater and whether he'd have a meltdown if he's too excited to take a nap during the trip. But he was such a trooper, and so was Kai. Once again, Kai was doing so many new things on this trip; we could literally see him grow up before our eyes.

It was Kai's first boat ride^ out in the open sea in a wooden long boat, and he was looking forward to "a nice beach", which his parents promised, at Hong Island

As we neared our destination, our boat stopped suddenly and wouldn't start again. Terence and I looked at each other quietly. What are we going to do? Stuck in the open sea with two young boys?!?! How long are we going to be out here for? The Thai boat driver spoke so little English that he couldn't tell us what he was going to do or what was going to happen. His actions didn't inspire confidence either. He was texting (!) and calling a few people and when we asked him questions, all we got were weak smiles and "OKs".

It was like one of those Amazing Race moments you see on TV. The contestants are in a tight race to the pit stop and their boat just STOPS half way through the journey. Kaput. Adios amigo. Sayonara. There's nothing you can do. Just sit, wait, grip your wooden seat tight, and pray that the replacement boat comes quickly.

Ahh.... but the difference between the Amazing Race contestants and us is that we have a cellphone that, THANK GOD, had reception out in the open sea. Terence called the tour operator, who spoke with the boat driver. We were then told by the operator that a replacement boat would arrive in 20 minutes time. But the boat driver was more competent than he looked as he contacted another boat driver, who swung by and towed us to the island.

Terence and I silently breathed a sigh of relief. I was never so glad to see land.

The small incident was quickly forgotten as we all took in the beautiful sight. Here's Kai taking a dip in the clear water of the bay at Hong Island.

And this is the view that he was looking at.